2025年中国营销与媒体评论报告

2025 BRAND MARKETING & MEDIA PLANNING OUTLOOK The last few years have been slow by China standards, with consumers and brands waiting for consumption to return to itsfearless, limitless pace. But it’s become clear that marketing in China has moved into a new phase of slower growth. For consumers, this is a new paradigm. As China’s middle class retreats and regroups, brand positioning and pricing are all-important. Responding to changes in sentiment is imperative - both at a national level and at a city-by-city level. Adjusting to a slower pace of growth has forced brands to slow down, and in some cases close down. Many retail locationshave shut down, and a growing number of brands and agencies have retrenched. Brands are right to take a cautious, measured approach to their China investments. As evidenced by our survey of marketingleaders, 2025 is likely to be a year of lower sentiment, lower investment, and increased cost cutting. 2025 is also primed to bea year where sales performance is prioritized above all other marketing initiatives. China is not the only market dealing with a soft consumer economy. Over the past several months, multiple other marketsglobally have slowed considerably. In this context, China may be a frontrunner in a global downturn - AND - as such, mightalso be among the first to come out the other side and return to growth. If the economic pendulum swings the other way andChina rebounds (and US/EU turns down), then success in China will be mission critical. TOTEM’S 10TH ANNUAL REPORT ON CHINA Returning for its 10th year running, Totem’s China report isdesigned to help brand leaders stay a step(or two)ahead. Brands should not lose sight of China’s potential and scale. China remains the world’s second largest economy, and despite aslowdown, is still probably the strongest contender for consumer and retail growth in the coming decades. No other marketpresents China’s mix of scale (1 billion consumers) and buying power (a large and growing middle class). Together with theUS, China ranks either first or second in consumer sales of most product categories, making it a mission critical consumermarket. We hope that it serves as a template for evaluating andplanning brand growth. The report links together widerinsights from the macro-economy and consumers, withkey details of the marketing and media landscape. In thisyear of transition, we also hope that it provides a spark, tohelp brands regroup, and set new plans for China and theAsia region at-large. Economic observers remain hopeful that China’s government can rally ‘animal spirits’ and improve the sentiment of investors,businesses and consumers alike. In 2024, several rounds of stimulus and incentives have yielded only modest boosts, not acourse correction from China’s current deflationary mood. News of Jack Ma’s return to China (at Ant Group events in late2024) was an encouraging sign, signaling that the government may again support its impressive tech leaders. A key ingredient in this report are the collective insightsfrom brands. We had inputs from 95 marketing leaders inthis 2025 survey (held in Nov ’24). This data underpins theoverall direction of our analysis. Finally, trade tensions and protectionism also loom large in 2025. Trump’s return to office and his threats of tariffs will reshapeglobal trade networks, potentially resulting in a China retaliation against US firms, and pushing regions pressured by the US(eg. EU, Canada) into closer re-alignment with China. Aspecial thanks to Campaign Asia for inviting itscommunityof CMO’s and marketing directors toparticipate in this year’s survey. Chris BakerFounder, Totem 2 3 THE BIG PICTURE 25 CONSIDERATIONS BRAND SURVEY THREE KEY TAKEAWAYS6MULTI-YEAR TRENDS7MARKETING IN CHINA5PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE?9 SENTIMENT & BUDGETS12MEDIA & TACTICS21INFLUENCERS/LIVESTREAM26ABOUT THE BRAND SURVEY11APPROACH TO CRM33 LOCAL/GLOBAL BALANCES60CONSUMER BEHAVIOR46BRAND POSITIONING49RETAIL REMIXING57ECONOMY UNCERTAIN39A CASE FOR OPTIMISM65 THE BIG PICTURE THREE KEY TAKEAWAYS6MULTI-YEAR TRENDS7MARKETING IN CHINA5PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE?9 CHINA’S MARKETING ENVIRONMENT Pre-Covid China was a market of everexpanding opportunities, where a swellingmiddle class was driving incredible growth forbrands. Over the past few years things haveslowed dramatically, as sentiment andconfidence have taken big hits. As China grapples with adjusting to a newconsumption paradigm, digital is still thecrucial tool in the marketers playbook. China outpaces most developed nations in therapid adoption of digital commerce. And, as retail consumption has continued tobe slow (in 2024), it is ecommerce doing theheavy lifting for brands in China. Online saleswere up 12-15%, as overall consumptiongrowth was glacial - and as brands closeddown a lot of physical retail shops. Marketing innovation also continues to pressforward, with brands focusing on a mix ofsocial commerce strategies to drive growth -namely influencers,