Ashok Sethi is TNS China's Regional Director. He shares his and or TNS's 'just found out'-secrets on Chinese consumers - via China Daily (and not the first time):
The changing face of advertising in China
"It was earlier thought that Chinese consumer is a simple soul and can't understand the subtlety of soft and clever advertising. Direct communication of the benefits in unambiguous terms was considered the safest route of communication. As a result, while advertising in many other markets is as much entertainment as brand communication and attempts to engage the consumer through subtle creative devices, in China it is often a direct onslaught with the core benefit - often repeated several times within the same advertisement. However, research in China shows this direct approach does not have to be the one that an advertiser needs to embrace to succeed. Emotional advertising works and so does humor, endorsement or any of the other genres of advertising practiced elsewhere."
Laughing or crying, not sure ... be wary
via Jan van de Bergh on Boondoggle.eu / Fons Tuinstra ChinaHerald.net
TNS China claim:
"TNS was one of the first international market research agencies to start operations in China. In recent years, TNS has grown substantially and established itself as one of the most successful and reputed market research and consulting agencies in China."
Note:
We started publishing a Chinese Edition of Export Mark as early as 1969. Have since established multiple licenses deals, JV in the special interest and b2b area, consulted and trained people in publishing, marketing and advertising from 1995 onwards (and still do today).
