Eastwei MSL Executive Whitepaper

1. Eastwei MSL Executive Whitepaper
“From collective to individual”
Marketing to the Chinese
70s, 80s and 90s
generations By Judy Luo and Charlotta Lagerdahl

2. About the research
This report is a combination of Eastwei MSL consumer focus
groups in Shanghai 2010 combined with interviews, desktop
analysis and experience from marketing campaigns. Focus
group participants were selected to represent urban citizens in
the relevant age spans, considering age, education, sex, income,
employment and urban/rural background. The participants were
given 100 RMB each for their participation in the focus group. The
research was conducted to increase Eastwei MSL knowledge and
insights about consumers, and was not commissioned by any third
party commercial venture.
About Eastwei MSL
Eastwei MSL is China’s leading strategic PR agency, founded in
1994 by partners who are still active in the firm. Eastwei MSL
is part of MSLGROUP, the PR arm of the world’s third largest
communications network: Publicis Groupe. Eastwei MSL provide
communications analysis and strategy, marketing communications,
corporate communications and event management to a number of
Fortune 500 and smaller clients.
About MSLGROUP
MSLGROUP is a speciality communications and engagement group
that's one of the world's top 5 PR and events networks. With more
than 2,500 people, its offices span 22 countries and cover virtually
every discipline required for clients to engage creatively with their
audiences 24 hours a day. Adding affiliates and partners into the
equation, MSLGROUP's reach increases to 4,000 employees in
83 countries. The group offers clients strategic advice, insight-
guided thinking and big, compelling ideas - followed by thorough
execution. MSLGROUP is Publicis Groupe's flagship PR and Events
network. www.mslgroup.com

3. A changing China
On the back of three decades of spectacular growth and development, China recently became
the second largest economy in the world behind the United States. The country has also
become a major market for the world’s leading international consumer goods companies.
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, companies are becoming more sophisticated in
segmenting local stakeholders geographically, and have clear strategies in place for approaching
urban versus rural consumers. However, we have found that communications strategies often
fail to consider the enormous differences between the consumer “generations” born in each of
the last three decades.
Due to China’s accelerated changes over the past 30 years, children born in the 1970s, 1980s
and 1990s have grown up in societies at vastly different stages of development. As we conducted
focus groups to uncover what drives these consumers and what their needs are, we discovered
that although they grew up in the same country, their world views and views of themselves are
very different. Of particular interest for marketing and communications professionals are:
・Disposable funds and consumption habits
・View of world and self
・Discussion topics and interests
・Media consumption
In this report, we look at the values, psychology and habits of urban Chinese consumers and
draw some operational conclusions for marketers.

4. 1970s 1980s 1990s
Financial Demands from Ignoring pressure Pampered by
pressure children, spouses and live in the now parents and grand
and parents parents
Internet and Collecting Coming across Creating
information information information information
1970s:
Family before Self

