Tag: China

Beijing, China – With an interest leaned towards strategic growth sectors and practices, the Chinese arm of global public relations company Edelman has recently completed its new roster of leaders by hiring three more senior specialists, namely Justin Teo as chief digital officer for China, Nelson Ren as head of corporate for China and managing director for the Shanghai office, as well as Mark Pinner as the head of technology sector for Greater China.

The recent appointments finally come full circle as Edelman recently expanded its creative lineup in APAC, which includes the appointment of Wendy Chan joining as chief creative officer for China and Cici Wang taking on the role of head of HR for China. In addition, Edelman China has also seen the recent appointment of Pully Chau coming onboard as president for Greater China.

In their respective roles, Teo is tasked with elevating the firm’s agenda for digital transformation, building up key capabilities in social commerce, performance optimization, B2B demand generation and content production. Meanwhile, Pinner will serve as part of Edelman’s global Tech Centre of Excellence, exploring tech intersections with sectors like health, finance and energy. Lastly, Ren brings over 20 years of communications experience to his new role and joins from ophthalmic optics company Essilor, where he previously served as head of communications.

“I believe communicators write the first draft of history. In a world flooded with uncertainties, communications can and should play the vital role of engaging and building trust. Edelman is a world leader in building meaningful connections and narratives that help organizations navigate complex environments. I am excited to be joining a team of dynamic communications experts in breaking new ground and exploring new horizons,” Ren commented.

Meanwhile, Teo brings over 20 years of digital experience, having worked with various players – from start-ups as an entrepreneur, consultancies and the large advertising networks – across Greater China’s digital marketing landscape. He joins Edelman from VMLY&R Commerce which was previously Geometry, where he served as chief digital officer for China, responsible for accelerating growth of the agency’s digital practice.

“To win in the China market and compete at the speed of digital, trust plays a critical role. As the experts in studying trust and advising clients on how to develop and safeguard it, Edelman is strongly placed to help clients win big in an increasingly digital world,” Teo said.

On the other hand, Pinner’s career has focused on advising corporate clients, particularly those in the tech sector, on Chinese inbound and outbound investments. He joins Edelman from public affairs consultancy Interel where he was Managing Director for China, and his previous roles include helping Chinese brand Lenovo with its international expansion.

“The tech industry in Greater China is an exciting and fast-growing one; it has the potential to improve the lives of people in this market and around the world. I look forward to being a part of this growth journey with the rest of our growing team,” Pinner said.

All three new hires will report to Mark Wang, CEO of Edelman China.

Hong Kong – Beauty standards have long been the subject of various strict opinions about what constitutes being ‘beautiful’. In the case of women across China, data from Sina China shows that six out of ten females in China say they lack confidence in their appearance and feel anxious about how others may perceive them if they don’t fit into what is considered to be normal.

Foraying into this societal dilemma of setting up beauty standards, the China arm of global beauty brand Olay recently launched a new campaign, titled ‘No Fear of Judgement, My Own Beauty’ which centers around the brand’s vision to empower women to express beauty in their own way by stating that beauty has many faces and should not be defined by social standards

Said campaign is leveraged by La Mu Yang Zi, a Chinese actress who is not usually seen as conforming to the traditional definition of beauty. In the film, she questions: “If I want to see it for myself-which face would I choose?” After contemplating the changes, she then tells her personal story of how she deals with social judgement and chooses her own appearance – a message the brand believes will resonate with women in China.

The campaign was conceptualized by the team at Grey Hong Kong, and is the first part of a series under Olay China’s newly launched brand idea ‘Pursuit of Fearless’.

“This is a time we think it is necessary to walk further with Chinese women on the journey to becoming fearless,” said Hyoeun Kim, vice president of P&G Greater China, Skin Care – Olay.

Meanwhile, Duffy Lau, general manager at Grey Hong Kong, commented that they will continue to tell heartfelt stories to consumers and make Olay a meaningful brand.

Apart from the film, which is released on several online platforms including Dou Yin, Weibo & WeChat, Olay has also teamed up with the Xiao Kou Stand-up comedy show inviting Yang Li, a famous female comedian, to talk candidly about facial anxiety. More celebrities and actresses, key opinion leaders (KOLs), writers and bloggers, were also featured in this movement.

“It was rewarding working with the brand team to create a campaign that will help women to gain confidence in how they perceive their own standard of beauty,” added Joe Yue, creative partner at Grey Hong Kong.

