The Biggest and Most Attractive Emerging Market: China

International advertisers are beginning to take their business to the very promising, open market of China. But China market isn't for everyone, and more importantly, China's market in its entirety is not meant for one marketing message. China has approximately 1.3 billion consumers, and this group is exceedingly diverse. It would be highly unrealistic for marketers to assume that implementing a a single marketing message to the whole country would be effective. The market segment of high-income, Western-oriented consumers can be even further divided into groups of young royals,established money, patriots, and value players- four very distinctive groups within a single segment of the overall China market.

This elite group, with its further separating subdivisions, is often assumed to be most profitable group for international advertisers to target. However, with the advancement of many Chinese products, these native consumers are not naively concluding that expensive, western-produced products are immediately better. As a result, this market is not so willing to spend high amounts on foreign products, perhaps making this group not as desirable of a targeted market segment. It then becomes more important for new foreign marketers to target the middle class consumers, even the bottom of the market.

Nokia Corp, based in Finland, employed an effective marketing strategy towards the mainstream consumers of the Chinese market. Nokia has a 35% share in the China market, which places the phone company as the number one company in China phone sales. Nokia discovered that many rural Chinese consumers were having difficulty texting Chinese characters, provided pen and scratch pads to facilitate easier texting opportunities. This market segment adaptation allowed Nokia to retain a solid number of consumers as well as gain members of this group who were in search of a texting solution.

Nokia was able to uncover important information about this Chinese market segment through research performed by established, local partners in the China market. Forming such partnerships allows for an easier transition into the market, proving successful for companies such as Nokia, who developed these partnerships in order to then build upon domestic operations.

In combination with specific market segmentation, well-established partnerships and domestic relations help generate exposure to the best chunk of the market, in the most trustworthy, personalized way. Partnerships within the market demonstrate company credibility as well as provide for necessary assistance in conducting research on the intended target market. Further creation of specialized domestic operations allows for personal interaction with the consumers, an important step in bulding relationships with the members of the Chinese market. The China market is huge, open, profitable and full of opportunity for international advertisers. Along with smart business planning and a willingness to adapt, China could be the optimal place to expand business.



Bolgar, Catherine. "Staying Power and Adaptability are Key to Corporate Success
in China." The Wall Street Journal 11 Feb. 2008, Accenture sec. The Wall
Street Journal Accenture. 8 Mar. 2008 accenture>.