• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, January 3, 2012

The top brands in China in 2012 are dominated by technology companies, fast-moving consumer goods marketers and financial firms, according to a new 100-plus page report from WPP.

Research unit Millward Brown led the effort, creating brand valuations using a proprietary analytic methodology known as BrandZ. Contributing companies also included media arm GroupM, media and market research operation TNS, Ogilvy & Mather and Wunderman.

China’s top 50 brands increased in value by 16% over the past year, reaching $325 billion, the report noted. Given the ongoing economic growth in the market, WPP and other agency holding companies are keenly interested in China as an expansion opportunity.

According to GroupM, China’s gross domestic product is expected to grow at an annual clip of nearly 10% for the foreseeable future. While the final numbers are not in yet, GroupM believes ad spending in the country grew 15.2% last year and is expected to grow nearly 17% in 2012.

By comparison, growth in most North American and Western European countries is expected to be in the low- to mid-single digits next year.

The top brand per the 2012 brand report is China Mobile, the world’s largest telecommunications provider with 600 million customers. The next four positions are held by Chinese banks. Search engine Baidu was ranked sixth, while China Life Insurance ranked seventh. Two gas and oil production companies took the eighth- and ninth-ranked slots. Rounding out the top 10 was Tencent, the Internet portal.

“Brands in China never have been more important,” the report states. “Wide Internet penetration and commercial expansion beyond the major urban coast enclaves are among factors making households throughout China more value conscious and brand discerning.”  

The shift from “China as the world’s factory to China as brand creator and marketer is well underway.”

Consumer brands accounted for 42% of the top-50 brands, a reflection of “the tremendous influence of Chinese customers as they become much more informed and discerning about brands,” per the report. Factors such as rising income and China’s growing middle class are contributing to brand importance.

As in most Western markets, China’s dynamic media landscape is influencing the way marketers communicate with consumers. Internet spending, for example, was up 46% in 2011 and is predicted to grow another 44% in 2012, per GroupM.

“The Internet is especially important” for brands, given that estimated 485 million people now online in China, per the report. “Manufacturers paying attention can respond with what Chinese consumers seem to be requesting: products that combine innovation and trust; that make life easier or better while performing safely and reliably.”

The full report can found on the home page of the WPP site.