Chinese Companies to America: What do you people want from us??

China’s top manufacturers have established themselves as the go-to source for consumer electronics distributors and retailers. So why can’t they seem to stand up for themselves in the American marketplace? Americans can rattle off names of Japanese and Korean CE companies, but very few U.S. consumers could name even one Chinese brand, much less recognize a Chinese company’s mascot or slogan. (Here’s a test: Name the company with the tag line, “Science has feeling if love exists!” That’d be the Chinese electronics giant, Hisense.)

Two of China’s top CE companies, Haier and Hisense, met with a delegation from CEA this week during SincoCES in Qingdao, China, trying to figure out how to show up on the radar of American consumers. “We are just not yet well informed about the U.S. market,” Haier’s president, Ms. Yang Mian Mian, said to the delegation. “What information can you give us?”

The CEA delegation, including Audiovox founder and chairman John Shalam, dished out advice about marketing strategy and the types of products Americans value these days. Taking furious notes, Haier’s executives started suggesting products...would Americans like more solar powered mobile devices? How about a washing machine that doesn’t require any detergent? The consensus around the meeting tableswas that “innovation” (as opposed to producing knock-offs) and more savvy marketing will help Chinese companies give Sony, Samsung and Sharp a run for their money