For Liu Pingjun, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairman of the China Council for Brand Development, 2014 is destined to be an unforgettable year. After more than three years of effort, on January 8, the Technical Management Board of the International Organization for Standardization approved the establishment of ISO/TC289, the Technical Committee on Brand Evaluation, with China assuming the secretariat. "This is a major opportunity for China's quality and brand development, and a great event that Chinese quality professionals have worked together for and looked forward to."

 

　　Riding on the momentum of the establishment of the ISO/TC289 Technical Committee on Brand Evaluation, the proposals Liu Pingjun submitted at this year's NPC and CPPCC sessions are also closely related to brand strategy. "These achievements have not come easily, and we must strive to make them play a greater role and provide a stronger driving force for the transformation and upgrading of China's economy." The "not come easily" he refers to reflects the arduous journey of China's brand strategy development. In 2011, China began to formulate national standards for brand evaluation; in 2012, China conducted pilot brand value evaluations on 419 enterprises; in 2013, free evaluations were carried out for more than 500 enterprises, and the evaluation results were released by CCTV and the China Council for Brand Development. Behind every piece of work and every step forward is the wisdom and hard work of many people.

 

　　At the 2012 CCTV Finance Forum, Liu Pingjun once said that China is currently a veritable small country in terms of world brands. As a manufacturing and exporting powerhouse with the world's second-largest economic aggregate and the world's largest export volume, China has a long way to go in brand building. It is precisely with this strong sense of urgency that in recent years he has been advocating brand strategy on various occasions. "We must recognize that enhancing brand competitiveness has become the focus of economic competition among countries. We are already late in starting, and we must catch up."

 

　　In Liu Pingjun's view, formulating an international standard system for brand evaluation led and perfected by China together with seven other countries, and striving for the initiative in international standardization of brand evaluation, is a key step in enhancing the competitiveness of Chinese brands and promoting brand strategy. For a long time, the lack of brand evaluation standards has meant that participants in brand value evaluation activities lack a common language, and evaluations of brand value in the market have been chaotic. Because China does not hold the discourse power in brand value evaluation, Chinese brands are rarely correctly and fairly recognized and treated internationally.

 

　　"Under the guidance of standards, Chinese enterprises can accurately identify the focal points for enhancing their brands, and Chinese brands can clearly identify the breakthrough points for improving their overall competitiveness," Liu Pingjun said. According to the four national standards for brand evaluation that China has already issued and the four that will be issued, these "focal points" and "breakthrough points" are already clear—quality, service, technological innovation, and intangible assets.

 

　　Liu Pingjun said that in 2010, the International Organization for Standardization issued ISO 10668, "Brand Evaluation: Requirements for Monetary Brand Evaluation," but this standard is mainly based on the perspective of asset valuation and cannot fully reflect the comprehensive value of a brand. On this basis, China proposed that ISO further supplement and improve the international standard system for brand evaluation, and took the lead internationally in proposing that brands should include elements of quality and service. China, the United States, and Germany proposed and ultimately formed an international consensus on five evaluation elements: tangible assets, quality, service, technological innovation, and intangible assets. "Now we must start from these five aspects and, by further implementing brand strategy, advance with all our strength toward the goal of building an economic powerhouse and a brand powerhouse."

 

　　To this end, Liu Pingjun suggested further implementing the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China regarding "forming new advantages in export competition with technology, brand, quality, and service at the core," and formulating a national brand development strategic plan as soon as possible to strengthen overall guidance and comprehensive coordination for brand development at the national level. At the same time, he also suggested strengthening basic research on brand development, such as brand cultivation, brand management, and brand protection; establishing an international brand development research center; concentrating China's advantageous teams; and carrying out joint technological research in an all-round way to provide technical support for China's brand building. In terms of talent cultivation, Liu Pingjun believes that establishing a high-quality and highly professional brand-building workforce is crucial. He therefore suggested establishing a senior quality brand professional qualification within the quality engineer professional qualification series, so as to cultivate a group of high-level professionals with brand management and brand development capabilities for China.

 

　　"Well-known brands depend on quality reliability, variety-driven appeal, technological advancement, and service convenience. Quality and innovation are the core elements of a brand. If we can integrate quality and innovation into the soul of enterprises and into the core value system of economic development, the goal of building an economic powerhouse, a quality powerhouse, and a brand powerhouse will surely be achieved," Liu Pingjun said.