While the more mature markets here such as Japan, Korea,
Hong Kong, and Singapore may show similarities with the developed
West, the other couple of billion eyeballs in developing countries
such as china, India and Indonesia have fundamentally different
histories, cultures, demographics, and behaviours. Therefore,
despite globalisation trends, we can expect their media habits to
remain distinct for some time to come.
One significant difference is platform or "device neutrality".
In many U.S. households, for example, the television was the only
visual device for decades - perhaps from just after World War II
until the personal computer became common in the 1980s and 90s.
This long history has left Americans with the basic perception that
moving images "belong" on the television device.
Video does not belong to TV in Asia
However, the history of TV is much different in a developing
market such as China. While sets were certainly known and available
for many decades, it is only recently that the TV has become
ubiquitous in China. It was not until 1990 that over half of urban
Chinese households possessed a colour TV, and not until 2001 that
rural areas caught up to this figure [1]. This timing overlaps with
the introduction of personal computers, internet access and mobile
devices. So from a developing market perspective, video never
inherently "belonged" to any particular platform.
Westerners realise this rationally now, and may be well aware of
device convergence from a technological standpoint, but many are
still locked into antiquated mind-sets and holdover behaviours that
are simply not at play in Asia. In a study by Parks Associates, one
half of TV-owning customers in Asia said networked TV features such
as PC-based online video were important, while only one quarter
agreed in the United States. The study revealed, "Asian consumers
are more comfortable than other people in the world in using a
computer like a TV and a TV like a computer" [2]
More recently, our own research survey at Span Consulting
dramatically revealed that 77% of PC owners in China considered
their computer to be the primary entertainment centre in the home,
whereas only 7% chose the TV [3].
So often we find that the contrasts and limitations in various
markets are not only technological or economical - they are
historical, cultural, demo-graphic, and perceptual. And that's the
rich area of exploration we focus on at Span
Computers connect and provide experiences
Our qualitative in-home interviews in three Chinese cities
uncovered further insights into these perceptual differences
between East and West. In past generations in the West, the TV was
the "window to the outside world" or the symbol of connection to
something bigger, something modern. The moon landing or the fall of
the Berlin Wall gave the West shared moments around the television
set.
Today in China, it is the Personal Computer that connects and
provides special experiences. In some homes, we noticed consumers
had just a basic or old TV, but sitting alongside was a shiny new
PC; one that was always on. And in many cases, the PC was the most
expensive thing in the home - by far.
The computer in that dim corner is the window to a bigger world
of entertainment, escape, friends, education, information and
communication. There is symbolic power and hope in this device for
Chinese families, beyond anything the TV can offer and beyond what
most in the developed West can understand.
The West might think of watching TV online and add up
the negatives such as:
- Brief, mostly unprofessional YouTube
clips
- Poor visual and audio quality
What could the attraction be for Asians? The simple
answers:
- Youku.com, the popular Chinese video
site, has no length restrictions on uploads (and limited copyright
issues!) and therefore supports more satisfying and engrossing
full-length TV and movie content
- Poor quality is less relevant when the
content is free and the device is not exactly a high-end home
theatre system to begin with
- Slow downloads are still prevalent in
developing Asia, but places like Korea are setting the pace for the
East with the fastest broadband speeds in the world
Video on mobile
Of course mobile devices are also increasingly valid platforms for
Asians to view content on. Mobile video is far more popular among
the young [4] and the average age in the developing East is a full
10 years younger than the developed West [5]. Again, the technology
for mobile video may be available in a place like Germany where the
median age is about 44 years old, but the interest and comfort
level in viewing and sharing TV on the go is much higher in a
country like Malaysia, with a median age of only 26.
We must also consider the smaller home spaces and high usage of
public transport in Asian cities. Already, the internet is accessed
more by phone than by PC in Asia, and in 2009, the region
represented around 75% of all mobile TV viewing worldwide [6].
Online consumers in Asia-Pacifc are 45% more likely to use mobile
video than the global average [7].
So where does the future lie for TV in Asia? Mobile and
online?
