| In my Master Thesis, I choose the company VW (Volkswagen) to illustrate a successful story of brand development in China. Due to rising competition in the automotive sector in China, VW is currently facing difficulties by creating a brand, which establishes strongly held beliefs and attitudes in the consumers mind. Although VW already developed a certain image of its models and brands in China, loyalties have yet to be formed. Thus, I want to develop a long term branding strategy for VW based on the external market environment, VW’s brands and Chinese customer expectations. A major part of my Thesis illustrates the branding strategy of VW and its brand portfolio within China. The corporate brand VW as well as their multi-brand strategies will be examined by an internal analysis. Therefore I analyzed how each brand is characterized, positioned and what kind of values each brand wants to communicate to the costumer. In the external market analysis, I will examine the current legal, competitive, technological, social-cultural and economic situation of the automotive industry in China. By analyzing the external environment, it will be important to understand, which role VW plays in terms of governmental support or regulations, cultural differences and technological progress within China.For the design of a branding strategy it is important to know, how the brands are appealing in the consumers mind and how they are affecting consumers buying decision. As an essential part of my Thesis, I conducted a customer survey in China, in order to identify current brand associations of Chinese customers and the image of VW brands in China. By comparing the survey to the internal analysis of VW and the external environment, I will give recommendations, how VW grows and sustains its brand equity in order to gain loyalty, higher market share and profit growth, while I gained a good understanding of Chinese customers and the insides on VW’s product brands. |
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