Three obvious facts about the world's emerging markets
(and the less obvious... what they really mean for your brand)

Emerging markets are all about big numbers and big opportunities. Not a day goes by without press articles about China's 1.3 billion consumers, the new affluent in Russia, India's enormous emerging middle class and countless other such opportunities for your brand. That's all very well, but numbers are just numbers unless you know what they really mean about people.

On the ground in the world's hottest markets, Synovate has conducted its second annual Hotspots study that contrasts 10 emerging markets with four benchmark developed markets. We asked about cars, charity, technology, media consumption, attitudes to brands, health and much more. Here's just a little of what we found... Are we giving you numbers? Sure. But also the meaning behind them. After all, that's how you find the opportunities.

China's automotive industry: A well-oiled machine?

Fact one: 62% of China's auto owners are the first person in their family to have ever owned a car.

And 20% of urban Chinese consumers plan to buy a car in the next 12 months, 71% of them for the first time.

No matter how much or how little you know about China's consumers, this makes a great deal of sense. It's intuitive. China's prosperity is new. Its middle and affluent classes enjoy consumer opportunities that were not available to the generation before. A no-brainer.

But what does this really mean?

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Clean living in emerging markets

Fact two: 27% of people in emerging markets pay someone else to clean their house; only 12% do so in the developed markets surveyed.

A house cleaner is more of a luxury in developed markets than it is in emerging markets. At first that seems counter-intuitive. But when you take into account the relative cheapness of labour in emerging markets it starts to make sense.

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Age is a state of mind in Romania

Fact three: Nearly every country in the world reported a majority belief that there is age discrimination in the work place.

An across-the-board 60% of respondents agreed that there was age discrimination faced in the workplaces of their nation. This peaked at 95% in Brazil and was least evident in Morocco with only 22% agreeing age was a factor at work.

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Want to know more about emerging markets?

Synovate has conducted Hotspots surveys in emerging markets for the past two years and has a wealth of data available. If you are marketing in or to emerging markets and would like to learn more, please contact Mike Sherman on mike.sherman@synovate.com. Depending on your research needs, we may be able to arrange a meeting or even a short seminar tailored to your needs.

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