Since the introduction of economic reforms and an open door policy in 1978, China has been proclaimed as "the emerging powerhouse of the twenty-first century". The Chinese market's attractiveness to international marketers has also received significant boost as a result of the country's admission into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Accordingly, advertisers look at China and perceive tremendous opportunity in 1.3 billion Chinese consumers which represents one-fifth of the world population in what is called the world's largest market. Being viewed as a new frontier for consumer good investment does not mean that advertising in China is simple. On the contrary, many Western business firms which have invested their capital into Chinese businesses have suffered setbacks or even failure. Thus, it is important to understand that despite the dramatic impact of economic reform and the drive for modernization over the past two decades, the Chinese market has many special characteristics that make it a challenging place in which to do business including making advertising in this market . This book examines the key barriers/constraints that foreign firms should be mindful of in order to develop a viable advertising strategy in a changing China in which abundant opportunities await those that can fulfill it.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Chinese advertising as an industry, a discourse and profession in China’s search for modernity and cultural globalization. It compares and contrasts the advertising practices of Chinese advertising agencies and foreign advertising agencies, and Chinese brands and foreign brands, with a particular focus on the newest digital advertising practices in the post WTO era. Based on extensive interviews, participant observation, and a critical analysis of secondary data, Li offers an engaging analysis of the transformation of Chinese advertising in the past three decades in Post-Mao China. Drawing upon theories of political economy, media, and cultural studies, her analysis offers most significant insights in advertising and consumer culture as well as the economic, social, political, and cultural transformations in China. The book is essential for students and scholars of communication, media, cultural studies and international business, and all those interested in cultural globalization and China.

One part riveting account of fieldwork and one part rigorous academic study, Brand New China offers a unique perspective on the advertising and marketing culture of China. Jing Wang’s experiences in the disparate worlds of Beijing advertising agencies and the U.S. academy allow her to share a unique perspective on China during its accelerated reintegration into the global market system. Brand New China offers a detailed, penetrating, and up-to-date portrayal of branding and advertising in contemporary China. Wang takes us inside an advertising agency to show the influence of American branding theories and models. She also examines the impact of new media practices on Chinese advertising, deliberates on the convergence of grassroots creative culture and viral marketing strategies, samples successful advertising campaigns, provides practical insights about Chinese consumer segments, and offers methodological reflections on pop culture and advertising research. This book unveils a “brand new” China that is under the sway of the ideology of global partnership while struggling not to become a mirror image of the United States. Wang takes on the task of showing where Western thinking works in China, where it does not, and, perhaps most important, where it creates opportunities for cross-fertilization. Thanks to its combination of engaging vignettes from the advertising world and thorough research that contextualizes these vignettes, Brand New China will be of interest to industry participants, students of popular culture, and the general reading public interested in learning about a rapidly transforming Chinese society.

Since the late 1980s, green consumerism has been hailed in the West as an efficient solution to environmental problems. However, Chinese consumers have been slow to warm up to eco-friendly products. Consumers prefer SUVs to hybrid cars, health supplements and snake oil medicines to organic foods and eco-fashion is still secluded in high-end designer studios. These choices contradict the findings of many sustainable lifestyle surveys that claim to register a rising desire for green products among the Chinese. This book examines the psycho-cultural differences that disrupt the translation of "eco-friendly" appeals to China by analyzing environmental advertising. It explores the different notions of "green", the structures of desire that underlies the advertisements, and how they are shaped by ideological, cultural, and historical differences. Rather than arguing the superiority of the American or Chinese version of green consumerism, the book interrogates the role of advertising in the global spread of Western ideologies and explores the possibilities for consumers to resist transnational corporate hegemony in the green movement. This book fills an important gap in the critical scholarship on green marketing and should be of interest to students and scholars of environment studies, green advertising and marketing, environmental communication and media studies, China studies and environmental sociology, ethics and cultural studies.

This book examines key issues in international digital marketing in China from a theoretical and empirical perspective. Divided into two main parts, it begins with an analysis of China’s cultural characteristics and business environment, with a particular emphasis on the Chinese digital context. The book goes on to present original empirical studies and an investigation into recent challenges and opportunities for international firms in the fashion sector. With nearly 900 million internet users and an e-commerce market volume of over one thousand billion US dollars, China is the world's largest digital market. While this creates significant opportunities for international firms, there are many factors to consider when approaching this market. In order to understand the Chinese digital scenario, the book analyzes the characteristics of local internet platforms and consumer patterns. The book also presents a real-world case study on a luxury retail firm operating in China, Florentia Village, and the results from a questionnaire on Chinese mobile shoppers. On this basis, it provides a conceptual framework and discusses the theoretical and managerial implications for international firms operating in China, making it an enlightening book for scholars, students, and practitioners alike.

This collection of essays-- written by pioneering Chinese journalists and Western experts--explores how transformations in China's media--from a propaganda mouthpiece into an entity that practices watchdog journalism--are changing the country. In detailed case studies, the authors describe how politicians are reacting to increased scrutiny from the media, and how television, newspapers, magazines, and Web-based news sites navigate the cross currents between the market and the CCP censors.

This book examines the social, psychological, legal, and ethical impact - perceived or proven - that may result from advertising in the booming Chinese market. The book provides readers with an understanding of the two-way relationship between advertising and Chinese society. Major issues addressed include rising consumerism, consumers' attitudes towards advertising and reactions to advertising appeals, cultural messages conveyed in advertisements, gender representations, sex appeal, offensive advertising, advertising law and regulation, advertising to children and adolescents, symbolic meanings of advertisements, public service advertising, and new media advertising and its social impact. Advertising and Chinese Society resorts to a variety of research techniques including content analysis, survey, experiment, semiotic analysis, and secondary data analysis. The book will enhance the sensitivity of scholars and practitioners interested in Chinese advertising and its social ramifications.