For the 4th consecutive year, Panos Dimitropoulos, our Director of Cultural Strategy in Asia, has contributed to WPP & Kantar Millward Brown’s Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands BrandZ report. This year, he analysed the Chinese market from a cultural point of view. Read his article below:
Young Chinese grew up under unique socio-cultural conditions. In contrast to the continuity of their cultural history and heritage, Chinese youth have spent their lives in a state of constant change. They experienced transformation both nationally, with China opening up and becoming an active agent of global culture, and personally, with improved living conditions as the nation realizes the Chinese Dream
Because of this flux, and without properly recognizing it, youth have entered a vicious cycle. They constantly need to discover new thrills and experiment, seeking instant gratification, which leaves them only temporarily satisfied and searching for more intense and extreme experiences.
At the same time, youth are more demanding and sophisticated as consumers, so brands need to approach them with thoughtfulness and bespoke strategies to become more relevant. Brands can accomplish this objective by creating and curating meaningful experiences in the form of immersive digital activations, event sponsorships, and pop-up shops.
Pop-up shops create a spontaneous, unexpected feel of discovery and instant gratification when consumers encounter them unexpectedly. They are highly experiential. Brands can use them in many ways, from setting up art/design galleries and multisensorial environments, to offering product trial or other interactive promo activities.
Last, but not least, pop-up shops use the city, becoming a part of it. And, like its young consumers, China’s cities are constantly changing and evolving rapidly into the future. The branding channel (urban pop-up stores) and consumer segment (youth) are in synch.
You can download the full BrandZ report here: http://bit.ly/2n24gQ0