Taiwan's Indigenous Bicycle Branding: Naruwan, Welcome To Taiwan

Taokas Bikes

As I was looking over some Facebook feeds last week, something interesting caught my eye. I noticed this little Taiwanese bike company had branded their company with the name "Taokas".

The company elaborates on the name on its website *My translation*:

300 years ago Taokas was a center of indigenous cultural and human resources. Three hundred years later, Taokas has transformed into an important base for the production of bicycles. Over the next three hundred years, Taokas will not only represent Asian bicycle brands, but will become an important symbol of Taiwanese cycling culture.

Taokas is the former name of Dajia, while the lands once belonged to the Taokas settlements of Plains Aborigines. When the first Han Chinese came to the area to open the lands for faming, they asked the local Taokas what the area was called. They said the area was called "Taokas".

As the word Taokas sounds very similar to "Tachia" in Chinese (actually the Taiwanese word Daiga), since that time the names then slowly evolved into "Tachia".

In reverence to the way Dajia nurtured prosperity, We have chosen to take the "Taokas" name for our brand.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, many European and American bike brands have entered the Asian market, but the design concept of the European and Americancars are not suited to Asian needs in bicycle design. Therefore, in order to better suit Asian the ergonomic requirements of the Asian physique, and the intended use of Asian bicycles, we created "Taokas" as a fusion of unique design and manufacturing processes to develop the most suitable Asian bike.

Initially, I was struck that any Taiwanese, outside of academia, actually know the word Taokas. Secondly, I was interested in how the word has taken on a new meaning for this company.

Taokas is an ethnonym that has been used for the groups of indigenous people who lived along the river valleys and alluvial plain between the Da an River and the windswept badlands of Hsinchu. The area around Dajia was once a major hub of Taokas village life.

At various times throughout Taiwan's history the Taokas often played a major role in the development of Qing frontier policy through their alliances and rivalries with other ethnic groups (both indigenous and non-indigenous).

• 1731: In December, excessive corvee, taxation, and anger over government employees casually sleeping with aborigine women leads to the Ta Chia revolt in central Taiwan. Braves from Ta Chia attack sub-prefect Chu at Sha lu, kill his entourage and set fire to the yamen building. As Chu flees south, many settlers are killed in the aboriginal advance toward Changhua. The Ta Chia (Taokas) tribe is joined by two tribes from the Anli (Pazeh) tribal group to defeat Qing troops defending the route to Changhua.

• 1732: The Ta Chia revolt continues as troops are drawn from the south to assist in putting down the rebellion. The absence of military near Feng Shan sparks a minor rebellion of Chu Yi-kui supporters in the south. At the same time a regional official, Ni Hsiang-kai, has five grain transporters killed from the Papora tribes hoping to pass them off as rebels and collect a reward. The killings result in the Papora joining the rebel assault on Changhua. The Babuza tribes join the uprising and the revolt gathers 2,000 aborigine braves in a siege on Changhua city and the surrounding area. The Qing bring up several hundred Hakka braves and enlisted several Honya tribes with the loyal Anli tribe, which fight until a settlement can be reached, but not before much of the surrounding countryside has been devastated.

Rikulau

Despite such a great segue into Taiwanese history, what I really find fascinating about Taokas and other Taiwanese brands, is how often they resort to using indigenous names and symbols in their branding.

Rikulau, the custom frame builder, has built its brand around the Rukai word for Taiwan's near-extinct species of Clouded Leopard.

Rikulau - the legendary sacred animal of the Rukai people (a Taiwanese aboriginal tribe). Rikulau is the name of clouded leopard in their language. 700 years ago, a group of Rukai ancestors followed the footprints a Rikulai to find a forever land for their children. They left the east coast, and went up the stream into the deepest forests of the mountainous ranges of southern Taiwan. And finally, they settled at the foothills of Da-Wu mountain where the footprints of rikulau stopped.

