The Effect of using Asian Models in Foreign Brands' Advertising in China: A Quantitative Study on Customer Reactions

Abstract: In this thesis, a specific dimension of marketing in China for foreign brands is investigated. This was accomplished by comparing the impact of two sets of advertisements on advertising effectiveness - one with Asian models included and one with only models from other ethnic groups. Theories of Self-Referencing, Cultural Compatibility, High & Low Context Communication were applied as possible explanations of the findings. In addition, the differences between first tier cities and lower tier cities in China was taken into consideration and its moderating effect was examined. Following a pre-test survey and two focus group interviews, a quantitative experiment was conducted. 245 valid responses were collected from respondents who completed the online survey distributed on Chinese social media platforms. Their demographic information and reactions to the two sets of advertisements, which were made by ourselves, were collected and analyzed. The results of the experiment indicates that including Asian models in a foreign brands' advertisement brings positive influence on advertising effectiveness in China by significantly increasing viewers' Ad Attitude. However, the influence is limited in two ways: 1) The positive attitude towards the advertising does not convert to a higher evaluation to the brand. 2) The increase of Ad Attitude brought by including Asian models is not significant in first tier cities.