May 2009
WINNING CONSUMERS
IN CHINA:
The Top 10 Things Marketers
Need to Know to Succeed in the
World’s Fastest-Growing Market
Biggest cities
Mainland China has more than 13 cities
with over 5 million inhabitants
2008 AD SPENDING
By media (%)
Radio
Internet
Magazine
1%
2%
2%
Newspaper
TV
Source: Nielsen. Numbers rounded.
By NORMANDY MADDEN
nmadden@adage.com
AS THE GLOBAL RECESSION deepens in 2009, China is one of
the few bright spots for multinational marketers. Its middle class is still growing, making China a vital market for
companies selling everything from luxury cars to toothpaste.
Marketing might seem easy in a country with 1.3 billion people, and so a surprising number of multinational
companies arrive in China believing they can’t lose because
of the enormous size of the population.
In fact, China is one of the toughest markets in the
world for foreign brands to be successful, especially if marketers don’t do the right due diligence.
Chinese consumers are fickle, demanding, price-conscious and often more educated about your company’s
brand than consumers in the West, thanks to the rapid
growth of the internet. China’s media are also fragmented
and complex.
To try to help flatten the steep learning curve, we have
identified 10 key points designed to enable marketers to
understand local consumers and grow their brands in
China.
