Maotai Wuliangye Guanming Airport cited dispute experts: normal business practices

On May 23, the Yibin Municipal Government of Sichuan Province announced that Yibin Airport will be relocated to a new site and renamed it as “Yibin Wuliangye Airport”. This caused a lot of controversy: Is it not appropriate for the government to build an airport but use the company name in the end? Should we solicit public opinions in advance? The reporter of the China Newcomnet Finance Channel spoke with Zeng Xiangpeng, the brand strategy and marketing consultant.

This is whether the normal business behavior is a win-win situation.

The airport is named after the company. Is this inappropriate? In this regard, Zang Xiangpeng believes that this is a normal business behavior, as long as the parties are willing, it is understandable. The airport is also a commercial structure. It itself has many commercial activities such as advertisements, restaurants, and specialty stores. The use of company title is the same in nature as these.

Zang Xiangpeng said that the reason why this matter aroused so much attention is because the behavior of this company's naming of the airport has not happened in the past. This is the first time it has appeared, and it is an airport that cooperates with a famous company, from the symbol of In a pioneering sense, attention and controversy are also inevitable results.

In the face of the controversy, the Yibin Municipal Government responded that the Sichuan Yibin Airport was renamed “Yibin Wuliangye Airport”, which was approved by the project and will drive the entire Yibin economy to a new level. This is also the first domestic company to use the enterprise. The named airport, Kweichow Moutai Airport will also start construction during the year. In short, the name of Wuliangye can not only increase the popularity of Yibin City, but also expand the influence of Wuliangye. It is a win-win cooperation.

In this regard, Zang Xiangpeng believes that whether or not a win-win situation also requires looking at the conditions and wisdom of both parties, and the final result will take time to evaluate. At present, it is unclear how much Wuliangye will pay for this. If the input is too high and the ratio of input to output is not satisfactory, then the title may not be appropriate, and whether or not win-win is ultimately difficult to determine.

No legal requirement for public comment

As for the names of companies using airports, should they publicly solicit public opinions in advance? Zang Xiangpeng said that there is no legal requirement in this regard, and both parties may worry that openly soliciting opinions will cause a lot of arguments and opposition voices, thus affecting cooperation. It can be said that this is a kind of "preceding attack."

Zang Xiangpeng further explained that Wuliangye is in Yibin and has a strong supporting role. It has found a relative integration point for their cooperation. If Wuliangye goes to another place, it may be even more controversial. In the final analysis, the company’s naming of the airport is still a new thing. Just as the first time a company advertised on television had caused controversy 30 years ago, as the number of such incidents rose, the public would be surprised.

The social status of the title must be considered as a typical failure message. Netizens rushed to the local airport. “If this is all right, Beijing Capital International Airport is called Beijing Quanjude Roast Duck Airport or Niulanshan Erguotou Airport, Qingdao. The airport can also be called Tsingtao Brewery Airport." To this, Zang Xiangpeng said that this is purely a netizen's catharsis on emotional factors. For enterprises, title is still an effective means of spreading corporate branding.

Zang Xiangpeng believes that the most important thing in branding is to consider social influence. It is normal to have objections. But if public opinion and evaluation are one-sided criticism, then title is not appropriate. Moreover, not all public facilities are suitable for crowning. For example, public buildings of political, religious, educational, etc. are not suitable. For example, Zang Xiangpeng said that Jean-Wisby’s title of Tsinghua University’s teaching building is a typical example of a failed title. Although Jeanswest received a high degree of attention through this incident, what he encountered was a consensus of public opinion, which in turn hurt his reputation. Such a title was worthless.