Aim for the Mountain Top 

XCMG Group, a Chinese construction machinery company that ranks among global top 3, is undergoing rapid development and continuously advancing its internationalization efforts. The brand expects to establish a strong global brand presence and become a leading figure in the high-end equipment manufacturing industry. 

To successfully penetrate the global market, XCMG Group has chosen Labbrand Group as its strategic partner to develop and implement a comprehensive global brand expansion strategy. Leveraging our unique branding methods for brand internationalization, Labbrand aims to support XCMG Group in elevating its global competitiveness on the international stage, thereby contributing to the long-term development and market share expansion. 

The first step to success is identifying the target market accurately. Labbrand is closely aligned with XCMG’s business structure and brand ambitions, focusing primarily on the European and American high-end markets, with a particular emphasis on the US market. Because the European and American high-end markets attach great significance to brand strength and development, leveraging the power of branding while strategically entering these markets presents an excellent opportunity to enhance visibility and recognition. 

However, XCMG Group’s brand awareness falls short within the European and American high-end markets. Moreover, a disconnection persists between brand communication, positioning, and the actual demands of consumers. In response, Labbrand strategically focuses on 4 key dimensions: brand core, brand image, brand communication, and corporate culture, to craft an entirely revitalized brand identity for XCMG to help embrace more developmental opportunities in the targeted markets. 

Earlier this year, XCMG unveiled its new US brand strategy and global slogan, ‘Solid to Succeed,’ created by Labbrand, at the largest trade exhibition in North America, CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023. Theme around “Solid to Succeed,” XCMG showcased its latest global products, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative services, making a brilliant show-up on the global construction machinery market. By assisting XCMG Group in executing the global brand expansion strategy, Labbrand effectively positioned XCMG Group as a strong competitor in construction machinery manufacturing, highlighting its limitless potential for technological innovation, and solidifying its steadfast and dependable brand image on a global scale. 

Our Solutions 

Leveraging our extensive 18 years of experience in cultivating brand innovation, we recognize the pivotal role of precisely defined and focused brand positioning in effectively attracting the desired target customers, especially when venturing into international markets. To firmly establish XCMG Group’s foothold in the targeted high-end markets, Labbrand first deduced a new brand positioning that aligns seamlessly with XCMG’s identity and resonates strongly with market demand. Through one-on-one interviews with dozens of internal key stakeholders in the early stage, as well as a large number of internal analysis and desktop research, we have gained a detailed understanding of XCMG‘s business strategy and planning, internal core advantages, and pain points. Meanwhile, we conducted hour-long interviews with 30 industry experts hailing from both Europe and the US to capture the multifaceted requirements of different industry participants and gain invaluable insights into the competitive landscape and emerging trends within the targeted construction machinery market. Incorporating these findings, we analyzed 4 crucial aspects: XCMG’s strengths, competitor analysis, industry trends, and audience needs, leading to an international brand positioning that aligns with XCMG’s distinct requirements and market dynamics. 

Next, closely following XCMG’s new brand positioning, we assisted the brand in developing unique brand messages. Catering to various stakeholders, including dealers and lessees, Labbrand constructed a brand message framework, crafting an English brand tagline and brand story for XCMG Group to elevate the brand’s recognition within the high-end European and American markets. We audited and analyzed the English slogans of 6 competitors, categorizing their overall tones from sincere and steadfast to superior and compelling. Drawing from XCMG’s new brand vision of “全心托付、永不止步 Wholeheartedly Entrusting, Unceasingly Advancing,” we amalgamated these insights to solidify the English slogan “Solid To Succeed” as the optimal choice finally. The selection impeccably aligns with XCMG’s brand positioning, while also boasting exceptional adaptability and resonance within industry parlance. When crafting the brand story, Labbrand portrayed XCMG as a resolute partner from the perspective of stakeholders. The brand story accentuates XCMG’s role and unique value proposition, guiding the audience to a profound understanding of the brand’s significance. 

With the brand positioning settled and the brand image elevated, we supported XCMG Group in maximizing brand exposure and brand recognition in the target markets with updated brand building strategies. To further enhance our efforts, we developed a systematic and targeted brand communication strategy for XCMG Group. For the U.S. market, we centered the communication concept around XCMG Group’s new brand slogan “Solid To Succeed,” orchestrating 3 primary communication themes for XCMG. These themes spanned from the brand’s initial exploratory phase to its established stage, encompassing significant brand communication initiatives, including XCMG’s participation in CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 this year. 

In our efforts to support the brand internationalization of Chinese brands, we go beyond crafting brand positioning, brand image, and brand communication strategies; we also delve into the realm of corporate culture. We know the global expansion of Chinese brands transcends mere product distribution; it entails exporting cultural values to the global stage to enhance brand recognition. Labbrand undertook an upgrade of XCMG Group’s corporate culture manual to ensure a more consistent dissemination of corporate culture and values across all XCMG Group’s global offices. We carefully studied XCMG‘s existing cultural assets, latest brand positioning and visual identity manual to better understand XCMG’s corporate culture and confirm the direction of upgrade. Meanwhile, our design team drew inspiration from industry benchmark brands’ corporate culture manual layouts, and engaged in detailed discussions with XCMG’s team, ensuring that the manual design resonated with XCMG’s brand philosophy. 

Results

XCMG Group’s brand internationalization is still sailing forward. Labbrand will continue to support XCMG Group in its global market expansion efforts. Building upon the top-level strategic framework we have developed for XCMG’s brand internationalization, rest assured that we’ll be there every step of the way. Keep an eye out for XCMG Group’s impressive journey in international markets!