MODERN MARKETING
Censorship of programming continues even now . Thus , Chinese consumers have long trusted the informal word of mouth within their social network more than any other means of communication . Over the last decade , the digital revolution has massively boosted the scale and speed of this social exchange of information and opinion . It is like Chinese whispers on steroids .
Product proliferation ,
2 contamination and counterfeiting : Chinese consumers are faced with a huge amount of new products , some of which are in categories they have never tried before . Mouthwash for example is used by less than 10 % of Chinese households . Additionally , counterfeiting and sub-standard manufacturing are not uncommon . Thus knowing that somebody trusted has had a positive experience with a new product is a huge reassurance .
A Culture of fitting in : “ A nail that
3 sticks out gets hammered in ” might be a Japanese proverb but it applies equally in China . In general , people find comfort and security in ‘ group think ’ and following ( as opposed to leading ). Individualism is not as prized as in the West . Taking cues from what others around you are consuming is the norm .
MASSIVE PAID MEDIA INFLATION MAKES EARNED WOM EVEN MORE CRITICAL FOR BRAND OWNERS In a market like China , where the challenge facing multimational companies ( MNC ) is habit change and habit creation , marketers need a medium which has high reach , high depth and is also trusted . Historically TV advertising has played that role in most markets . However brands in China have faced double-digit annual inflation in TV media costs for the last 10 years . Even MNCs with deep pockets cannot afford to support their brands with regular TV support beyond the Top 20-25 cities ( which account for only 20 % of the population ). For example , Johnson & Johnson ’ s leading skincare brand Neutrogena is supported with TV advertising in only the Top 6 cities . To stand-out and take share from well entrenched players like P & G ’ s Olay and L ’ Oreal , it needs to cut through with heavy media weights . However even maintaining SOV in the current 6 cities is challenging , leave alone extending TV support to new cities . To maintain media weights , companies have cut copy length . China is now one of the few markets in the world where the majority of Consumer Packaged Goods ( CPG ) TV media spend is on 15sec ads and not the traditional 30sec . In short , brands are in a
catch-22 situation . Without massive media spend they cannot grow , and without growth they cannot fund the media spend . Marketers are thus increasingly looking at activities , which can generate “ earned ” media or put simply create buzz .
MOST WOM MARKETING IN CHINA IS CURRENTLY TACTICAL AND LOW ROI Marketers in China are well aware of the massive influence of WOM in their categories . However most WOM marketing activity currently in China reflects the old broadcast model mentality , even though it is mainly conducted online .
Brand managers do not want to let go of control . They want consumers to do WOM for their brands but want them to include the key benefit / big idea in the conversation . They forget that the message a consumer hears is not always the same as the message they share . After all , a
July 2016 ModernBusiness 67