"The Chinese are a pragmatic lot": Tom Doctoroff, JWT China

The CEO of JWT China, in an interview with afaqs!, talks of the finer nuances of communication in the Chinese market, as well as the broad global comparisons between India and China

Going by the number of years he has spent in Asia, it is hard to believe he is an American by origin. Tom Doctoroff, chief executive officer, JWT China, was born and bred in Detroit, USA and after taking a detour to Hong Kong in 1994, he never quite made it back.

Author of the book 'Billions: Selling to the New Chinese Consumer', Doctoroff was in India at the Goafest, where afaqs! caught up with him for a chat on what makes branding in China tick and whether India and China are truly as similar markets as Westerners like to believe. Excerpts from the conversation:

afaqs!: It's been a while since you left your roots back in Detroit. What had you never looking back at the US and making Asia your home?

Doctoroff:
I think it is a combination of two things. One is the intellectual fascination with a completely different world view - a fundamentally different culture from the Western one. I am still trying to figure it all out and it is very fascinating. The second thing that moves me is the aspiration of the people here - the lack of cynicism and the belief that anything is possible. As the Chinese say, 'Kěwàng wúxiàn' or 'Aspire to Infinity'. That humanity is very moving. I'm just thrilled by the story of what's happening out here.

I have been in Asia for 16 years. I was in Hong Kong from '94 to '98 as a regional account director. I started my management role based in Shanghai 12 years ago, getting into a more North Asian role. I am originally from the servicing side but frankly, I've always been a very account planning-oriented person.

afaqs!: So what are the obvious similarities and dissimilarities between Indian and Chinese consumers?

Doctoroff: Of course, Indian and Chinese consumers have a lot in common. On the more superficial level, the possibilities of tomorrow have been unleashed in both markets; there is more ambition, more aspiration, the world view is broadening and then, on top of it, the pride in their own nations, culture and civilisations. That's a commonality across the two markets.

When it comes to the differences from the human perspective, China is a confusing society. Historically, the only way to get ahead - and everybody needs to get ahead in China - is to master the rules. While this strong desire to surge up leads to more hierarchy and rigidity on the one hand, it also leads to more ambition and aspiration at every level of society. So even if you're addressing the mass market consumer or the top-end one, they all want the best -this desire to surge percolates down to the very lowest level of Chinese society (other than those struggling for physical survival, that is).

I have noticed that in India, there is a lot of 'Que Sera, Sera' - an acceptance of the way things are, which is not so much in China. In India, there is a sort of restraint that holds people back. Maybe the scriptures have something to do with it. That's not to say that Indians don't charge forward. However, it is just that the Chinese, even if they're static, are always looking for the next opportunity to move ahead. Asian societies in general have this trenchant ambition, I'll say.

The Chinese are fundamentally more pragmatic and you see this in so many different ways, including China's industrial strength, its ability to mobilise resources and its step by step approach. The downside of that is a lack of celebration of creativity and of intellectual experimentation. It gets too methodical - it has to all be part of a paradigm, of walking step by step up a huge mountain, with glory waiting at the top.

Markets in China, too, are segmented. Beijing tends to be much more emotional, Shanghai is more worldly-wise, Hong Kong is more mercantile and transactional and so on. However, I have noticed that there are much more cultural and ethnic variations in India than in China. At the core of 'Indianness' is this pride in its diverse landscape, its tradition and family values.

I truly believe that the similarities between the Indians and the Chinese are more than their differences.

afaqs!: Brands generally are an answer to some fundamental question in a consumer's life. What are the opportunities for brands in China? What sort of consumer questions do they offer solutions to?

Doctoroff: The golden rule of marketing in China is that in order for a brand to be able to charge a price premium, it has to be publicly consumed. What that means is that brands are cool, that they are a means to an end - a way to move forward. The fundamental role of brands is to reassure that on a quality level, nothing will go wrong and even at a social level, the brand will provide the necessary avoidance of social alienation.

That is why big brands are fundamental in China, whether you talk of a luxury product or a washing machine. At the base of the Chinese psychology is to first look for reassurance, stability and base your progress on these building blocks.

afaqs!: You're constantly using words like 'reassurance', 'price' and 'stability' in the context of branding in China. At some level, it appears that branding is in its most basic stages in the country…

Doctoroff: Oh yes, absolutely. 'Simple, simple, simple' is the mantra there, no matter where you are and no matter who you're talking to. Keep it direct, straight to the point - a means to an end. People are more interested in the pragmatic benefits of a product. Of course, there is room for an emotional alignment with functionality. Some clients are beginning to ponder on that thought.

However, for a majority of local companies - almost 80 per cent of them - who haven't migrated to that school of thought, it is difficult to make them overcome their anxiety and have them venture into what they think is the 'unknown'. Successful branding in China is about taking the 'why buy' aspect and putting it in a compelling context that mirrors aspiration.

afaqs: When was the first edition of your book, 'Billions', released? What were your views at the time of writing it? Is there any more literary work from you which one may look forward to?

Doctoroff: Billions was released in 2006, with a Chinese version as well released later in 2008. When I wrote that book, my mindset was that of a typical American and I observed that a lot of mistakes have been made by brands in assuming that modernity and globalism equals Westernism. I wanted to put my thoughts down in a practical way - that based on who you're talking to, you have to be very sensitive to the fundamental motivations that drive people and those are very culturally dependent. That is what 'Billions' deals with.

I have a new book coming out (in Chinese), which is not so much on marketing. The limitation of the first book could be that it presents culture in a bit of a static way. A lot of the more dynamic things that have happened in the marketing landscape - such as digital media, the evolving relationships between mothers and children, the increasing brand awareness among the older generation - shall find their place in my second book.

This book on the Chinese society will take a cultural anthropological view of things. I have also identified some behavioural characteristics of Chinese consumers, which I hope to put down in this one.

afaqs: With talks of digital media growing ferociously in Asia, does mass media still rule in China?

Doctoroff: Oh yes! China is a mass media market. Television is critical to reach the Chinese consumer. Digital, too, is becoming fundamental in a media plan and presently constitutes about 10-12 per cent of it. While this figure will of course increase, it will always play an incremental role to television and print. The centre of gravity isn't shifting anytime soon!