Teaming up with a giant is the way to go

There appears no barrier to foreign firms linking with the likes of Chinese Internet giants Tencent and Baidu.

Such links are even more important than ever given clear evidence that there are big changes in the meaning of brand consumption in China, not just changes in media consumption. Chinese consumers now appear more knowledgeable and experienced and increasingly discerning and discriminating in their brand purchase decision-making.

Chinese brands are viewed more attractively and comparable to famous foreign brands. Brand consumption meaning appears to be moving from an outward, public display of success and status to a more reserved, private experience, the aim of which is more about self-reward and affirmation of self-identity.

It is now the case that Chinese consumers access the Internet more frequently by mobile phone. Furthermore, they are watching mobile devices not just when they are out and about but also when they are at home.

While Internet use remains at its highest in Europe, at 75 percent of the population, it is on the Chinese mainland that the most rapid rise has taken place in recent years. Internet use in China more than doubled in five years, reaching 46.9 percent of the population, 632 million people, last year, the China Internet Network Information Center said. The number of mobile Internet users reached 527 million and, for the first time, mobile surpassed the PC as the primacy access point to the Internet.

As a result, it is now vital that foreign firms embrace digitization in all areas of brand building in China. Digitization enables companies to gather and analyze more data, distill insights, and share information rapidly, coordinating all functions from production, through supply chain, e-commerce, payment and customer communication. With digitization, brands from any market of a developed or fast growing country can become more nimble and responsive.

Tie-ups with the likes of Tencent and Baidu are not the only option open to foreign firms and their digitization plans in China. For example, Intel, Microsoft and Baidu collaborated with Chinese home appliance producer TCL in order to form a connection using cloud computing.

Last year mobile payments expanded rapidly, with just over 205 million Chinese consumers making payments via mobile apps by the end of June.

Foreign firms aiming to build brand presence in the still brand-conscious Chinese mainland marketplace should also closely study the increasing number of recent research studies of Chinese consumer behavior online.