A Guide To Luxury Fashion Advertising in China

The advertising industry in China is extremely complex and highly regulated. For any luxury fashion brands that may be considering entering the Chinese market, what follows is a beginner's guide to the industry.

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• According to MarketLine, the most influential organizations in the Chinese advertising industry are Dentsu Inc., Omnicom Group, Interpublic Group, and WPP.

• Guanxi is essential for good business dealings in China. Though this is by no means a simple concept, put simply guanxi means relationship building. Relationships build networks and networks connect agencies and clients.

  • Though networking absolutely exists in the U.S., it is much more significant in China.

• Because of the prominence of WeChat (as well as Weibo, a Twitter-like site), mobile advertising has become essential to promote user engagement.

  • Chinese consumers are extremely tech-savvy. They like to have everything in one app. This allows for an ideal advertising opportunity, though WeChat does limit the number of ads users will see per day.

• Advertising in China is highly regulated. There are many laws in place in order to promote consumer protection and these laws are constantly changing.

  • For example, according to AdAge, the Chinese flag may not be used in ads, pop-up ads must be able to be closed with one click, and celebrity endorsers can be held liable for false claims in ads.

• There is a great amount of untapped potential for brand advertising in China's second- and third-tier cities. Beijing and Shanghai are already heavily saturated.

  • Beijing and Shanghai are still essential for the industry, though. According to Polly Chu of JWT Beijing, brands that want to portray a modern, cosmopolitan image, such as luxury fashion brands, should locate in Shanghai.