One of the keys to a successful global marketing campaign is to make sure that your message resonates with consumers in your target market. It is about connecting with their language and culture. There are about 1.5 billion people living in China. With the world’s largest population, this number presents a huge consumer base. Bloomberg listed China as their top emerging market. Chinese society is transforming; they are moving from a traditional society with an economy based on agriculture to one based on industry. How do you connect with Chinese culture to make your global marketing campaigns effective? What do you need to know when marketing to Chinese consumers? Let’s examine this further.

CHINESE ADVERTISING LAWS

In China, the Department of Advertising Regulation is a division of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC). What does this mean? Simply put, there is a department within the government that manages and supervises advertising in China. Did you know that Chinese legislators recently updated the country’s advertising law? This is very significant. Why? This is the first time advertising laws have been updated since 1994. This was before the Internet became big and before Western brands really began to make their way into China. These laws went into effect on September 1, 2015. New laws promise stricter enforcement and fines. Here are some highlights:

Celebrity endorsers can be held accountable for false advertising.

Children under 10 cannot endorse products.

Restrictions and criteria on baby formula advertising.

Significant crackdowns on tobacco advertising.

Companies can no longer proclaim they are the best and use superlatives.

It is important to pay close attention to local and government laws in your target market. After all, look at what happened to P&G’s Crest!

MOBILE ADVERTISING

Mobile penetration in China has continued to increase. In fact, more smartphones wereshipped to China at the end of 2015 than ever before! Mobile advertising may be an effective strategy. eMarketer predicts that mobile ad spending will continue to increase in 2016 and beyond. Pay close attention to the new advertising laws to see how they affect mobile advertising in China.

SOCIAL MEDIA IN CHINA

Data from this Infographic shows that social media in China is becoming more mainstream and diverse in terms of age, regional distribution, and education level. We’ve already talked about increased mobile penetration. This means that more people are accessing social media from their phones. If a global social media strategy is something you are exploring, pay attention to this in China!

In the United States, we have our popular social media outlets. However, these are banned in China. Without the likes of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, domestic social media outlets rule! Pay attention to trends in China to see what the most popular outlets are. These platforms cater specifically to Chinese culture and Internet users.

We’re going to highlight a few. Weibo is very similar to Twitter. It is an open platform that is great for connecting with users and staying on top of trending topics. However, the most popular platform (in terms of growth) is WeChat, an app. There are 650 million active users; with 70 million outside of China! WeChat has become an important part of life in China. People use it to message, voice call, video call, shop online, call a taxi, book a flight, and more! There is a feature on WeChat that allows users to post “moments” which are similar to Facebook statuses. In order to see moments, you must be subscribed to a particular person or brand.

CONNECTING WITH CHINESE CULTURE

Just because something does not work well in Western culture does not mean it will not work well with Chinese culture. One example is with QR codes. WeChat has embedded QR code software. (We already talked about the popularity of WeChat.) Brands are using QR codes to connect with consumers in China. How? Through online to offline sales (QR codes on signage, ads and business cards), brand awareness and engagement, contests, and services offered. Read about some examples of how brands are using this in this AdAge article.

Get to know the calendar as well! In China, big days happen at different times of the year. For example, China’s Black Friday is Single’s Day – November 11th.

Lastly, remember, marketing in China is not “one size fits all.” China is becoming more urbanized. There are seven megacities with over 10 million people and over 160 cities with more than 1 million people. Then, there are smaller cities and rural areas, too. How do you reach everyone and do it effectively? Starbucks does a great job reaching a lot of Chinese customers by creating a different atmosphere at their shops in the larger cities versus smaller ones. Marketers call this a tiered approach – dividing China into tiers based on size and economies and marketing to these economies accordingly.

A lot of these facts and tips can help you out when looking to kickstart or boost your global marketing initiatives in China. If you need help with Chinese translation or transcreation services, we’ve got you covered for all of your global marketing needs!