One of the latest hypes in the United States is the highly addictive HQ Trivia app. And as always China has taken over the concept and, using its massive market, amplified it 10-fold!
The app takes the form of a live game show, played in the US at 9 PM Eastern Time every day, and 3 PM on weekdays. The host of the show asks a series of twelve multiple choice questions, each with three possible answers. Those players who get the question correct within the 10 second limit move on to the next round, the rest are eliminated. The players that correctly answer the final question split the prize money.
So far, the number of participants in the US has grown to 750,000. The prize money is currently $2,000 for most games, but it has been as high as $18,000. Although the creators have stated that they plan to someday increase it to $1,000,000.
HQ Trivia has already expanded to the UK, which means that it is currently in two countries. Although I’m not sure if they realize the storm of copy cats in China. Would that count as well?
In China the game was first introduced by one of the online video apps called 西瓜视频 (melon live). It is integrated in that app as a new feature and it obviously picked up steam fast. Not long after that, two other online video apps (花椒直播 & 一直播) integrated identical games. The concept was so popular that even two standalone apps have popped up (冲顶大会 & 芝士超人). And of course, as is typical in China, they all look pretty much the same:
Doing things bigger and better is usually the goal in China, which is what these apps are certainly adhering to. 750,000 participants became 75,000,000. Playing the game twice a day became more than 5 times a day. And the prize money of $2,000 has increased to 500,000RMB ($75,000) with individual people raking in 40,000RMB ($6,000) per game (see screenshot).
With China being the gigantic market it is, it is no surprise there are already so many players in this very new market. And you can be sure there will be more, this trend and its newly acquired market is certainly not saturated yet.
We are left with one question though, how do these apps make money?
In the weeks leading up to the most wonderful time of the year – the December Holidays – many luxury brands leveraged the festivities to enhance brand awareness and increase (online) purchases. Under the influence of the western holiday season, even in China the shopping malls and stores were covered in Christmas decorations and brands ran special Christmas and end-of-the-year campaigns. To keep the joyful spirit alive, we’ve listed our favourite December Holiday Campaigns here.
Swarovski
Based on the concept of an Advent Calendar, Swarovski designed a Christmas box with 24 individual compartments that contained three full-priced items and 21 free gifts.
To promote the sale of the shimmering Advent Calendar, priced at 2,980 RMB, Swarovski created a highly engaging and interactive WeChat campaign (H5) that recreated the Advent Calendar experience digitally. Every day, the digital Advent Calendar gave users access to a different interactive mini-game. Upon completing the game, users were given a card. Once seven unique cards were collected, users received a Christmas gift from Swarovski. To maximize chances of winning a price and maximize campaign awareness, users were able to swap cards with friends.
To stimulate purchases of the actual Advent Calendar, the campaign was further supported by a mini programthat offered users the opportunity to directly buy the limited-edition Advent Calendar Box through WeChat. By promoting the QR code of the WeChat campaign in their physical stores, Swarovski managed to drive both in-store purchases and awareness of their WeChat platform.
Furla
Italian luxury brand Furla offered its female Chinese audience a quiz to find out what type of charming woman they are. Through a series of multiple-choice questions, the quiz deduced the most charming aspect of the user’s personality – their confidence, passion, mystery, or elegance.
After finishing all questions, the final answer appeared together with a product recommendation that was based on the answers given during the quiz. In addition, the quiz offered some takeaways that the women could share with their friends. Because of the personal questions prior to the product recommendation, women felt the recommendation was more convincing and personalized, making them more willing to share the campaign and ultimately buy the product.
New Look
Following the Western tradition of sending Christmas cards and wishing friends and family happy holidays, New Look designed a mini program that enabled users to create and send Christmas cards featuring New Look’s products via WeChat. Within the mini program, users were asked to choose one of the New Look luxury items, add one photo-effect, and add a line of text with their wish for the reader, for example a “New Look in the New Year”. After finishing the Christmas card, users were able to share the card with their WeChat friends.
Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney’s Christmas Campaign took its followers back to the ‘80s and ‘90s by designing a vintage selfie contest. In a WeChat post introducing the contest, followers were encouraged to click on one of the images which then opened the webpage. On this webpage, users were able to take a selfie or upload one from the photo library on their phone. After uploading a photo, users could customize their selfie with Stella McCartney-themed effects and stickers.
Once finished, the customized photos could be saved and shared onto WeChat’s Moments and/or directly with friends. To encourage the sharing of customized selfies, Stella McCartney asked participants to send their selfies to the brand’s account as well, rewarding the best five selfies with a Christmas gift.
What made these campaigns such a success?
Engagement. Offering an interesting game or quiz, as these brands did, allows your followers to interact and engage with your brand substantially more than they would if the campaign was merely a post with text and photos.
Fun experience. Potential consumers are not only stimulated by the possibility of winning something, but also by new and entertaining experiences. Being original and making a campaign fun is therefore just as important as the potential incentives that are given.
Seamless integration. While an H5 mobile page allows brands to develop a highly interactive and engaging component, mini programs offer a seamless buying experience and integration with WeChat Pay. When deployed simultaneously, these WeChat functionalities present the perfect approach to drive social commerce.
Sharing is caring. Chinese people love sharing their experiences with their friends. Using this to your advantage is a great way to attract new followers to your Social accounts and increase brand awareness.
Whether you are planning on entering the Chinese consumer market in 2018 or you’re already (successfully) selling in China, being knowledgeable about all Chinese ecommerce holidays should definitely be one of your New Year’s resolutions. As experience tells us that tailoring sales strategies around Chinese traditions and cultures has proven to be difficult for international companies, we made a China e-commerce calendar for 2018 to help you achieve your resolution!
1st of January: New Year
New Year celebrated in the night of December 31st and January 1st is not particularly important, compared to other national holidays in China. But as younger generations in China enjoy celebrating New Year more than their parents do, there are some ecommerce opportunities. We recommend you to use this occasion to bond with your customers by thanking them for their support throughout the year. Launch for example New Year promotions to clear up your excessive inventories, preferably with special deals for loyal customers. Since the younger generations usually celebrate New Year with friends at (corporate) parties, fashion and beauty products will attract the most attention.
15th of February: Chinese New Year (Spring festival)
Chinese New Year – also referred to as Spring Festival – is the most important holiday in China. Everyone travels back to their hometown to spend time with family and friends and eat traditional food. It is tradition that children receive ‘Hongbao’ from family members, which is a red envelop filled with pocket money. These Hongbao are often combined with other gifts, especially since online shopping has increased in China over the past few years. Food and beverages are the most common gift in this period, closely followed by electronics and games. The youngest family members receive toys as gift, and healthcare products (such as nutrition supplements) are often bought for the elderly. The travel industry is also extra popular during this time of year, as more and more families are traveling long distances during the Spring Festival.
In order to respond adequately to this festival, it is wise to plan your campaigns on time and organize your inventory in advance. A fact you might want to consider whilst planning your campaign, is that the older generations are often in charge of preparing food and gifts. As the elderly are often less familiar with online shopping than the younger generations, sending offline catalogues is a good way to boost offline sales. And lastly, you should be prepared to invest in delivery, as customers are very keen on receiving their holiday gifts and supplies on time.
5th of April: Tomb sweeping day
Every year in early April, Chinese people commemorate their ancestors by visiting and maintaining their graves and burning “sacrificial money” in honour of the dead. Nowadays, the festival has evolved into an occasion for people to go on short-distance trips and thus for brands to coordinate promotional campaigns accordingly. Promotions for this holiday usually start around the middle of March. In terms of products, especially promotions of short-distance travel packages, travel-related products and sportswear are likely to bring additional traffic.
