What is the most effective way to advertise in China? In most cases, I would have to say television, whether national or local, because surprisingly more than even Americans, Chinese are absolute TV addicts. Beyond television, though, what media best communicate to Chinese people?
I live in a small town, and more to entertain myself than to provide information directly appilcable for all of you readers, I want to relate the simple and effective advertising methods used out here in China's smaller towns. And, I am not talking about China's second and third tier cities, but actual small towns, with populations below 100,000.
First, of course, you cannot deal without the horribly antiquated and eerily reminiscent method of communist days gone by: loud speaker. The worst offender here locally is the "movie theater". I have it on good authority that they do actually show a movie every now and then, but the vast majority of their loud-speaker-strapped-to-a-truck advertisements have not-so-appealing, low-class pictures of girls in scanty amounts of clothing while booming "song and dance show tonight at the movie theater." Now, the Chinese phrase "song and dance" includes just about everything, but the photos fill in the clues we need to make our consumer choice.
Why would you use a loud speaker? Well, because nobody can get away from your advertisement, of course! It is the commercial that everybody has to hear. There is no channel surfing, no mute button. At the very least, use a good recording! They invade my sound space with recordings about as understandable as a drive through order.
Enough of that, though. Let's move on, shall we? Now, we come to the real point of this article, the method of choice out here in China's smaller towns. It is easy, efficient, visible, and (best of all) cheap.
The "taxi" around here is a three-wheeled motorcycle. The seats in the back are covered with a tarp, making a three-wheeled box, of sorts. The sides of this box often display adverts. Perfect, really. For all those who use the moto-taxis, they see the display when they get in, and for all those who prefer to walk, the signs are going by slowly enough to read from the sidewalk.
And how much does this mobile advertisement cost? $1.25 per month! No kidding! That is even dirt cheap here. The really strange thing, though, is that so few use this great, local, cleap medium for advertising. I see Coca Cola, China Mobile and China Unicom (the two big, national mobile phone service providers), and only the biggest stores here locally: supermarkets and electronics stores.
I am just shocked that more small businesses here locally do not use this service more. You can bet that the cafe which New Frontier is starting up soon will be using this method of advertising.
Hi Cooper,
Have you had any discussions with the tour operators to see 1) how much traffic they see coming through SJ a) now and b) when the Guilin / SJ road is finished? Just thinking out loud. Good posts!
Posted by: David Kennicutt | 3 Apr 2007 at 11:57
I have been surprised to hear about more foreign tourist traffic than initially expected. It is a very difficult number to figure, but as we talk to the drum tower ticket office, travel agencies, and local hotel personnel, even with the transportation as it is right now, that number is getting bigger. I need to write a post just on that in the next few days!
When will the road between Guilin and Sanjiang County be finished? Well, that of course, is also hard to know. I would guess, based on wildly different comments, late 2007, but we will see.
Posted by: Cooper Strange | 3 Apr 2007 at 14:03