Home » Why Western Media Alone Is An Ineffective Way To Connect With Chinese Speaking Audiences In Australia

23 March, 2021

Why Western Media Alone Is An Ineffective Way To Connect With Chinese Speaking Audiences In Australia

Leading AI marketing platform EternityX Australia has released a whitepaper for Australian advertisers titled Chinese speaking consumers in Australia – their media and communication preferences.

The whitepaper examines the media consumption habits, behaviours and preferences of Chinese-speaking consumers in Australia and gives insight to marketers on the most effective ways to engage this highly lucrative audience set.

Findings from the whitepaper – which were drawn from an online survey among 501 Chinese-speaking adults across Australia in December 2020 – revealed that time in Australia is the biggest determining factor in Chinese speaking consumers’ media choices.

While Chinese speakers use both Chinese and Western media in Australia, four out of five channels regularly used are Chinese media channels.

Furthermore, it can take up twenty years before Western media channels are favoured over Chinese channels. This applies to both the traditional media channels of TV and print, along with digital, social and streaming channels.

Census data shows there were almost 600,000 Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) speakers in Australia in 2016, almost twice the number in 2011, with the 2021 Census expected to show further strong growth. For many Chinese Australian consumers, English remains a barrier and speaking Chinese at home, which 84 per cent of respondents indicate they do, persists even after many years in Australia.

Luke Bussell, Director, EternityX Australia said, “our study has shown that Chinese consumers are young, wealthy and educated with a high tendency towards discretionary spending. As a result, they should be on the radar of all Australian advertisers.”

“We also know that marketing communication in Chinese heavily impacts their consumer behaviour, and for the many with limited English, Chinese media is a necessity, not a choice.”

Further findings from EternityX’s whitepaper uncovered the following:

Chinese TV streaming services have 82 per cent more regular viewers who speak Chinese than free-to-air TV networks in Australia
60 per cent of Chinese-speaking consumers say they appreciate the effort taken by brands who translate their advertising into Chinese
57 per cent of respondents say trust brands who translate their advertising into Chinese
53 per cent say they are more likely to purchase from a brand who translates their advertising into Chinese
59 per cent of the sample identified luxury goods or beauty products as where they preferred to spend discretionary funds, with those earning over $150,000 spending on average a substantial $2537 a month on luxury goods or beauty products.

Bussell continued, “what we’re seeing from Chinese speaking consumers in Australia is a very strong bias towards Chinese media channels.”

“Combine this with the positive impact that advertising on Chinese media channels has on brand trust and purchase intent and it’s quite clear that Western media on its own is an ineffective way to connect with and influence Chinese-speaking consumers in Australia.”

“At EternityX we are committed to helping marketers and advertisers navigate the complex Chinese media landscape both locally and abroad and understanding consumer behaviour is a crucial part of this.”

“There is a huge opportunity that a lot of Australian advertisers are missing when it comes to meaningfully engaging Chinese-speaking audiences and it is our mission to close this gap.”

The release of EternityX Australia’s whitepaper follows the omni-channel marketing platform’s launch into the Australian market earlier this year.

Advertise with us

Please login with linkedin to comment

EternityX