Study Provides a Glimpse of What the World Will See in Beijing in 2008
NEW YORK, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of its Prosumer
Pulse(R) 2004 study in six countries, global marketing communications agency
Euro RSCG Worldwide has completed an online survey of more than 2,000 men and
women in the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The survey explored a broad array of topics, including health and diet,
lifestyles, shopping preferences, online usage, and perceptions of leading
brands. Through a battery of attitude statements, Euro RSCG was able to
identify each respondent as a mainstream consumer or a prosumer (aka proactive
consumer). Prosumers are an important focus of the agency and its clients
because of the strong influence they have on the product and brand choices of
people around them. These men and women have taken advantage of new tools and
information sources to grow more informed, more marketing savvy, and more
aware of their value to manufacturers and marketers. They are far more
demanding of their brand and retail partners, and are the impetus behind such
trends as 24/7 retail, increased expenditures on customer relationship
management (CRM), and new conveniences in products, services, and packaging.
Euro RSCG has been tracking prosumer-related trends and this segment's impact
on key industries since 2001, and conducted a benchmark study of prosumer
attitudes and behaviors in 2002. Comparing responses from the Chinese sample
of Prosumer Pulse 2004 with those in other markets highlights a variety of
interesting differences and commonalities.
Among the study's findings:
* Of all the problems facing China, overweight and obesity wouldn't be
obvious areas of concern, but the study found that nearly one-third of
prosumer respondents (32%) and 28% of the overall sample consider
themselves overweight. While those figures pale beside the U.S. rate of
61% of adults who are overweight or obese (and the 56% of Euro RSCG's
U.S. survey respondents who indicated they are overweight), the higher
prosumer score suggests that overweight is a rising trend in China.
Yang Xuan, general manager of Euro RSCG's Life/Healthcare division in
China, commented: "Currently, marketers of diet drugs and diet foods,
including tea, and sports gyms, are targeting younger Chinese. What
we're seeing is that the groups that are most likely to be overweight
are actually middle-aged men and women, as well as spoiled only
children under age 12. Marketers should also be aware that, in China,
as opposed to other markets we've studied, the overweight and obese are
not likely to be in the prosumer category."
* The Beijing Olympic Games are still four years off, but the Chinese are
already distinguishing themselves by their high level of sports
fanaticism. Fully 48% of the overall sample agreed that they are "big
sports fans (live for sports, playing and/or viewing)." That's a
significantly larger slice of the population than the 27% of British
respondents or 29% of Americans who are keen on sports. And bear in
mind that the survey was completed before the headline-grabbing
performances of England star Wayne Rooney at Euro 2004, which has
excited China because his club is sponsored by Chinese corporation
Kejian.
* A traditional Chinese strength is family bonds, which have helped the
Chinese weather changing fortunes both at home and abroad. It comes as
no surprise, then, that a strong majority of respondents (74%) rated
family as the most important thing in their lives (80% of prosumers vs.
72% of nonprosumers). It's interesting to note, however, that while the
level of agreement is slightly higher than those garnered by survey
respondents in France and Germany, it's significantly lower than the
80% of British respondents and 87% of Americans who claim family as the
most important thing in their lives.
Also raising questions about the state of family in the PRC is the fact
that the Chinese are the most likely of all the survey respondents to
worry that their "family unit" is not working as well as they'd like.
Nearly half of the Chinese sample agreed with that statement (46%),
compared with just 25% of British respondents, 30% of Germans, and 35%
of Americans. The French were the only respondents with similarly high
levels of concern-44% of them agreed with the statement. (Responses
from the India sample have not yet been tabulated.)
* The idea of "home" is also significantly weaker in China than in all
the other markets, with the exception of France. Just 45% of Chinese
respondents consider home the center of their lives (62% of Americans
do so), and just 38% see themselves as homebodies (compared with 58% in
the U.S.). These figures likely are affected by the younger-male skew
of Chinese online, but it's also likely a consequence of the fact that
housing in China is more modest and cramped, so people tend to
socialize more often outside the home. Sure enough, only 21% of the
Chinese sample (compared with 53% of the U.S. sample) say more of their
social life is taking place in-home than five years ago. What's more,
the figure is even higher among prosumers (60%), suggesting that we
won't be seeing a trend toward in-home entertainment and DIY in China
anytime soon.
* Despite the years of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese have long
held education in high regard. In keeping with that tradition, 74% of
survey respondents indicated that, given the choice, they would opt for
"a great education from a top university" over "a $1 million trust fund
that pays out in 20 years." By comparison, just 35% of Americans
surveyed chose the education.
* When it comes to social mores, Chinese communities both inside and
outside the PRC tend to be more conservative than "Westerners," but the
Euro RSCG study indicates that a certain loosening may be under way. A
substantial 70% of the Chinese sample agree that monogamy is the
natural state for human beings, but a surprising 42% are in favor of
same-sex partnerships/"marriages" being accorded the same status as
man-woman marriages. That's higher than in the U.S. (35%) and on par
with the levels of agreement in France (42%) and the U.K. (45%).
Germany is the only country in which a majority of respondents (57%)
would like to see same-sex partnerships treated equally with
traditional marriage unions.
"Euro RSCG's survey of 2,079 Chinese online can only aspire to be a
keyhole view of the 1.2 billion Chinese living in the People's Republic," said
Marian Salzman, Chief Strategy Officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide and chief
architect of the study. "But this Internet-based keyhole provides a glimpse of
some of the most switched-on Chinese, including the highly influential 19%
whom we have identified as prosumers. If there's one thing Chinese history has
shown, it's that the destiny of the many can be influenced by the actions of a
few."
For more information on Euro RSCG's Prosumer Pulse 2004 study or to
arrange an interview with one of its authors, please contact the person listed
below.
ABOUT THE STUDY
Findings from Prosumer Pulse 2004: A Global Study-Anticipating Consumer
Demand are based on an online survey in five markets: China (n=2,079), France
(n=2,000), Germany (n=3,158), the United Kingdom (n=2,127), and the United
States (n=1,982). Findings from the sixth market studied, India, are in the
process of being tabulated.
Euro RSCG Worldwide, a leading integrated marketing communications agency,
is made up of 233 offices located in 75 countries throughout Europe, North
America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Euro RSCG provides advertising,
marketing services, corporate communications, and interactive solutions to
global, regional, and local clients. The agency's client roster includes
Airbus, Air France, Aventis, BNP Paribas, Capgemini, Danone Group, Intel
Corporation, LVMH Louis Vuitton, MCI, Polaroid, PSA Peugeot Citrokn, Reckitt
Benckiser, and Volvo. Headquartered in New York, Euro RSCG Worldwide is the
largest unit of Havas, a world leader in communications
(Nasdaq: HAVS - Euronext Paris SA: HAV.PA).
Press Contacts:
Owen Dougherty
Chief Communications Officer
Euro RSCG Worldwide
+1 212 886 2084
owen.dougherty@eurorscg.com
Hilary Heard
Communications Manager
Euro RSCG Worldwide - New York
+1 212-886-2710
hilary.heard@eurorscg.com
SOURCE Euro RSCG Worldwide
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Related links:
http://www.eurorscg.com
CONTACT:
Owen Dougherty, Chief Communications Officer,
+1-212-886-2084, or owen.dougherty@eurorscg.com; or Hilary Heard,
Communications Manager, +1-212-886-2710, or
hilary.heard@eurorscg.com, both of Euro RSCG Worldwide
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