外国人看中国：中国消费者到底想要什么？

Public display is also a critical consideration in how global brands are repositioning themselves to attract Chinese consumers. Despite China's tea culture, Starbucks successfully established itself as a public venue in which professional tribes gather to proclaim their affiliation with the new-generation elite. Both Pizza Hut and Häagen Dazs have built mega-franchises in China rooted in out-of-home consumption. (The $5 carton of vanilla to be eaten at home is a tough sell in China.)
公共展示也是全球品牌为吸引中国消费者重新定位应考虑的一个关键因素。尽管中国有茶文化，但星巴克却成功地把自己打造成了新一代精英聚会洽谈的地方。必胜客和哈根达斯都在中国建立了庞大的以堂食为主的连锁店网络。（买回家享用的五美元一大盒的香草冰激凌在中国不好卖。）

The second rule is that the benefits of a product should be external, not internal. Even for luxury goods, celebrating individualism—with familiar Western notions like "what I want" and "how I feel"—doesn't work in China. Automobiles need to make a statement about a man on his way up. BMW, for example, has successfully fused its global slogan of the "ultimate driving machine" with a Chinese-style declaration of ambition.
第二，产品的优势应该强调外在而非内在。即使对于奢侈品，赞颂个人主义的西方宣传手法在中国也行不通，比如人们熟知的西方观念“我想要什么”和“我感觉怎样”。汽车的广告语需要表现不断进取的男子汉气概。例如宝马的全球广告语“终极座驾”（ultimate driving machine）就融入了带有中国式抱负心的元素。

Sometimes the difference between internal versus external payoffs can be quite subtle. Spas and resorts do better when they promise not only relaxation but also recharged batteries. Infant formulas must promote intelligence, not happiness. Kids aren't taken to Pizza Hut so that they can enjoy pizza; they are rewarded with academic "triumph feasts." Beauty products must help a woman "move forward." Even beer must do something. In Western countries, letting the good times roll is enough; in China, pilsner must bring people together, reinforce trust and promote mutual financial gain.
有时，外在和内在带来的效果差异会相当微妙。水疗和度假村在承诺不光可供休闲放松还提供充电电池时效果会更好。婴儿配方奶粉一定要强调能提高孩子智力，而不是为了快乐。孩子被带去必胜客不是为了享用披萨，而被当做是奖励学习成绩优秀的“大餐”。美容产品必须能够帮助女性“往前走”。就连啤酒都得做文章：在西方国家，分享美好的时光就足矣；而在中国，必须表现出啤酒能把人聚起来，增强信任和增进互惠互利。

Emotional payoffs must be practical, even in matters of the heart. Valentine's Day is almost as dear to the Chinese as the Lunar New Year, but they view it primarily as an opportunity for men to demonstrate their worthiness and commitment. In the U.S., De Beers's slogan, "A Diamond is Forever," glorifies eternal romance. In China, the same tagline connotes obligation, a familial covenant—rock solid, like the stone itself.
情感上的好处必须实际，即便是关乎内心的事物。情人节几乎像春节一样受中国人重视，但他们却把这个节日看做男人表现自身价值和忠心的一个机会。在美国，戴比尔斯的广告语是“钻石恒久远”（A Diamond is Forever），是对永恒浪漫的赞美。而在中国，同样的广告语却意味着责任、缔结家庭的誓约──固若磐石，就像钻石一样。

The last rule for positioning a brand in China is that products must address the need to navigate the crosscurrents of ambition and regimentation, of standing out while fitting in. Men want to succeed without violating the rules of the game, which is why wealthier individuals prefer Audis or BMWs over flashy Maseratis.
最后，在中国定位一个品牌时，产品须能解决野心勃勃与严守克己的矛盾，既要彰显个性，又要适应融入。男人渴望在不违反游戏规则的前提下获得成功，这也就是为什么有钱人倾向于奥迪或者宝马，而不是浮华惹眼的玛莎拉蒂。

Luxury buyers want to demonstrate mastery of the system while remaining understated, hence the appeal of Mont Blanc's six-point logo or Bottega Veneta's signature cross weave—both conspicuously discreet. Young consumers want both stylishness and acceptance, so they opt for more conventionally hip fashion brands like Converse and Uniqlo.
奢侈品消费者既要表现自己对体制游刃有余的掌控，同时又要保持低调，因此万宝龙的六角星标识和宝缇嘉标志性的编织皮革颇受欢迎，二者都是低调的奢华。年轻消费者既想要时尚，又希望被人接受，因此选择匡威（Converse）和优衣库（Uniqlo）等比较传统的时尚服装品牌。

Chinese parents are drawn to brands promising "stealthy learning" for their children: intellectual development masked as fun. Disney will succeed more as an educational franchise—its English learning centers are going gangbusters—than as a theme park. McDonald's restaurants, temples of childhood delight in the West, have morphed into scholastic playgrounds in China: Happy Meals include collectible Snoopy figurines wearing costumes from around the world, while the McDonald's website, hosted by Professor Ronald, offers Happy Courses for multiplication. Skippy peanut butter combines "delicious peanut taste" and "intelligent sandwich preparation."
中国家长对宣传孩子能“在潜移默化中学习”的品牌很感兴趣：智力培养披上趣味的外衣。迪士尼（Disney）在中国做教育会比主题公园更成功，它的英语学 习中心很受欢迎。麦当劳（McDonald‘s）的餐厅在西方是儿童的快乐天堂，而在中国却变成了学术园地：开心乐园餐（Happy Meals）中的身穿世界各地服装的史努比（Snoopy）小雕像可供收藏，麦当劳网站提供开心乘法课。四季宝（Skippy）花生酱结合了“花生的美 味”和“三明治的巧妙配方”。

Even China's love affair with Christmas—with big holiday sales and ubiquitous seasonal music, even in Communist Party buildings—advances a distinctly Chinese agenda. Santa is a symbol of progress; he represents the country's growing comfort with a new global order, one into which it is determined to assimilate, without sacrificing the national interest. The holiday has become a way to project status in a culture in which individual identity is inextricably linked to external validation.
就连中国对圣诞节的喜爱──到处都有大型的假日销售活动，到处都有圣诞音乐──也在推动一项明显具有中国特色的议程。圣诞老人是进步的一个象征；他代表中国越来越适应新的全球秩序，中国肯定会在不牺牲国家利益的情况下融入这个秩序。在个人身份与外界认可密不可分的中国文化中，圣诞节已经成为人们彰显身份的一种方式。

The American dream—wealth that culminates in freedom—is intoxicating for the Chinese. But whereas Americans dream of "independence," Chinese crave "control" of their own destiny and command over the vagaries of daily life. Material similarities between Chinese and Americans mask fundamentally different emotional impulses. If Western brands can learn to meet China's worldview on its own terms, perhaps the West as a whole can too.
美国梦──财富在自由中达到顶峰──令中国人陶醉神往。但美国人梦想“独立”，而中国人渴望“掌控”自身命运并控制日常生活的变幻莫测。在物质追求相似的表象下隐藏着本质迥异的情感诉求。如果西方品牌能学会迎合中国的世界观，那么也许整个西方世界也可以做到。