5. Eastwei MSL Executive Whitepaper
Marketing to the Chinese 70s, 80s and 90s generations 5
1970s: Family before Self
Spending on family unavoidable, they prefer it to be small and gradual.
“Family” is the core word for those born in the On the other hand, they are highly preoccupied
1970s. Shaped by a collectivistic society, happiness with physical health and will spend considerable
of the family is rated higher than happiness of the time and money to “change” their health for the
self. But this commitment to family also means better.
responsibilities. This generation grew up when
China was still considered a poor country. They Interested in things related to
now have aging parents, as well as children of their everyday life
own. They are either settled down and need to The 70s generation enjoys talking about things
cover the rising costs of apartments and mortgages, that are relevant to everyday life. Examples of such
or are planning to buy housing in the very near social topics are property prices, popular movies,
future. They save a lot of money; not only to meet seasonal fashion trends and cars. But they will not
their own need for financial security in the face “evangelize” or strive to present their own point
of weak social security and healthcare systems, of view to others; nor will they try to be original or
but also to finance expensive schooling and meet creative. Their preferred activities focus on things
requests for a fancy wedding. the family can do together, such as “hanging out”
and travelling.
Change means insecurity
The 70s generation has neither fancy desires nor TV is mainly an entertainment tool
an expectation that life will change dramatically. The family focus of the 70s generation has an
In fact, this group is the least open to change of overarching effect on their media habits. Because
the three age groups under consideration. The they spend less time on personal interests than do
70s generation interprets “change” as “insecurity” younger consumers, they try to use this free time
and “lots of work”, and when asked about their as efficiently as possible. For example, they choose
immediate surroundings, such as their own home to collect information mainly from the internet and
environment, they don’t feel it is possible or print media, while TV is mainly an entertainment
necessary to “change”, even if they are dissatisfied tool.
with the current state of affairs. If change is
Singapore attracts Chinese families
Over the past three years, Eastwei MSL has supported the Singapore Tourism Board, STB, in its
campaigns to attract Chinese tourists to visit the country. In an attempt to target affluent consumers
born in the 1970s, we decided to launch a promotional package supported by new brand ambassadors
in mainland China. Given the priorities of the target group, the theme of the campaign was intimately
tied to “family”. The aim was to encourage Chinese families to travel to Singapore together, and the
country was positioned – and priced – as a family destination. The choice of brand ambassadors was
aligned with the over all strategy: Singapore chose to launch an entire virtual family to show and
share the fun, becoming one of the first countries in the world to use virtual spokespersons.

6. 1980s: “Why don’t
we just enjoy
life now!”
Core values Internet outlook
1970s Family Time saver
1980s Friends Social arena
1990s Self Extension of self
Levi’s targets Chinese white-collar workers
In 2009, Levi’s wanted to target consumers born in the 80s using a new Levi’s sub brand. Both
white-collar workers and students are under huge life pressure, so working with Levi’s we knew
that creating a relaxing, enjoyable and happy brand image would increase brand preference among
the target group. We proposed to position the new brand as reflecting current trends and target
consumer lives and values instead of pioneering new ones. Also, it put great emphasis on appreciating
friendship rather than the individual, as well as leveraging celebrities with high credibility in the
target group. The launch event was designed as a high-level, celebrity-packed fashion show with a
party theme that tied in to the concept of “friends” and “togetherness”. This was followed up with
consumer engagement events and consumer seeding on campus, again acknowledging the huge
impact of friends on this group of consumers.

7. Eastwei MSL Executive Whitepaper
Marketing to the Chinese 70s, 80s and 90s generations 7
1980s: “Why don’t we just enjoy life now!”
Relaxing from pressure The 80’s group is open to change, always on the
If “family” is the core word of the Chinese 70s lookout for new and fresh things. Preferences and
generation, the importance of “friends” is at the loyalties tend to change quickly.
heart of being born in the 80s. ”Friends” are the
key element of our focus group respondents’ Career advice is of particular interest
definition of “happiness”. As a result of the one- Most things that are of interest to the post 80s
child policy launched in 1980, they are the first have to do with friends and peers. Their best time
generation to grow up without siblings; this may is spent together with people, trying out new things
be one reason that friends and peers have such a that reflect hot trends, “in” restaurants, shopping
significant place in their lives. Known in Chinese or playing video games. The importance of friends
as the ba ling hou, “post- eight-zero” generation, and peers also has another result: this generation is
this consumer group grew up after reform policies extremely competitive and pays attention to status
started taking hold. During their lifetime, urban symbols, since they perceive themselves as being
twenty-somethings have therefore experienced in a context where they are constantly ranked in
perhaps the greatest collective improvement of comparison with others.
living standards the world has ever seen. This has
made them a unique generation, straddling the “old, Topics concerning careers or career advice
poor” and “new, materially affluent” China. stood out as being of particular interest to this
generation.
The 80s generation experience financial pressure
similar to that of the 70s generation(houses, The computer is a social hub
mortgages and expectations of fancy weddings) but In stark contrast to their 70s brothers and sisters,
they deal with this pressure in a totally different the 80s generation grew up with computers and
way. While the 70s generation act responsibly the internet. The computer is therefore their social
to ensure a good life for their families, the 80s and information hub. When they come home,
generation handle the pressure with an increased they will immediately turn on the computer to
need to relax from it. As one person in our chat with friends and look for current trends and
research, Mindy, 25 years old, puts it: news. They rely on print media for information,
however; much like the 70s generation, TV is only
“People always say the 80s generation spend for entertainment purposes and they don’t see it as
more than they earn. But a house is so expensive; a major information source.
we can not afford one, so why don’t we just enjoy
life and spend on other things now!”
Follow trends but loyalties Tong’s quotation about Lady Gaga illustrates
change quickly another important topic in understanding the
The 80s are aggressive and goal-driven. They see differences between the three generations:
themselves as “individualistic” but in fact, they language. Tong’s slang word雷 , lei, literally
are far from being rebellious; they tend to follow means thunder, but is a common expression for
trends, and create self-expression within accepted “unbelievable” in the 80s generation. You would
rules. Like the masses in Monty Python’s Life of seldom hear anyone born before 1975 using this
Brian, they are “all individuals – but in the same word. Each generation has a distinctive jargon,
way”. The 80s generation choose trends to follow conditioned by media consumption and societal
rather than creating trends themselves. change; in order to communicate effectively,
marketers need to be sensitive to using the right
Tong, 25, talks about Lady Gaga: words as well as finding the right tone of voice.
This is particularly important online, where
“I like Lady Gaga’s music, not her dress. It’s too the chat room jargon of the 90s generation can
shocking (雷 ), regular people won’t wear it” actually be difficult to understand for readers of
other age groups.

