Doing Business in China For Dummies®

Advertising

Chinese consumers are usually receptive to advertising (if done right). However, reaching them through TV and other mass media can be very costly. Fortunately, China offers a number of effective but less expensive advertising alternatives. The following sections tell you how to arrange effective advertising.

Keeping the message simple and obvious

The nice thing for foreign companies advertising in China is that Chinese aren’t as cynical about ads as Westerners are. Advertising in China seems to reflect an age of innocence similar to the post-WWII U.S. There’s little subtlety in conveying the message in advertising in China. Make the message simple and obvious.

Catering to aspirations of wealth

Effective advertising in China often caters to aspirations of obtaining a wealthy, luxurious lifestyle (frequently in a nouveau riche sense) — even for mass-market products. Chinese consumers associate a wealthy lifestyle with images of modern home interiors decorated with designer furniture (often in various shades of white), accessorized with grand pianos and gilded objects.

Advertisements promoting premium products tend to be somewhat over-thetop. Cheryl Chong, a former advertising professional with J. Walter Thompson in Beijing, tells the story of a high-profile campaign she once produced as marketing director for a mobile phone company in China. One commercial featured ...