Advertisers change sales pitch to discerning Asians
Advertisers change sales pitch to discerning Asians
By Ong Saw Lay
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): As Asia's middle classes have bloomed,
their appetites have changed, posing a challenge for advertisers
who now have to pitch to discerning and yet still widely varied
markets in this vast region.
With rising affluence, more and more Asians, flaunting the
ubiquitous mobile phones and credit cards as status symbols, are
settling for nothing less than designer labels, advertisers say.
For example, young Asian women living with their parents have
large disposable incomes and are prime targets for the marketing
engineers. Many of these unmarried office workers would not bat
an eyelid at blowing a month's salary on a Chanel bag or a Fendi
wristwatch worth hundreds of dollars.
Government and private estimates indicate that middle-class
people in developing Asian nations could number several hundred
million by the turn of the century, the fruit of growing
prosperity in huge economies like China and India.
While strategies vary from country to country, advertisers
said marketing campaigns in Asia were becoming ingenious, with
the brands becoming more important than price-cutting.
"But there is no common global strategy that we can apply
considering the multi-cultural and multi-religious societies
across Asia," said Ronald Quay, managing director of RA
Advertising Sdn Bhd in Malaysia.
Marketing campaigns are overwhelmingly shaped by cultural and
religious taboos in most parts of Asia, Quay said.
In Moslem-dominated Malaysia, advertisers have to stick to an
advertising code that covers religious and sexual taboos.
"No pigs, no dogs, no women in swimsuits, no showing of
armpits ..." said S.P. Lee, creative director of Bates (Malaysia)
Sdn Bhd.
In a market of growing affluence, it is quite logical that the
new rich would hook onto symbols of their status, said Lee.
"We are, in a sense, where Singapore was four to five years ago,"
Lee said.
In China, the rapid emergence of an urban middle class has
been accompanied by a veritable explosion in advertising, with
foreign firms among the major spenders as they seek to carve a
niche in the market for brand-name goods.
The dull, unprofessional ads of a decade ago have been
replaced by slick, glossy plugs in the print media and television
with models touting the accessories required for yuppie status,
from color TVs to mobile phones.
The trend has caused alarm among the conservative authorities
who last year issued a ban on advertisements that "abuse" women.
"A typical problem is that some advertisements depict women in
inferior moral images and thus infringe upon women's dignity and
traditional values, "said Liu Baofu, who heads China's national
advertising regulatory body.
But in Hong Kong, except for blasphemy, there is no taboo
hindering marketing campaigns. Feminist groups are, however,
becoming vocal if advertisements were found to be sexist.
A sense of success and identifying oneself with successful
people is one of the latest trends appearing in advertisements in
Hong Kong, said John Casey of Newell Public Relations.
"It is also trendy to project western lifestyles in
advertisements on brandy, foreign imported beers, cars, computers
and clothing," Casey said.
In the tiny island-state of Singapore, which has been hit by a
retail sump, marketing wares for the middle class is a tough
task, merchants say.
Singaporeans have less to spend on shopping because the bulk
of their income is used to repay loans for houses and cars, which
are extremely expensive.
Firms in Indonesia target high-profile magazines and radio
stations popular with the new middle class. These include women's
magazines such as Femina, Dewi and the new rock station Trijaya.
It is no different in Thailand where its middle class likes to
think of itself as enjoying the same level of comfort and
sophistication as those in other countries.
So brand names and especially international brands add extra
value, said Ron Batori, general manager of Bozell Breakthrough
Advertising Ltd.
In Seoul, massive sales and advertising on television pitch to
two separate audiences. One is for the young yuppie with designer
clothes, shampoo, fast cars and modern music tastes, computer
games and back-to-front baseball caps.
The family that's "made it" -- with healthy kids gathered
around a huge television set and all kinds of modern appliances
-- forms the second target.
The buy-Korean labels and laws of 10 years ago are being
relaxed.
"One used to be liable for arrest if found with even half a
packet of foreign cigarettes left by a visiting friend. Now,
foreign foods like cheese are available," a marketer said.