1st of May: labour day
Labour Day in China is a cheerful family holiday in which fun activities are planned and people travel around the country. From a marketing perspective, comprehensive campaigns that include free shipping, promotion codes and discounts to promote your products are recommended.
20th of May: Wo Ai Ni
May 20, shortened as “520”, is celebrated as Valentine’s day in China, as the combination of numbers sounds phonetically the same as I (5) love (2) you (0) in Chinese. Different from traditional holidays such as Chinese New Year and Dragon Boat Festival, this Valentine’s Day was recently invented by Chinese netizens and is celebrated mostly by young adults and millennials. As Valentine’s Day is based on the tradition of men showing their love for women through gifts, the best audience for marketers to target are men born post ‘80s and ‘90s searching for the perfect gift for their women. During preparations for this holiday, especially promotional campaigns featuring fashion and cosmetic products are well received.
1st of June: Children’s day
Whereas in European countries children have either Santa Claus or Saint Nicolas from whom they can wish everything their heart desires, Chinese children ask for their dream gifts on Children’s Day. Although the majority of parents buy their gifts online, it is not uncommon for parents to take their children to the store to choose their own gifts. From a marketing perspective, it is therefore important to integrate online and offline strategies and to make sure all your school-related products, infant products and toys are included in your promotions. It will help your marketing campaign to emphasize the fact that your products are being imported from western countries, as Chinese parents associate this with good quality.
18th of June: Dragon boat festival
Although there are many explanations for the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, the most communicated explanation nowadays is that the Dragon Boat Festival is held in memory of the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan, who drowned in the Miluo River in the 3rd century BC. The story goes that locals raced out in their boats to save him, and when they couldn’t find him, dropped rice dumplings in the water to attract the fish so that his body would not be eaten. During the Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Boat races and the eating of ‘Zongzi’ (traditional rice dumplings) are important traditional activities.
Like many Chinese festivals, the giving of gifts is a key part of the celebrations during the Dragon Boat Festival and for brands a great marketing opportunity. For foreign food retailers, Dragon Boat Festival is an excellent opportunity to innovate upon traditional food. Starbucks, for example, combined the shape of the traditional Zongzi with stuffed ice cream and rolled it out during the festival.
17th of August: Valentine’s day (Double Seventh)
Double Seven Festival – falling on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month – is to the Chinese what Valentine’s Day is to western countries. For those of you paying close attention, it is indeed the case that in China Valentine’s Day is celebrated twice per year. From a marketing perspective, there is no substantial difference between both Valentine’s Days. Just make sure you don’t run exactly the same promotional campaign twice, as Chinese youngsters will notice and worse – get bored.
10th of September: Teacher’s day
Teachers are highly respected and honoured in China, which is why on the 10th of September, festive events are held throughout China in honour of educational specialists. The main purpose of introducing Teacher’s Day as an official public holiday was the desire of Chinese authorities to increase the prestige of the profession. On this day, students give their teachers small gifts to show their gratitude. As expensive gifts are inappropriate to give to teachers, make sure you feature non-expensive gifts such as cards, chocolates and flowers in your campaign.
1st of October: National Day
Every year on the 1st of October, China celebrates the anniversary of Mao Zedong’s great victory against the Kuomintang and the start of a new era in the history of China. Over the course of five days, the country holds different celebrational ceremonies, festivals, street performances and fireworks shows. There are no specific event-related marketing opportunities, but it’s not uncommon for brands to use the warm-up to the event for an all-round campaign promoting their products. Similar to Labour Day, National Day is a great opportunity to run a comprehensive campaign including free shipping, promotion codes, and discounts to promote your brand.
11.11 Single’s Day
Double Eleven, Single’s Day, or just the 11th of November – no matter what you call it, it is the ecommerce highlight of the year. People start shopping days before the actual date, and wait until 00:00 to pay for everything piled up in their shopping carts. Once ‘invented’ as a designated day for China’s bachelors, 11.11 later morphed into an event to celebrate all single life. In 2011, Alibaba made it into the record breaking ecommerce festival as we know it today. And with a total spending of 162.2 billion yuan this year, single life was celebrated well!
