Xinhua Net – Brand Agriculture, Stories of China

On September 3, the Second China Agricultural Brand Communication Strategy Symposium and the China Agricultural Brand Story Resource Promotion Conference, hosted by CCTV‑7’s Agriculture Channel and organized by Siweidao International Culture & Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd., was held at the China Agricultural Film and Television Center. More than 200 participants attended, including relevant leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture, experts and scholars from research institutions and universities, as well as representatives from several leading agribusinesses. Under the theme “Brand‑Driven Agriculture, Stories of China,” the attendees focused on agricultural product branding and innovation, engaging in an in-depth discussion on strategies for uncovering and nurturing brand value, shaping and safeguarding brand identity, and advancing brand development.

Sun Zhonghua, Chief Agronomist of the Ministry of Agriculture, and Zhao Zekun, Party Secretary and Director of the China Agricultural Film and Television Center, attended the conference and delivered remarks. Zhang Huarong, Director of the Center for Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products under the Ministry of Agriculture; Hu Xiaoyun, Director of the Brand Research Center at the Institute of Communication Studies, Zhejiang University; Huang Bin, Executive President of Hubei Xinyangfeng Fertilizer Co., Ltd.; and Lu Shouzun, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Nongda Fertilizer Technology Co., Ltd., each gave keynote speeches. Lü Liang, Director of the Advertising Department of CCTV‑7’s Agriculture Channel, and Du Hewei, Director of the Strategic Planning Center at Siweidao Media, served as representatives of the organizing entities and presented their respective resources.

In his address, Sun Zhonghua, Chief Agronomist of the Ministry of Agriculture, stated that strengthening brand promotion and publicity is a crucial measure for continuously expanding and enhancing agricultural brands. He noted that the Ministry is focusing on stabilizing grain production, increasing farmers’ incomes, adjusting the agricultural structure, and shifting toward higher quality, greater efficiency, and more sustainable practices. Guided by the development principles of brand‑driven production, industrialized operations, and branded marketing, the Ministry is accelerating the cultivation of a portfolio of agricultural brands that are distinctive, diverse in type, and endowed with strong core competitiveness.

Zhao Zekun, Party Secretary and Director of the China Agricultural Film and Television Center, outlined the innovations and changes in program planning and viewership patterns among CCTV‑7’s agricultural programming. He highlighted key branded initiatives such as the Agricultural Products Carnival, emphasizing that the channel will further intensify promotion of agricultural products, accelerate supply‑side reform of its agricultural content, and explore integrated media platforms. By partnering with agribusinesses, CCTV‑7 aims to make brand‑building more professional, targeted, and effective. In his address, Zhang Huarong, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs’ Center for Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products, presented an overview of the development of China’s geographical indications for agricultural products. He proposed a four‑pronged strategy—cultivation, management, protection, and dissemination—to advance the creation of GI‑based brands. He argued that developing geographical indications for agricultural products supports green agricultural development, safeguards distinctive local resources, drives supply‑side reform, enhances the quality and efficiency of modern agriculture, and strengthens both the competitiveness of agricultural products and the overall economic performance of the sector.

Hu Xiaoyun, Director of the Brand Research Center at the Institute of Communication Studies of Zhejiang University, addressed the issue of consumer‑driven brand value creation in her presentation. She noted that, by taking industry characteristics into account and positioning the brand as its central identifier, it is essential to gain a deep understanding of the current broader consumption landscape, conduct thorough observations, and devise differentiated competitive strategies. This approach enables the creation of sensory experiences that engage all five human senses—color, sound, aroma, taste, and texture—thereby satisfying consumers’ multifaceted expectations and fostering a strong brand‑related cognitive awareness. Fulfilling consumers’ sense of brand value lays a solid foundation for brand building and represents a pivotal, core element in realizing brand equity.