8. The 1990s: “My Idol is Myself”
No financial pressure Zhao, 19, puts it:
The 90s generation does not yet have time for financial
worries. They are still supported by their parents, and “My idol is myself. I am my own person”
due to the one-child policy they seldom have siblings.
The 90s generation is inspired by a spirit for adventure
Want to be seen as individuals and the notion that “nothing is impossible.”
For the group born in the 90s, the focus is “self”. As
opposed to the “mass individualism” of the 80s crowd, “I want to do bungee-jumping. The most exciting
the 90s generation is truly individualistic, having grown bungee jumps are in New Zealand I heard, and I’m
up with internet access in an open and cosmopolitan dying to go there and try it out!” - Zhou, 19
China.
Despite this, they also admit to being inspired by opinion
The 90s do not want to be identified as belonging to “a leaders in their own close circle of acquaintances.
generation”; they prefer to be seen as individuals. When
asked about idols, they claim not having any – or as The 90s generation strive to be original and unique.
Sprite VIS launch campaign
In late 2009, Eastwei MSL was tasked with the rebranding launch of Sprite. When targeting the
teenage opinion leaders of the 90s generation, we knew that they needed to be personally engaged.
For this generation, it is not enough to watch things far away on a stage. They want to create their
own style and express their own creativity, not just look on and admire someone else’s. We designed
an online Sprite photo campaign, where consumers could upload pictures of themselves while
creatively expressing the promises of the Sprite brand. These pictures were shared among their
friends, allowing opinion leaders to engage and play with the brand and “make it their own” – while
spreading it through peer-to-peer communication.
1970s 1980s 1990s
Outlook on Follow trends Choose trends Create trends
trends
Discussion Topics that relate to Topics that make Exciting topics to
topics everyday life: one get ahead: be shared:
・Seasonal fashion ・Career ・Sensations
・Property prices ・Trends ・Gossip
The 1990s: “My I

9. Eastwei MSL Executive Whitepaper
Marketing to the Chinese 70s, 80s and 90s generations 9
Creativity is best when it’s your own. They try to create and is non-separable from the traditional form of
their own blend of arts, music, fashion and technology to “interests”. The internet is simply a place where this
arrive at interesting ideas: group hang out with friends, surf and express themselves
through blogging or social networks. As mentioned
“I think Lady GAGA and her dress designer are super above, the 90s reject the concept of “idols”. This is not to
creative! How can she dress like that?! The clothing and be confused with a lack of interest. Instead of idolizing
make-up are so individual and avant-garde.”- An, 19 celebrities, they tend to see them as people to gossip
about. This generation is therefore very up to date when
They are therefore more bold and provocative in the way it comes to celebrity affairs and the lives of the famous.
they talk, think and dress than previous generations. They are also more interested in sensational news
compared to world news.
Interests and media are one and the same
For this age group, interests and media merge into When they look for specific, credible information, this
one and the same; interactive media have become fully generation still turns to traditional print media or books.
integrated into the daily lives of the post 90s generation,
Idol is Myself”

