Stacie’s Internship Review
Practicing Marketing in China: A Sharp paradigm shift
When it was time to intern, I decided to go abroad because I wanted something different. At the point of this decision, I had 4 different Internships in my area of study. Each of these internships came with a unique quality and skill that I was looking to develop.
In fact, coming to China, the reason was knowing the dynamics and different elements and forces that shape Marketing in China. Also, I wanted to learn how a culture full of social, communism and cohabitation influences marketing compared to what happens in the west. I also learnt in University that Chinese had a different Social media Platforms which every international Marketer must know about. These propositions are enough to motivate me to pay so much to school myself in the real world.
I heard about China Internship Placements (CIP) via my career adviser in my university. I applied and was selected through an interview hosted by CIP.
My Experience
The Chinese approach to Marketing has always proved to be different from the west because there is cultural and societal characteristic pervasiveness. Buyer decisions are made on what others recommend and the decision even gets interesting and unpredictable in the cities.
I took my internship with an organization that conducts Market Research to formulate Market entry strategies for fresh companies entering into Chinese Market. It was a perfect opportunity for me to answer all the reasons I chose to come to China. My Job description included conducting market research, data collection, focus group engagement and past consumer pattern behavior analysis. We also sometimes do work on taste and preference of Chinese consumers, especially for consumer goods.
I played a role in selecting the right social media platforms in the right doses and the kind of combinations that are needed to achieve a good market penetration.
For 2 months worked with content team to design the write media and publication materials to fit the brand in question
The Value and Development
The job descriptions were very necessary to my future career and the 12 months that I stayed in Beijing was just like living the future in the present. CIP’s Entrepreneurial training was just superb!!! We joined China Accelerators, an organization that nurtures entrepreneurial ideas and are Venture Capitalists in China.
The biggest project I ever worked on was the Market entry Strategy for Tesla, an auto company with a particular E-car Brand (it is still in process). It is a kind of car that manufacturing and delivery formulae are concealed in a top secret.
At the end of the project, we noticed that the same group of people who bought Ferraris and Lamborghinis will definitely like to buy Tesla Brands due to the finishing. And 60% of these will be families of government officials and few elite Chinese. We also noticed that individuals who liked clubbing and are perpetual chronic club members will always love to acquire one. Some racers were also in this category. At the end, it was piloted and it succeeded with over 1300 brands sold all over China within 2 weeks of arrival. It was a huge success and so don’t be surprised to see Tesla in heavy presence in China sometime soon.
The social Media types and their selections depend on their brand target. Targeting the youth, Wechat and Weibo was awesome. When targeting Older generations, social groups were ideal for this. We have seen Linkedin also gaining some good percentage of penetration but are not yet ideal for marketing.
The Transformative process
CIP instituted a Performance appraisal system where I was graded by my supervisor based on several factors. These recommendations were ideal to helping me develop according to my career plans.
The Cultural Aspect
I learned the Chinese language on a private lesson arrangement and after 6 months, I felt it was cool to go. I could host basic conversations and I was allocated to a Language Partner who always assists me with progress.
To anyone looking to launch a marketing career in China, the Chinese language is the number one prerequisite, especially for marketing. I will advise anyone to take CIP’s Online Chinese lessons while in university and the rewards are great when you finally decide to intern in China.
My Recommendation
I will recommend CIP’s Internships to Young Graduates and University Students looking to develop their career in China. It is a complete package with lots of transformative elements in there. I will recommend their complete package as it is always helpful and supportive. It is better to spend more and get the right measure than to compromise.