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