How do leading Japanese cosmetic brands use consumer culture positioning strategies in China? Investigating six Japanese brands’ advertisements on Weibo

Abstract

China is the world’s second-largest cosmetic market and is dominated by foreign brands. However, little is known about Japanese cosmetic brands marketing communication in China. Consumer culture positioning is deemed a promising framework for understanding international advertising. This study examines six Japanese cosmetic brands’ consumer culture positioning (CCP) strategies in their global advertisements to see how they implement CCP strategies in China. 756 video-format ads were collected from their official accounts on Weibo. Content analysis was conducted to analyse how ad executional elements communicate CCP strategies. Results show that these Japanese brands generally implement mixed CCP strategies, but that certain ad executions focus on a specific singular CCP strategy. The results document CCP strategies in international advertising practices, offering essential insights into what advertising executional elements can be employed to communicate different CCPs for cosmetics in China. Important theoretical and practical implications for marketers are also discussed.

Keywords:

• China
• Japan
• cosmetics advertising
• consumer culture positioning strategies
• international advertising

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 m.360xh.com/news/hf/66171.html (this website ranks brands from the Chinese consumer’s perspective); www.phb123.com/shenghuo/meirong/17334.html (this website ranks brands on the basis of brand positioning and pricing). These two websites are popular and reliable in China, as they have all filed for ICP (Internet Content Provider) records with the National Communication Administration (“国家信息管理局”).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xiaolong Zhang

Xiaolong Zhang is a final-year Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Media and Communication in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. His recent publications appeared in the 2021 and 2023 issues of Mutual Images Journal and the 2022 issue of the IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies. His research interests include sex appeals in advertising, cross-cultural advertising, advertising for beauty-related products, beauty standards, consumer culture, and social media.