Five Tips to Success in the Asian Market

As with any overseas market, the Asian one has some details and trends that you must take into consideration while mapping out your strategy. Those who just copy and paste their marketing are not successful as they have glossed over the unique landscape they are trying to enter.

With that in mind, though, Asian markets tend to share some common traits that you must definitely take into consideration while planning your marketing strategy. Upon deciding to enter any Asia Pacific market, be sure to check out the below tips we will provide you with. Consider this one as a bonus on our part, but if you want more be sure to check out BonusesOnline.com.

1. Trio of Success – Loud, Visual, Noisy

Think back to how colorful Asian culture is, the stunning visuals that go along with it. Now place yourself in a metropolis such as Seoul or Tokyo. All those neon lights, advertisements everywhere. Generally quite a “noisy” neighborhood and you need to pave a way through all of that. How? By screaming at the top of your lungs.

Relying on impressive visuals with a touch of daring caring and being somewhat outlandish is the norm in Asian markets, not the exception. By default it is more or less the exact opposite of how the West handles such matters. Just think, for example, how annoying it is for western customers to receive push messages for a new app. Well, in Asian markets you better make sure to keep users as updated as possible by all means necessary. This is the norm here, get used to it.

And if you still have doubts that you should rely on bright colours, directness, catchy tunes, just look at Nike’s Lunar New Year commercial or one of Toyota’s Indonesia commercials. These tick all the right boxes for the region and can be used as a guideline of how to structure your marketing here.

2. Mobile is King

Marketers worldwide know that internet traffic originating from mobile devices is growing across the globe. Younger generations follow this path of mobile-first, but in Asia we can safely say that mobile truly is king. The skew in ad spend for digital and mobile clearly reflects this, as Asia Pacific is a global leader in that regard (55,7% versus 48.0% world average for 2020)

But why is it like that here? Simple – most economies here are developing and users have missed the desktop phase of the Internet. For most, their first interaction with the Internet came through the screen of a Smartphone or a tablet. Checking Online Bingo sites & Reviewed in Detail at www.TheBingoOnline.comwould most likely be done via the above two options, as opposed to desktop. Campaigns should be mobile-friendly first and foremost and at a later stage adapted for desktop.

3. Prevalence of Social Media

It will not be something new to tell you that social media platforms provide marketers with a unique and engaging outlet to advertise to users. This is valid everywhere, but in Asia it is cranked up to 11. The southern and southeastern part of the continent held the most social network users.

On top of that, time spent on social media has skyrocketed here. Global average is 2:25 hours per day, with the US being slightly below at 2:07 hours. Meanwhile, in the Philippines the hours jump to 4:15 daily. In Indonesia the figures are again above the global average at 3:14 hours daily.

Using influencers to promote products on social media is common, but in Asia it has been found to be especially effective, with some platforms reporting an 85% increase in such types of campaigns. The human touch has long been a factor in this landscape and its importance has only been highlighted by the pandemic.

4. Direct, Unapologetic and Over-The-Top Messages

Advertising in the West has morphed into weaving intricate and subtle stories that provoke viewers to think about the message. Routine situations and everyday reality are presented with barely any words at all, but are deeply touching at the same time. All of that is well connected to the brand via a powerful message at the end.

Now watch a Japanese ad for a change and spot the similarities. Could be there are few or none at all. Asian consumers prefer simplicity and directness. What also works for this landscape is being outlandish and sometimes outright silly. Remember those bright colours and loudness? They make a return here.

5. Importance of Dialects and Localization

Asia is a continent jam packed with diverse people and dialects. Marketers should take extra care not to get tangled up with nonsensical or even offensive messages as a result of poor localization. A good example would be Coca-Cola. Upon entering the Chinese market in 1927, the choice of characters was the following – (蝌蝌啃蠟, Kēkēkěnlà). Translating it returns “bite a wax tadpole”. Needless to say, this did not generate sales figures.

There is also a good story about Pampers in Japan. They used to sell diapers with the usual depiction of storks carrying a baby. This went completely over the head of Japanese customers as in their culture babies are delivered by giant floating peaches.

The moral of the story is to be mindful of your target market and their culture, lest you want such failures. A Japanese person should write/advise you for the Japanese market, a Vietnamese one for their local market, a Beijinger should write for Beijing.