Christmas ads have become a cultural phenomenon in Britain, captivating audiences and driving economic growth

THEY come with big budgets, are wrapped in sentimentality and boost company revenues — Britain’s latest installment of eagerly awaited Christmas television advertisements has a nation tuned in.
Known for talking about the weather 12 months a year, Britons will begin sharing thoughts on the latest festive commercials as soon as they hit screens, usually once the Halloween pumpkins are discarded.
“It’s the time of year when media budgets swell, and creative teams pull out all the stops to deliver memorable messaging that resonates,” noted James McDonald, director of data, intelligence & forecasting at marketing strategists WARC. Companies are to spend a record £10.5 billion ($13.3 billion) on mostly online UK promotion of products during the present Christmas season, according to data from WARC and the Advertising Association, a British trade body. “Brands know that a well-crafted Christmas campaign can boost salience, anchor loyalty and drive impressive sales results,” McDonald added.
Tesco’s 2024 Christmas ad transforms people, animals, and buildings into gingerbread, blending nostalgia, family grief, and festive joy. The campaign supports food charities, with sales from gingerbread items contributing to these efforts. Tesco reported an 8.1 per cent increase in UK sales during its third-quarter and Christmas period, reaching £16.8 billion. Richard Lim, CEO of Retail Economics, highlighted the complexity of measuring ad ROI but noted that flagship campaigns effectively leverage multiple platforms. — AFP

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To boost EV adoption, the government has renewed its EV policy, offering road tax exemptions for electric vehicles.

DELHI Chief Minister Atishi Marlena has declared that the national capital has emerged as the Electric Vehicle (EV) capital of India. Highlighting the city’s progress in promoting clean and green mobility, she revealed that Delhi boasts the highest number of registered EVs in the country.
“Delhi has become the EV capital of the country. Currently, 12 per cent of all vehicles registered in Delhi are electric. To encourage the adoption of EVs, we have recently renewed our EV policy, which includes exemptions on road tax for electric vehicles,” said CM Atishi. She further stated that the development of EV charging infrastructure is being expedited across the city to facilitate the growth of EV usage and make it more convenient for residents to transition to sustainable transportation.
“The development of charging infrastructure is also progressing in Delhi to promote EV sales,” she added.
This progress underscores the city’s environmental goals to reduce vehicular pollution and transition towards cleaner energy solutions. — ANI

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VOLKSWAGEN Group and SAIC Motor announced on Wednesday that they have signed an extension for their joint venture contract in Shanghai until 2040, further strengthening their long-term partnership.

SAIC Volkswagen is China’s first joint venture for passenger cars. This marks the second time that both parties have renewed the contract, extending the period of their joint venture to 55 years.

“The foundation of our success in China lies in the strong, trustful partnerships. The best example of such a partnership is our long-term, successful cooperation with SAIC,” said Ralf Brandstätter, member of the board of management of Volkswagen AG for China, who delivered a speech via video link during the signing ceremony. — Xinhua

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DURING his third visit to the Chinese mainland this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he highly values Chinese suppliers.

Analysts believe this has demonstrated the importance of China’s supply chain and market for the American company. “I am so proud that Apple has an exhibit here with our partners. We could not do what we do without them,” Cook said on Monday ahead of the second China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), scheduled from Tuesday to Saturday in Beijing.

At the expo’s main venue, Cook visited the joint booth of Apple’s four Chinese suppliers, which will exhibit components and technologies involving flexible production lines, green technology and optical products. He highlighted innovations in the Apple supply chain.

Despite challenges including external uncertainties, China remains an indispensable part of Apple’s global supply chains. Out of Apple’s 200 major suppliers worldwide, over 80 per cent have set up factories in China, contributing to the manufacturing of a wide range of Apple products.

During his visit to Shanghai in March, Cook reiterated the company’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market when he opened Apple’s biggest retail store on the Chinese mainland. — Xinhua

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YAMAHA Motor, a leader in the motorcycle industry, is advancing its innovation to provide riders with more convenience, comfort, and safety.

Recently, the company introduced the Yamaha Automated Manual Transmission (Y-AMT) system, a breakthrough that combines the functions of a clutch lever, shift pedal, and automated/manual transmission control into a single handlebar lever.

An official from Yamaha Motor stated, “The purpose of the Y-AMT system is to expand the range of enjoyment for motorcycle riders. Even experienced sports riders can now experience a new level of comfort beyond what was previously possible.

We’ve designed the system to merge the excitement of sports riding with enhanced rider-machine communication. Our goal is to elevate the fun of motorcycling while providing riders with more options”. He also noted, “With the Y-AMT system, riders can shift gears with a simple finger movement. The switch between automated and manual driving modes can also be controlled effortlessly with the same hand. This revolutionary system offers an unprecedented level of convenience and comfort for riders. By simplifying the riding experience, Y-AMT allows riders to better appreciate their surroundings and focus on road safety. As a result, the system promotes safer and more enjoyable rides”. — ANI

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Vienna boosts Christmas lights to support struggling retailers amid economic downturn.

