Kara Chan

Parent‐child communications about consumption and advertising in China

The current study examines how mainland Chinese parents communicate with their children about consumption and advertising. A survey of 1,665 parents of children aged six to 14 in Beijing, Nanjing and Chengdu was conducted in December 2001 to March 2002. Using Moore and Moschis’s typology of family communication patterns, Chinese parents are classified into four types including laissez‐faire, protective, pluralistic, and consensual parents. Results indicated Chinese parents are classified primarily as consensual in type with both high socio‐ as well as concept‐oriented communication. Family communication patterns differ among parents of different demographic groups as well as among different dyad relationships. Parents with a higher education level and families with a higher household income engaged more frequently in concept‐oriented communication. Pluralistic and consensual parents discussed with children about television commercials more often than laissez‐faire and protective parents. Consensual parents perceived they have a greater influence on children’s attitude toward advertising than laissez‐faire parents. Implication for marketers and advertisers are discussed.

Marketing theory and practice

Acknowledgements - Preface - List of Tables - List of Figures - Evolution of the Marketing Concept M.J.Baker - The Need for Theory in Marketing M.J.Baker - Sources and Status of Marketing Theory S.Brown - Consumer Behaviour L.McGregor - Organisational Buying Behaviour S.Rajagopa l - Market Segmentation D.Littler - Marketing Research J.Webb - Modelling Markets P.Leeflang - Diffusion Theory & Marketing M.J.Baker - New Product Development S.Hart - Pricing A.Diamantopoulos - Channel Management S.Ennis - Marketing Communications K.Crosier - Analytical Frameworks for Strategic Marketing Planning D.Brownlie - Business to Business Marketing K.Bernard - Retailing S.Carter - Customer Care B.Donaldson - Consumerism D.Tixier - International Marketing M.McDermott & Chan - Marketing and Eastern Europe P.Ghauri - Relationship Marketing Chan & M.McDermott - Marketing, Theory and Practice in a Post-modern Era Cova & Badot - Notes and References - Index

Hong Kong children's understanding of television advertising

This study examines Chinese childrens understanding and comprehension of television advertising. A quota sample of 448 children made up of 32 girls and 32 boys from kindergartens and grades 1-6, were personally interviewed in May 1998. The results indicated that children in grade 2 (aged 7-8 years) were beginning to understand what advertising was and were aware of the persuasive intention of television advertising. Over one-third of older children from grade 4 understood that television stations carried advertising for money. Like children in the West, the main reason for liking and disliking commercials depended on their entertainment element. An understanding of television advertising, recall of brands from slogans and comprehension of advertising content were consistently related to the cognitive development of children. Brand recognition from liked and disliked commercials was strong. Comprehension of the key messages of advertising content varied greatly by childrens cognitive development and the style of presentation. Ethical issues and public opinions of Hong Kong consumers regarding advertising to children were discussed.

Living in a celebrity‐mediated social world: the Chinese experience

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of peers and media celebrities on young peoples endorsement of materialistic values in China. As the Chinese culture is said to be collective, it is expected that social relations, both personal and celebrity‐mediated, play an important role in the establishment of consumption values.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 299 university students in Beijing aged 18 to 24 was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Constructs were measured using established scales.Findings – The paper finds that peer communication and susceptibility to peer influence were positively related to social comparison. Motivation for viewing advertisements was positively related to imitation of celebrity models. In turn, both social comparison and imitation of celebrity models were positive predictors of materialism.Research limitations/implications – The city selected for this study is highly advanced in terms of economical and advertising development when co...

Materialism among Chinese children in Hong Kong

Discusses the factors that determine a child’s sense of materialism, and how this can be measured, based on face‐to‐face interviews with 246 children to measure their responses to 14 items; the background to the study is a concern that advertising may influence children to steal in order to buy advertised products. Reviews the literature relating to consumer socialisation, which shows that children understand the concept of possession and value it from a very young age. Concludes that Hong Kong Chinese children do not endorse strongly materialistic values; younger children were more materialistic than older children, and, contrary to the research literature, the current study found no gender difference in materialistic values. Finds also that mere exposure to television advertising and programmes does not contribute to greater materialism.

