Gearing up for young drivers in China

Challenge

The landscape of the automobile market is evolving rapidly in today’s China. A large factor in this change is the growth in purchasing power of young consumers. Big and small industry players are jockeying to capture market share and brand equity.

In the months leading up to this project, we conducted market segmentation research for this client, which revealed that our client was not meeting the needs of one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the Chinese market.

Based on that project and our recommendations, the client decided to further investigate the reasons why their cars were not capturing the booming 80’s generation. They realized they needed to clarify their strategic direction in order to do a better job of connecting with their target market here in China.

Process

We decided that it was critical for our client to be able to communicate with this market segment, but to do so, they needed to understand just who they were selling to and what drove the decision-making processes of their consumers.

A research and strategy program was needed, which incorporated two main types of research and deliverables. Including co-creating visual graphic personas and user experience mapping based on five senses measured by distance.

To create user profiles and identify consumer segments, we enlisted a large sample of this target generation to enable us to visualize and understand their preferences, including current and desired product usage, color preferences and lifestyle aspirations. After creating these profiles of typical users, we conducted a larger, quantitative survey to qualify our findings.

While the anecdotal profiles gave us insight into the target group and how to communicate with them, they did not give us all the pieces of the puzzle. We also needed to capture and learn about the experience the 80’s generation had when it was engaged in using our client’s products.

Outcome

With our findings, we were able to provide very specific design recommendations to our client as to how they could change the interiors and exteriors of their cars, including style, materials, colors and features, in order to meet the demands and needs of this youthful yet powerful 80’s segment.

With our help, we are confident our client can draw in the new generation of Chinese consumers.