Rikulau is the biggest feline animal in the island of Taiwan. It moves like wind in the deepest forests of the mountainous island. It is the best climber among all wild cats. It is the fairy that bridges the dreams between people and the nature. It is the incarnation of agility, speed and style.

(Note: Rikulau – clouded leopard in aboriginal Rukai language)

Like most branding, the names seek to create a story and a fantasy. The company hopes to make a resounding emotional connection with the consumer that will result in company profits.

For Taiwanese, the image of the indigene has undergone 400 years of transformation in the face of Han and Japanese ethnic hegemony. The list of pejoratives in the official discourse has ranged from, "violent and backward" to " athletic, drunken and benign".

During the 1990's Taiwan experienced a confluence of social, economic and political change that resulted in a reframing of Taiwanese cultural life from outside of the Han Chinese model favored by the Chinese Nationalist state apparatus.

During the economic boom of 1990’s, eco-tourism took off in Taiwan as many of the areas “reserved” for the Indigenes were redesigned to allow city dwellers to escape and explore their own sense of “otherness,” like Marlowe in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Tourists are often treated to demonstrations of indigenous dancing, singing and traditional handicrafts to learn about the “other”.

The general assessment of the value of Indigenes in Taiwanese society echoes a sentiment of the urbanite intent on encapsulating pure authentic primitiveness in which some conceptual balance can be achieved. The urban imagination collects the images of the Indigene and blends them together with scant knowledge of the colonial experience of Taiwan.

The trend of branding bicycles to reflect Taiwan's history of indigenous cultures both seeks to authenticate and differentiate Taiwan and Taiwanese culture as distinct from the cultures of China as a source of local pride.

At the same time these brands exploit the existing memes of Taiwanese indigenous life to reflect the modern Taiwanese exotic fantasy longing for simplicity, freedom and leisure; values often attributed to indigenous cultures on Taiwan that are represented in the trend toward cycling as a leisure activity.

Taroka (Named for the Taroko People)

Tour de Product Placement

An interesting little tidbit came out of Bike Europe the other day involving Taiwan's second largest bicycle manufacture, Merida Bikes, and the company's interest in placing their equipment under the asses of some of the world's top cycling talent as a pro team sponsor.

More factories, more models, especially in 29-ers and racing bikes, as well as more marketing support. There was even talk about participating the Tour de France with a professional team. That will probably happen with the new Merida Scultura SL Team (photo) which, together with a new series of 29-ers, was launched at last weekend’s Merida Dealer & Press Camp in Mallorca.

Merida is better known as a major shareholder in Specialized and the manufacturer of Specialized equipment.

The company's expressed interest in supporting a pro cycling team shows that Merida is looking to jump into the limelight as a stand-alone brand rather than be complacent as simply a Taiwanese OEM/ODM.

As much as the Tour de France is a display of both team and individual cycling prowess, the Tour is also the world's largest vehicle for bicycle marketing. It is in the Tour de France that consumers ogle their favorite teams as the riders splash logos across the television screens for six hour stints.

Several of the bikes in the pro peloton were simple OEM frames a couple years ago or at least much less regarded... until they made their debut at the Tour de France and saw their stock, in the eyes of the consumer, shoot to the stars. Much of the "cred" carried by the Giant TCR Advanced SL revolves around their use by Team Rabobank. It is not that these bikes are any more advanced than many others. It is because the companies have made the expensive investment in branding an image.

It will be an interesting interesting case study as our "little" Taiwanese brand shows if the marketing coup of a Tour appearance can rocket a company into becoming one of the world's more coveted brands.

Giant's Plans for World Domination

A Giant Branded Bike

Taiwan Today is featuring a lengthy article on Taiwan's Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd., which has positioned itself to become the dominant bicycle brand in East Asia.

The article provides a lengthy history of Giant, from OEM to worldwide brand. The most interesting details come at the latter half of the article, which provides some fantastic mid-management speak that sounds like it comes right out of a cheap MBA program.

