Marketing funds have been slashed across the U.S. and Europe, but what is their status in China? Companies like GE, Mattel, and most technology firms have all seen steady losses in growth. One of the 1st sections of fat to be trimmed is the advertising budget. While companies throw costs overboard to stay afloat, they significantly reduce their awareness and position in the market place. The number one search engine Google, Inc. has undergone losses due to a lack of company’s interest to advertise with them.In China however, most firms based out of any of the four chief cities (HK, BJ, GZ, SH) have had ease funding an abundant marketing budget. In a comparative example, Baidu.com, Inc. (China’s ‘Google’) has grown 24% in the 1st quarter due to heavy advertising from Chinese companies.
In the 3rd largest economy, not only are the industries increasing their marketing budgets, but the advertisers are increasing their marketing budgets congruently. When struggling companies finally surface from our economic debacle, what kind of environment will they face?
- John Cutrone III
Hey John, have any resources similar to http://www.marketing.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3292 that offers statistics and figures on Chinese SME's expenditures on marketing?
ReplyDeleteHi Chen,
ReplyDeleteI work mostly within the IT consulting field however you might find this link useful http://www.ccwresearch.com.cn/store/downloads/20066308396case-sme.pdf
Unfortunately most of the statistical data is offered for a charge to download. This ranges from $20-$800 US dollars or a few thousand Yuan.
What I can tell you is that almost all businesses in China are SMEs, (~98%) and to be competitive, an aggressive marketing strategy is key. Western companies tend to focus on structure, and Chinese companies tend to keep their marketing budget pretty loose to be agile enough to change with the market.