Why Vivo could be China's first global super-brand

Will smartphone maker Vivo Electronics Corp be China's first super-brand in the mold of, say, Apple Inc of the US, Sony Corp of Japan and Ikea of Sweden? The question might appear a bit premature, even impertinent, but Vivo's maverick approach to business development, bold brand building and global ambitions warrant it.

Brands such as Xiaomi, Lenovo, Gionee and Huawei are more well-known than Vivo outside China. But I see that changing quickly. Vivo, it appears, is playing a different ball game to reach the top of the heap, and is also changing how the world perceives and treats Chinese brands.

Vivo, it is believed, may have splurged some $23 million on a two-year title-sponsorship of the Indian Premier League. IPL is India's pre-eminent shortest-format franchise cricket tournament that features players from most of the cricket-playing world, which spans the two hemispheres and stretches from New Zealand to the Caribbean and the United Kingdom, and hence has global appeal, like the English and Spanish football leagues.