360DigitalInfluence

This article was originally posted by MEDIA

Shenan Chuang (pictured), chief executive at Ogilvy & Mather Group China, shares her insights on marketing to Chinese consumers during the rapidly approaching Chinese New Year period and gives advise on how brands can capture a bit of the holiday magic.

1. Planes, trains and automobiles. In China, each year’s ChunYun, or Spring Festival travel season, sees hundreds of millions of people crisscrossing the country to reunite with their families. During this 40-day frenzy, three distinct groups of travellers can be spotted based on their choice of transportation. Migrant workers and students flood the trains; office workers, expatriates and overseas travellers form the core of the air travel segment while short-distance travellers take to the streets in automobiles. This mass migration means most consumers deviate from their normal media consumption habits and channels for up to a month or more - not an insignificant amount of time. Buses, transit zones, and outdoor media often become the primary communication channels for a country on the move.

2. Know your (often unlikely) brand ambassadors As scores of migrant workers and students temporarily trade in the bright lights of the big cities for their hometowns in the countryside, they arrive loaded with gifts, products and information from their big city lives. Viewed as successful returnees, their attitudes and opinions on brands and products are very influential on old friends and family. For brands seeking to penetrate lower tier Chinese cities and rural markets, word-of-mouth endorsements from these (often unlikely) brand ambassadors are your best - and most effective - bet.

3. The New Year’s Eve dinner. The New Year’s Eve dinner is always a highlight of the holiday celebration and family reunions. But the format has changed over the years. First it was a must to gather at home for the annual feast. That tradition eventually gave way to eating out as many families chose restaurants for their convenience and ambiance. Nowadays staying at home for the once-a-year indulgence is back in vogue – but with a twist. Rather than slaving over a hot wok or battling for a reservation at a hotel, more families are choosing to order ready-made meals that can be enjoyed at home without the hassle of fighting for a taxi only to be stuck in holiday gridlock. This shift signals big business potential for brands that can enhance those dinners at home with tableware, gift sets of holiday spirits, sweets and snacks or even jumbo family packs for the three generations reuniting over this special event.

4. CCTV New Year’s Gala – who’s watching? The CCTV New Year’s Gala (or ChunWan) is the premier mainland Chinese television event of the year, comparable to the Super Bowl in America. As the most influential and highly rated TV show in China, the Gala attracts marketers eager to buy airtime at any cost. But be forewarned: audience ratings drop as you move from the north of the country to the south. The highest ratings can be found in Northeast China where 85 per cent of residents tune in. This percentage drops to 70 per cent for Beijing and Tianjin, 60 percent for Shandong/ Shanxi/ Henan/ Shaanxi, 20 per cent for Shanghai/ Jiangsu/ Anhui/ Hubei/ Sichuan, 10 per cent for Zhejiang/ Fujian, and below 5 per cent for Guangdong/ Guangxi/ Hainan. So before you burn through your budget, think hard about your target audience… and where they live.

5. Home (and nowhere else) for the holidays. While some sightsee during the holiday, others prefer to “ZhaiNan,” which essentially means hibernating at home doing three things: eating, sleeping and surfing the web. Surfers are primarily engaged in online shopping, SNS and gaming. In 2009, online retailer Taobao.com reported a 195 per cent increase over 2008 in the number of products exchanged by consumers during the CNY period. Bestsellers were mobile phones, digital products, household appliances and gift packs with health supplements. Another trend of recent years is the younger generation’s preference for sending New Year greetings by SMS rather than paying a visit to relatives and friends.  As the internet and mobile applications make their mark on millennia-old traditions, it’s time for marketers to make inroads into the CNY “ZhaiNan” phenomenon.

Where do you go to escape negative social media attention? Well, you could try one place that Twitter and Facebook will struggle to find you: China.

Some might think that is exactly what NBA “problem child” Stephon Marbury did when he moved to China a couple of weeks ago to play for Shanxi Zhongyu.

Marbury seems to have completely moved his social media presence. He posted his last Twitter entry on January 26, having already made his first entry a day earlier on the equivalent Chinese site. Marbury, the biggest NBA star ever to have played professional basketball in China, already has 26,132 fans on the Chinese Twitter-like Sina Microblog.

