Reaching The Digital-Savvy Chinese Consumer

Calling all Advertisers….. Do you want to Reach Chinese consumers?

It seems everyone wants to reach Chinese consumers…. But what are they like and how can I reach them? If only I knew the main way for reaching each of these groups of consumers …… sinotechgroup.com.cn

Chinese Consumer Fast Facts 600 million strong. By 2015 there will be 500 million people under age 30 in China-- roughly the population of the entire European Union. wealthy. 80% of the wealthy (over 250,000 Yuan/year) are under age 45, compared with 30% in the U.S. and 19% in Japan. online. of China’s 430 million Internet users, 73% are between the ages of 13 to 34. located outside of China’s tier 1 cities. 1.2 billion people live outside of China’s Tier 1 cities, meaning that 185 million or 93% of China’s 200 million core consuming population live outside of a Tier 1 city. sinotechgroup.com.cn

Chinese Internet Fast Facts Up to June, 2010, the number of net citizens in China has reached 420 million The number of broadband net citizens has reached 364 million The number of mobile net citizens in China has reached 277 million The weekly online time of net citizens is 19.8 hours The growth rate of users for online payment, web shopping and e-banking was 30% The number of Chinese websites is 2.79 million Number of bloggers is 231 million 26th Statistical Report on Internet Development in China (July, 2010) sinotechgroup.com.cn

Chinese consumers cannot be ignored by Western Brands. Therefore, Marketers need ways to exploit this growing spending power Chinese consumers can be broadly grouped into two segments; the ‘we’ and the ‘me’ generations sinotechgroup.com.cn

WE” GENERATION • Born in the 1960s & 70s • Current age: 28–47 • Population: 450 million • Often digitally connected • Confident, well-off, responsible, family-oriented sinotechgroup.com.cn

WE” GENERATION PSYCHE I live and work for my family sinotechgroup.com.cn

They access the web through PC/ Mobile They are time pressured through work They like to read fact based content They don’t trust corporate messages - they believe their select group of online friends They don’t like being told – they like to be question and make own assessment sinotechgroup.com.cn

ME” GENERATION • Born after 1980 • Current age: 12–27 • Population: 380 million • Always digitally connected • Individualistic, fashionable, forward thinking, realistic sinotechgroup.com.cn

ME” GENERATION PSYCHE It’s all about ‘Me’ sinotechgroup.com.cn

They access the web through mobile They are time pressured through social activities They don’t read- they scan. The like gossip and entertainment news They don’t trust corporate messages - they believe their online buddies They don’t like being told – they like to be engaged and participate sinotechgroup.com.cn

Given the difference of these two groups, you need to separate ‘we’ and ‘me’ brand messages and communications strategy. BUT in terms of connecting with them, they both belong to the DIGITAL GENERATION and can be reached through online campaigns sinotechgroup.com.cn

When developing a digital strategy, leverage paid, owned and earned media sinotechgroup.com.cn

Source: SinoTech Group (adapted from David Armano’s model) A Simple Digital Marketing Framework sinotechgroup.com.cn

Summary Table Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

Shift away from interrupt based marketing to a more conversational process.. In China we have our own social media ecosystem

From a Traditional Marketing Model sinotechgroup.com.cn

To a New Socially Engaged Model sinotechgroup.com.cn

Using Earned Media in digital campaigns to develop engagement requires some simple principles

1. Listen to them • Monitor the channels they’re using. • What are they saying about your brand? • What are they saying about competitors’ brands? . • Pre-empt reputational crises. Be ready to respond when necessary sinotechgroup.com.cn

2. Understand them Remember our Chinese netizens are different in behavior and in online intent Consider what are their motivations for using social media (are you wanting to reach the ‘we’ or the ‘me’ group)? How do they interact with different social media channels? How to they interact with each other across these channels? What drives them to participate and spread messages? What kinds of messages will they be receptive to? sinotechgroup.com.cn

3. Be visible to them Don’t simply jump on the social media bandwagon. When engaging these ‘me’ and ‘we’ generations’ through social media you must know which medium is right for your message and your objective – i.e. when to use corporate blogs vs. forums vs. social networking sites. After selecting your channels, make sure your brand is highly visible to the public. sinotechgroup.com.cn

4. Know what incentives work for them Why should these ‘me’ and ‘we’ folks engage with your brand and spread your message? Is it a social currency? Does it leverage opinion leadership among their peers? Timely and compelling content? Access to exclusive promotions? Incorporate incentives that will drive interest and participation. sinotechgroup.com.cn

5. Gain and maintain their trust Be authentic and transparent in communicating across social media. Try to add legitimate value to netizens’ online experiences. Most importantly, don’t try to deceive this group– they are smart and it will only lead to backlash and reputational damage. sinotechgroup.com.cn

Summary China has a robust consumer market that wants to buy, buy, buy… These consumers can be broadly be grouped into 2 segments Both segments are active users of digital media Within the digital media channels, they are both social media junkies sinotechgroup.com.cn

“Tell me and I’ll forget; Show me and I may remember; Involve me and I’ll understand.” ANCIENT CHINESE PROVERB sinotechgroup.com.cn

Thank you - Dr Mathew McDougall | @sinotechian sinotechgroup.com.cn | @sinotechgroup sinotechgroup.com.cn

http://hemartin.blogspot.com	126
http://www.sinotechblog.com.cn	50
http://blog.hemartin.net	38
http://www.chinawebradar.com	20
http://digitalministry.com	11
http://blog.campaignasia.com	5
http://socialmediatoday.com	1
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	1

Reaching The Digital-Savvy Chinese Consumer

by Dr Matt McDougall on Oct 16, 2010

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Reaching The Digital-Savvy Chinese Consumer — Presentation Transcript