On April 24, on the eve of the Beijing Auto Show, the 10th China Automotive Marketing Awards - the Golden Pavilion Awards ceremony was held in Beijing. 48 outstanding cases, 5 major automotive marketing teams, 1 marketing figure, and 10 major marketing agencies received awards.
The Golden Chariot Award, established in 2014 to drive automotive brands forward, has become a prestigious award in China's automotive marketing industry. The 10th Golden Chariot Award has been comprehensively upgraded, featuring 5 major tracks and 39 sub-categories, attracting participation from over 80 enterprises, brands, and organizations, with 134 entries submitted. Among them, 125 nominated cases have been selected for consideration.
The 10th Golden Pavilion Award application and winning cases reflect the ten major trends in Chinese automotive marketing for 2024. These include integrated marketing, event marketing, public welfare and responsibility, brand globalization, brand creativity, cross-border marketing, event marketing, content marketing, social marketing, and IP marketing.
Five automotive brands, including FAW Hongqi, GAC Aion, Ideal Auto, GAC Toyota, and SAIC Volkswagen, were awarded the 2024 10th Golden Pavilion Award for Marketing Team of the Year.
Li Xueyong, Vice General Manager of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd., has been honored as the Marketing Person of the Year for two consecutive years. In his acceptance speech, he stated: "The marketing environment is particularly complex now. I want to emphasize one word, which is perseverance. Perseverance is what an enterprise should do most. We must adhere to our product bottom line, product quality, user interests, user service, and communication with users. Whether it's product development, marketing, service, or new media, the essence lies in your product and content being able to withstand scrutiny. If the content itself is not good and relies solely on deception, it will probably not succeed."
Li Xueyong hopes everyone can stick together to make the Chinese automotive market healthier, make competition in the Chinese automotive market more conducive to the long-term development of enterprises, and help users distinguish between right and wrong, choosing products that truly meet their needs.
As a representative receiving the award, Yu Jingmin, the Deputy General Manager of Sales and Marketing at SAIC Volkswagen, said: "Based on the market, users, and competitors, the market sets the trend, and users are the foundation. We must continue to create value for users, hoping that everyone's marketing efforts will return to values and guarantee cost-effective vehicle use for users."
Ideal Motors has won the Golden Pavilion Award for Best Marketing Team for two consecutive years. Liu Jie, the President of Ideal Motors product line, stated in his acceptance speech, "The key to Ideal Motors' success lies in focus; sometimes subtraction is harder than addition. We may be driven by three things: desire, constantly adding; insecurity; and competition. In 2024, our focus is on returning to user value, with family users being the most important for Ideal. From product development to marketing communication, the transmission of user value is crucial for better serving family users in the long term."
Zhang Bin, the Marketing Director of GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., stated when accepting an award on behalf of the company that the greatest value GAC Toyota provides to its users can be summarized in two points: Firstly, by consistently delivering the original quality from a major factory, offering the best quality vehicles to Chinese consumers; Secondly, in the era of significant growth for hybrid vehicles, intelligent electric-hybrid engines are riding the wave, aiming to provide the user value of intelligent electric-hybrid engines to Chinese consumers, allowing domestic users to enjoy better GAC Toyota vehicles.
Han Wenxin, Director of User Operations and Media Strategy at FAW Hongqi Sales Co., Ltd., expressed during an award acceptance on behalf of the company: "Facing such a competitive market, Hongqi will continue to strive, the marketing team will keep innovating, and with greater enthusiasm and passion, we will propel the domestically produced beautiful Hongqi cars to even greater heights."
Wang Yunlong, the Public Relations Director of GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., said when accepting an award on behalf of the company: "In the past two years, marketing professionals have faced immense pressure. Everyone is actively embracing change, aiming to excel in core technology, high-end manufacturing, product quality, and customer service. The goal is to truly and comprehensively build systematic marketing capabilities, rather than just pursuing traffic for marketing purposes. Copying and imitation can only lead to internal competition, while only originality from China can truly go global."
