'Brands need to move at the speed of modern Chinese cultures', report reveals
Information gathering
Chinese brand consultants, RTG Consulting Group, surveyed 5,000 consumers in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, and conducted qualitative interviews with 45 China industry experts and select consumers as part of its annual survey.
The resulting report, which was released on 20th July and analysed nine industries, explored the beauty and personal care sectors to establish leading trends and market achievements.
To gather the results, the report uses a proprietary algorithm from aggregated data gathered from quantitative consumer surveys, brand metrics, and qualitative feedback from both these industry experts and consumers.
It then sorts these responses by traditional demographics, with a particular emphasis on age, to indicate generational variations in results based on whether the respondent belongs to Generation X, Y or Z.
Top spots
In the beauty sector, Estée Lauder was hailed as the most relevant brand, followed by L'Oréal and Olay.
Rejoice was voted the number one brand in the personal care industry, with Crest and Safeguard taking the second and third positions, respectively.
"This is an interesting time for brands," said Marc-Oliver Arnold, Chief Strategy Officer at RTG Consulting Group.
"Brands are expanding and targeting up-and-coming niche trend markets, capitalising on emerging trends to quickly head that sector - brands like adidas, WeChat and Huawei are key examples of the effectiveness of this strategy," Arnold enthused.
Eastern influence
“What I find most interesting about this year's report is this trend toward 'Easternisation' with the increasing resonance of many Chinese brands across several industries,” emphasised Angelito Tan Jr., Ceo of RTG Consulting Group.
Discussing its impact, Tan went on to say: “The rising influence and relevance these brands have on Chinese consumers cannot be overlooked. This may have a significant impact on the overall brand market landscape in the near future.”
Industry impact
As WeChat continues to reign supreme in the Chinese mobile app arena, beauty and personal care brands are utilising the messaging and calling tool by generating digital marketing and social media campaigns that either directly involve WeChat, or incorporate its focus on building engagement levels and communication convenience to resonate with Generation, X, Y and Z demographics.
Local brands, in both the beauty and personal care sectors, have experienced significant growth. As a result, “to succeed, brands need to move at the speed of modern China's cultures and subcultures,” concluded Arnold.
For the full 2017 RTG Consulting Brand Relevance Report, visit http://www.rtgconsulting.com/brandrelevance/
