“The genius of the Internet is its almost infinite openness to innovation. New hardware. New software. New applications. New ideas. They all get their chance.
As the founders of Adobe, we believe open markets are in the best interest of developers, content owners, and consumers. Freedom of choice on the web has unleashed an explosion of content and transformed how we work, learn, communicate, and, ultimately, express ourselves.
If the web fragments into closed systems, if companies put content and applications behind walls, some indeed may thrive — but their success will come at the expense of the very creativity and innovation that has made the Internet a revolutionary force.
We believe that consumers should be able to freely access their favorite content and applications, regardless of what computer they have, what browser they like, or what device suits their needs. No company — no matter how big or how creative — should dictate what you can create, how you create it, or what you can experience on the web.
When markets are open, anyone with a great idea has a chance to drive innovation and find new customers. Adobe’s business philosophy is based on a premise that, in an open market, the best products will win in the end — and the best way to compete is to create the best technology and innovate faster than your competitors.
That, certainly, was what we learned as we launched PostScript® and PDF, two early and powerful software solutions that work across platforms. We openly published the specifications for both, thus inviting both use and competition. In the early days, PostScript attracted 72 clone makers, but we held onto our market leadership by out-innovating the pack. More recently, we’ve done the same thing with Adobe® Flash® technology. We publish the specifications for Flash — meaning anyone can make their own Flash player. Yet, Adobe Flash technology remains the market leader because of the constant creativity and technical innovation of our employees.
We believe that Apple, by taking the opposite approach, has taken a step that could undermine this next chapter of the web — the chapter in which mobile devices outnumber computers, any individual can be a publisher, and content is accessed anywhere and at any time.
In the end, we believe the question is really this: Who controls the World Wide Web? And we believe the answer is: nobody — and everybody, but certainly not a single company.
Chuck Geschke, John Warnock
Cofounders
Chairmen, Adobe Board of Directors.”
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This is a scandal that still reverberates throughout the world for claiming the lives of six Chinese infants and making 300,000 others ill with kidney-stone-related diseases. Even as recently as mid-February 2009, a quick Google search brings up articles fervently pursuing the issue of melamine and broader quality-control issues in China’s milk industry. It was clearly the kind of public relations nightmare a company could never shake. But nearly six months on, shake it did. Mengniu, which had its shares trading suspended on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sept. 17, 2008, is now trading again at sustainable levels. Though nothing like pre-melamine highs of US$ 3.00–3.50, it is now hovering around the US$ 1.00–1.20 mark, after dropping drastically to lows of US$ 0.20–0.50 (Reuters, March 2009). “Mengniu’s sales are currently reported to be at roughly 70 percent of pre-melamine volumes, and come summer this year, they are expected to make a full recovery,” says Philippe Chan, Asia Manager for beverage industry consultants Canadean. Unfair though it may seem to turn this into a “branding” or “public image” exercise for Chinese dairy companies, for similar fledgling export-driven industries China-wide, this is essentially what the crisis represents. Quality-control issues are not new for Chinese companies, but having to deal with them on an international stage is. Mengniu has emerged healthy on the other side of this crisis, both from a quality standpoint as well as an image perspective. How did they do it, and are there lessons for other aspiring export-driven mainland companies in the Chinese F&B sector to learn? Background check Mengniu was ranked No. 3 among dairy enterprises in Asia in the Top 500 Brands poll of 2006 and was named “The Most Creative Enterprise” of China in March of the same year. Along with brand recognition, China Mengniu Dairy’s stock has appeared on a Morgan Stanley list of Global Top 50 Blue Chip Stocks until 2012. Of Mengniu’s branding efforts, Chan says, “Mengniu wants to be a global player, and is interested in projecting a more international image.” They have an effectively bilingual website up and running, a move that has proven tricky for other similar-sized companies in China, that includes prudent information for consumers, trade customers and other interested users. Dealing with the crisis This, Mengniu did promptly and sincerely. On Sept. 28, 2008, the news page on the Mengniu website featured a release titled: “Solemn Guarantees From Mengniu Group,” and it proceeded to “genuinely apologize for the physically and psychologically affected consumers.” It guaranteed: - a recall of all tainted baby formula A dedicated crisis hotline was also set up in the immediate aftermath of the scandal to enable affected consumers to reach and receive assistance as soon as possible. There also exists a general information line that customers can contact with any queries regarding Mengniu’s products. This openness is very unusual in a mainland company, but also refreshing. Normally you are lucky to find any contact information on an official website, and if it works, you may as well head out and buy a lottery ticket! This “open policy” has the twin benefits of building trust with consumers who do use the service and building goodwill among those who do not. Company spokeswoman and VP Zhao Yuanhua has also appeared frequently in the media, urging consumers to restore their confidence in Mengniu and also being open about the measures being taken to combat the crisis. In a November 2008 press release, she is quoted as saying, “we are going to guarantee the safety of raw milk…and build Mengniu (into a) time-honored brand.” Late last year, Mengniu organized a site visit for consumers, journalists and health officials to its key Beijing facility, walking them through the improved proceedings and explaining in great detail how processes have changed since the scandal. Measures like this have certainly helped improve the Mengniu brand, at least in the eyes of the domestic market. Opportunities in the aftermath Mengniu, however, was not without its own opportunities in the aftermath. As per its corporate vision, “…building a world famous brand is a steadfast pursuance for Mengniu Dairy Group” and that it will continue to do, not just by upholding safety and quality standards but certainly also by milking a PR opportunity or two when it presents itself. As it readily admits in a recent press release, “During the crisis, people also see a brand new image of the Chinese dairy industry that has a stronger sense of responsibility and credit standing of trust.” |
Roger Eaton is the CEO of KFC aka Kentucky Fried Chicken aka Kentucky Grilled Chicken aka the fast food place that made the same mistake as Popeyes.
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