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