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.

https://twitter.com/mainedcm/status/1392772157529231361

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.

Shanghai, China – In-game advertising solution Anzu has announced that it is now entering the Chinese gaming market, and has sought Chen Zeng to lead its expansion in Mainland China as its strategic partner for China.

Anzu’s expansion speaks for its previous goal after it concluded its US$9M series funding last February this year led by WPP and Sony.

In regards to Zeng’s background, Zeng is an industry professional with more than 15 years of experience in the IT industry and an impressive track record of building technology-focused advertising brands in China. Before joining Anzu, Zeng spent five years as the General Manager of mobile ad tech Glispa China. He was also the head of sales at mobile marketing company MobPartner China, as well as leading InMobi China’s business development team.

Speaking about the partnership, Zeng said, “I am beyond excited to assist Anzu with its expansion into the region. Anzu’s unique and creative platform is a game-changer and Chinese advertisers and game developers will be eager to tap into the power of this disruptive technology. I am committed to seeing Anzu’s operations in China succeed and have no doubt that success is only moments away.”

Anzu has always ramped up its global presence prior to its China expansion, as it has forged partnerships with companies such as Eskimi and AdColony to bring in-game advertising to a greater reach, as well as with game developers like those of the game World Cricket Championship.

“Anzu has been operating in the APAC region for some time, but expanding to China specifically brings us one step closer to becoming a company with global operations. As the number one gaming market globally, China is overflowing with opportunities, and this partnership helps circumvent the Great Firewall,” said Itamar Benedy, co-founder and CEO of Anzu.

He added, “I’ve known Chen since the days of Glispa and am thrilled to be working with him again on this joint venture which promises exciting synergies for the local gaming industry.”

Shanghai, China Midea, the global appliance manufacturer headquartered in China, has announced its upcoming state-of-the-art virtual factory – the Midea Thailand Smart Factory – and it has partnered with creative technology company MediaMonks to create an innovative immersive experience for Midea’s customers.

MediaMonks was named partner during this year’s Midea RAC (Residential Air Conditioning) Online Canton Fair, with the aim to deliver richer, and more interactive experiences to consumers, and to give greater clarity and understanding on its brand, vision, and products. The smart factory is only one of the two main projects that the two are working on, with the other being the Midea Vision or what is also called the M-Vision project, a digital interactive platform. Both aim to demonstrate Midea’s strong vision for the future. 

Midea
The Midea Thailand Smart Factory

On the smart factory in Thailand, MediaMonks utilized a WebGL experience to provide customers with all aspects of its construction. To give them a comprehensive view of the innovative construction process, MediaMonks came up with the idea to create a virtual tour to this ‘future factory’. Customers are able to freely explore the facets of the factory online and get a deep understanding of its key features and highlights.

According to Technical Director for MediaMonks Shanghai Ron Lee, the virtual factory environment was achieved with the combination of aerial and ground photography footage built upon a 3D modelling technique called photogrammetry. 

“On the fly through experience, we enabled our digital visitors to navigate across a 3D modeled factory represented in the clean, modern aesthetic of minimalism,” Lee said. 

Lee further explains that visitors can now explore interactive hotspots. Alongside the archived time lapse videos, customers can choose to watch a live camera feed for a real-time look at the factory’s construction, and finally, a dedicated news tab keeps customers up to date with relevant information.

Ramzi Chaabane, also a head of strategy for the Shanghai team, said, “The factory of the future is characterized by the integration of digital technologies into manufacturing processes. The ‘smart factory’ – or Factory 4.0 – aims to achieve further competitiveness and will rely on the convergence between the industrial and digital worlds.”

“This is hinged on existing tools and creativity – sensors, automation, big data, IOT, cloud computing – being propelled, and the arrival of new activities in energy, green products, robotics, molecular biology, genetics adding value and innovation to marketing. This thinking will empower Midea and its partners and help future-proof and create lasting business impact,” Chaabane adds.