"Dongfeng Nissan's 20th Anniversary FAMILY DAY" wins the Golden Award for Event Marketing. Mr. Liu Xinyu, General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Motor Sales Co., Ltd., expressed in his acceptance speech that Dongfeng Nissan actively participates in every Golden Award event. At the 10th Golden Award ceremony, as everyone looked at each other, many emotions were revealed. With the upcoming 11th Golden Award ceremony, old friends will meet again, truly becoming a family.
Liu Xinyu stated that Dongfeng Nissan has always insisted on building platforms, creating platforms between hosts and customers. This action is not only held for the 20th anniversary, but also includes annual factory celebrations and family day events, which have become part of the company's intellectual property.
"'Mazda Drives Like a Race Car' - Changan Mazda & Leon Lai Break the Ice and Reconcile" won the Golden Pavilion Award in the marketing category. Deng Zhitao, Executive Vice President of Changan Mazda, expressed in his acceptance speech that the theme of this year's Beijing Auto Show is 'New Era, New Cars'. Changan Mazda has brought a brand-new, elegant, intelligent, and luxurious flagship sedan to this show, symbolizing Mazda's renaissance in the Chinese market. It is hoped that this Beijing Auto Show will showcase a better future.
The "Chery Exeed X70 PRO (Specifications | Images) follows Xiaoyang to watch the village super" won the Gold Award in the Annual Cross-Border Marketing and Social Marketing category at the 10th Golden Pavilion Awards in 2024. Zhang Chunwei, Deputy General Manager of the Chery brand business unit and General Manager of the Marketing Center, said when accepting the award on behalf of the company: "Chery Automobile was established in 2018 and has sold a total of 1.1 million vehicles to date. From January to April this year, our terminal shipments reached 140,000 vehicles, a 101% year-on-year increase. Last year, we collaborated with the national-level brand Guizhou Village Super for a trial. We hope that in the future, Chery Automobile will continue to innovate in marketing strategies and explore different marketing approaches."
Xiao Mingchao, Chairman of the Xuan Award Jury, Co-Dean of the Xuan Yuan School of New Marketing, and Founder & CEO of Zhi Meng Consulting, expressed at the awards ceremony that the Xuan Award witnesses the transition from the new marketing era to the new automotive era. Through the Xuan Award, we can see that in the past decade, automotive marketing in China has completely entered the era of user branding.
Xiao Mingchao pointed out that today's automotive marketing has entered a deep operational era of consumer relationships in the digital society. It requires genuine consideration of what a true user brand is, how to become one, and contemplation on the hot topic of AI today, even the widespread use of AIGC in the marketing field. It involves driving intelligent communication, creating content that fosters deep empathy with consumers, and finding the engine of content. The greatest traffic is in people's hearts, so the focus is on truly creating traffic from the heart domain.
Through the Golden Pavilion Award, we can see the transformation of automotive marketing, shifting from a focus on appearance to a focus on "value-aligned communication." The higher realm of product functionality and brand lies in providing a new experience and culture that resonates with me.
The judges of the 10th Golden Pavilion Awards are composed of 27 cross-disciplinary, heavyweight brands, marketing gurus, and industry experts.
In a talk show, Wu Bofan, a judge of the Golden Pavilion Award, a renowned Chinese scholar, business thinker, and director of the Institute of New Business Species, quoted the British philosopher Bacon as saying that the human body has two types of heat generation. One is the heat generated after exercise, which is beneficial to the body, while the other is fever, caused by internal viruses and disruptions in the body's mechanisms, which is very harmful to our bodies. Wu Bofan also mentioned that the current marketing in the automotive industry seems to be heading towards the latter type of heat generation, which is not beneficial to the industry as a whole. He expressed concerns about the industry engaging in various cunning tactics and power struggles, leading to a subversion of discourse.
Dr. Jia Ke, President of the Golden Pavilion Awards, Editor-in-Chief of Automotive Business Review, and Principal of the Xuan Yuan School, on behalf of the organizers, expresses gratitude to all participating automotive companies and applicants. He stated, "The Golden Pavilion Awards truly involve a rigorous evaluation process. It requires thorough preparation of materials, cases, and works. This inadvertently adds a significant workload for manufacturers. Whether receiving an award or not, being nominated or winning the gold, all forms of participation are the greatest support for the Golden Pavilion Awards and for automotive marketing in China."