Of course, Marbury hopes to do more than escape twitterers; he is partly here to promote his clothing and apparel brand, Starbury. His posts frequently link to his Taobao store, where a pair of low-cost Starbury basketball shoes retail for around RMB 150-200 (USD 20-30).

I think this could become one of the best marketing uses so far of a Chinese microblog site, perfectly combining personal branding and product promotion.

Marbury is already creating a genuine dialogue with his fans. Earlier this week, for example, he engaged in a mammoth microblog Q&A, directly answering huge amounts of questions from fans.

Of course, challenges remain. He is only able to speak to his online fans in English, and his off-court brand will largely depend on his on-court success. Last week, Shanxi Zhongyu lost their first game with their new star.

The first in a new monthly series of reports monitoring social media buzz about World Expo 2010 Shanghai says tickets to the big event is the hottest topic online.

Launched today by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, and CIC, an Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) research and consulting firm, ExpoSay is a monthly report on Chinese language IWOM – or Social Media buzz – related to World Expo 2010 Shanghai.

“This report’s findings show how China’s netizens are already discussing many aspects Shanghai Expo, from tickets to pavilions to sponsors,” said Thomas Crampton, Asia-Pacific Director, 360 Digital Influence, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. “Chinese consumers can make or break brands online, so listening is the first step to developing a powerful strategy to engage them.”

Ticket-related topics were the subject of most online Expo chatter in December and phrases about “what to buy” and “how to buy” the tickets became the most popular keywords.

The increase of ticket prices to 150 RMB from 140 RMB announced in mid-December brought predictable criticism, but also some interesting responses. Some companies, such as the e-commerce site yihaodian.com, have started offering their customers tickets at the lower, initial price. Even Shanghai’s Jingan district is offering tickets as incentives for those touring historic Communist sites. This has served as a high-profile, attractive and relatively low cost promotion.

Meanwhile, students are using Social Media to self-organize to purchase tickets at group discounts and many people are discussing the technology behind the Expo’s mobile phone-based tickets. Netizens living in rural China have been using discussion boards as a way to find tickets.

To receive a copy of the report, simply register at Ogilvy PR’s World Expo Blog.

This is currently doing the rounds on the Internet - A girl wanting to marry her notebook.

If this is true, then it could be a very sad reflection of the environment the girl is in.  Do attention seekers know no bounds?

If it is a hoax, it is a good one as the video is doing the rounds on the Internet, and everyone’s talking about it.

But if it’s a viral campaign from Apple, I’d say it’s brilliant.  A girl who loves her machine so much that she wants to marry it.  People are reading, watching  and commenting, like I am.  Speaks volumes for the brand.

Btw, I don’t work for Apple.

Across Asia, social media tools like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs have redefined how businesses operate. While the focus is often on Social Media strategies for reaching consumers, companies operating in the B2B space – consultancies, wholesalers and manufacturers – can sometimes benefit even more than consumer-focused companies.

Shouldn’t you learn how to leverage social media?

Join the award-winning Social Media team from Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide for a free 30-minute online seminar powered by Citrix GoToWebinar and done in partnership with The Wall Street Journal Asia.

This webinar will provide concrete examples, action plans and case studies, including:

· 5 key steps for a business-to-business strategy;
· How to build and engage a community of potential and current customers;
· Real-life case studies from successful business-to-business strategies;
· The highly popular – and now extended – Question and Answer section;
· Much, much more…

The seminar will be led by Brian Giesen a senior regional strategist in Ogilvy’s 360 Digital Influence team and moderated by Thomas Crampton, the team’s Asia-Pacific director.

Hurry! Space is limited for this 30-minute webinar* and registration is required.

Join us Wednesday, 3 March at 11:00am (Hong Kong time)

To register go to wsj-asia.com/webinar

Korea’s second most popular search engine, Daum is preparing to launch its own Social Network Service called Yozm (http://yozm.daum.net).

Various modification of a Twitter-like services have developed in Korea to better serve Koreans’ socializing habit, needs and interest:
-me2day(www.me2day.net by NHN Naver), Twitter-like service instead offers 150 words
-sfoon(www.sfoon.com by Nurien), Connects your twitter, Me2day, Flickr, You Tube accounts in one viewing convenience
-itgling(www.itgling.co.kr by Mediare), socializing with people who share similar web surfing/using pattern rather than choosing to follow or request to be friends

So, how is Yozm different from the rest?