The Midea Vision

Meanwhile, the Midea Vision, which is under the air conditioning line of Midea, is a digital interactive platform, which will be the integrated home to all the latest RAC and Light Commercial Air-Conditioner (LCAC) products, as well as core technologies, branding, manufacturing and company information. It will also be including the RAC Canton Fair virtual center, enabling Midea RAC to connect all global business customers closely by utilizing a cutting-edge AR product launch event, interactive live streaming and immersive product experiences. 

“Midea is a category leader when it comes to R&D, manufacturing, and shipping to name a few. The ambition is to build a solution to solve ongoing business challenges and pave the path for the future. The core of what we try to deliver is to allow users to have more discovery moments and information touchpoints to create a seamless experience,” said January Zhang, head of marketing department at Midea RAC OSC.

As part of the efforts with Midea Vision, MediaMonks will also be building Mia – Midea’s holistic AI solution – which will help solve a host of business challenges. In the near future, Mia is targeted to be a tech that helps achieve a variety of things not seen before, such as knowing customer insights and applying them on behalf of every user to improve R&D, and engaging directly with customers and managing manufacturing, shipments, logistics and production lines to improve the sales experience.

Midea Vision is already live and Mia 1.0 has already been launched this month. Meanwhile, the Thailand Smart Factory is slated to open in October 2021.

Shanghai, China – UM, the media agency arm of media marketing network Mediabrands, has appointed Lawrence Wan, former managing director, team intel, and head of integrated solutions and growth at Dentsu International China, to be its new chief executive officer (CEO) for China.

The new appointment will see Wan leading the China team to drive digital transformation and growth, and to provide clients with best-in-class offerings across data, strategy and analytics, performance, and planning, as well as to help them navigate the evolving media ecosystem, and future-proof their business. Starting April 2021, Wan will report directly to Chris Chen, the CEO of Mediabrands China, and Kasper Aakerlund, the regional president of UM APAC.

Wan brings with him 20 years of experience in marketing and digital media across the greater China region, working with companies such as dentsu, media investment company GroupM, and media network Omnicom Media Group. He specializes in productizing, operationalizing, and evangelizing, as well as integrating new digital media innovations into global brands’ marketing strategies. He has been exploring digital transformation from the internet boom to ad tech to data-driven AI. 

Commenting on the new appointment, Aakerlund said, “I am very excited to welcome Lawrence to UM China. Lawrence has the qualities that matter to our clients – entrepreneurial spirit, focus on growth, and passion for driving digital transformation. I have no doubt that Lawrence will make great strides for UM China and I look forward to working with him to future-proof our clients’ business.”

Meanwhile, Chen said that as digital transforms the business landscape and the pandemic accelerates that transformation, UM believes the future is now, and embracing change is the only way to drive growth. 

“As a digital transformation pioneer with a growth mindset, I believe Lawrence is a great fit with UM’s Futureproof philosophy and he is the ‘future’ talent we are looking for to lead the UM China business to new heights,” added Chen.

Shanghai, China – Full-service media agency Essence China has been appointed by Global footwear brand Crocs in China to be its media partner to handle the brand’s integrated media business.

Essence will be managing the brand’s strategy, media planning, media activation, and content innovation for Crocs’ digital and offline brand and performance marketing campaigns.

In China, Crocs products are available on e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com, and in retail stores across the nation.

Senior Marketing Director of Crocs in China, Hao Xu, commented that the brand is committed to making the world “a happier place” through continued innovation and creativity. Hao Xu further shared that they were looking for an agency partner to accelerate their efforts in a year of rebranding, deepening their relationship with consumers in the e-commerce space, and capturing new opportunities in the market.

“With Essence’s integrated media offering, and expertise in data-driven brand and performance marketing, we look forward to working closely with the team to drive Crocs’ brand transformation and business growth in China,” said Hao Xu.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Wei, managing director of Essence China, said that Crocs and Essence share a “tireless pursuit” of innovation, creativity, and improvement with a people-first approach. 

“With a mission to make brands more valuable to the world, Essence’s belief is that when brands like Crocs put people first, they have tremendous potential to make the world a better place – creating real value for consumers while fueling organizational culture and success. We are delighted to collaborate with Crocs to deliver valuable advertising that reinforces its vision of ‘everyone comfortable in their own shoes’ and propel its growth across China,” added Wei.