Five China marketing strategies that domestic brands do better than foreign brands
Foreign brands have enjoyed a positive reputation in the Chinese market for years, but as China shifts to a consumption-driven economy, domestic brands are gaining increasing advantage. As the nation’s digital ecosystem becomes increasingly more complex and further diverges from what’s familiar to the West, Chinese companies are better able to navigate the digital world […]
No longer “Made-in-China”: The Rise of Chinese Designer Brands and “Guochao” Originality
In September 2021, Chinese designer Rui Zhou was awarded the LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Special Jury Prize. As one of the only three recipients, Zhou directs the spotlight on the emerging young designers in China. In recent years, Chinese designer brands are gaining domestic and international popularity. Young, independent Chinese designers challenge the “Made in China” […]
China Chic: The Emergence of Chinese luxury brands
Nowadays Chinese consumers are a major driver of growth for the global luxury industry and their importance is bound to increase in the years to come. Indeed, mainland China is expected to become the world’s largest luxury goods market by 2025, thereby surpassing the regional share of the Americas and Europe. Covid-19 travel restrictions induced […]
How brands are biting into Chinese mooncake culture
Every mid-autumn festival Chinese people celebrate by spending time with their loved ones while exchanging and eating mooncakes, densely baked pastries that come with a wide variety of fillings. The festival is deeply rooted in ancient tradition and there are several legends about its origin, but the most convincing explanation is that it is closely […]
Chinese netizens reflections on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics: National pride is alive and well
Whether China won 38 or 42 gold medals, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics caused a rise of netizens commentary on Chinese social media. Through social media listening we gained a deeper understanding China’s national pride, but also openness and appreciation of other cultures. Here are the main takeaways from social listening regarding Chinese netizens reflections on […]
5 men’s fashion trends in China
Chinese male consumers are increasingly keen to spend money on clothes. Between 2009 and 2019, the men’s fashion market in China grew steadily, reaching 594.9 billion RMB in 2019, recording a year-on-year increase of 4.07%. Moreover, male consumers spend on average more than 1,500 RMB on clothing. According to Euromonitor, Chinese male consumers’ top three […]
How to do Guochao marketing: In-depth interviews with Chinese gen Z
What is Guochao marketing “GUO CHAO” (literally “national trend”) refers to the increase consumer favoritism towards Chinese brands, designs and culture. Guochao consumers embrace Chinese cultural designs and products made in China. 75% of Chinese consumers surveyed state they like products that incorporate Guochao design elements. To learn more about Guochao marketing, we conducted in-depth […]
How TsingTao Brewery is sponsoring the 2022 Winter Olympics with a goal to boost China’s image internationally
TsingTao Brewery Co. Ltd. 青岛啤酒 was founded in 1903 by Bavarian settlers in Qingdao, Shandong province. In 2020, the company generated approximately 27.8 billion yuan in revenue, a slight decrease from around 28 billion yuan in the previous year. (To learn more about the beer market in China.) Emerging trend Guochao has not bypassed the TsingTao brand In […]
May 2021 named “national consumption month” dedicated to boosting China’s post-COVID consumption recovery
While China is one of the nations that were able to recover the quickest from the pandemic, the Chinese economy still has largely suffered from the supply chain disruptions, regional lockdowns and a drop of international demand caused by the pandemic. Some sectors were mostly unscathed by the pandemic, retail in China was not one […]
“The Summer Palace x Big White Rabbit” is a vivid example of a company using nostalgia marketing
A vivid example of a company using nostalgia marketing (read more about nostalgia marketing) is the collaboration between the Shanghai milk candy brand White Rabbit (大白兔) and Summer Palace (欧和园).These local and popular brands collaborated for the first time and launched a product with a series of candy gift boxes called “The Summer Palace x Big White Rabbit”, “Ji Tu […]