“Japanese innovation” that’s actually from Finland, Korea or America

Apparently, young Americans have little or no idea of where the best innovation in the world is taking place. When in doubt, they simply assume innovative high-tech products come from Japan or the U.S. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent on global marketing campaigns, European and Asian technology companies are having a tough time differentiating themselves from their U.S. and Japanese rivals.

According to a survey on technology brands conducted by Anderson Analytics, 53% percent of U.S. college students thought Finnish cell phone company Nokia was Japanese, 58% thought Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung was Japanese, and 56% thought Korean car manufacturer Hyundai was Japanese. For that matter, 42% of the students thought that Motorola was Japanese! (Maybe it’s all those “Hello Moto” commercials?)

No wonder that when it came to expressing a preference for MP3 players, cellphones, video games, stereo equipment and cars, people overwhelmingly showed a predilection for Japanese products. Which led the head of Anderson Analytics to conclude, “For the most part, this next generation of educated American consumers

either have no clue where the brands they use come from or simply

assume everything comes from the United States, Japan or Germany.”

[image: Most Preferred Countries of Origin via Trendspotter]