Guangzhou, China – As complexities within the Chinese business landscape and the shift in consumer behavior toward e-commerce continues to increase, Nativex, the mobile-first advertising platform that helps brands drive sustainable growth through universal access to digital channels across the east and the west, has launched its revamped ‘XploreChina’ initiative – a one-stop mobile marketing solution.

‘XploreChina’ initiative is designed to help clients achieve success in the Chinese market, offering acquisition, monetization, and creative services at scale and across multiple verticals. It provides a wide range of transparent tools and solutions tailored to all lifecycle stages. 

Under the ‘XploreChina’ umbrella, Nativex offers three distinct solutions for brands including China Top Media, KOL Marketing, and Android Solutions, as well as customized marketing solutions for public relations, and social media, among others.

The China Top Media solution grants advertisers instant access to premium inventory across China’s closed mobile ecosystem through strategic partnerships with ByteDance, Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba, as well as Kuaishou, while the Android solution provides clients with the required documentation for launching their app in China’s Android ecosystem. It also includes support for app management and monetization on China’s mainstream Android app stores.

And lastly, the KOL Marketing solution helps brands run successful influencer campaigns in China by connecting them with over 40,000 Chinese influencers and more than 200 Multi-Channel Networks, including XingTu (Douyin), Magnet (Kuaishou), and HuaHuo (Bilibili). 

According to Nativex, the country’s US$14.28T economy continues to present a broad range of business opportunities for companies, especially those from emerging markets such as SEA, but without a strong understanding of market characteristics and knowledge around consumer preferences, companies seeking to enter China may encounter difficulties in building brand awareness and engaging with local audiences. As a result, leveraging the expertise and connections of a partner such as Nativex will help brands across various industries scale quickly and effectively in China. 

Irene Yang, the managing director at Nativex, shared that breaking into the Chinese market can be incredibly complex for marketers who do not have boots on the ground or localized expertise to lean on, due to its unique media ecosystem that’s dominated by domestic tech giants and its fragmented mobile audience. 

“Here at XploreChina, our unrivaled understanding of the Chinese market and strong connections to China’s top media platforms allow us to make the transition into this unique media ecosystem for brands seamless and effective. As more brands look to break into China, we are able to guide marketers every step of the way,” said Yang. 

Nativex has also announced that as part of the ‘XploreChina’ rebrand, advertisers also have access to ‘Nativex XMP Media Buying’ tool, which allows companies to reach hundreds of millions of users across the country’s leading ad platforms such as Wechat, Douyin, and Bilibili, as well as Nativex’s in-house creative studio TopWorks, which offers premium creative services. 

In addition to XploreChina’s three distinct solutions, brands will also have access to public relations, search engine optimization, and social media services to ensure brands of all shapes and sizes have the right online presence in China’s massive mobile market.

Beijing, China – With China becoming more and more open to exploring new trends and strategies within the retail and commerce market, Asia-Pacific and Western brands ought to take better attention in order to succeed in tapping the Chinese consumer market, a new report from Wunderman Thompson Intelligence shows.

Citing data from market research firm eMarketer, who notes that 52% of total retail sales globally originate from China, the report unveils how China is ‘opening’ itself to the world in terms of commerce. For Chen May Yee, APAC director for Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, Chinese tech giants and global brands alike are trying new ideas first in cities like Shenzhen, from where they spread across China and its borders, hence no global brand can afford not to pay attention. 

Statistics-wise, 27% of Chinese consumers shop online four to six times a week, compared with 19% of Indians, 14% of Thais, 12% of Australians and 11% of Indonesians. Despite the regularity, 9% of Indian consumers say they shop online every day, compared to 7% in China.

In terms of spending power, Chinese consumers are willing to spend the most on online purchases, averaging to US$1,507 though Australia is not far behind, with an average of US$1,177.

While there has been a significant rise of the Gen Z demographic in the consumer space, the older generation are not to forget as well. China’s seniors are the last untapped demographic when it comes to commerce, but not for long. Post pandemic, 81% of Chinese consumers that are aged over 55 years old are now more comfortable using digital technology.

The report also notes that the pandemic and accompanying lockdowns have pushed record numbers online, often through sheer necessity when shops were shut down. This is evident by the fact that even in China, which already boasted a high level of digital literacy before the pandemic, 62% state that they have become more comfortable using digital technology post-pandemic.

