In a radically different social context, mass market beauty brands should still help lower-income women be “admired” as a great mom or adored wife. Even beer must deliver something. In Western countries, “letting the good times roll,” or "making weekends great" is enough. Fun is fun. In China, pilsner must: 1) bring people together, 2) reinforce trust, and 3) optimize opportunity for mutual (financial) gain.
Automobiles, now a “must buy” for those who aspire to join the hallowed ranks of the new middle class, should make a statement about a man on the way up. Sport cars - i.e., visceral thrill vehicles -- are not big sellers.
BMW, a Middle Kingdom winner, elegantly fuses its global “Ultimate Driving Machine” with a Chinese declaration of ambition. Passat, Honda, Toyota, Ford and Buick have all been positioned, clumsily or shrewdly, as status vessels.
DeBeers achieved 80% penetration of engagement rings by morphing universal passion inherent in “A Diamond is Forever” into Confucian “proof” that “commitment will last a lifetime.”
Display and business models. The importance of public display is also a critical consideration in shaping business models. Starbucks in China is not a comfortable environment -- i.e., an urban retreat -- in which coffee is sipped. To conform to Chinese tastes, the company: (a) broadened the sandwich menu, (b) identified prime site-to-be-seen real estate, and (c) expanded average store size.
From Day One, Starbucks successfully established itself as a public place in which professional tribes gather to linger, snack, and, most importantly, proclaim affiliation with the New Generation Elite. Likewise, both Pizza Hut and Haagen Dazs have built mega-franchises rooted in out-of-home consumption. (No Chinese is willing to pay US$4.50 to eat a pint of ice cream watching an illegal DVD.)
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
Chinese, irrespective of income or geography, are overwhelmed -- yet excited -- by the explosion of brands, both local and international, all of which are vessels of Han aspiration. Twenty years ago, the public phone was the only way to make a telephone call; today, there are over 300 brands of mobile devices, ranging from US$30 basic models to state-of-the-art smart phones.
Making matters worse, China’s media landscape is extremely cluttered. According to one
MindShare study, the average Shanghainese is exposed to three times as many ads in one day as UK consumers. Any first time visitor to Beijing will be stunned by the eye-popping glitter of the city’s media landscape. Television screens, most owned by Focus Media, are ubiquitous -- in taxis, elevators, restaurants, building tops, locker rooms and bathroom stalls.
Direct is best. Complicated messages, therefore, are not easily digested, even amongst the most brand-literate subsets of the population (i.e., youth, middle class, and residents of primary coastal cities). Consistent messages must be conveyed directly, with as little cognitive processing as possible. Advertising must take pains to be ruthlessly single minded via: visualization of the key benefit, leveraging demos as creative ideas, slice of life formats revolving around torture tests and so on.
Celebrities must be carefully selected so that their star attributes reinforce a core brand proposition. In nine cases out of 10, celebrities should be Chinese. Unlike Japanese, mainlanders are profoundly nationalistic and relatively unfamiliar with Caucasian personalities, with the exception of superstars.
Mass media still king. To conform to the simplicity mandate, heavy mass media -- yes, passively consumed -- is essential. China’s untamed landscape requires forming brands from scratch. Television fits this bill by being flexible enough to forge broad-stroke equity and brand character. In addition, it still boasts unrivalled reach, despite high CPM – cost per thousand ad views – rates.
Digital media, actively digested, is increasingly critical to deepening engagement and loyalty. But even for high-involvement/heavy search categories such as autos and financial services, mass media will remain centre-of-the-plate for years to come.
2010, Sep 07 
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