Social comparison, imitation of celebrity models and materialism among Chinese youth

Materialism is an important issue, especially among young people, and especially in a Chinese context. Based on a theoretical model of the endorsement of materialistic values among Chinese youth, the objectives were to examine the influence of interpersonal communication on social comparison, and the influence of advertising viewing on imitation of celebrity models. In turn, the study examined how both social comparison and imitation of celebrity models contribute to young people’s endorsement of materialistic values. A mall intercept survey of 631 young people aged 15–24 in Hong Kong revealed that peer communication and susceptibility to peer influence had strong positive relationships to engagement in social comparison. Motivation for viewing advertisements had a strong positive relationship to imitation of celebrity models. In turn, both social

One Country, Two Systems Cultural Values Reflected in Chinese and Hong Kong Television Commercials

A content analysis of 1387 commercials broadcast in China and Hong Kong in 1993 and 1998 was conducted using Cheng and Schweitzers framework of cultural values. The five cultural values that dominated Chinese television advertising were ‘modernity’, ‘family’, ‘tradition’, ‘technology’ and ‘collectivism’. The five dominant cultural values in Hong Kong television advertising were ‘quality’, ‘effectiveness’, ‘economy’, ‘enjoyment’ and ‘modernity’. Hong Kong commercials used more western values, whereas Chinese commercials used more eastern ones. Chinese commercials used more symbolic values, while Hong Kong commercials used more utilitarian ones. The pattern of cultural values reflected in Chinese commercials was more volatile than that of Hong Kong commercials. The use of a two-way ANOVA model indicated that product category had a greater impact on cultural values than the time dimension.

Use of the internet and traditional media among young people

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of traditional media as well as the internet among young people in Hong Kong. With the fast development of the internet, the use of interpersonal as well as computer‐mediated communication has changed greatly. A study of how young people use traditional and new media is crucial as it enables commercial and social marketers to fully understand the role of mass mediated messages in the lives of youth. As the youth market expands and consumption power increases, marketers need to capture the latest trends in order to reach the young generation.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 405 Chinese persons aged 15 to 24 in Hong Kong was conducted in February 2006 using a self‐administered questionnaire. Undergraduate students distributed and collected these questionnaires through face‐to‐face interactions.Findings – The study finds that the internet plays a prominent role among the young people in Hong Kong. A majority of respondents aged 15 to 24 spent...

Young consumers and perception of brands in Hong Kong: A qualitative study

Purpose – The purpose of the article is to explore young peoples perceptions of the desirability of brands and brand ownership in Hong Kong using drawings and open‐ended questions.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 48 Chinese children aged 13 to 19 were asked to draw what comes to their minds for two statements: “This young person has a lot of new and expensive branded goods”; and, “This young person does not have a lot of branded goods”. After drawing, respondents were personally interviewed to answer four questions associating possessions of branded goods with happiness, friendship, and personality traits.Findings – Analysis of the drawings and interviews indicated that there were significant differences in young peoples perceptions of someone with or without a lot of branded goods in terms of type of possessions, leisure activities, observable qualities and personality traits. Respondents were more likely to relate possessions of branded goods with happiness, friendship, and self‐esteem. A pers...

Exploring children's perceptions of material possessions: a drawing study

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore childrens perceptions of material possessions in Hong Kong using drawing and open‐ended questions.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 42 Chinese children aged 6‐12 were asked to draw what comes to their minds for two statements: “This child has a lot of new and expensive toys”; and, “This child does not have a lot of toys.” After drawing, children were personally interviewed to answer four questions associating material possessions with its social meaning and symbolic significance.Findings – Analysis of drawings and interviews indicated that there were significant difference in childrens perception of someone with a lot of toys and someone without many toys in terms of observable qualities and personality traits. Younger children were more likely to relate material possessions with happiness, friendship, and feeling good about oneself. Older children were more likely to relate materialistic possessions with wastefulness. There is evidence that young ...