As China enters the WTO, the range of brands and products offered to consumers will increase to match Asian standards. Therefore, China's growing domestic market will increasingly become a main reference point for marketing trends in Asia, together with Japan and Korea. As a result, the need to anticipate the next step in Chinese consumers' needs will become even more important. This paper highlights what makes the young (15 - 35 years) Chinese middle class consumer special in Asia. It also shows how this will increasingly impact the future of branding in the region, as mainland China urban youth progressively imposes its tune on regional trends and blends its priority with both western and Japanese pop culture influence.
This paper describes a new segmentation methodology based on socio- cultural variables which combined with socio-demographic variables tell of a new reality - vital stages that in the past respected a certain temporal sequence but which today are less well-defined often jumbled in a different order than would be expected and with the possibility of repetition in an individualâs life. Therefore the classical demographic segmentations have lost the power to describe homogeneous groups of people and to predict their social behaviours. In contrast Ufefimes can contribute to decisions on strategies that in the context of globalisation require a clear identification of the similarities and differences.
This paper describes a new segmentation methodology based on socio- cultural variables which combined with socio-demographic variables tell of a new reality - vital stages that in the past respected a certain temporal sequence but which today are less well-defined often jumbled in a different order than would be expected and with the possibility of repetition in an individual's life. Therefore the classical demographic segmentations have lost the power to describe homogeneous groups of people and to predict their social behaviours. In contrast Ufefimes can contribute to decisions on strategies that in the context of globalisation require a clear identification of the similarities and differences.
This paper will provide illustrations in relation to the viewing and consumption habits and the socio-cultural trends which have emerged in Europe over the last five years. It will bring some insight into the value profiles of the television channels in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK. There are clear connections between viewing and consumption habits and values which show significant similarities in the five major countries. An initial segmentation has been made in order to segment the five countries' viewers on the basis of their preferred programmes. According to preliminary results, the segments reveal quite homogeneous tendencies. These results strongly support the Finnish viewer segmentation analysis and the conclusion that there are other viewing models to be found, also connected with viewersâ values and attitudes.
Modem society is characterized by change : technological, political, economic... These changes all contribute to socio-cultural evolution, that is to say our evolving vision our ourselves and of the society in which we live. This, in turn, influences developments in technology, politics, economics, etc., in an on-going, self-repeating process. In a context of emerging opportunities and threats one cannot afford to adopt a wait and see attitude, nor assume that the future will be a mere extension of the past. Because yesterday's solutions will certainly not fit tomorrow's problems, anticipation and flexibility are the keys to successfully piloting oneâs business in an ever changing environment. More research and consulting firms teach clients such a philosophy. But, how can we apply it to our own field of praxiology, market research ? By consistently providing both a brand or product related actionable angle and a long term perspective in each research product, at each research level, anticipation can be built-in in market research services.
This paper is divided into two parts. The first part will outline some elements of a semiotic theory of the brand. In the definition of the brand identity, a crucial point is an identification of basic values and the distinction of these from a more superficial brand's elements. This distinction is particularly relevant in order to pilot the brand evolution over time. A precise approach for spotting the brand's basic values will be described in this part. In the second part a specific methodology, called "Brand Audit" will be presented. The Brand Audit is a research procedure designed to help the strategic marketing of a given brand. It is based on five types of information. The brand communication universe, the company's culture and objectives, the socio-cultural trends, the market data, and the consumers' responses are investigated and put together, in order to collect several different versions of the identity of the studied brand. These five types of information are in constant interaction and evolution and must be apprehended within a unique theoretical and methodological framework.
For some years now, people have been studying the trends underlying the changes taking place in today's society and developing what has become a real research technique: "socio- trends analysis". A number of studies have been carried out rising this technique and these have brought to light some interesting analyses of current trends. However, we believe that much more could be done with the results of these studies in terms of marketing strategy and organisation. This paper, which is divided into three parts, is intended as a contribution in this direction. The first part describes the theoretical basis underlying socio-trends analysis itself. In this second part, we briefly consider what we consider to be the most significant consumer trends (the "Ten C's") within the context of a European market which is on its way to becoming a truly "common" market. In the third part, we try to give one example of the possible applications of this theoretical idea to the concrete reality of consumer markets.