President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 15 with Dr. Dominique Xardel, who is widely known as the "European Father of Marketing." The president extended a warm welcome to Dr. Xardel's delegation, and expressed hope that Dr. Xardel will share his immense experience in branding while in Taiwan so that local brands might make greater inroads into the international marketplace.
In remarks, the president first commented that Dr. Xardel 40 years ago was responsible for marketing the European edition of TIME magazine. At that time, he introduced the American concepts of direct marketing and direct selling into Europe, enabling him to ultimately become known as the "European Father of Marketing" and the "Father of European Branding." Dr. Xardel, the president said, is also quite renowned in Taiwan.
President Ma mentioned that Dr. Xardel previously served for 10 years as the Dean of ESSEC Business School, one of Europe's top business schools, and formulated branding strategies for businesses such as Nestle, Unilever, and other internationally renowned companies. Dr. Xardel, the president noted, is a specialist in both the theory and practice of marketing, and though now over 80 years old, he remains very active and continues to share his branding experience throughout the world, which is most admirable.
President Ma commented that Taiwan enterprises have 20 some years of experience in branding, but this pales in comparison with multinationals from other countries, which average over 50 years. Taiwan's relatively late start means it has few brand names, which has made it difficult for companies to generate greater profits. Taiwanese firms thus need to make even more efforts to catch up with companies in advanced nations, he said.
The president further mentioned that some Taiwan enterprises have been able to create internationally recognized brand names. For instance, he said, bicycles made in Taiwan under the GIANT brand name are quite well-known in Europe, as are HTC mobile phones, Acer computers, and ASUS notebook computers and tablet computers. These firms have made a name for themselves internationally, adding new luster to the phrase "Made in Taiwan," he remarked.
The president pointed out that the government commissions the Taiwan Global Brands Value Survey each year to encourage companies to take more initiative in creating brand names. He said that the brand value of Taiwan's top 10 international brands rose from US$3.564 billion in 2003 to US$10.84 billion in 2012, up by 204% over this time period. In addition, he stated, rankings as of September 2012 showed that Taiwan's top 10 brand names were HTC, Acer, ASUS, TREND MICRO, Master Kong, Want Want, GIANT, SYNNEX, MAXXIS, and the coffee shop 85°C. President Ma said this shows that preliminary success is being seen in Taiwan's effort to build brand names.
President Ma remarked that he had recently visited Okuma Fishing Tackle Co., Ltd. in Taichung City, and cited it as an example of the experience of Taiwan's small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing brand names. The president said that Okuma (the word "okuma" means "bear" in Japanese) was founded over 20 years ago. He commented that while the company is not an overly large one, with paid-in capital of about NT$260 million, its exports are valued at about NT$1.5 billion. President Ma noted that Okuma has consistently devoted itself to innovative research and development, enabling Okuma Fishing Tackle to become the leading brand name in the Chinese-speaking world and the third most prominent fishing tackle brand name globally. The firm's products have been well-received in the European and North American markets, he said. The president also noted that the government recently has been actively promoting the development of "champion enterprises" and that Okuma is one success story in this regard.
President Ma also stated that the government is aggressively promoting the nation's image internationally in order to enhance Taiwan's international visibility. For instance, he said, Taiwan's successful staging of the 21st Summer Deaflympics Taipei 2009 and the World Games 2009 Kaohsiung, as well as the Taipei International Flora Expo in 2010 were critical in helping introduce Taiwan to the world. President Ma expressed his hopes that the vitality of the private sector will be added to these efforts in the future, thereby assisting the government in raising Taiwan's position in the international marketplace.
The president stressed that while the ROC maintains diplomatic relations with only 23 nations, 132 nations or areas provide ROC nationals with visa-free courtesies or landing visas. This saves the public time and money when heading overseas for tourism or to discuss business, and facilitates international contact in the industrial sector, he said. Progress on this front shows that Taiwan is respected within the international community, the president stated.
President Ma further commented that over the past 10 years the government has also facilitated the entry of locally made films in international film festivals, so that Taiwan's soft power on the cultural and creativity front can be recognized the world over. The president pointed out that renowned director Ang Lee, who won the award for Best Directing for "Life of Pi" at the 85th Academy Awards, stated in his acceptance speech that the film would not have been completed without Taiwan. President Ma said that this was the best possible marketing of the Taiwan brand. In addition, the president also shared with Dr. Xardel what he took away from his viewing of the film "Face," a Taiwan-French film directed by Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) that was partially filmed at the Louvre in France. The president said that this film pushed Taiwan culture onto the international stage, which was also ideal from an international marketing perspective.
Dr. Xardel, along with ViP Consulting Group CEO Emily Y. T. Chen (陳玉婷) and Asia-Brother Investment President Henry Pai (白亨利), were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Tyzz-Jiun Duh (杜紫軍) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊).