A television commercial shows Asians and Westerners sitting cross-legged on the tatami floor of an old-style drinking establishment. It's a raucous party lead by celebrities and everyone is cheering 'ching', which is the 'tsing' in Tsingtao, meaning 'green island', but in Taiwan it also carries the meaning of 'fresh'.
"The idea is people from all over the world having fun, said Peter Tsai, deputy general manager of Taiwan Tsing Beer Corp (TTBC), a joint-venture of Tsingtao Beer and Taiwan's Sanyo Whisbih Group. TTBC created the spot inhouse, relying on the production studio of its parent, Sanyo Whisbih, a distributor of a health elixir.
Tsai said the brand would be making a heavy investment in Taiwan as it was eyeing a three to five per cent share of the market, with most of the growth coming at the expense of market leader, Tiger Beer.
However, Tiger, which claims an 85 per cent market share, will likely increase its adspend significantly to counter Tsingtao. Last year, it spent just NT$12.7 million (US$370,000), compared with a total market spend of $282 million.
