Jason Yu is a seasoned expert in consumer insights and media marketing, with nearly 30 years of experience in industry research and consulting. He currently leads the overall operations and management of CTR Market Research. Having worked extensively in China, the UK, and across the Asia-Pacific region in market research and strategic consulting, he draws on a wealth of domestic and international experience to help clients achieve sustainable growth and innovation breakthroughs. Jason also serves as Chairman and Managing Director of CSM Media Research.
As different retail channels come to play distinct roles in consumers’ minds—some representing value for money, others curated quality, and still others speed and instant fulfillment—the core question for brands has shifted accordingly. The challenge is no longer “where to sell,” but how a brand is understood and remembered within each channel.
Within this discussion, we will explore how brands can rebuild their product portfolios and channel strategies based on their positioning in consumer mindsets: which products should serve as vehicles for brand meaning, and which are designed to drive scale and efficiency; how supply-chain flexibility can support the differing rhythms and requirements of each channel; and how deeper forms of brand–retailer co-creation can establish clear and enduring divisions of cognitive roles.
In a highly diversified channel landscape, brands with true growth potential no longer attempt to cover every channel with a single, undifferentiated product. Instead, they learn to express a consistent brand identity through differentiated, intelligible product offerings, tailored to the specific logic of each channel.