20 | DISCOVER Friday, June 4, 2021 DAILY Public brand marketing plan builds recognition

By Yuan Shenggao of the locals’ enterprising spirit.” The Golden Ox brand highlights To enhance market recognition such agricultural products as hazel- of local products, many regions in nut, sea buckthorn fruit and medi- North China’s Shanxi province cal herbs. have invented an innovative mar- A trade fair was also held during keting strategy called “public the public brand’s release. Agree- brands”. ments were signed for product A public brand is similar to geo- transactions with a combined value graphical indication — and GI itself of 21.5 million yuan ($3.36 million). also falls into the public brand cate- At the 12th Expo Central China gory — but not limited to a certain held in from May 21-23, the variety of products, according to Golden Ox-branded products local officials. attracted much attention from visi- In recent years, Shanxi has pro- tors. moted seven provincial public is not the first city in brands for its products like millet, Shanxi to release cross-industry herbal tea and matured vinegar. public brands. “Such provincial-level public In September 2020, the city of brands are mostly related to agri- in southern Shanxi released cultural products,” a local official its “Linfen Quality” public brand, said. “They are of great significance which covers more than 40 prod- to rural revitalization.” ucts in agriculture and tourism On May 18, the city of Gujiao industries. Women work at an embroidery factory in Xiyang county, Shanxi province. The traditional handicraft industry is now an important force to released its public brand Golden Ox Boosted by the branding strate- drive growth in rural Shanxi. Li Zhaomin / For China Daily to cover more than 30 products in gy, Linfen realized online sales of eight categories. 113 million yuan and offline sales of “With its coverage of various 430 million yuan last year for its industries, the public brand of high-quality agricultural products. Golden Ox marked a breakthrough Shanxi aims to use the public in local marketing strategy,” said brands to promote rural revitaliza- Shanxi employs variety of Liu Jinchun, mayor of Gujiao. tion. He said the public brand is It released four provincial pub- inspired by the local traditional cul- lic brands for such products as ture. cereals, medical herbs and fruits in “Gujiao is called the Golden Ox 2020. In addition, another 11 pub- tactics for rural revitalization City in honor of a legend of an ox lic brands were launched by vari- who moved a mountain to facilitate ous cities in Shanxi. transportation for the region,” Liu op Yanmen Embroidery into a local help with poverty alleviation and Zan Xiaoguo, 59, is one of the said. “And the Golden Ox is a symbol Wu Jia contributed to this story. industry. rural revitalization. farmers working in the greenhouses. An enthusiast and master of Yan- During a May 25 conference that “Compared with grain farming, men Embroidery, Gao’s initial goal summarized Shanxi’s experiences in vegetables in greenhouses can be was to protect the centuries-old poverty reduction and promoting planted and harvested throughout intangible cultural heritage and pass rural revitalization, officials said the the year,” Zan said. “It means my it down to future generations. She province has achieved success over family can have a stable monthly did this by sharing her skills with the the eight years since the overall cam- income of more than 2,000 yuan.” Developing hallmark younger women in her neighbor- paign for poverty reduction was But this is not the only source of hood. launched. revenue, Zan said. “We are paid land industries, relocating She later found their embroidery They said all of Shanxi’s 3.29 mil- rental on an annual basis and some pe