Phillip Beck | Look-a-Like Data, Managing Bad PR, and Capability Mapping

Philip discusses the value of gathering data to create lookalike audiences in order to predict consumer interests and buying habits, and in the process eliminate wasteful manufacturing costs. He gives the example of the American bag brand coach, which at one time collected data from WeChat users in order to see what consumers liked and shared with friends. With that knowledge, Coach was able to build individual profiles from all of their followers, which were then consolidated and provided actionable insights for the company. This lookalike audience strategy is being used by more than 65% of Chinese brands today, and their targeting technologies continue to evolve by the day.

While acknowledging that this practice of collecting consumer data is generally frowned upon in North America, then says that the Chinese market, by comparison, cares little about it. He uses this as a segway to explain that many foreign companies make the mistake of imposing their cultural norms onto whatever market they establish themselves in. Doing this is counterproductive, and makes the adoption of the foreign brand less likely. Even well-known brands are not immune to making mistakes. In fact, among the worst offenders were Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and Proctor & Gamble, who all at one point made inaccurate and/or offensive statements about China in their promotional material. The Chinese market, according to Philip, will not hesitate to viciously criticize a brand, and many have already been pulled out of the market due to bad decision-making.

Developing trends in the Chinese market include the online ad spend and e-commerce, the latter of which is slowly taking over as the country’s primary marketing channel. Philip notes that in China, the speed of doing business is seven times quicker than in the West. Being agile and nimble is the key to growth today. Combine that with consistent social listening (in order to create lookalike audiences) to make sure your business stays on the cutting edge.