We all accept we’re in China and products should be labeled in Chinese. Fair enough. But we tell our Chinese friends that to become more international they should at least put some elementary explanations in English on their labels. It irritates me when taking a shower in some sauna or gym that there are 3 bottles without any indication in English. What does it cost to add “shampoo”, “conditioner”, “body soap”, etc.? How much does it cost to put at least a simple English explanation in manuals or medication leaflets? Referring to a website for further information would also help a lot. All so simple things but it seems so complicated.

I call this poor marketing.

Now when foreign brands do the same or worse – see the many consumer brands on the market – that is real sloppy marketing.

Today my wife bought me the multi-vitamins I normally take, Wyeth Centrum. Problem, everything is in Chinese, so I had no idea if they were appropriate or not (I prefer Silver, if possible Ultra Men’s but those are normally not available here). Looking at the label, no clue. So I Googled and found somehow that “From A to Zinc” is one of the sub-brands. But, good luck at the Wyeth website. It is poorly done, no search, and to figure out what and where was “From A to Zinc” took me some time (basically, through elimination).

Maybe those foreign companies localize their staff too much.

Thumbs down for Wyeth. Maybe I can sell them some consulting on
how to improve their marketing.