After 15 years of building brands in China, there are few who know more about the market than David King of Iris Worldwide.

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THE KING OF
MARKETING
After 15 years of building brands in China, there
are few who know more about the market than
David King of Iris Worldwide
Tell us about your history with China. When did you firstTell us about your history with China. When did you first
arrive and why?arrive and why?
In the late nineties I co-owned a London-based marketing agency called
Tarantula, which had expanded internationally through acquisition. But
our China office started losing money, so in 2002 I came out to Shanghai
on a one-year mission to fix it or close it. I ended up fixing it and so began
THE BIG INTERVIEW

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“Whilst it would be
quite normal for a
brand to run the
same marketing
campaign across
the whole of the UK,
it would not be
sensible to do the
same in China”
my amazing 12-year China journey.
What are the key changes in the marketing and brandingWhat are the key changes in the marketing and branding
industry in China over the last decade?industry in China over the last decade?
The emergence of mobile. Exactly ten years ago, when I was running
Publicis Dialog in Shanghai, I was working with GE [General Electric] on
what was then a revolutionary idea of using mobile phones to access web
content in the build-up to the Beijing Olympics. This pioneering (and
award winning) work required a brave client, and I still have memories of
unsuccessfully trying to persuade other clients in China that people
would increasingly access the web on their mobile phones. Ten years on,
it is now the preferred screen in China which, I am pleased to see,
continues to lead the world in mobile marketing – in part I think driven
by technology leap-frogging.
What do you mean by leap-frogging?What do you mean by leap-frogging?
Technology leap-frogging is where a
country wakes up to a product category or
industry relatively late, and then adopts a
more evolved version of the technology
more quickly than the rest of the
world. For example, in the 1970s and ’80s
the rest of the world were watching video
on tapes (VHS). But China during this
period was comparatively poor and
watching videos was a luxury that never
made it to the country.
However as compact discs emerged as a storage option for video, China
quickly embraced it, and so in the ’90’s the VCD [video CD] player was
the must-have household device in the emerging middle class homes.
We can see that in online gaming too. Gaming is huge in China because
whilst westerners were playing on games consoles, Chinese gamers were
forced to play online as consoles are banned in China.

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And also with mobile internet. For most Westerners, the internet was first
experienced using a PC. As a home computer was too expensive for most
people in China (especially in third, fourth and fifth tier cities) a
smartphone provided a more accessible option.
Many still have the impression that China's marketing isMany still have the impression that China's marketing is
behind that of the West, with some adverts gainingbehind that of the West, with some adverts gaining
attention for their outdated and even politically incorrectattention for their outdated and even politically incorrect
content. What are your thoughts on this?content. What are your thoughts on this?
I don't think that you should confuse cultural differences or prejudice
with marketing sophistication. Whilst I would agree that in traditional
media channels such as TV and print, some Chinese advertising can
appear to be too literal or simplistic in Western eyes, many other aspects
of China’s marketing are actually way ahead of the West. Tencent, for
example, continues to evolve WeChat at a pace that ensures it remains
relevant to the majority of the Chinese population.
The marketing opportunities that this facilitates is limited only by the
imagination of the client. The best example I have seen in the last couple
of months is Starbucks allowing WeChat users to gift a Starbucks to their
friends at Chinese New Year: advocacy and sampling digitally enabled.
Very smart.
In what ways is marketing to Chinese audiences differentIn what ways is marketing to Chinese audiences different
to marketing to British audiences?to marketing to British audiences?
The basic principles are the same: start with a compelling insight and
then develop a product or marketing proposition that resonates and fulfils
the consumer need (whilst ideally being hard for a competitor to
replicate). The greatest difference is the sheer scale of China, the regional
cultural variations and the wide range of consumer marketing maturity
from tier one to tier four or five cities. Whilst it would be quite normal for
a brand to run the same marketing campaign across the whole of the UK,
it would not be sensible to do the same in China.

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WeChat has become the social platform of choice in China.WeChat has become the social platform of choice in China.
How should brands use WeChat to reach audiences?How should brands use WeChat to reach audiences?
WeChat was the right product at the right
time. WeChat offered the “killer app” for
smartphones just at the moment that they
went mainstream in China. The constant
and intuitive evolution of the WeChat
platform has kept it fresh and relevant to
Chinese consumers' lives, to the point
that they can spend their entire waking
hours with only this app open on their
phone. You can book a flight, a hotel, a
taxi, pay a bill, phone a friend, message a
friend, video conference a friend, send
money to your mum, order food delivery,
the list goes on.
Success on WeChat comes through the ability of a brand to integrate fully
into the world of the consumer, rather than forcing the consumer to enter
the world of the brand, for example by accessing an app, which requires
the consumer to leave their WeChat comfort zone.
There are still few Chinese brands that have succeeded inThere are still few Chinese brands that have succeeded in
going global. Why is this and do you think it will change?going global. Why is this and do you think it will change?
In most cases, the Chinese brands that have succeeded globally have
either acquired or partnered with a Western brand. The most recent
example is Huawei, which whilst it was able to develop a successful
business in the UK as a B2B technology provider, it struggled to get
traction as consumer brand until it partnered with Leica to promote the
camera quality of its latest mobile phone.
One of the reasons that I believe Chinese brands have struggled with
going global is the reticence of Chinese companies to invest in consumer
insights and strategy for sophisticated mature markets such as the UK or
USA, where brand is often more important that product. Instead, Chinese

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consumer brands have tended to focus on less sophisticated product-led
markets where they can export successfully based on price alone. The
Chinese car industry is a good example, where their domestic brand
exports have been focussed on emerging markets.
What are the most common mistakes Western brandsWhat are the most common mistakes Western brands
make when trying to appeal to a Chinese audience?make when trying to appeal to a Chinese audience?
Western brands are sometimes guilty of assuming what a Chinese
consumer will want to buy, or worse, presuming that the Chinese
consumer will want to buy exactly the same as the British consumer.
Marks and Spencer was arguably a victim of this, although I think the
reasons for their China exit go beyond just this.
What top tips would you give a brand trying to launch inWhat top tips would you give a brand trying to launch in
China?China?
Take your time. Do due diligence on your due diligence. Hire wisely: you
may need to pay top dollar for someone with serious China credentials,
but you will save millions by not then making the common mistakes.
Start small: Focus on one city, then grow outwards from that city – don't
suddenly choose an entirely new region.
David King CVDavid King CV
1983 - Left school.
1984 – Started in retail management at Visionhire
1988 – Joined marketing agency Haygarth
1998 – Co–founded CRM/ Marketing agency Tarantula
2002 – Moved to Shanghai for Tarantula China

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2005 – Sold Tarantula China to Publicis
2007 – Left Publicis to start CRM agency RAPP China with DDB
2009 – Left RAPP/DDB to join iris China and started iris Concise
Shanghai
2014 – Awarded my MBA by WBS – University of Warwick
2015 – Returned to London at end of 2014 to continue to work for
iris and established Spark International
2016 – Joined the Board of CBBC