TV spots in China

Press, 1 October 1979, Page 18

TV spots in China

From the “Observer,” London

For the first time, British companies are being invited to advertise on Chinese television.

A British advertising agency, A.M.S. Advertising and Marketing, has been named as agent for two of the three State-owned television stations — Canton-TV and Sichaun-TV — which have been broadcasting commercials since earlier this year. There has been no official policy statement about why

China has decided to make its TV semi-commercial. But Mr Martin Lester, the business director of A.M.S. which negotiated for six months for the concession, believes the Government sees it as a way of earning hard currency and making the Chinese more consumer-oriented. “I think the Chinese Goverment is firmly committed to trade with the West,” said Mr Lester, “and I think it is making the Chinese people

familiar with the kind of products they will eventually be able to buy, since the Government recognises that China cannot sell to the West without buying from it.”

For the moment, at least, the advertising rates will not frighten potential advertisers too much. A 30-second commercial will cost about $l3OO compared with about $25,000 for a comparable slot in London. (In New Zealand the average is about $1700) . But then, as Mr Lester admits the returns are not likely to be as immediate, even though audience figures are not all that low.

The Canton area has about 300,000 sets for some 60 million people and Sichuan about 400,000 sets for 100 million people. About 10 per cent of the sets are colour. Television officials point out that most are viewed communally — often in village halls—and Mr Lester estimates that the figure of 400 viewers a set claimed by the station is not unreasonable. The Chinese already see advertisements for American cigarettes and Japanese watches and television sets, and A.M.S. hopes to sell that kind of advertising to British companies. The agency also hopes to attract companies which want to sell heavy machinery and engineering equipment as part of China’s Western-looking development programme.

The Chinese Government, aware that it is not going to persaude advertisers that they can sell power stations with quick 30-second spots, is offering packages which will help the television stations overcome an acute shortage of programmes. Companies will be allowed to show their publicity films, and then effectively sponsor the programme themselves, by direct advertising spots. “It’s going to be a longterm investment,” Mr Lester said. “One Hong Kong-based watch manufacturer has already spent $250,000, even though it has not yet marketed a single watch in China. The hope is that once the Chinese start buying watches in quantity, the company’s name will "already be well established. We have to persuade British companies to think in the same way.” One bonus for advertisers will be a chance to direct commercials at a verv con-sumer-minded group of Chinese. The trains between Canton and Hong Kong are being equipped with closed-circuit television, and travellers will see advertisements just as they prepare to cross the frontier for a buying spree in the colony. O.F.N’S. COPYRIGHT