Huang Bin, Executive President of Hubei Xinyangfeng Fertilizer Co., Ltd., shared the company’s perspectives and insights on brand development and building. He pointed out that, at present, the most pressing issue facing China’s agricultural products—and the broader food industry—is the erosion of consumer trust in product quality, triggered by incidents such as “red‑heart eggs” and contaminated milk powder. Accordingly, the primary task and core objective of agricultural brand building is to restore consumer confidence in brands, thereby earning consumers’ trust in agricultural brands—and, by extension, in the agricultural products associated with those brands. Such trust will stimulate purchasing behavior, helping enterprises capture market share and realize brand‑driven value.

Lu Shouzun, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Nongda Fertilizer Technology Co., Ltd., stated in his speech that the company has innovatively implemented a series of measures in brand promotion and agrochemical services, effectively addressing numerous challenges faced by local farmers and large-scale growers in agricultural production. He emphasized that the company has also undertaken pilot demonstration projects on humic acid, jointly conducted by the National Agricultural Extension Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Shandong Nongda Fertilizer Technology Co., Ltd. According to reports, this initiative represents a nationwide experimental and demonstration program spanning ten provinces and twenty-seven counties, coordinated by the National Agricultural Extension Center of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Lü Liang, Director of the Advertising Department at CCTV‑7’s Agriculture Channel, believes that, amid the current agricultural policy landscape, Chinese agricultural brands are facing unprecedented opportunities, and their rise is an inevitable outcome of this broader era. From a media perspective, she highlighted the platform value and resource advantages of CCTV‑7’s Agriculture Channel, offering a detailed analysis of its brand‑promotion potential in terms of reach and viewership, credibility, program quality, targeting precision, and cost‑effectiveness. She added that CCTV‑7 will leverage a full‑media ecosystem to meet clients’ diverse needs for interactive brand communication.

Du Hewei, Director of the Sīwéi Dào Media Planning Center, presented the “In-Depth Solution for Chinese Agricultural Brand Stories.” To help Chinese agricultural brands gain global recognition, CCTV‑7, the Agriculture Channel of China Central Television, has launched a special series titled “Chinese Agricultural Brand Stories.” According to reports, this series is a prime‑time, long‑form advertising feature on CCTV‑7, conceived and exclusively managed by Sīwéi Dào Media. Its aim is to identify enterprises and entrepreneurs who have made outstanding contributions to agriculture in the new era and who shoulder a historic responsibility for global food security, telling their brand stories through short documentary‑style vignettes that chronicle the rise of our times. By doing so, it creates a new platform for promoting Chinese agricultural brands and comprehensively addresses the needs of modern agricultural development.

During the interactive session of the seminar, Zhao Zekun, Party Secretary and Director of the China Agricultural Film and Television Center; Hu Xiaoyun, Director of the Brand Research Center at the Institute of Communication, Zhejiang University; Huang Bin, Executive President of Hubei Xinyangfeng Fertilizer Co., Ltd.; Zhang Kaimiao, Chairman of Enshi Guangtai Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.; and Zhu Hongxu, Deputy General Manager of Noblepharm (China) Chemical Co., Ltd., discussed the challenges and corresponding strategies in agricultural brand building, focusing on topics such as “Can agricultural products overcome the ‘sales bottleneck’ through brand development?,” “How can we create ‘internet‑celebrity’ agricultural products in the ‘Internet Plus’ era?,” and “How should agricultural brands tell their stories?”

Brand-building is an intrinsic requirement for advancing agricultural modernization and a key driver of China’s agricultural sector going global. In recent years, the country has witnessed a surge in brand‑driven initiatives in agriculture, which has emerged as a major highlight of modern agricultural development. Accelerating the development of agricultural brands has become an urgent task for transforming the mode of agricultural growth and rapidly promoting agricultural modernization.

The organizer of this event, Siweidao Media, is a professional agency specializing in agricultural brand development and communications, as well as an esteemed CCTV advertising agency. For many years, Siweidao Media has been dedicated to advancing agricultural branding, developing cutting-edge solutions for optimizing brand communication, and leveraging its expert team in brand building and promotion. Through these efforts, the company has made significant contributions to China’s drive toward agricultural branding and the modernization of its agricultural sector.