Wednesday, June 4, 2014

China and Russia

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.


Still a "wow"

China, as is their wont, has censored the event--and its anniversary--extensively.  Meanwhile, at this very moment, Vladimir V. Putin has put forth less than zero effort to hide his country's incursion into Ukraine.

While these events sit firmly in the political sphere rather than my paltry marketing sphere, they do illustrate something about branding.  China, perhaps in some cockeyed nod to Confucianism, has employed broad censorship to enforce a kind of harmony.  They pretend that Tiananmen Square never happened, kind of like an uncle in prison.

Russia, or at least Mr. Putin, wants you to know what they're capable of.