The rise of its well-known branded products and the growth of its industrial clusters have played a crucial role in promoting Shandong as China`s second most prosperous province with a 2008 GDP of 3.11 trillion yuan.

Commenting on its success, Wang Junmin, vice-governor of the province, said: "Shandong province is the home to many famous brands in China. The government has successfully implemented a number of brand strategies, all of which enhance the competitiveness of its local products in domestic and overseas markets. They have also provided a dramatic boost for the province`s economy".

Shandong has cultivated a range of well-known brands across several sectors, including manufacturing, innovation, and culture, as well as successfully enhancing its own urban profile. The brand strategy has become one of the key engines for driving the province`s economic growth.

Guo Dalei, an officer with the Shandong Bureau of Technical Supervision, said: "During the 1990s, Shandong was a pioneer in promoting brand awareness in China. In October 2002, the Shandong Famous Brand Strategy Promotion Committee was established and initiated its long-term strategy.

"By the end of 2008, the number of famous brands originated in the province ranked the third in China. Currently, Shandong is home to 266 leading Chinese brands, 1,479 leading Shandong brands, 134 Chinese famous trademarks, 1,676 well-known Shandong trademarks and 203 respected brands in the service sector. Haier refrigerators and washing machine were recently recognized as global-level Chinese brands, two of only 10 Chinese brands to be awarded this distinction."

A large number of world-renowned branded products and businesses have their roots in the province, including Haier, Hisense, Inspur, SinoTruk and Tsingtao beer. In addition, 32 products have acquired the rights to assert their geographical origin, including Yantai apples, Longkou bean vermicelli, Zhanhua winter jujube, Rizhao green tea and Weifang radish.

These recognized brands significantly boost the competitiveness of products made in Shandong in the domestic and overseas markets. According to official statistics, by the end of 2008 the sales revenue of famous-brand businesses accounted for 25.1 percent of turnover of all companies above a certain size across the province, although the number of companies in the sector only accounted for 3.1 percent of the total.

The growth of the branded goods strategy has promoted industrial restructuring across the province and driven the development of its hi-tech manufacturing industry.

Apart from branded products and services, the local government has also sought to build the brand of the region and its cities. In Shandong, 64 percent of its most well-known brands are focused in four cities - Weifang, Yantai, Qingdao, and Weihai.

Assessing the success of the strategy, Zhang Dekuan, a press spokesman for the Shandong provincial government, said: "The provincial government has put forward a series of effective measures to promote brand development. Many preferential policies have been put in place to support brand-friendly businesses in the fields of commerce and technological transformation as part of a bid to enhance their competitiveness."

A new round of economic development plans has seen 422 goods placed on the list of key supported products, accounting for 67.2 percent of the total.

The significant efforts made in developing branded products has spurred business innovation and has driven the establishment of a number of world-famous industrial clusters.

Among these industrial clusters are Qingdao home appliances, Yantai wine, Longkou vermicelli, Guangrao tires, Zibo ceramics, Linqu aluminum alloy sections, Linshu compound fertilizer and a number of others. In Qingdao, "Haier" has become China`s largest home appliances industrial cluster, with 18 leading Chinese brands and 460 supportive manufacturing enterprises.

These achievements have made the authorities in Shandong realize that implementing brand strategy is a key means of weathering the financial crisis and revitalizing the province`s economy. Its 2009 development plan calls for the province to develop 350 leading Chinese brands, 1,800 leading Shandong brands and establish 50 world-class production centers within three years.

Over the next five years, Shandong is set to focus on fostering 200 globally-recognized branded businesses across nine sectors, including iron and steel, automobiles, shipbuilding, petrochemicals, light industry, textiles, non-ferrous metals, equipment manufacturing, and electronic information.

The province is also committed to supporting 58 leading industrial clusters, in a bid to cultivate a raft of high-quality production centers and create a range of regional brands.