Tag Archives: Chinese Culture

VIDEOS ON CHINA

Sprite & Baijiu: Lessons on Marketing to Chinese Consumers

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These days, marketing in China is no easy feat. The immense size of the Chinese population continues to lure many overseas companies as a Holy Grail of new markets, but the continuing evolution of China and its consumers are actually making things more difficult, not easier. The advent of an increasing number of local competitors – who instinctually understand Chinese consumers better than their foreign counterparts, only adds to the difficulties. For sure, gone are the days when “showing up” was the key to success for foreign companies in China.

Recent years have also seen a number of foreign companies commit major marketing faux pas, insulting the sensibilities of Chinese consumers and government regulators alike. These mistakes include Victoria’s Secret wrapping models in a tacky dragon design, companies failing to list Taiwan as part of China (which Chinese consumers and the government certainly view it as), and Dolce & Gabbana producing several cringe-worthy videos which were viewed as belittling the Chinese people.

Even when marketers learn enough to avoid outright insults, challenges still remain. On one hand, marketers need to ensure their content is geared toward local consumers, whether it be reflecting local culture and traditions, taking into account Chinese consumers’ mobile-focused lifestyle, or failing to adapt their brand to appeal to a new market.

And that’s one reason I love this campaign by Coca-Cola, featuring a partnership between its Sprite brand and a local Chinese Baijiu maker, Jiang Xiao Bai. This campaign saw the combination of the Sprite and Baijiu flavors, but also saw a highly effective marketing campaign which not only successfully attracted the attention of local Chinese consumers via a focus on Chinese social values and drinking culture but also succeeded in achieving a huge amount of engagement on Chinese social media.

So, take a look at the below video where I explain this interesting collaboration in more detail, taste the product on-camera, and share some key takeaways for foreign companies who are interested in marketing in China. If you’re interested in more videos about China and Chinese culture, you can check out my YouTube channel HERE.

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any additional questions about marketing or business in China? Do you have any experience marketing or doing business in China, which you would like to share with fellow readers? Please feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section. You can also send a message directly to the author on social media.

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CULTURE BASICS, VIDEOS ON CHINA

Chinese Spring Festival Unboxing – Celebrate the Year of the Dog

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The Chinese Spring Festival is here again! I previously wrote about some of the most important symbols of the Chinese Spring Festival, and this year I wanted to try something new. To help you, the reader, better understand these important symbols of the Spring Festival, I decided to shoot my first ever video on Chinese culture, in the form on an unboxing.

In the video I take a large box filled with various Spring Festival decorations and go through them to explain their significance to the Chinese, as well as show you how you can use them around your own home, to better get in the holiday spirit.  I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any additional questions about traditional holiday decorations in China? Do you have any personal experiences you would like to share? Please feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section. You can also send a send a message directly to the author on social media.

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CULTURE BASICS

Don’t Let Assumptions Define Your China Experience!

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Picture this: you have just arrived in China and are excited to try out the Chinese you have learned. You pop into a local corner store and ask something simple: “这是多少钱?” (zhè shì duō shao qián; how much is this?). But to your dismay, the clerk merely stares at you blankly, before asking in halting English, “Can I help you?” So what happened? Was your pronunciation off? Did you use the wrong tones? Did you completely waste your time studying Chinese only to fail epically on your very first attempt? In fact, it may be none of these things.

This perplexing phenomenon has been experienced by many of my non-Chinese friends who live and work in China, who have also attained a fairly high mastery of the Chinese language. We have all experienced this type of reaction from Chinese locals in our daily lives, and have all been unsure about what, on certain occasions, made our spoken Chinese completely incomprehensible. After discussing the issue with a number of Chinese friends and colleagues, a possible answer emerged: according to certain Chinese people, many locals simply accept as fact that the Chinese language is more or less “impossible” to learn for non-Chinese, and therefore fail to comprehend when a foreigner actually speak understandable Chinese. In short, they expect foreigners to be unable to speak Chinese.

While I’m sure this is not the case every time a Chinese person cannot understand a foreigner speaking Chinese, it explains many of my own experiences, and also raises another interesting question: how much does the same thing happen to foreign visitors to China?  How often do we unconsciously make a decision about a situation before we actually experience it? How often do we judge Chinese people before actually letting their words and actions speak for themselves? How often do we pass judgement before making any effort to understand Chinese culture or history? How often are our negative experiences in China the result of the influence of negative media coverage, or the negative stories of other foreigners?

My suggestion: anyone who truly wants to enjoy a positive experience in China should try to really listen and observe as much as possible, and try to do so in an unbiased manner. If we shut out those voices (e.g., our friends, parents, coworkers, politicians, the media) that are constantly trying to tell us what China is like, and simply try and experience China for what it really is, we may surprise ourselves, and discover a China we never knew existed.

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any comments or questions on communicating effectively in China? Do you have any stories you can share in which you overcame your assumptions when communicating with the Chinese people? Please feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section below.

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