Tom Nixon | The Speed of China, An Innovation Mindset, & Reaching the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Tier Cities With Your Marketing

Tom points to social changes as most fundamental to the rapid growth of the Chinese market, particularly with how quick consumers are in adopting new technologies. There are three keys to this change: 1) Immersion, or maximizing the buyer experience (i.e. standardizing vertical video); 2) Innovation, and framing these novel platforms as a positive lifestyle change; 3) Entertainment, which was never a huge factor to the Chinese consumer in the past.

According to Tom, there are two types of content: 1) Marketing content, which is produced by brands; and 2) User-generated content (UGC), which is created by the consumers themselves. When it comes to content that resonates with Chinese consumers, the focus should be put on who buyers are listening to at that point in time. This is always changing: From Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), today’s “authority figures” are micro-influencers.

The common thread here is the democratization of business. While before we were constantly faced with big, flashy, high-budget advertising, now we tend to listen more to raw, down-to-earth, and entertaining individual creators who are (seemingly) “just like us”.

Tom advises Western brands to understand their customers’ touchpoints and ecosystems. The biggest mistake companies make is not being aware of cultural nuances. At worst, they risk offending potential buyers with their marketing. At best, they know where consumers go, but not how to actually engage with them or how to tailor their brand to their target customers.

Tom’s real-life example is when a company once reached out for help regarding what content to produce on WeChat—without first considering whether WeChat is really the best place for them to be in. Understanding the platforms is important indeed, but it is just as important to understand the culture of the people using these platforms.