Mitch Barns, President, Greater China, The Nielsen Company
China is one of our fastest growing markets globally. We use our broad range of market research and analytical capabilities to bring our clients the clarity and insight they need to make good business decisions.  One of our priorities is to continuously invest in innovation to improve our capabilities in China.  One example of this is our new R&D center in Beijing.
Innovation is the engine of growth so it is important to continuously invest.  But during challenging economic times, we face a difficult …

China – one of the world’s fastest growing economies in recent years – has not been immune to the recession sweeping the global economy.  Its export-driven economy has slowed, and unemployment is growing.  The Chinese government has introduced a stimulus package and is encouraging citizens to spend more.  But whether they actually do so may require a change in cultural dynamics.  Without the social safety net of Western countries, the average Chinese family saves about 30 percent of its income (most American families save almost nothing).
How China shifts from an export …

China’s export-driven economy has slowed as a result of the global recession. With a drop in exports and a growing unemployment rate, the Chinese government is urging consumers to spend in order to spur the economy. While various stimulus plans are being investigated, the nation’s success may rely as much on altering cultural dynamics as replacing economic models.

Olympics sponsors and their competitors ramped up their August ad budgets to maximize their exposure during the month of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But according to Nielsen, many of China’s advertisers took a break from advertising in August, sending overall ad spending in China tumbling to levels last seen in May 2008, when the Sichuan earthquake hit and advertising was suspended for three days.
Advertising spending in China grew, year over year, by just 7% in August, Nielsen reported Monday.  In comparison, China’s ad spending grew by an average of 19% in the seven …

CI SUMMARY: Asians in the U.S. are often overlooked by marketers due to the tremendous growth of the Hispanic population. However, marketers will need to dig deep in order to reach this rapidly growing segment, who speak many different languages and have diverse cultural backgrounds as compared with the Hispanic consumer. While most Hispanics in the U.S. come from either Mexico or Latin America and share at least some parts of their culture, Asians do not. The strong cultural differences between persons from Japan, China, and India impact their tastes and how they approach their lives in the U.S.

Most global consumers agree that their countries have hit recession, but opinion on how long the recession will last remains mixed, Nielsen reported Wednesday.
While 53% of those surveyed by Nielsen think their country has hit a prolonged recession that will last more than 12 months, 18% of consumers, concentrated in a handful of emerging markets, like India, Vietnam, China, and Russia, told Nielsen they expect their countries to be out of recession within the next 12 months.
In contrast, consumers in Japan, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey, Italy, Taiwan, the U.S., and Spain were the …

Charlie Buchwalter
What’s happening in the world’s largest Internet market? Last week we announced our JV in China – CR-Nielsen – the first company authorized to support the delivery of standardized Internet measurement services in China. The top sites are dominated by Chinese brands, with global brands like Google and Yahoo! present with their local sites. Overall, the numbers are quite significant. The top site, Baidu, was visited by slightly more than 171 million unique browsers during a single week. And while there is no exact comparison between unique browsers and …

Baidu, China’s leading online search engine, was the most popular website in China in early September, according to data released Friday by CR-Nielsen, Nielsen Online’s joint venture partnership in China with Beijing Zhongqian Wangrun IT Co. Ltd.
Between September 8 and 14, Baidu attracted 171 million unique browsers — more than double the volume of Google China, which drew 81 million unique browsers during the same period.
CR-Nielsen is the first company authorized to support the delivery of standardized Internet measurement and analysis services in China — home to an estimated 253 million …

Chinese are more likely to travel this week for the National Day Golden Week holiday than they were earlier this year during the Chinese New Year holiday, Nielsen reported Tuesday.
According to a survey conducted by Nielsen, six in 10 Chinese plan to travel between September 29 and October 5 for Golden Week, while just 42% of Chinese reported making plans to travel this past February for Chinese New Year celebrations. 

Tourism to China is expected to surge, following the Beijing Summer Games.
According to a 16-market survey conducted by Nielsen after the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, consumers throughout the world are increasingly interested in traveling to mainland China. 
Forty-five percent of those surveyed after the Opening ceremony said they intended to travel to mainland China at some point.  Following the Closing Ceremony, that percentage increased to 51%.  For 80% of the respondents, who had never visited mainland China, it would their first trip to the country.
Meanwhile, respondents who said they had …