Fortune (March 23)
“Foreign businesses’ direct investment into China last year increased by the lowest amount since the early 1990s, underscoring Beijing’s challenges to spur its economy. It also has to contend with a steadily accelerating outflow of manufacturing as Apple and other American brands begin to position new capacity in countries from India to Southeast Asia to mitigate risks from US-China tensions.”
Tags: 1990s, Accelerating, Apple, Beijing, Brands, Capacity, Challenges, China, Economy, FDI, India, Investment, Manufacturing, Mitigate, Outflow, Risks, U.S.
WARC (July 24)
“Around the world, AI is developing and it is quickly reaching a point where it is speeding up human work to the point of replacing humans. This is a point in time for brands and agencies to really think about the technology and work out what ethical, responsible uses look like.” The rise of virtual influencers in China marks “one of the first instances of true competition between humans and machines for work and will be an important test case for the technology and the labour questions it raises.”
Tags: AI, Brands, China, Competition, Developing, Ethical, Humans, Replacing, Responsible, Technology, Uses, Virtual influencers, Work
WARC (March 2)
“Experimentation and new thinking are the driving force for effective marketing in Asia.” WARC recent report finds that “brands across Asia changed and adapted their strategies post-pandemic, showing a spirit of experimentation and new thinking in order to remain relevant to consumer behaviour changes.”
Tags: Adapted, Asia, Brands, Consumer behaviour, Effective marketing, Experimentation, New thinking, Post-pandemic, Strategies, WARC
WARC (November 28)
Carbon offsets hearken back to the pre-crash CDO market. In 47% of the transactions Bloomberg recently analyzed, there was inadequate “information to link them back to a buyer. It is, effectively, an opaque market…. The trouble is that this confirms many people’s – often correct – perception that they can’t trust what most brands tell them about their carbon footprint.”
Tags: Bloomberg, Brands, Buyer, Carbon footprint, Carbon offsets, CDO market, Inadequate, Link, Opaque market, Perception, Pre-crash, Transactions, Trust
WARC (July 23)
“China’s census, conducted once every decade, reveals the demographic trends of its vast and vibrant market, and brands that react quickly and demonstrate cultural relevance to these developments will be the most successful.”
Tags: Brands, Census, China, Cultural relevance, Demographic trends, Market, React, Successful, Vast, Vibrant
WARC (May Issue)
With ad-blocker adoption soaring on mobile devices, “a lighter ad load may prove more effective for brands, with ‘too many ads’ being the most damaging factor for brands according to consumers. A growing focus on audience attention is also emerging, particularly around advertising in quality environments.”
Tags: Ad-blocker, Advertising, Attention, Audience, Brands, Consumers, Damaging, Effective, Environments, Mobile devices, Quality
WARC (May 6)
With plunging online sales, “Adidas and Nike are the latest western brands to feel the effects of China’s attacks on companies that criticize reported human rights abuses against Uyghurs in the country’s Xinjiang region.” There have also been calls for boycotts of H&M, Burberry and Uniqlo. “The reaction highlights the tension foreign brands face between speaking out, on the one hand, as their domestic customers increasingly demand, and, on the other, risking commercial damage by offending Beijing.”
Tags: Abuses, Adidas, Attacks, Boycotts, Brands, Burberry, China, Customers, H&M, Human rights, Nike, Online sales, Risk, Tension, Uniqlo, Uyghurs
WARC (May 19)
“India’s largest consumer-facing companies have begun pushing ‘vocal for local’ themes across all advertising and marketing campaigns and last-mile sales pitches.” This could give local brands a boost in the Indian market, which is currently dominated by global brands.
Tags: Advertising, Brands, Consumer-facing, Global brands, India, Marketing, Sales, Vocal for local
Wired (August 5)
Despite “growing support from both consumers and retailers to move away from cash in favor of digital payment options,” there are dangers. Roughly a quarter of U.S. consumers have no access or limited access to credit, debit and other cashless options. “Brands need to consider inclusive commerce a core part of their overall customer experience. Cash may no longer be king, but its place in the retail landscape will remain for decades to come.”
WARC (December 18)
With wireless giant China Mobile leading the rankings, “domestic brands are outperforming foreign rivals when it comes to connecting with Chinese consumers via corporate social responsibility activities.” The next spots were occupied by Dairy group Mengniu and Lenovo.
Tags: Brands, China Mobile, Consumers, CSR, Domestic, Foreign rivals, Lenovo, Mengniu, Outperform, Rankings, Wireless