If you want to participate in the 11.11 madness – and we think you should – be sure to realise it takes more than just throwing up a promotion on Tmall. With 140.000 brands promoting 15 million products during the festival, smart marketing tactics are necessary to convince Chinese consumers to buy your products. Invest in engaging promotions, such as key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) running lucky draws with your product, to create a buzzing image around your brand rather than only giving discounts. And one last piece of advice: make sure you invest in delivery, as common issues occurring during 11.11 are slow delivery and lost packages.
12th of December: 12.12
Like Double Eleven, December 12 is a ‘Shopping Holiday’ invented by the Alibaba group. Whereas Double 11 seems to be firmly grounded in B2B and B2C markets, Double 12 focusses on the online to offline (O2O) market. Essentially, O2O aims to stimulate the demand for products online and to translate that demand into actual purchases in physical stores. During the warm-up to the event, brands often send promotions via Alipay wallet offering discounts in participating stores. By offering special O2O commerce deals at stores, brands aim to drive consumers to physical stores they otherwise probably wouldn’t have visited. Ecommerce giants like Taobao and JD.com offer deals as well, but the focus of the event centres more around activities outside, such as eating out, going to the movies, and, of course, shopping at the mall.
25th December Christmas
Although Christmas is not a traditional Chinese holiday, it is becoming more popular among the younger Chinese generations. That is why it deserves a spot on the China e-commerce calendar. Couples tend to celebrate Christmas as a romantic occasion, and friends exchange gifts for fun. As Christmas in China is more interpreted as a fashion festival rather than a family gathering, make sure your campaigns look trendy and luxurious. Imported goods sell best during this time of year, as well as luxury goods.
What to do now?
As you might have already noticed, there are more ecommerce holidays than you can count on both hands. This China e-commerce calendar is definitely not meant to convince you to participate in all these shopping festivals. We highly recommend to choose the holiday(s) that fit your brand’s message best, and forget about all the other days. There are more ways to reach the Chinese consumers’ hearts than running promotions and giving discounts. If you’re not sure which ways, we at AgencyChina would love to hear about your brand and help you determine how to promote your products in China.
With 290 million active online video users per day and an expected increase to 358 million in 2018, the popularity of short videos in China is undeniable! Due to its success and that of other ‘new’ flourishing media channels, the status of traditional media is declining. Over 40% of online video users no longer have any contact with traditional media (according tosurvey data from the China Netcasting Services Association, CNSA).
Even though in 2016 professionally generated video content overtook user-generated video content, the advertising industry is still relatively hesitant in the use of short videos for marketing purposes. Some internet giants, however, have realised the potential and have already been expanding into the industry. Tencent for example invested $350 million in Kuaishou (a live-streaming app which began life as a destination for photo sharing), and Alibaba invested RMB 2 billion in the transformation of Youku Tudou from a large, formerly popular online video platform into a short video community.
If you are new to the world of online short videos, keep on reading for answers to five of the most common questions we get asked regularly. They are bound to help guide you through the basics of this rapidly growing online video industry.
What are short videos?
Short videos are usually shorter than five minutes, addressing Chinese netizens’ need for instant gratification and matching their short attention span for content. The videos feature all different kinds of people – from your favourite noodle maker to the most famous celebrities – telling engaging stories about topics ranging from sports and games to food and culture. The immense popularity of online short videos is partly due to this diversified content, as there is something interesting for everyone.
According to survey data from the CNSA, humorous videos are the most popular, followed by short videos covering news topics and introductions to movies.
Which devices do people use to watch these online videos?
