P&G Using Online Soap Opera To Market Beauty Products In China

CNNMoney.com, June 17, 2009 — Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) has once again turned to the soap opera genre to market its products, only this time the soap is online and the characters are in China.

Max Factor, a beauty brand that P&G is discontinuing in the U.S., is playing a central role in the firm's new marketing efforts in China. An online soap opera made by P&G's beauty and grooming group and Beijing Hachette Advertising Co. tells the story of two young, energetic professional women, Max Factor's target consumers in the country. And, of course, the show's characters use only P&G beauty products.

Adidas Bets Big on Beijing†

Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2008 — When it comes to China, sportswear giant Adidas AG thinks bigger is better.

At midnight Friday, the company will open its biggest store in the world here. The long, glass-clad rectangular building reflects Adidas's ambition to use China as a battleground to overtake rival Nike Inc.

Fisher-Price Game Plan: Pursue Toy Sales in Developing Markets†

Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2008 — In developing a line of talking toys aimed at children in China, engineers at Fisher-Price had to struggle to perfect the Mandarin "Sh" sound, which involves a soft hiss that was difficult to encode on sound-data chips embedded in the toys.

Developers finally solved the problem of recording the phrase "It's learning time!" in Mandarin, but new challenges are ahead. (Listen to the phrase.) The company will soon be examining the LCD screens on learning toys to determine whether Chinese characters can be displayed clearly.

Getting such details right is increasingly important as Fisher-Price and its parent company, Mattel Inc., try to attract more customers overseas.

Caterpillar digs into China

Crain's Chicago Business, April 7, 2008 — It took Caterpillar Inc. three decades to reach $1.5 billion in annual sales in China. The Peoria-based construction-equipment maker now aims to more than double that in the next three years.

With the U.S. construction business tanking, Caterpillar needs to capitalize on a building boom in China. Ramping up sales in the world's fastest-growing construction market could help offset slumping demand in the United States and keep Cat on track to hit its goal of boosting companywide revenue 33% by 2010.

Bidding for brands: India and China acquire a taste for luxury†

Financial Times, January 10, 2008 — Hotel managers, particularly those in the luxury business, are generally polite folk. But last month, when India’s Taj Hotels chain made what it said was a friendly approach to Orient Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises, the luxury hospitality group, the ensuing dialogue quickly degenerated into an uncharacteristically public spat.

Stories of the Year†

Plus Marketing Follies

Advertising Age, December 17, 2007 — There were plenty of real, market-shifting stories this year, ranging from Rupert Murdoch's Dow Jones play to Facebook to the unstoppable rise of digital.

In China, Add a Caterpillar to the Dog and Pony Show†

Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2007 — Selling giant industrial machines in China sometimes feels to Mike Cai like living life in a traveling circus.

A marketer for Caterpillar Inc., Mr. Cai is working to crack the China market for earthmovers called wheel tractor-scrapers. Already a decades-old product in America, these dirt-scoopers, which weigh in at 38 tons, haven't made much headway in China, which still relies on the smaller "hex" — industry jargon for hydraulic excavator — and trucks on most construction sites.

To change that, Mr. Cai and his colleagues have eschewed traditional advertising techniques. Instead they've taken their show on the road, adopting a tactic popular in China's burgeoning market.

NOT Made In China

Amid growing awareness of food perils, companies that spotlight where ingredients originate are enjoying new demand

BusinessWeek, July 30, 2007 — Earlier this year, Swiss ingredient maker DSM Nutritional Products launched a "premium" Vitamin C. The marketing gambit: It comes from tidy Scotland instead of sprawling China, which provides 80% of the world's supply. But it was a tough sell. "We were struggling to get the price we thought was justified by the quality," says communications chief Alex Filz.

The Many Faces of China

Grabbing the tiger by its Internet.

eMarketer, July 25, 2007 — "It is no exaggeration to say that the Beijing Olympics in 2008 represent the 'coming out' party of China," says Ben Macklin, eMarketer Senior Analyst and the author of the new report, China Internet Audience. "While China has enjoyed terrific economic growth over the last 20 years, and now is the fourth-largest economy in the world — and the second-largest in terms of purchasing-power parity — its international influence and reputation have not matched its burgeoning economic power. But all that is changing."

Internet Boom in China Is Built on Virtual Fun

New York Times, February 5, 2007 — When Pony Ma, the 35-year-old co-founder of China’s hottest Internet company, sends a message to friends and colleagues, the image that pops up on their screens shows a spiky-haired youth wearing flashy jeans and dark sunglasses.

That is not how Mr. Ma actually looks or acts, but it is an image that fits well with the youthful, faintly rebellious nature of a company led by somebody who may be China’s closest approximation to Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the young founders of Google.