Well, first of all, Yozm, meaning “nowadays” in Korean, allows the user to select/type in
- What you like
- What you dislike
- What you are good at
- Where you go often to find friends.

Under each category, the user can enter up to three things, which can be changed at anytime.
This function, not offered in Twitter and Me2day allows the user to quickly socialize by allocating and becoming friends with people who share similar taste and lifestyle.

Like me2day offers 150 words to input a message but it also allows the users to upload image (not just a link) to the message box.

Yozm is being tested through active social media users now. It is expected to launch sometime in the first quarter of 2010.

Pic 2:   1) 150 word message   2) upload image, link, direct msg to a friend   3) view option (my msg, reply, favorite, private)

internet indeed has spawned many Filipino stars. From the singing sensation, Charisse Pempengco who was hand-picked by the Queen of Talk herself, Oprah after watching her internet clip, to the most unlikely of them all: former drug dealers, rapists and killers.

In 2007, thousands of Cebu’s Provincial Rehabilitation Center inmates gathered by their prison grounds to perform a re-make of Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Cebu Inmates : Thriller

The performance was actually done instead of their usual exercise regimen to bring a little more excitement to the community. Little did these inmates know that they will be catapulted to global stardom, with the help of a video cam and access to the internet. Since its upload in Youtube.com, the clip has received over 6 million hits and global media even took notice, making the headlines of CNN, BBC and the New York Times to name a few.

Not only did the video made instant stars off the inmates, but had life changing effects as well. “Before the video came out, my son was so ashamed of having a criminal for a father. Now, he’s so proud of me. He tells everyone that the man in the video is his father and even has a poster of me dancing,” said an inmate.

The clip was such a worldwide hit that when the news of Michael Jackson’s passing was announced, the inmates made a tribute video, once again taking the world at center stage. 

Cebu Inmates : Michael Jackson Tribute

While the inmates’ dream dancing with the King of Pop was shattered by his sudden death, that did not stop them from moonwalking. Just recently, they were in a for a treat when Michael Jackson’s long time choreographer Travis Payne and two dancers flew into their grounds to teach them the steps of MJ: History’s “They Don’t Really Care About Us” (which is rather ironic since the original video was taken in a prison as well)

Cebu Inmates : MJ’s This is it

What’s even more amazing is the fact that this clip will officially be part of This is It DVD, soon to be available worldwide. Thanks to the power of digital, these inmates have made the world take notice and are now legitimate performers.
“I have tried being a performer before, but only in jail did I get noticed,” said an inmate.

There’s now a new credo in Cebu’s Provincial Rehabilitation Center: Don’t do time if you can’t do the dance.

We are lucky to have Chris Ramsey, one of the co-founders of Radian6, here in Sydney next week and are hosting an event with him at Ogilvy House in St. Leonards. The session will be held next Thursday morning and the topic will be “The Social Web: A Guide for PR Practitioners”.

The event is being organised by Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence and In the Public Interest (Frocomm Communications). Here is some information about the session from the event flyer:

The speakers will discuss the following topics:
1. The power of listening, analysing & measuring: Chris Ramsey, Radian6 USA
2. The power of engaging: Brian Giesen, Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence
3. Q&A with audience

Date: 4th Feb 2010
Time: 7.30am-8.00am networking; 8.00-9.00am presentation
Venue: Ogilvy House, 72 Christie Street, St Leonards NSW
Price: $25 (+gst)

REGISTER HERE!

If you’re not one of the 70 million people expected to visit World Expo 2010 Shanghai this year then there is a perfect, virtual alternative. Expo Online is an ambitious digital project by the organising bureau of Expo 2010 which will be the nearest thing to actually being here from May 1 to Oct 31 when Shanghai’s hosts the largest world’s fair in history.

At Expo Online you can take a virtual tour of the 5.28 sqm fairground and take a look inside the striking pavilions, such as the one for Australia (above). In time the site will evolve to include more content as each participant readies its virtual contents. In some cases the virtual experience will reveal the contents of the real-time pavilions and in other cases they will merely give a taste, or otherwise complement the real thing.