/Titan/, according to the Oxford Dictionary, “is a person or thing of very great strength, intellect or importance”. Originating from Greek mythology, Titans are defined as a race of God. A titan brand or business is likewise a prominent and powerful influencer of the economy or industry. Fearful as they might be in old stories, nowadays, Titans can become resourceful players in majorly shaping the optimal value of existing markets and playing as the strong frames of reference for new players.
Samsung of Korea, Alibaba of China, Amazon of the US… these are some of the big forces in the world economy. At the national branding level, ranked by the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brand Index; Japan, Germany, Canada, UK, Italy, US, Switzerland, France, Australia, and Sweden are considered the top 10 global titans.
In Greek mythology, Zeus is the one to defeat Titans. In today’s world, the win-lose Titan battles will be out of reach without tremendous investment and not recommended. The infinite all-win games should be the shared targets for all players. The launch of TikTok Shop in Vietnam in 2022 led to share loss of Shopee, and Lazada but has helped accelerate the total e-commerce size by +20-30% YOY (vs. an average 9% previously). In fact, Shopee Vietnam has experienced robust growth since 2022 in terms of sales value. Myths are that by copying and playing at cheaper price ranges, new brands can faster gain market share. China is best known for its copycat culture. Surprisingly, its original purpose appeared as an attempt to balance learning from the greatness of outsiders while preserving traditional essence. Over time, the Shanzhai practices have become norms among “Made-in-China” product design and innovation strategies. It is not advisable to play as counterfeits. However, being able to selectively learn and adapt from proven models probably is the fastest way to enter an established market. Learn the best-in-class execution then upgrade or customize. Don’t blindly apply similar strategies if your brand is not yet clear on the target market. Even in the case of having the same target market, applying the same strategies does not guarantee success. Strategies are uncopyable because the “Why-s” are different. Simon Sinek, the leadership expert & author of “Start With Why”, “Leaders Eat Last”, and “The Infinite Game”, etc. explained his Golden Circle Theory of “Why-How-What” as a simple yet powerful tool to decide how much more we can achieve if we first start asking why we do what we do…
In the modern world of co-opetition, the infinite game, in which all brands join forces to grow the market, is being able to better your brand day after day without losing your core competencies.
In industries that promote monopoly, there is very little room for small or new players. The case of co-opetition can only be fueled in highly open and cooperating fields such as fast-moving consumer goods, education, entertainment, arts, and technologies, …where core technical know-how is easily applied, shared, or standardized and consumers’ desire for customization or refreshment is high. A bank user can have multiple accounts in different banks to enjoy different financial product offers. A movie addict can “Netflix and chill” every day and still enjoy local movies as well as reality shows on other local VOD apps. Hence, every brand should have its own business model & fair share of prizes. Acquiring captaincy by blocking out other brands is not a wise choice to grow the total size of the market. Instead, ensuring the “fit-for-the-mass” lead role in defining the market landscape may be a much more efficiently invested move for giants. For smaller players, the strategy is to formulate a “fit-to-win” model to grow alongside the giants & target a niche group of audience where you can win by simply being more customizable. However, be careful about your choice of offers to stay different or unique because it is the strategic investment you always need to have plans to level up & best to originate from your unique capabilities (not by copying from competitors)… Being slow sometimes is a wise move to keep the waltz going for all players to “nurture” their strategic competitive advantages while staying sufficiently engaged with consumers. Take a look at the below suggestions to explore how you should design your slow dancing moves as well as “sparkle” areas.
| “Slow Dancing” Zones | ”Sparkle” Zones | Success Cases Examples | |
| Local Small Players vs. Local Titans | Local assets (POP) | Subscribe to explore (*) | Subscribe to explore (*) |
| Local Small Players vs. Global Titans | Too advanced technologies | Subscribe to explore (*) | Cocoon (Vietnam)
Aba (Vietnam) |
| Global Small Players vs. Local Titans | Subscribe to explore (*) | Subscribe to explore (*) | Subscribe to explore (*) |
| Global Small Players vs. Global Titans | Subscribe to explore (*) | Subscribe to explore (*) | Subscribe to explore (*) |
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Reference:
- Sggp.org.vn
- Cafebiz.vn
- The origins of China’s copycat culture (Global Briefing)
- Wikipedia
Author: Nguyet Nguyen (Azurie)
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