ANALYSIS: Advertising - China consumers aren't so very different Advertisers will suffer if they generalise about China.

<p>Perhaps more than any other ad market in the world, received wisdom </p><p>rules in China. Anyone with even a passing acquaintance with the Chinese </p><p>market will know that the rules, strictures and ways of doing things </p><p>that creep into advertising practice the world over are particularly </p><p>well developed there. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It springs from a set of generalisations about the Chinese consumer </p><p>which often go unchallenged: that the Chinese are literal-minded, like </p><p>lots of information in ads and can't deal with subtlety, fantasy or </p><p>metaphor, for example; or that that they like celebrity endorsements and </p><p>advertising that reflects a glamorous, aspirational lifestyle. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The problem is that most of this is patronising and wrong. Chinese </p><p>consumers aren't somehow radically different from consumers elsewhere. </p><p>According to Ad Savvy China, a new piece of research from Leo Burnett, </p><p>Chinese consumers respond to ads in much the same way as anyone </p><p>else. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The research, which was both quantitative (400 interviews in five major </p><p>Chinese cities) and qualitative (11 focus groups in four cities), found </p><p>that most of the myths can pretty easily be debunked. The favourite ads </p><p>by spontaneous mention among the consumers interviewed were all </p><p>multinational brands, with Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald's and Budweiser </p><p>coming out top. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The reasons interviewees gave for liking them were nearly all in direct </p><p>contradiction of received wisdom about Chinese advertising </p><p>preferences. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>An ad in Budweiser's "Ants" series, for example, featuring the insects </p><p>stealing and drinking beer, was widely praised for being memorable; the </p><p>level of fantasy was perfectly acceptable. A Pepsi ad, in which a young </p><p>child asks for football star David Beckham's shirt and then wipes the </p><p>rim of his Pepsi can with it before handing it back, was seen as </p><p>humorous and appropriate - debunking a celebrity, and using a foreign </p><p>one, was fine. Conversely, consumers were sceptical of a Konka phone ad </p><p>starring Chow Yun Fat because the star was deemed to be wrong for the </p><p>brand and in too many other ads, and because the ad gave no USP for the </p><p>product. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>So much for the obsession with celebrity endorsements. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This may be common sense - but even a cursory look at Chinese ads </p><p>reveals that the majority of advertisers haven't caught on yet. They're </p><p>still making all the old assumptions - it's easy to conclude that the </p><p>Chinese are getting the sort of advertising they prefer. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But it's not true. Linda Kovarik, Leo Burnett's senior planner for </p><p>Greater China, believes that the situation has partly sprung up because </p><p>of the dizzying pace of change in the market. "When you start writing </p><p>down dos and don'ts, it's dangerous," she says. "We tend to have it </p><p>fixed in our minds what China's like, but it's changing very quickly, </p><p>and today's behaviour isn't yesterday's." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The assumption that the Chinese want lots of information, for example, </p><p>sprung from the sparseness of advertising in its early days. It was easy </p><p>to achieve cut-through - whatever was on television, sold. Ads were </p><p>believed; then consumers became sceptical; an under-developed market </p><p>caused a thirst for information; and now consumers have that </p><p>information, ads can move onto a more emotional level. That they largely </p><p>haven't is a function of advertisers clinging to assumptions which are </p><p>no longer true. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Dennis Wong, the agency's China/Hong Kong CEO, believes that this </p><p>refusal to drop outdated verities is partly advertiser caution, and </p><p>partly agencies trying to make advertising in China into a black art. "A </p><p>lot of the conservatism is coming from clients," he says. "They're very </p><p>conscious about how they spend their money. Those who are brave can take </p><p>the lead. But also, agencies tried to position themselves as China </p><p>experts. They say: 'You can't do that; you don't understand China.' </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"A lot of people see a unique Chinese culture and think there's a </p><p>certain way of advertising there. But Chinese consumers are no different </p><p>from consumers in other parts of the world, either in developed or </p><p>developing countries." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The marketing industry's tendency to rely on received wisdom about the </p><p>correct way of advertising particular products to particular consumers </p><p>reaches its apogee in China. It means that there's a massive opportunity </p><p>for advertisers to stand out from the crowd - if they're prepared to </p><p>credit consumers with a bit of sophistication. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>ATTITUDE TOWARDS FAVOURITE AD BY CITY </p><p> Guang- Zheng- </p><p> National Shanghai Beijing zhou Chengdu zhou </p><p>My favourite ad Agree 97 99 96 99 96 94 </p><p>presented the </p><p>brand in an Disagree 1 - - - - 4 </p><p>interesting, </p><p>original way </p><p>My favourite ad Agree 85 81 86 94 84 78 </p><p>made me want to </p><p>see the ad again Disagree 2 1 4 - - 4 </p><p>My favourite ad Agree 62 54 63 88 55 53 </p><p>made me change </p><p>my attitude Disagree 16 10 21 1 23 23 </p><p>towards the brand </p><p>My favourite ad Agree 59 49 58 86 50 54 </p><p>made me feel as </p><p>if I wanted to Disagree 13 15 9 3 18 20 </p><p>buy/eat some </p><p>straight away </p><p>My favourite ad Agree 48 33 56 68 41 44 </p><p>made me feel: </p><p>"That's what I'd Disagree 25 38 14 3 40 29 </p><p>like to be" </p><p>My favourite ad Agree 34 20 28 73 13 38 </p><p>made me feel: </p><p>"That could be Disagree 41 53 38 11 63 39 </p><p>me in the ad" </p><p>ATTITUDE TOWARDS MOST DISLIKED ADS </p><p> Gender Age Income </p><p> Total Male Female 15-24 25-34 Low Mid High </p><p>My most disliked Agree 68 65 70 69 67 66 66 71 </p><p>ad presented the </p><p>brand in an </p><p>ordinary Disagree 67 17 13 16 14 11 17 16 </p><p>and boring way </p><p>My most disliked Agree 67 60 73 66 67 68 74 58 </p><p>ad made me feel: </p><p>"That couldn't be Disagree 13 14 11 12 14 11 8 9 </p><p>me in the ad" </p><p>My most disliked Agree 51 50 53 53 50 47 55 52 </p><p>ad made me feel: </p><p>"That's what I'd Disagree 16 17 14 16 16 18 11 19 </p><p>not like to be" </p><p>My most disliked Agree 49 48 49 52 46 44 52 50 </p><p>ad made me never </p><p>want to see the Disagree 15 18 11 14 15 17 12 14 </p><p>ad again </p><p>My most disliked Agree 34 36 31 33 34 35 33 32 </p><p>ad made me change </p><p>my attitude </p><p>towards the Disagree 25 25 25 24 27 24 27 25 </p><p>brand </p><p>My most disliked Agree 31 29 33 34 29 33 33 28 </p><p>ad made me feel </p><p>as if I will </p><p>never want to Disagree 35 37 33 36 35 3 38 33 </p><p>buy/eat the brand </p><p><BR><BR> </p>