With the globalization of businesses, brands can now cater to the entire world, boosting their reach, revenue, and influence. In the earlier stages of expansion, many western brands have fallen into the unknown pit and have failed miserably. They have used the same strategies, same visual ad campaigns everywhere with the goal of capturing both east and western markets. But digging deeper, they’ve found out a key factor that explains their failure- the difference between the east and west markets.
Understanding the differences between the the markets East Asia, Europe and US, subsequently customizing the marketing efforts is the road to success.
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.Major Markets in the World
Eastern Market
The east market is an aggregate of markets located in Central and East Asia. This market covers the emerging economies of China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and developed economies like South Korea and Japan. The increase in buying power of the people in the region boosted consumption levels by many folds. This causes various brands from across the world to focus and expand in this growing market.
Western Market
Most of the European and North American countries fall under the west market. Although a developed market, the consumption levels do not seem to fall. Hence it is still attractive for both existing and new brands. The consumers in this market have high purchasing power and are more critical of the brands’ visual campaigns.
Brands have to take diverse approaches in their marketing campaigns when catering to different markets around the world.
Differences between the East and the West Markets
Individualists vs Collectivists
The most obvious difference between the east vs west is the way of thinking and sense of self. Individualistic culture dominates in the West whereas Collectivistic culture reins in the East. Western consumers attach great importance to their opinions and thoughts. On the other hand, collectivists are prone to give up their opinions and others are adapting their group’s.
This also influences how they perceive brands and their text and visual ad campaigns. In the West, buyers make their shopping decisions and loyalty to brands by themselves. Eastern people are more likely to discuss within their group before making any perception or decision towards brands.
Brands looking to expand into Asia, have to position themselves in such a way that they reflect collectivistic nature in their visual ads.
Attitude towards Brands
One more aspect in which Eastern consumers differ from their Western counterparts is their attitude towards brands-both local and global. Foreign luxury brands enjoy a lot of adoration and loyalty from the local people and are usually less critical of them. But western customers carefully scrutinize before making the final decision.
Social Status and Values
In the West, people view and prices brands as they are- a product or a service with a value, price, and quality. On the opposite, Asian consumers associate brands with their status in society. High-end fashion and jewelry brands are viewed as a symbol of high social status, hence the burgeoning demand for them in Asia. This variation in the perception of brands is a key fulcrum for brands to tip their marketing ad campaigns to the right end.
Consumers in the East and West markets have different attitudes towards brands.
Diverse Languages
Economies in Asia not only come in different sizes or cultures but in languages as well. Each market has its own local language unlike the only English approach in the western market. These markets get attracted to brands that speak in their language.
Marketing in the East vs West
Visual Campaigns
3D visual campaigns are the flawless way to break into the markets in the east. As 3D technology develops, marketers engulf them into their campaigns. There are many benefits of campaigns that revolve around 3D in the 21st century. The increase of the digital native population, their inclination towards virtual spaces like games and metaverses, the recent pandemic are fueling the movement towards 3D.
For a successful entry into the East market, we suggest brands to follow the guide of creating immersive visual ad campaigns.
Step 1: Research
Before drafting any campaign, brands have to carry in-depth research on the specific market. They have to have clear knowledge about the local culture, trends, consumption patterns, and behaviors. This helps them to include the right elements like visuals, text, sound, and tone that locks in the target audience.
Step 2: Storyboard
After the research, companies can start working on the 3D campaigns by storyboarding. This is a crucial step as it gives glimpses of the final rendering. Brands can also choose from a plethora of 3D ads- animations, brand avatars, digital signage, renderings.
Step 3: Developing
This is the step where creative studios like ours start to develop stunning visual concepts. As everything is done on computers, brands can ask the 3D designers to alter any part of the campaign at any time. This is highly beneficial for companies launching campaigns in multiple markets.
Step 4: Launch
Finally, the campaigns go live. The beauty of 3D visual campaigns is that they can be used anywhere- social platforms, websites, chats, and digital signage. They can finally be easily adapted to various markets in no time.
Cultural Context
Brands have to put the effort into one extra element while marketing in Asia-pacific. Culture holds a strong power over the consumer’s buying intention and is sometimes the major driving force in purchasing decisions. When the buyers strongly relate to the cultural aspects in visual ad campaigns, such brands become their favorite. This is also true from a psychological perspective as we often like anything that resonated with us.
Culture is a crucial element in the visual ad campaigns for the Asian market.
Communication Channels
When brands from either side of the world, wanting to enter the other market, need to pay attention to communication channels. Especially in the Asian market, different regions have different channels of communication, thereby requiring brands to do in-depth research before entering. For instance, businesses wanting to enter the Chinese market, need to be mindful of their top e-commerce websites and WeChat.
East vs West Marketing: Customization is the Key
Markets on both sides of the world differ in many aspects. Brands cannot use a one-type-fits-all approach anymore in their advertising campaigns. They have to tailor-make their efforts to the local market to gain dominance in it. If you’re a brand looking to tap into the Asian market, we can craft the perfect 3D visual ad campaigns for you. Join us to create a visual Ad- Campaign tailored to your market in 3D virtual spaces.
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