The city of Gujiao releases its public brand of Golden Ox on May 18. WU LIUHONG/FOR CHINA DAILY

To enhance market recognition of local products, many regions in North China's Shanxi province have invented an innovative marketing strategy called "public brands".

A public brand is similar to geographical indication－and GI itself also falls into the public brand category－but not limited to a certain variety of products, according to local officials.

In recent years, Shanxi has promoted seven provincial public brands for its products like millet, herbal tea and matured vinegar.

"Such provincial-level public brands are mostly related to agricultural products," a local official said. "They are of great significance to rural revitalization."

On May 18, the city of Gujiao released its public brand Golden Ox to cover more than 30 products in eight categories.

"With its coverage of various industries, the public brand of Golden Ox marked a breakthrough in local marketing strategy," said Liu Jinchun, mayor of Gujiao.

He said the public brand is inspired by the local traditional culture.

"Gujiao is called the Golden Ox City in honor of a legend of an ox who moved a mountain to facilitate transportation for the region," Liu said. "And the Golden Ox is a symbol of the locals' enterprising spirit."

The Golden Ox brand highlights such agricultural products as hazelnut, sea buckthorn fruit and medical herbs.

A trade fair was also held during the public brand's release. Agreements were signed for product transactions with a combined value of 21.5 million yuan ($3.36 million).

At the 12th Expo Central China held in Taiyuan from May 21-23, the Golden Ox-branded products attracted much attention from visitors.

Gujiao is not the first city in Shanxi to release cross-industry public brands.

In September 2020, the city of Linfen in southern Shanxi released its "Linfen Quality" public brand, which covers more than 40 products in agriculture and tourism industries.

Boosted by the branding strategy, Linfen realized online sales of 113 million yuan and offline sales of 430 million yuan last year for its high-quality agricultural products.

Shanxi aims to use the public brands to promote rural revitalization.

It released four provincial public brands for such products as cereals, medical herbs and fruits in 2020. In addition, another 11 public brands were launched by various cities in Shanxi.