In China, the country that created the mega-influencer capable of moving millions of dollars of merchandise in a single livestream, a degree of influencer fatigue is setting in. About 24% of Chinese say friends and family are now their biggest influence on buying decisions, versus 16% who cite social media influencers and 4% who say celebrities. In China, some online marketers are tapping into this shift by promoting friend recommendations, micro-influencers and peer-to-peer networks.

The report also notes that the Chinese market has pioneered various strategies and new demographics to tap into, including launching of live commerce as well as venturing into the gamer market, where eight in ten among Chinese respondents are playing games on mobile phones. Surprisingly, 91% of respondents who are over 55 years old say they do gaming as well on mobile.

Singapore – After a year of building up its creative and strategic firepower in Asia-Pacific, Edelman is dialing up its focus on the future of communications with the newest hires to boost its creative work and position in the region.

The new hires are Tim Green as the new chief creative officer for APAC, Huw Gildon as the new chief strategy officer for APAC, and Wendy Chan as chief creative officer for China.

Green comes from creative agency Leo Burnett as creative lead, and is now responsible for injecting creative thinking into every practice and sector, across every communications brief. 

“There has never been a more relevant time for businesses to embrace creativity as a more effective way of solving business challenges. By integrating creative thinking into Edelman’s offerings, and letting PR and digital practices bring the creative idea to life, we’re enabling our clients to stand out as distinct and truly relevant to their audiences,” Green said, regarding his appointment.

Meanwhile, Gildon, who previously worked with Leo Burnett and Ogilvy, will partner with Green and the firm’s digital and data capabilities to drive the ideation and execution of integrated work for the firm’s earned communications solutions, alongside Phyllis Yip who joined the agency as head of strategy for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand from Walmart China in March. Nisha Sivanandan, head of strategy at Edelman Singapore, will also be part of the said team to bolster the agency’s work. 

Regarding his appointment, Gildon said, “The brand is one of the most important and powerful ideas in the history of business. The strongest are both trusted and talked about. Given Edelman’s strong heritage in studying trust, I’m really looking forward to working with their incredible portfolio of clients to help them grow and strengthen their brands with the power of creativity and innovation.”

Lastly, Chan comes from McCann Health in China, and accompanies Pully Chau, who was recently appointed as the new president for Greater China at Edelman.

For Michelle Hutton, vice chair for APAC at Edelman part of the new stride of hires in the region responds to the growing need of integration of creative and strategy skill sets into its product mix of corporate, public and brand solutions. This, in turn, will enable the firm to make pioneering moves in tackling the unique challenges faced by today’s marketers.

She added that as brands are increasingly expected to take a stand on societal issues and serve as agents of change in their consumers’ lives, earned media has become the new battleground for building trust.

“By bringing creativity and strategy to the table in addressing our clients’ challenges, independent of structures and siloes, our teams are able to unlock even more powerful ideas and experiences for positioning our clients at the heart of culture and what’s taking place in the world at the moment. This ultimately enhances the effectiveness of earned elements in our traditional solutions,” Hutton concluded.

Shanghai, China – Global footwear brand Crocs in China has launched an interactive and playful, physical installation at Taikoo Hui Shanghai, in order to promote the ‘Crocs for Yang Mi’ collection, with global brand ambassador Yang Mi, tapping into the Chinese actress’ enormous fanbase. 

According to Crocs, the creative idea was inspired by Yang Mi’s personal style that a person is neither sweet nor only cool, encouraging fans to discover and show the multi-side charm of the campaign message, ‘Come as you are’.

Created in collaboration with digital production company MediaMonks, the campaign execution will be via an experiential installation at Taikoo Hui mall, where photo booths were set up to capture its campaign theme ‘The Yang Mi Sweet and Cool Style’. 

With three selfie booths that uniquely depict each of the Mi-styles and maintain the key visual aesthetic, the campaign seeks to stay close to Yang Mi’s fans and the Gen Z female consumers, who are split into style-shoppers and true-love fans.

Fans could personalize the photo moment with three shareable booths furnished with interactive photo, sound, and lighting booths. The control panels in front of the booths opt for the visitors to experiment with the set in order to find their own sweet and cool style. 

Furthermore, various Jibbitz charms will be used to personalize the photo moments by putting them on the interactive board. This will activate a real-time personalized soundscape with a fitting lighting setup, echoing Yang Mi’s sweet and cool styles.

