While many old Chinese enterprises are fading, some are promoting their legacy through modern marketing methods
In July 2001, China Central Television broadcast an unusual television drama to millions of people. The airing of Dances with Sheep followed a highly successful programme of the same genre, Da Zhai Men.
Both depicted the triumphs and tribulations of two of China's oldest brand names. Dances, a 20-episode series, focused on the history of woollen yarn manufacturer Heng Yuan Xiang, now known as HYX China (Group). The protagonist in Da Zhai Men was Chinese medicine firm China Beijing Tongrentang Group.
The sheer commercial quality of Dances - an outright marketing ploy financed by HYX - may have been a bit too much for Chinese audiences. Using the real names of the company and its key personalities, it failed to attract the same ratings as Da Zhai Men, which, while based on Tongrentang, used fictitious names and dramatic licence to illustrate its history.
Nonetheless, Dances showed that Chinese companies are getting serious about promoting and exploiting their legacy brands, which are often imbued with history and tradition. Many are hundreds of years old.
'Old brands have a place in consumers' minds,' said Lorenzo Ni Zhihua, assistant to the chief operating officer at HYX. 'But you need to refresh their memories regularly.'