Jenny Chan 陳詠欣
Nov 4, 2015

Touchpoints multiply: The rising pressure on China marketers over five years

SHANGHAI - With the diversification of media consumption in China over the last five years, marketers now need to attend to almost twice as many touchpoints to generate the same level of brand influence, according to research by ZenithOptimedia.

Touchpoints multiply: The rising pressure on China marketers over five years

In the 2010 edition of ZenithOptimedia’s Touchpoints study, the prevailing topic was the emerging middle class, their hopes and aspirations, and their own expectations of what increased wealth brings. Much of the learning for media agencies at that time centred around product consumption fit to show off a lifestyle of success.

Now, in 2015, consumers are less content with the mere "badge value" of brands, are more appreciative of the finer qualities of consumption, and are becoming savvier about what products personify them.

The industry often speaks of the increased fragmentation of touchpoints and China is a striking illustration of this trend. Five years ago, the top nine touchpoints (paid, owned and earned combined) represented about half of a consumer's brand experience. Today, brands need 14 touchpoints to deliver the same experience (see graphic on right).

The use of a greater variety of touchpoints is in great part led by a more digital lifestyle.

It is now unsurprising to see the share of influence of digital touchpoints becoming more complementary to the entire brand experience. This also has a collateral effect: as more touchpoints are required to reach the same level of influence, the domination of certain traditional touchpoints is coming to an end.

"When we look at the five-year trending analysis, we see that there is a convergence of media influences towards the middle," said Chris Maier, head of research and analytics at ZenithOptimedia China.

"TV used to be a massive influence, and digital was still playing in its early stages. Now the 'influence scores' are similar. Quite frankly, the influence of TV vs OTV vs print magazine vs outdoor is going to be quite similar".

Less variance calls for even greater integration of marketing campaigns and measurement efforts, Maier told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

'If we have so much convergence towards the middle, the practical application for brands is to consider using every touchpoint just 'lightly' because of budget constraints, or select some more important touchpoints and use those as the 'spine' of marketing communications. It won't be 'regressive' to not cover all 14 touchpoints," he elaborated.

However, this greater emphasis on integration will make specialisms more difficult to justify and will require the development of talent's capabilities that understand all parts of the marketing equation, according to ZenithOptimedia.

That said, TV is still the most influential paid medium in China, both in terms of purchase influence and brand recall. This statement was made in 2010 and still holds true today. But over the last five years, TV's days as the absolute ruler are now numbered. But the bigger story in 2015 is how OTV’s growth has not been able to compensate for the overall decline of TV’s share of experience (yet). 

This, pointed out Maier, confirms again the trend that advertisers and agencies must measure the influence of their campaigns through combined means.
 
Source:
Campaign Asia

Related Articles

Just Published

15 hours ago

Agency Report Card 2024: Ogilvy

Ogilvy APAC celebrated a strong creative year in 2024, clinching top regional honours at Cannes Lions. Yet operational headwinds, particularly in China, tested its resilience and reshaped its growth strategy.

15 hours ago

Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards 2024: ...

Ogilvy and UM win global network of the year awards for creative and media respectively, while Special agency in New Zealand earns Asia-Pacific network of the year.

17 hours ago

Apple Watch’s heart story strikes a chord in Japan

Apple’s new Japan campaign tells the real-life story of a heavy metal fan whose Apple Watch alerts help detect a life-threatening heart condition just in time.

17 hours ago

2025 Cannes Contenders: RGA creatives weigh in

A ubiquitous surname, a sexually transmitted infection, the printing of memories and an animal god that helps gamers might all bring fame glory to campaigns in Cannes next week.