Branding is in its infancy in China. Few Chinese companies have experience developing international brands. Unlike in the West, where a huge industry of consultants help companies pick unique names and logos and build images. The lack of branding would prove to hurt corporate interests in the long run, The Wall Street Journal reported. Many Chinese companies "feel safer following someone who's established rather than striking out on their own" in terms of branding, says the paper, quoted David Wolf, chief executive officer of Wolf Group Asia, as saying. "There seems to be an institutional lack of confidence." Chris Reitermann, managing director of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising in Beijing, attributes the various mimicries to inexperience and lack of originality. "A lot of Chinese companies don't put much effort into the name they choose," he says. "There's not a lot of thought behind it." Chinese companies can also be reluctant to pay for brand-consulting services as they focus on absorbing new technologies and mastering production techniques in a rapidly growing domestic market. "Often, Chinese executives don't feel the need to invest a lot of money" in developing brand names and images, says Neil Hudspeth, who heads the Asia operations of global branding agency Enterprise IG. "They don't like to pay for services." That is changing, however, as Chinese consumers become more sophisticated: "The appetite among consumers for brands is growing faster than corporate awareness," Mr. Hudspeth says.