Today’s World Consumer Rights Day, also known as ’3.15’ in China, is a day that can strike fear into the hearts of consumer-facing brands in China. That’s because 15 March is the day the national broadcaster CCTV (China Central Television) airs an exposé show that has the ability to push corporate communicators instantly into crisis-management mode.

　　今天是国际消费者权益日，也被称为“3.15”。在中国，这也是让面向广大消费者的各大品牌忐忑不安的一天。因为每年的3月15日，CCTV(中国中央电视台)会通过直播来曝光企业问题并促进企业品牌进入危机管理模式。

　　Broadcast since 1991, the programme has in the past left brands such as Apple, Nikon and food app Ele.me, dealing with fallout on the morning of 16 March. It’s probably a coincidence that the programme airs on the ’Ides of March’—the date of the public stabbing assassination of Roman dictator Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. But nonetheless, the day may have brands watching their backs.

　　自1991年开播以来，这档节目在过去让包括苹果、尼康以及外卖APP饿了么等品牌在接下来的3月16日紧急处理被曝光的问题。也许是个巧合，该节目播出的时间“3月15日”正是公元前44年罗马独裁者凯撒大帝被刺杀的一天。不管怎样，这一天能让各大品牌有所警惕。

　　Usually, recent annoucements from the China Consumers Association (CCA) provide an early indication of the industries that may go through CCTV’s "assessments of quality" and "reviews of corporate integrity". Given the contents of a CCA theme-setting document for 2017 (the theme translates roughly as "with online honesty and faith, you have a worry-free consumer"), industry watchers say the following industries should be on yellow alert.

　　一般来说，消费者协会的近期通告会提供给各行业一些早期的关于如何通过央视的质量评估和企业诚信审查的提示。消费者协会给出了2017年的主题文件(主题的大致内容为“网络诚信，让你的消费者无忧”)，行业观察人士认为，以下行业应当保持黄色警戒。

　　E-commerce brands

　　电子商务品牌

　　Aside from being mentioned by the CCA, ecommerce abuses got widespread media coverage in February, when a list of e-commerce business failures, first published by Chinese tech publication Ebrun, went viral on tech websites and social media, noted Claire Zhang, PR Newswire’s China marketing manager. These businesses failed due to alleged malicious activities and pyramid-selling scams related to hotel reservations, children’s products, real estate and home textiles. Brad Burgess, head of China at GHC, calls these "cowboy-in-the-Wild-West" firms that need regulatory reign-ins.

　　除了消费者协会提到的二月份被媒体广泛报道的电子商务的弊端，美通社的中国市场经理Claire Zhang还指出，中国科技出版社首次公布的一系列电子商务企业倒闭名单，像病毒一样迅速流传于各大科技网站和社会媒体。这些企业的失败归结于所谓的恶意活动和传销骗局，涉及面包括酒店预订、儿童产品、房地产和家用纺织品等等。GHC的中国区总裁Brad Burgess称这些企业为狂野的西部牛仔，需要法规的监管。

　　Medical beauty brands

　　医学美容品牌

　　The medical beauty industry, using internet marketing models new to the industry, has "serious" over-marketing concerns. They are part of what GHC’s Burgess calls "snake-oil health" firms that make product claims which are uncertain and not verified externally. This year, the 3.15 initiative may reveal loopholes in safety and compliance regarding non-licensed pharmaceuticals and illegal injection fillers in the black market, hinted the CCA.

　　医疗美容行业，引用最新的互联网营销模式，有严重的过度营销担忧。他们就是被GHC的Burgess称之为“蛇油健康”的企业，其生产的产品质量是不确定的，并且没有通过外界的验证。消费者协会暗示，今年的315可能会主动揭露黑市上关于非授权药品和非法注射填充物存在的安全隐患。

　　New-energy automotive brands

　　新能源汽车品牌

　　Attention may also be on ’new-energy’ vehicle manufacturers committing "subsidy fraud"—obtaining financial subsidies for electric cars, buses or trucks they did not build or sell by forging documents. Zhengzhou Nissan (set up by Wuhan-based Dongfeng Automobile and Japan’s Nissan Motor in 1993) was one of seven automakers, and the only foreign brand, fined last month for such subsidy fraud.

　　同样可能被关注的是新能源汽车制造商“补贴欺诈”行为--通过电动汽车，电动公交车，电动卡车来获得财政补贴，实际上都是伪造文件，并没有实际的生产或者销售。郑州日产(由东风汽车和日产汽车1993年在武汉合资成立)是其中的七个汽车制造商之一，也是唯一一家因为此类补贴诈骗而被罚款的外资品牌。

　　Political-prisoner’ brands

　　“政治犯”品牌

　　The likelihood of being on the receiving end of CCTV’s wrath is higher for iconic brands targeted in recent geopolitical squabbles.

　　针对最近政治上的纷争而出现的一些标志性的品牌，很有可能在央视晚会后半段播出。

（编辑：何莹莹）