Mark Stocker, a brand consultant and strategist who has lived in Taiwan for 28 years, has invented a new kind of name stamp by combining Chinese characters with precision machinery in an effort to increase global awareness of Taiwanese culture.
Products made in Taiwan are of good quality, but the marketing is weak, said Stocker, who comes from the US and has long provided marketing advice from a Western perspective to Taiwanese firms.
Stocker decided to come to Taiwan to study Chinese at age 22, after a job offer in Japan was canceled, he said, adding that he has been surprised that he had stayed ever since.
Six months after his arrival, he started working at a bicycle company and noticed that local firms’ marketing, including the visual and overall presentation, often were not striking enough for Westerners, Stocker said.
“Confidence and passion are what Taiwan lacks,” he said, adding that the experience has inspired him to dedicate his career to improving brand marketing in Taiwan.
Stocker said that he has always had an eye for interesting customs, and that one day he became aware of the Eastern custom of using a name stamp — instead of a signature — as he passed an old, shabby stamp store.
Believing that more value could be added to this meaningful cultural difference, Stocker said that he created a name stamp for his personal design brand, Kuan (款), but that, unlike traditional stamps, his had removable inkable emblems.
Name stamps can be made to have different appearances, and not just match tradition, he said, adding that he designed his stamps to have a luxury fashion brand appeal.
Local designers should find ways to amplify and promote Taiwanese culture, which has great value, instead of blindly following what Western designers do, he added.
Identifying local specialties can be a first step, he said, citing the example of name stamps, which have been used for 3,000 years.
In using market-oriented approaches rather than product-oriented ones, Taiwanese firms can design products with qualities that can change the market environment, he said.
“Taiwan-made products are really of great quality,” he said, adding that confidence and passion are also critical to great success.