VIENNA will splash the cash on lighting up its famed Christmas markets to bring festive cheer to struggling retailers.

Chandeliers, glittering stars and sparkling red globes are among the designs illuminating 31 Viennese streets since Friday, with the capital boosting spending on its end-of-year light displays as Austria’s economy flounders. “It’s just beautiful. It makes the city a bit more beautiful as a whole,” Kateryna Baranovska, a 23-year-old student, told AFP.

As local businesses struggle with rising costs, Vienna’s economic chamber is covering 75 per cent of the city’s Christmas lighting expenses this year, totaling about 700,000 euros.

This shift comes as Austria’s economy faces challenges, especially due to its reliance on neighboring Germany. Dieter Steup, a representative from the chamber, emphasized the importance of festive lighting for retail, as it enhances the shopping experience during the crucial pre-Christmas period.

To minimize environmental impact, Vienna uses energy-efficient LED lights powered by renewable sources. Despite increased energy costs, the city’s Christmas lights continue to create a cherished ambiance, with 64 per cent of Austrians praising them in a recent survey. — AFP

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RUNNING from 5 to 10 November, the 7th CIIE has attracted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions. Among all participants, 186 enterprises and institutions have achieved full attendance across all seven editions of the expo, while many others are new faces exhibiting for the first time. The Annual Meeting on Pragmatic Cooperation with in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Framework between Peru and China was held on Friday, according to the organizers. The attendees had an indepth discussion on new opportunities for bilateral cooperation under the BRI framework and future development. A series of pragmatic results were achieved at the meeting, including the release of the think tank report “Jointly Promoting High-Quality Development and Building an Asia-Pacific Community with a Shared Future”. The new Spanish-language version of the Belt and Road Portal, an official site in Spanish for the BRI, was launched at the meeting, where the Latin America Liaison Office of the Belt and Road Economic Information Association was also officially inaugurated. The attendees also visited a photo exhibition on pragmatic BRI cooperation between China and Latin America during the event. The event, jointly organized by the China Economic Information Service of Xinhua News Agency and Peru’s Andina News Agency, was coorganized by the China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd. Present at the meeting were more than 100 guests, including officials and representatives from government, businesses, media, and think tanks from China and Peru. — Xinhua

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GUANGDONG Province, a powerhouse of China’s economy, has reported a new record in its foreign trade for the first three quarters of the year, with imports and exports reaching 6.75 trillion yuan (about US$951 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11.1 per cent. The province’s exports stood at 4.39 trillion yuan in the period, up 9.1 per cent year on year, while imports totalled 2.36 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 15 percent, Zhang Ke, deputy director of the Guangdong sub-administration of the General Administration of Customs of China, said at a news conference on Monday. Guangdong’s foreign trade now represents 20.9 per cent of the nation’s total, maintaining its leading position with a major contribution to the nation’s growth. The province’s foreign trade growth rate outpaced the national average by 5.8 percentage points. The new historic high of Guangdong’s foreign trade scale for the same period has demonstrated the strong economic resilience and vitality of the province, Zhang said.

The city of Shenzhen, a national tech hub in Guangdong, also achieved a record high

with a total foreign trade volume of 3.37 trillion yuan for the same period, surging by 20.9 per cent year on year, according to Shenzhen customs. —Xinhua

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CHINA’S financial authorities on Friday reiterated their resolve to keep the world’s second-largest economy on track by implementing and rolling out more policies aimed at addressing outstanding challenges.

Head of the country’s central bank, along with the leaders of China’s top securities watchdog and top financial regulator gathered once again in less than a month following their joint participation in a high-profile late-September press conference that unveiled an expectation-beating raft of pro-growth policies.

“There are still prominent contradictions and challenges in the current economic operation, mainly in the real estate sector and capital market,” Pan Gong-sheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said in his address at the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2024. The country’s major cities continued to see a price decline of commercial residential homes in September, along with improved expectations for the property sector, official data showed Friday.

“Based on international experience and China’s past practices, targeted policies need to be introduced to address these issues,” Pan said. In the past month, the country has cut the reserve requirement ratio, reduced the interest rates for existing mortgage loans and introduced a swap facility to channel more cash into the stock market, among others. The roll-out of incremental policies indicates Chinese authorities’ “firm determination to ensure economic stability, stabilize expectations, promote consumption, and improve people’s well-being,” Pan said. — Xinhua 

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CHINA’S Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced Tuesday that it will impose temporary anti-dumping measures on brandy originating in the European Union (EU) by requiring importers to pay a cash deposit on purchase.

The imported brandy originating in the EU involves dumping, the MOC said in its preliminary assessment publicized on 29 August following an investigation launched in January of this year.

It added that the domestic brandy industry is under substantial threat of damage, and there is a causal relationship between the dumping and the substantial threat of damage.

Effective from Friday, importers of brandy originating in the EU must place deposits with Chinese customs based on dumping margins of between 30.6 per cent and 39 per cent. — Xinhua

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