Posted by Jack Brown on Fri, Apr 02, 2010 @ 01:15 PM
Alan Jope is a Scotsman…a nosey Scotsman. He pries into other people’s lives. He asks them about their hygiene practices, quizzes them on their Internet-surfing habits, and questions their finances and child-care philosophies. He even asks them about their political beliefs and extramarital affairs. And the people’s lives he’s prying into are not even fellow Scotsmen. They’re Chinese consumers. And they’re answering his questions willingly. Mr. Jope lives in Shanghai China. He’s not a member of the Chinese communist party, nor does he work for the Chinese government. He is Unilever’s Chairman for Greater China, and he practices the ultimate in grass roots marketing.
Mr. Jope was featured a recent article in Advertising Age entitled: “Unilever Puts in Face Time with the Chinese Consumer. “ The article focuses on a day spent with a Chinese consumer, something Mr. Jope does at least once a month. This isn’t something new to Mr. Jope. The article points out that this is a routine he's followed since joining Unilever in 1985. He's been inside hundreds of homes in developed nations and in emerging markets around the world. So what does he learn, and how does he apply it?
The featured visit of this day was with Zu Quingrong, a middle-class woman living in Shanghai. Ms. Zu is a freelance consultant, married to an engineer, and has an 8 year old daughter. The Zu household has an annual income of $2,200, considered high for China, but not for a tier one city like Shanghai. Although they can’t afford a car as yet, their growing income is sufficient to allow them the luxury of purchasing international brands like many of those offered by Unilever.
Their lifestyle includes:three computers-a laptop for each parent and a desktop for their daughter, satellite TV and wireless internet access,and three smart phones.They use the internet for email and Skype calls to friends.Ms. Zu chats on online billboards, organizes her purchases on Taobao.com, and uses QQ.com, a popular instant messaging platform to organize events. Mr. Zu spends a good deal of time in the evening playing online games and downloading music
The Zu household is typical of the heavy use of digital media in China and confirms Alan Jope’s decision made during previous home visits to devote at least 10% of Unilever’s media budgets to online media.
During their shopping visit to a Carrefour hypermarket, Ms. Zu confirmed Mr. Jope’s concern that Chinese consumers of Unilever’s Omo detergent brand, of which Ms. Zu was a loyal consumer, were confused about the brand’s architecture at point of sale. This prompted Mr. Jope to hasten the introduction of Omo’s new package graphics, making it easier for consumers to navigate the brand’s architecture. Similarly in a different aisle, Ms. Zu had trouble understanding the anti-dandruff benefits of Clear Shampoo as presented by an in-store demonstrator. The takeaway by Mr. Jope was there is a need for well trained promoters rather than outsourcing to poorly trained hires.
Mr. Jope is clearly not an ivory tower thinker, and he considers his visits with consumers critical to defining strategies which will allow Unilever to achieve its aggressive growth goals in China. And what of the Chinese consumer ? Mr. Jope believes the Chinese consumer is “moving towards quality multinational brands and is proud of where she is and what she has achieved.” He is reminded of how independent Chinese women are becoming in China’s urban markets. That’s one smart Scotsman
