BRANDSTATS: Word-of-mouth influences choice

<p>Marketers scrambling to get their latest campaigns on the small screen </p><p>will be dismayed to hear that word-of-mouth recommendations are the </p><p>dominant influencer in brand selection among Chinese consumers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Research agency NFO found that recommendations from friends and family </p><p>was key to convincing Chinese consumers to switch and buy a certain </p><p>brand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In ranking the importance of the seven key influencers in brand </p><p>selection, NFO gave a score of 10 for most influential and one for least </p><p>influential. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Word-of-mouth recommendation achieved scores of more than seven per cent </p><p>across China's three commercial hubs. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Next on the score chart is the history of the brand, which emerged as </p><p>the most important criteria in Guangzhou. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Respondents in the city gave this criteria a score of close to eight per </p><p>cent, putting it ahead of word-of-mouth recommendations. Television's </p><p>role as the key media influencer is not unexpected although the format </p><p>of commercial breaks - 20-minute slots between programmes - and the </p><p>serious issue of clutter may impact its effect in the future. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Television advertising has the biggest impact in influencing brand </p><p>decisions in Shanghai. Respondents gave TV advertising the highest score </p><p>achieved in the research, putting this influencer ahead of word-of-mouth </p><p>recommendations and a brand's history. Even newspaper advertising </p><p>exerted more influence on Shanghai consumers than the history of the </p><p>brand. Newspaper advertising scored a 6.4 per cent rating in Shanghai </p><p>against the overall average of close to six per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Consumers in Guangzhou are more in likely to be influenced by web-based </p><p>advertising. Web advertising rated a score of 4.5 per cent in Guangzhou </p><p>compared with just 2.5 per cent in Shanghai and an overall average of </p><p>3.6 per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Among the various media, radio predictably received the lowest scores - </p><p>it managed an average score of 4.3 per cent, with Guangzhou consumers </p><p>being least susceptible to radio advertising. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>THE INFLUENCE ON CHINESE CONSUMER BRAND CHOICE </p><p> Total Guangzhou Shanghai Beijing </p><p> Average </p><p> Score </p><p>Word of mouth recommendation 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.3 </p><p>History of the brand 7.0 7.8 5.8 7.3 </p><p>Adverts on tv 7.0 6.3 8.1 6.6 </p><p>Adverts in newspapers 5.8 5.1 6.4 5.8 </p><p>Adverts in magazines 5.1 5.1 4.9 5.2 </p><p>Adverts on radio 4.3 3.7 4.5 4.8 </p><p>Adverts on the internet 3.6 4.5 2.5 3.8 </p><p><BR><BR> </p>