At a conscious level, the client’s Western brand performed well. Chinese consumers spoke positively about it and associated it with quality.

At an implicit level, however, the strongest emotional responses were directed towards the local Chinese brands. Some elements of the client’s packaging were found to feel overly complex, leading to confusion and limiting their ability to generate positive emotional reactions.

Clear contrasts also emerged between the two Chinese competitors. One brand performed strongly on attention and visual appeal. The other relied on a pagoda symbol, which consumers responded to negatively. This could be because the pagoda is familiar and unremarkable in China, so although this asset may be valuable in export markets, it might be weakening the brand’s positioning in China.

These insights gave the client clear guidance on which visual elements to simplify, which to emphasise, and which cues are most closely linked to premiumness in the Chinese beer category.

In this case, relying only on traditional research would have suggested the American brand was performing well without identifying the subconscious aspects that were causing confusion or friction.