Chinese Consumers’ Perception of Advertising: A Regional Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the heterogeneity of the Chinese market with regard to consumer attitudes toward advertising. Specifically, we focus on the difference in attitudes toward advertising between consumers in inland China and those in coastal China. Given the marked differences in various economic factors between the two regions, we hypothesize differences on key advertising values, such as deceptiveness, informativeness, entertainment and irritation. Results indicate that it is useful to devise different advertising strategies due to consumer attitude toward advertising.