A lot of us are missing an important point about China Central Television (CCTV). The new CCTV building is stunning, indeed iconic. But far less noticed than the scale and architecture of their new headquarters is the location of the building and what that means for the advertising industry.
CCTV headquarters has long been on the west side of Beijing, on a massive piece of property next to West Third Ring Road. CCTV’s neighbors included a research institute, the Military Museum, the massive office block built for the Central Military Commission, and a monument to the return of Hong Kong to the Motherland.
If you were an advertiser or somebody else seeking to gain attention through the good offices of the national broadcaster, you made the long trek around north Third Ring, or you suffered the traffic on Chang’an Road, passing on your way the monuments of Tian’anmen, the portals of the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, and the compound housing the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT).
In short, the whole experience for an advertiser was something of a pilgrimage designed to remind you that the central broadcaster was part of the nation’s political structure, and that no matter how much money you brought, CCTV carried the power in your relationship with it.
The new headquarters makes a different type of statement. And that is not accidental.
The broadcaster has picked up and moved itself all the way across the capital, a physical journey of 13 kilometers but a psychic journey of a far greater distance. The long journey for advertisers is no more. CCTV has come to you.
No longer ensconced among monuments and government offices, CCTV now stands amid Beijing’s toniest office blocks and next to the eye-catching Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Being nestled in the corridors of political power sends a message inappropriate to how CCTV wants - needs - to be seen. Despite its continuing function as the voice of the party, CCTV is now a commercial entity, dependent on the patronage of enterprise for its sustained success and power.
And not a moment too soon.
As CCTV’s work force moves into the new building, they will do so as the cream of the broadcaster’s audience is looking beyond television for diversion, as advertisers shift spend to a widening mix of media, and as TV faces new pressures to prove its value as a marketing tool.
So as you drive past - or to - the new CCTV headquarters, keep in mind that as much as the edifice celebrates the organization’s pride and success, it is also the symbol of the humbling of a giant, and a harbinger of a new era that will focus the broadcaster on serving its advertisers rather than being served by them.
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 10:33 am and is filed under Advertising, Media. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Media Hutong
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December 19th, 2008 at 8:20 am
This is so wrong!!! The CCTV is on the East Third Ring Rd, no where near where you say it is. Get your facts straight. This is quite bad.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:27 am
JG, with respect, I think the problem here is that to a non-native English speaker the meaning may not be clear.
I say “CCTV headquarters has long been on the West Side of Beijing,” in other words, for a long time it has been on the west side of Beijing, which it has been since at least the early 1990s when the CCTV Building and Media Center were built. I then say that now CCTV “has picked up and moved itself all the way across the capital” to a spot next to the new Mandarin Oriental.
My facts are straight, but thank you for pointing out what appeared to be an error.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Hello, David
Having accidentally come across your blog entry as a result of a City Weekend publication, I am truly impressed by your ability to dig so deep as to see the symbolism of this relocation. Passing by this new building on my way to work every single day, I would never have thought of these underlying phenomena without your straightforward hint.
Excellent insight! Thanks!
Sergey (Audi Beijing)