Quantity is king in Gai Zhong Gai's all-out advertising blitz

In an aggressive "quantity versus quality" advertising campaign, calcium tonic Gai Zhong Gai, produced by the Sixth Harbin Pharmaceutical Factory (SHPF) has witnessed a significant increase in brand awareness since the production launched last June. According to a report, an average of 60 per cent of TV viewers said they have seen the commercial an average of 20 times, while 40 per cent said they see it every day. The campaign's complete disregard for consumer target groups was unusual, as was its approach of addressing as many people as possible without paying all that much attention to the audience it reached. Unlike other consumer brands, the tonic does not purchase fixed TVC timeslots, but negotiates a mutually acceptable price with TV stations for a maximum amount of airtime bought at bulk discount. Since the launch of its campaign, Gai Zhong Gai liquid tonic and pills TVCs are being promoted all over China, appearing on 84 channels in 34 cities across the country, making it a product with extensive coverage, broadcasting frequency and adspend investment. In June 2000, Gai Zhong Gai's total TVC adspend reached RMB182.18 million, while its commercial's were on air for 761,752 seconds, reaching a broadcasting frequency of 32,874, according to reports in China Business. While the aggressive strategy has achieved its goal of increasing brand awareness for the product, it has also been debated amongst industry professionals and audiences alike. Complaints from viewers focused on the over-saturation and weak creative ideas of the campaign, which has used Chinese actors including Gong Li and Pu Chunxin to promote the brand. A TVC with Gong Li brought Gai Zhong Gai close to a lawsuit when the famous actress reads a letter from a female student who attends a Project Hope school, a public welfare programme which aims at bringing poor students back to school, telling her that she and her classmates are all taking the tonic which Gong Li donated to the school. The TVC caused an outcry from viewers, who demanded to know if the project's sponsor, the China Youth Development Foundation, had participated in the commercial promotion of the liquid tonic. At the same time, industry professionals questioned the lack of media research and targeted TVC placement at a time when audience profiles and ratings are becoming increasingly sophisticated and readily available. While the company may not be employing the most sophisticated and original ideas and research tools at hand, sales of the product are up over last year. According to reports, sales revenue during the first quarter reached RMB2.1 billion, double that of the same period last year. Meanwhile, sales revenue for the first half-year nearly hit RMB4 billion, last year's total revenue. This year, SHPF adspend will reach RMB1.1 billion, while it is estimated that the whole sales volume is expected to reach RMB8 billion. Source: CMM Intelligence.

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