Last year was an interesting year, full of competing challenges and opportunities for brands to grow market share in China.
There were serious warning signs about the global economy and numerous geopolitical challenges in play. The PRC government is also increasing its control and censorship activities.
Last year the search engine Bing has been blocked (and unblocked) and big censorship moves have been made within Chinese platforms to remove sensitive content. “Daigou” activity (hand-carried imports) was and is also under increased scrutiny.
Despite this, the opportunities in China are still large. Brands continue to increase digital & social media budgets as they are some of the most cost-effective marketing channels.
While China still represents a big growth opportunity for all brands, it is also a market where big gains are increasingly going to larger brands. In 2018, data from analysts showed that only 10% of all accounts on Tmall were profitable.
This means the cost of winning in China is rising quickly. Brands need to be more measured and focus on fewer, higher quality efforts.
Marketing to China is also becoming a global challenge. Brands need to support their China-specific marketing with new strategies at HQ level, in order to reach PRC nationals across borders.
With this set of circumstances in place for 2020, there are several key trends for brands to look out for;
(1) China marketing should be global,
(2) Measurement of brand/digital performance is critical,
(3) Quality in branding and content matter more,
4) Social selling is a massive, emerging opportunity, and
(5) The rules of retail are being reshaped rapidly.