In Search of China Cool
Reaching China's youthful, Net-savvy consumers with edgy and effective marketing pitches isn't always easy, but consumer brands are turning up the volume
By Brian Bremner
The quest to click with young Chinese consumers is a near obsession of big foreign and local brands and marketing pros are going to unusual lengths to reach them, especially via video-sharing sites, other online pitches, or ultra-cool storefronts. China will likely overtake the U.S. as home to the biggest online community later in the decade -- last year podcasting and video-sharing sites pulled in 76 million users.
That's why PepsiCo has taken to creating sites that invite consumers to submit scripts as part of a "Pepsi Creative Challenge" hosted by Chinese mega-portals such as NetEase.com. Intel, meanwhile, has developed a series of wacky online video clips called "101 Ways to Get a New PC" and posted them on video-sharing sites in China to promote its Core 2 Duo processors.
Which foreign brands have big aspirations for China? Here is a sampling of the more notable ones: