early one hundred scholars and specialists attended the 6th Forum of Young Branding Scholars which was recently held at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU). The forum involved in-depth discussions on brand communication in the era of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC).

AIGC uses Big Data to analyze users' behaviors and preference to target the audience and generate their personalized ads. This helps the advertisers understand and satisfy the users' need efficiently and precisely.

Several scholars pointed out that China study research in using AIGC in the fields of advertising may not be systematic and in-depth.

Jiang Feng, the Secretary of SISU Party Committee stressed the importance of improving academic ability of Chinese scholars during the opening ceremony. "This is the base of China's international communication. We will establish multilingual websites to spread the academic research of Chinese scholars in the future," he said.

Zhao Xinli, Dean of Communication University of China Advertising Institute, expressed his concern on the development tendencies of branding research. He also encouraged young scholars to explore new fields of China's brand communication.

In order to promote academic exchange and enhance scholarly capabilities, the forum was established, covering various research fields related to advertising and branding.

"It provides a suitable platform for Chinese brand communication to go international. Image of the country will affect the image of its local brands, so we should pay attention to China's image," according to Li Huajun, the vice dean of Journalism and Information Communication School of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

During the main forum，Guo Ke, dean of SJC of SISU, shared his research on China's image highlighting its significance in international communication. “Globalized cooperation and innovation will improve China's academic image.”

Several scholars shared their opinions on new challenges in branding academic innovation.

Lin Shengdong, professor of Renmin University of China，shared his opinion on brand management with “A Brief History of Brand Thoughts” as an example. He said that cultural differences and regime in specific areas will make great impact on brand impression.

Chen Anqi, a postgraduate of advertising from SISU who communicated with Professor Lin, said," I will trace the source of each theory in the future. It's not only about the literature review, but to think from different perspective such as the root, the cultural difference. This will bring me more unexpected findings and a better understanding of the theory."

Chen Subai, a professor from Xiamen University, talked about the issues on the exposure of personal information and safety of individual privacy.

More than 50 specialists and young scholars shared their essays on brand communication during the forum. The essays are mainly focused on the difference between China's and foreign brands, ethical issues in advertising and the importance of using AIGC in branding properly.

China has different branding values with foreign country due to the different cultural background and media environment. Scholars talked about how to promote domestic brands abroad more efficiently and systematically. They also discussed brand ethics and privacy safety in Big Data, focusing on the invasion of privacy, acceptance of AI-generated advertising and gender bias in job advertisement.

Wang Zihan, a lecturer of SJC of SISU, who hosted one of the sub-forums, said that she thought about the boundary between audience and advertisers after communicating with several professors.

SISU students were inspired by the forum and achieved a more comprehensive understanding of academic research.

“I realized that advertisers should take social responsibility and sustainable development into consideration when using technology in brand communication,” said Tang Haoxuan, a postgraduate in SISU’s SJC.