Each booth will also have its own soundboard to reflect its interior design. With 10 sound layers on the soundboard and a maximum of 4 Jibbitz charms to move around, there are over 1000 different possible combinations that can be made by users. For each installation, a personal sound or phrase that represents the mood will be created, which urges consumers to record and share on their social media platforms with an incentive that can be redeemed in the Crocs Energy Store in the Taikoo Hui mall.

Currently, over 8,000 people have engaged with the activation, generating 1.79 million impressions with 32% of the installation visitors converting to store visitors.

Beijing, China – Branding and pioneering platform 36Kr has announced that will be providing its video marketing solutions to automotive brand group Volkswagen Group China, which will be part of Volkswagen’s 2021 marketing program with 36Kr.

Through the marketing program, 36Kr has created an 8-minute short-form video on the topic of possibilities and imaginations for intelligent automobiles, within which it also seamlessly featured Volkswagen’s technology, insight and vision on future transportation. This customized and professionally produced video content is being distributed through 36Kr’s mobile app and diverse distribution networks, and has attracted massive viewership as well as audience interactions. 

The short-form video marketing solution is an integrated and important part of Volkswagen’s overall marketing program with 36Kr as it transforms from a pure-play automaker to a travel service provider.

First launched last year, 36Kr has produced more than 150 video programs, covering various topics including technology, business, finance and economics, education, and personal growth. Short-form video content is a strong addition to 36Kr’s content matrix, which now consists of text, image, video, audio and live streaming with a concentration on China’s New Economy space as well as lifestyle of the younger generation.

For context, the country’s New Economy model is gearing towards a services-oriented model, away from the traditional manufacturing system the country has been well known for years.

In addition, 36Kr has cultivated an extensive and effective content distribution network across various mainstream third-party social platforms including Bilibili and Douyin. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, 36Kr had attracted more than 4.5 million followers and generated 60 million total video views across all third-party-trafficked platforms. More and more users and customers are increasingly recognizing the value of 36Kr’s short-form video content, and some elite brands have formed collaborations with 36Kr for content marketing programs pivoting to short-form videos.

For Dagang Feng, co-chairman and chief executive officer of 36Kr, the success of the Volkswagen video marketing program illustrates 36Kr’s ability to deliver a comprehensive array of content marketing solutions to customers, further validating the value and brand power of 36Kr’s platform.

“We believe 36Kr’s fast-growing video marketing initiatives will propel continuous growth in our user traffic, strengthen user engagement, lift our revenue ceiling, and reinforce our core competencies as the leading platform for New Economy growth-focused business content and service offerings in China. We are confident that 36Kr is well-positioned to seize the immense commercialization opportunities with the rise of short-form video across the digital content industry,” Feng stated.

Beijing, China – As consumers are now migrating to online channels to respond to their daily shopping needs, the greater specificity of Chinese consumers patronizing e-commerce channels for their shopping needs have risen exponentially, with a greater interest in hyper-local e-commerce providers, a new joint report by Chinese e-commerce JD.com and Dada Group shows.

In their latest report, they state that on-demand consumption among Chinese online shoppers is here to stay, noting that fresh food is, by far, the largest segment of the on-demand delivery, accounting for 70% of daily consumption among the report respondents. Other areas have shown exponential growth in on-demand consumption this year, such as dairy (+120%), personal hygiene (+114%), snacks (91%), and maternity/baby care (90%).

Consumer-wise, millennials are still the most prevalent consumer group, making up 50% of the on-demand economy, with female consumers born after 1980 as the most dominant consumers, representing 67% of the on-demand market. That said, the market is attracting an increasingly diverse group of consumers, by both age and region. 

On other demographic factors, the report details how the number of male consumers has jumped by to 33% in 2021, up from 25% in 2018, while the proportion of middle-aged and elderly users who are more than 40 years old has increased to 28% in two years, up from 22% in 2019. 

Driven by easing lockdowns and an increasing focus on connecting people with a wider array of products, post-pandemic on-demand consumption in China has experienced a shift from households (74%) to workplaces (8%) and educational institutions (3%), which is further extending to recreational venues, including fairgrounds, tourist hotspots, and parks. 

There is also significant demand for 24/7 on-demand services, and those businesses serving late-night, usually at 12 am to 2 am, customers are reaping the benefits from a new wave of customers who want reliable delivery service outside of traditional business hours.

“China is leading the way in omnichannel retailing. A new wave of transformational change of omnichannel retailing is underway, fuelled by the integration between traditional e-commerce, offline retailers, and on-demand retail platforms to meet the customer demands for a more diversified shopping experience. In the era of hyperlocal e-commerce, one-hour delivery has become the new normal and it is quickly emerging as a major channel for supermarkets and grocery chains to win business,” both companies said in a press statement.