10. Implications for the communications professional
1970s 1980s 1990s
Communication ・Simple happiness ・Accessible and trendy ・High level of
strategy ・Nothing overwhelming, ・Respect need for interaction
gradual change preferred relaxation ・Provide opportunity
・Peer involvement for self-expression
To treat Chinese consumers as one, homogenous audience is a waste of money. Every campaign must
carefully consider the gulf of differences between the different age groups. Eastwei MSL’s marketing
communications team provides five operational pieces of advice for marketing and communications
professionals.
1. Don’t try too hard to be trendy just because you are communicating with
young people.
- The post 90s are less interested in trends created by others. They want to create the trends themselves.
Many companies put too much effort into picking up trends rather than creating arenas for young
people to express themselves. Also, tightly intertwined with the aim to be unique is the aim to showcase
this uniqueness. This is a golden opportunity for marketing and communications specialists. With a
professionally executed campaign, they can enjoy the benefits of true “peer-to-peer” marketing. This
means that the target group voluntarily spreads the company’s messages to their friends. Not only is it
efficient, it is also considered as having high credibility.
2. Never underestimate the subtle nuances in people’s aim to be different.
- “Being different” doesn’t mean the same thing for people born in the 70s, 80s and 90s. This is something
marketers need to consider when tailoring a campaign based around the uniqueness of their offerings.
While the post-70s generation doesn’t want anything to create too much change, the post-80s are willing
to be different as long as they are the same as their peers, whilst the post 90s strive to be truly unique and
break the rules. For the marketer, this provides a good framework on how to better position companies
and services.

11. Eastwei MSL Executive Whitepaper
Marketing to the Chinese 70s, 80s and 90s generations 11
3. Make family fun!
- The responsible and stressed out post 70s don’t have as much free time as the younger age groups. Given
that their first priority will always be their family, this presents marketers with the opportunity to create
fun and exciting campaigns where everyone in the household can be involved. For the post 70s, this will
provide much needed relaxation while at the same time tapping in to the core values for this group. IKEA
has been extremely successful in this approach.
4. Make use of the inborn competitiveness of the post 80s.
- The concept of “getting ahead” is big among the post 80s. They still have not defined themselves in
terms of career and other signs of social standing. They live their lives among their peers and compare
themselves with them. For the marketer, this is the perfect basis for all sorts of consumer competitions
such as online campaigns and contests, marketing through games or features as well as collecting “points”
on social network sites’ applications. Everything where the results will be visible and comparable to peers
will make this group engage in the game – and therefore also with your brand.
5. Less respect for traditional authorities creates new opinion leaders. Target
them and make them your ambassadors.
- The younger the target audience, the less influenced they will be by so called “celebrity endorsers”.
Instead, they will turn to the opinion leaders amongst their peers. This creates some challenges for
marketers, since the new leaders of opinion may be harder to identify than the traditional celebrities. On
the other hand, it creates opportunities in terms of credibility, closeness to the brand and creativity. It is
possible to target the new opinion leaders by studying their communication patterns online or through
focus group interviews. Our recommendation is to identify them and to build long term relationships with
them. A good example is the well-known sports company which, in addition to sponsoring professional
athletes, also supports the best aerobic instructors at local gyms in every strategic city.
1970s 1980s 1990s
Key words Responsibility Fun Excitement

12. Eastwei MSL regularly publishes Executive Whitepapers with insights
and comments on trends, the industry and society as a whole.
To get information from Eastwei MSL, as well as to contact us for any
other matter, please send us an e-mail on contact.us@eastweimsl.com
or call us +86 21 5169 9311 (SH) or +86 10 5979 5558 (BJ).
Eastwei MSL Executive Whitepaper
January 2011
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