We believe that recent statements from Nielsen Media Research such
as "…the perfect environment for watching television is in the
comfort of the home, during recreational time and on a big screen"
are simply not relevant here [6].
Opportunities for advertisers
All this points to opportunities for advertisers who are able to
mentally de-couple the idea of TV content from the traditional
ideas of the TV device, the TV viewing environment, and the linear
TV experience.
The most basic and obvious adaptation of advertising to the
online and mobile world has resulted in pop-up ads, banners,
"sponsored by", and surrounds for video content to supplant the
interruptive 30 second spot. Check your integration of TV
advertising and online and mobile advertising - remember, your
audience is platform-agnostic.
Perhaps more relevant is product placement where your "ad" is
embedded directly into the content. Korean TV dramas like "Secret
Garden" are taking advantage of recently relaxed regulations and
building more clothing, beverage and technology products into their
storylines [8]. A placement, of course, has the huge advantage of
not being edited out of the show when it is uploaded for online and
mobile viewing on any of the myriad official - and importantly,
"unofficial" - content sites. Do what you can to be included in
these uncontrolled, unregulated, but eyeball-rich environments.
Similarly, celebrity branding - ubiquitous in collectivist and
hierarchical Asia - is a powerful tactic, allowing the potential to
link products so closely to a celebrity that each view of the
famous star becomes a product ad by default. Ads for luxury watch
brands in Asia do this successfully, linking John Travolta with
Breitling watches, Zhang Ziyi with Omega, and Nicolas Cage with
Mont Blanc. However, beware of overexposure: Jackie Chan endorses
over 20 brands, and therefore his image at this point may bring to
mind a host of products… or none at all [9]!
Sponsoring informational and cultural content, or creating
edutainment, is another advertising direction that can be effective
for brand building. Remember, the link between video and PC is
strong in Asia. And since the PC is used for everything from job
hunting to exposing the family to a world of knowledge, "how-to"
content or advice is welcome by hungry audiences in this learning
context. "Japan Hour," a culture and travel show sharing
information about Japan, has been airing in Singapore for nearly 2
decades. It is of course sponsored by Sumitomo, NEC, Pilot, ANA,
and other Japanese brands. It won't be long before such content is
more available on mobile phones and tablets, turning "lean back"
home TV content into interactive travel guidebook advice.
And the promise of targeted, measurable, location-based ads via
such devices with GPS is impossible to ignore. It is one thing to
communicate to a home viewing audience about a restaurant that is
thousands of kilometres away - quite another to conclude a Japanese
travel program video by showing a steaming bowl of ramen on a cold
day as a mobile audience walks towards your café entrance!
Sources:
1. China Statistical yearbook, 2003.
http://www.chinability.com/Durables.htm
2. The iPTV Conundrum in Asia, 2006. www.parksassociates.com
3. Private research Study for Acer/Wistron, 2010.
www.spanconsulting.com
4. Online video eroding TV viewing, 2006. BBC
5. CIA World Factbook, 2010.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook
6. Three-screen circus: redefining Asian TV viewing in a digital
world, 2009. Admap
7. Is video becoming addictive?, 2010.
http://whiteandwong.org/how-people-watch-video/
8. Product placement frustrates drama fans, 2011. Korea Joong Ang
Daily
9. 'Jackie Jinx' follows some of Chan's endorsements, 2010. Los
Angeles Times
About:
Jeff McFarland is Managing Director of Span Consulting, a research,
strategy, and innovation consultancy based in Singapore and Los
Angeles helping brands traverse from "the way it is" to "they way
it could be". Clients and projects include Samsung, LG, Korea
Telecom, Telecom of Thailand, Acer/Wistron, Tourism Malaysia,
Honda, Sony Asia Pacific, Banyan Tree, Marketing Institute of
Singapore, Saatchi&Saatchi, and Ford. Jeff has been active in
Asia since 1992.
Jeff McFarland holds a Master of Science Degree in Integrated
Marketing from the Northwestern University, with coursework at the
Medill and Kellogg Schools, and a Bachelor of Science in Design
from Art Center College.
www.spanconsulting.com