The rise of short videos is easily the biggest change in the video industry over the past three years, and it has the popularity of smartphones and upgraded communication networks in China to thank for it. As mobile data in China is becoming more affordable, it is relatively cheap to watch videos on smartphones. As a result, 95% of online video users predominantly use their mobile phones to watch online short videos, according to the CNSA survey. A fact easily proven by looking around any Chinese restaurant, subway, or office during lunchtime!
Which platforms do people use to watch online videos?
There are numerous comprehensive short video platforms and apps in China where users can watch or record real-time short videos and share them with friends. According to CIWEEK, an internet content magazine, the previously mentioned Kuaishou is the most popular online video platform, closely followed by Miaopai and Meipai. All these platforms provide a one-stop user experience offering users the ability to apply various effects or choose different formats while filming and editing videos. And they offer a community where users can share their videos with friends. Besides these all-in-one platforms, there are also popular news apps that function more as content recommendation tools. These platforms, such as Toutiao, NetEase, and Tencent News focus on suggesting popular or professional videos to their millions of viewers.
Besides all these specialized ‘video based platforms’ displaying or referring short videos, social media channels do not want to miss the boat either. More and more social platforms are adding online short videos to their functionalities. Social media posts that feature a video are said to earn on average triple the engagement of those that do not, emphasizing that online videos are becoming a crucial part of the online entertainment ecosystem. A good example of a social platform turning to video is the famous dinosaur Sina Weibo. They managed to turn around the declining user numbers in 2016 by embedding short video platform Miaopai in their posts.
Can short online videos be viewed free of charge?
Yes, and no. Most apps specialized in online videos can initially be used for free via a regular “free forever” account. But more popular or exclusive content is then only available to paying users. Even though Chinese consumers have been used to getting most of their video content for free, users are becoming increasingly willing to pay for their favourite video content. The CNSA survey revealed that more than 40% of online video users are paid subscribers to some form of video service, and 25.5% of those who haven’t paid before would be willing to pay for good content. The main reasons are to get exclusive content and to skip advertisements.
How can my brands make use of short online videos?
Because the production cycle of short videos is quick with great flexibility, they tend to fit well into brands’ marketing plans. To help you find your way in the world of online videos, here are some key points about the use of online videos for marketing purposes:
Short videos can be used for various types of promotional materials, such as brand introductions, product reviews, and the announcement of promotional activities. When used for delivering specific brand messages, make sure the content is interesting and meaningful. Content quality is often referred to as the key to the effectiveness of a campaign
Video blogging and related livestreaming by online influencers (KOLs) can be one of the most powerful channels to bring your brand, products and services to life. 470 Million internet users in China follow celebrities and KOLs, and these online influencers are now producing the most popular content. Campaigns that cooperate with celebrities and KOLs often achieve great results.
Through audience interactions and User Generated Content, short videos can offer your brand an opportunity to better understand your (potential) consumers’ preferences and subsequently improve your user experience. One upcoming channel for such interactive content is Douyin.
Important message to take home
In a nutshell, short videos should definitely be part of every company’s outbound communication plans, but be aware that more videos does not automatically mean more engagement. According to L2’s recent Intelligence Report, 56% of brands with video on the homepage actually experience shorter visit times, fewer average pages per visit and higher bounce rates than brands without video on their homepage. Which brings us to the most important ‘message to take home’:
“Online short videos are a great way for brands to expand their digital marketing in China, but only when designed and executed well.”
If you’re not sure where to get started, we at AgencyChina would love to hear about your brand and work together to ensure you maximize the opportunities of online videos!
In the digital world, social media is an ideal place for people to discover new brands and read about new products. And as the number of worldwide users across all platforms is expected to reach 2.95 billion by 2020, it’ll come as no surprise that brands are using social media in any way possible for digital marketing purposes. Whereas the use of social media by brands once started as a way to create brand awareness and reach potential customers, social media platforms are now enabling brands to sell directly from their account.
Every marketer will agree on the fact that the more steps customers need to take before they can actually buy something, the higher the risk they will change their mind, hesitate or get distracted. