Brands that portray Chinese women as successful and powerful are gaining an edge
The mainland’s women are voting with their cash, favouring brands that deliver positive and inspiring messages, say analysts
China’s young, affluent female consumers are increasingly choosing products and companies that advocate progressive feminist values over those that don’t, analysts say. Brands that get this right will gain an edge over their competitors.
“This trend is especially obvious in China’s top-tier cities ,“ said Steven Kwok, associate partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants. “In such places sometimes people care more about the values brands try to convey than the actual products.”
The spending power of modern Chinese women is greater than ever before, with 63 per cent of the country’s female population in the labour force, compared with 56 per cent in the US and 50 per cent on average globally, according to World Bank data.
This growing financial independence is the key driver behind their rising expectations for brands and marketers to deliver more positive and inspiring messages, said Angie Wong, a Shanghai-based managing director at advertising agency Leo Burnett.
And it’s feeding into how women are depicted in commercials.
“Portraying women as successful and powerful in advertisements is a recent trend, and it’s definitely appealing to Chinese women,” said Laurence Lim Dally, a managing director at Hong Kong-based Cherry Blossoms Market Research & Consulting.
