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Genghis Khan rules corporate branding
in Ulan Bator. Some Mongolian
legislators want to put a lid on it.

You don't want to get into an argument about branding with these guys.

The winters in Mongolia are among the coldest on earth. After a day in the wooden saddle on a short and stubby Mongolian horse--they gave the Mongol
warriors a tactical advantage because it was easy to jump on and off--you are ready for a feast of mutton cooked with hot rocks. Followed of course, by downing shots of vodka. You will be in good company if you want to curl
up in your ger (a felt tent) with a bottle of Genghis Khan vodka. But wait a minute. Take a stroll through a Mongolian liquor store and you will find half a dozen different brands of vodka, all sporting the good-natured face
of Genghis Khan. This is no way to run a country built on a breed of
disciplined warriors.

Marketing Discipline Would Be No Stranger to Genghis Khan.

Genghis Khan was a corporate man through and through. His army was based on the decimal system. 10 soldiers to each arban, 100 soIdiers to each jaghun, 1000 soldiers to each mingghan, 10,000 soldiers to each tumen. Every unit of ten men was a very close-knit family. No transfers allowed. Every soldier had at least five horses. Get the idea? These guys drank horse blood and didn’t change their underwear; they meant business. So a little branding discipline would have been a piece of cake for them.

Legislators Want a Branding Strategy For Genghis Khan.

The lawmakers in Ulan Bator are concerned that everybody and his brother will be branding their products with their fearless leader from way back when. Not only are there Genghis Khan brands of vodka and beer, but there are now Genghis Khan tourist agencies, restaurants, and household products. So the parliament is debating a law that would allow the government to license his image and his name and to decide which of many existing portraits will be the real Genghis Khan. E. Bat-Uul, a member of parliament, puts the problem succinctly. “If today someone produces toilet paper with Genghis Khan’s name, we do not know what to do about it as currently there
is no law to prevent it.”