My favorite comes from Giant spokesman, Jeffery Shiou:

Asked to comment on what makes Giant so unique, Sheu mentioned the company’s complete dedication, since the very beginning, to bicycles. Its goal has been to become a “total cycling solution provider,” Sheu noted.

Despite the management speak, the article provides several points for discussion regarding Giant, branding and positioning itself as a world leader.

Giant also adopted sports marketing techniques to make its quality products better known. “We started to sponsor cyclists in all kinds of international competitions,” said Sheu.

If these cyclists performed well, their cycling equipment and devices would receive widespread media coverage. “That was how foreign customers became familiar with Giant,” he said.

Giant also invited many professional cyclists to test its vehicles and offer tips for improvement. For instance, opinions from these experts helped Giant build its world-renowned carbon fiber bicycles.

So much of sports marketing has to do with selling a fantasy. People care about what the pros are using and hope they too can purchase some magic to become a better cyclist, which beats traditional training any day.

Putting a bike in the pro ranks instantly increases its value. Put one on the podium and the value skyrockets. The rush to carbon fiber bikes is not driven by the pros, but it is driven by the manufacturers who will see increased profit margins with carbon fiber and use the pros to sell bikes. Let's face it... professional racing is about selling products.

Moreover, the company was among the first bicycle brands to produce a line of models especially for females. “Women make up half of the population and their needs should not be ignored,” said Bonnie Tu, Giant’s chief financial officer.

In April 2008, the world’s first female bicycle retail store, which sells Giant bicycles made under its subsidiary brand name Liv, opened in Taipei.

But Giant is not only about selling bikes. More importantly, the leading bicycle brand is devoted to promoting cycling culture.

Giant's View Of Female Cyclists

I think I have made my view of the Liv/Giant campaign abundantly clear. Something I might like to add is that Giant's marketing strategy seems to be focusing on transforming the image of Giant domestically from the proletarian, affordable bike for the masses, to a prestige nameplate that seeks to convey the messages of status, which, in a society with a strong Confucian cultural influence, locates people on a grade-scale that defines social relationships in terms of superiority and inferiority. I think networks of guanxi clearly demonstrate the social function of status within Taiwanese society and how Taiwanese use prestige symbolism to traverse the cleavage between these relationships.

With Giant defining and articulating "cycling culture", backed by its overwhelming presence and close relations with the central government, Giant may have more influence over how cycling culture develops in Taiwan than any other social force. Giant plays a large role in determining which products will be available to the consumer through its ubiquitous Giant retail stores.

“But we are not doing all this to ask people to buy Giant products,” said Sheu. “We just want them to be aware of the benefits of cycling, experience the fun of it all and make it part of their life.”

The foundation may have had a little bit of luck on its side. Many more people in Taiwan have become aware in recent years of the importance of reducing carbon emissions, and bicycles provide a natural solution. Indeed, starting in 2007, more and more people have taken to using bicycles as a daily means of transportation.

The first sentence above should be taken with a grain of salt. They are a business, and businesses want to make money and sell their product. Giant wants to sell a product... they are out to expand the market and gain market share. In the positive side, a company with a presence like Giant provides the opportunity for other component manufacturers to build partnerships with Giant and build brand awareness.

In spite of its many accomplishments, Giant has no intention of resting on its laurels. The quest to become the best bicycle company in the world drives it ever forward.

My final thought on Giant is the fact that Giant, as both a manufacturer and retailer, has the ability to exploit its vast supply networks and political relationships to squeeze out the alternatives. I know several small and dedicated bike shops that are under increasing pressure from the lower price points available from Giant.

These small, independent stores have been the centers of local cycling culture on Taiwan for decades where cyclists could gather and build community. These little shops are poised to suffer from the "Walmartization" of Taiwan's cycling retailers. If Giant does succeed in driving out the local independent retailer, Taiwan's unique cycling culture will suffer an important loss and the choices will be greatly limited.

We need a strong system of locally based independent retailers in our communities and I would encourage everyone to support their local bike shop over the Giant retailer where our money goes back into the community.