By Shaun Rein
This commentary is based on an article appeared in Forbes 

While massive amounts of money is being spent on marketing in the run-up to the Olympics to capture China 250 million strong emerging middle class, unfortunately most marketing campaigns are failing to deliver the results that the sponsors like Coca-Cola or Adidas were hoping for. My latest piece looks at the effectiveness of Olympics sponsorship and whether or not it is helping companies win the hearts, minds, and wallets of China’s middle class. Some of the results were surprising:
 
1) the vast majority of respondents said that they did not care who the official sponsor was when trying to make a purchase and in most categories people had little idea who the official sponsor was. Instead, consumers were more concerned with the quality and safety of the product and how the brand image fit with their lifestyle.
 
2) The results of the research show that consumers are becoming more brand loyal than ever before and are not as price sensitive as many marketers believe. Thus, it is important for companies to track their customers better and develop customer relationship management techniques through better loyaty programs.
 
Critically, companies can charge a premium for their products if they position their brands strongly in the minds of consumers and make their products indispensable for the Chinese consumer.
 
3) The importance of the point of sale for many product categories is emerging as a critical component of the decision-making process for many consumers. Companies need to create the right ambiance at the point of sale to build trust with consumers.
 
4) While most companies like Visa or the China State Electric Grid did not get benefit from being an official sponsor, companies whose products were associated with the Olympics did — such as beverages like Pepsi and sports apparel — did get a bump. It is crticially important that companies build long-term branding campaigns and choose celebrities that fit with their product lines.
 
Now is the time for companies to shape the market towards them as Chinese consumers are becoming brand loyal and have the means to buy in spite of increasing inflation. It is important for companies to understand what Chinese consumers want and then position their brands with a long-term and unified strategy.
 

Shaun Rein is the founder and managing director of the China Market Research Group (CMR), a market intelligence firm that helps companies make smarter decisions in China.