Huijian He, vice president at Dada Group stated that the unprecedented growth of China’s on-demand economy in recent years, particularly its accelerated momentum through COVID, is revolutionizing consumer behavior across China. He also added that the rise of on-demand, hyperlocal one-hour delivery of goods, has transformed the retail industry and increased consumers’ expectations for a best-in-class shopping experience.

“With significant consumer demand in first- and second-tier cities, and large and rapidly growing demand in lower-tier cities, retailers, on-demand retail platforms and delivery services are increasingly competing for higher speed, flexibility and convenience across the on-demand economy,” He stated.

Meanwhile, Hui Liu, chief data officer at the JD Big Data Research Institute, commented, “We look forward to leveraging this data to continue to drive innovation across our platform as we deliver the speed, flexibility and convenience that consumers are increasingly demanding and realize the numerous growth opportunities in China’s on-demand economy.”

Singapore – Brightcove, a global software company catered to providing video for business, has announced a new partnership with e-commerce giant Alibaba to enable video content delivery to businesses in China, now made possible through the Brightcove Cloud Delivery.

Powered by Alibaba Cloud, said solution will be the first video provider to enable on-demand video streaming into the nation. The launch caters to the long-time problem businesses in China have dealt with in regards to video content streaming. With the nation’s strict blockade from outside media, some companies have suffered video loading or analytics failures; others have been blacklisted for lack of an in-country domain and license. 

Furthermore, Brightcove China Delivery via Alibaba Cloud enables customers to execute a single video distribution strategy worldwide. As they do for other countries, Brightcove content owners can use a simple checkbox interface to start distributing video in China and analyze its performance.

“We’re pleased to finally enable customers to stream video within China. No longer is there a separate, complex, and disappointing process for attempting video-driven business in China. We are opening the country for business for our customers securely and reliably,” said Namita Dhallan, chief product officer at Brightcove.

Brightcove’s expansion into the Chinese market, as market research by eMarketer shows that the country is projected to have an e-commerce ‘boom’, valued at US$2.8t, which at the same time entails corporate communications divisions to continue to engage employees with more video.

“Our solution allows you to easily create a single video strategy and workflow that works around the world, including China. And it’s all backed by the reliability, scalability, and security of the Brightcove platform to bring you the extraordinary growth opportunities the Chinese market offers,” the company said in a press statement.

Manila, Philippines – As the company maintains its growth momentum for its financial results of the first quarter this year, China-based online education platform 51Talk has tapped the talents of top Philippine celebrity Maine Mendoza as its first-ever celebrity brand ambassador in the country

Mendoza has been a well-known television personality in the Philippines, most notably for her appearance as ‘Yaya Dub’ in the variety and public service segment ‘Juan For All, All For Juan’ of popular noontime show ‘Eat Bulaga’, which aired on GMA Network. She has been recognized as the most tweeted Filipino celebrity in the world in 2017, and enjoys wide influence on the internet, earning her title as the ‘Social Media Queen’.

“51Talk has the best training systems so whether you’ll be teaching full time or part time, you will be ready to hold classes in the comforts of your home in no time,” the 26-year-old actress said.

Announced last 12 May Mendoza’s 51Talk ambassadorship has become a trending topic among Filipino netizens, with the hashtag #MaineFor51Talk trending on Twitter, reaching more than 30,000 tweets in the Philippines.

“Maine Mendoza is a well-known Filipino actress and social media influencer. Her appointment can further strengthen our brand recognition in the country. I look forward to continuing to execute our mission to deliver long term benefits to all stakeholders,” said Jack Jiajia Huang, founder, chairman and CEO at 51Talk.

Mendoza’s stint comes as 51Talk celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. 

At the annual strategic meeting held in Beijing last March, 51Talk announced plans to build a comprehensive yet tailor-made English education system, while committing to empowering its learners with qualified teaching resources and teachers.

In addition to the platform’s fiscal success, 51Talk has also achieved national-level recognition for its efforts over the past years in promoting Sino-Philippine people-to-people exchanges.

“Remarkably, our net revenues from K12 one-on-one mass market offering grew 36.0 percent compared to first quarter last year,” Huang said, adding that the performance was mainly driven by an increase in the number of active students.

To date, the number of active students reached 393,000, which is a 37 percent increase compared to the same period in 2020.