What's in a Name? China's New Foreign-invested Advertising Enterprises Regulations

So much depends upon a brand name. And as a result of the growth of China's fiercely competitive consumer markets, where even a white goods manufacturer tries its hand at selling mobile phones, there are an estimated 47,000 advertising agencies in China. Can they benefit from the changing times?

As with many other industries in China, there are numbers and names to herald the auspicious times: China is the world's third largest advertising market, which, at US$14.5 billion, grew by 30% from last year. Most international advertising firms, including Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett and Grey Global Group, are represented in the country, and their clients include both multinational companies and high profile Chinese ones such as China Mobile and Huawei Technologies. And the momentum is picking up. The recently issued Administration of Foreign-invested Advertising Enterprises Provisions (外商投资广告企业管理规定)(the New Provisions)¹ spell out what foreign investors have been waiting for regarding China's advertising-related WTO commitments. Especially, this means a legal guide for gaining more substantial control over their operations in China. Also, in certain important respects the New Provisions update key provisions of the now-repealed 1995 Establishment of Foreign-invested Advertising Enterprises Several Provisions (the Original Provisions).²

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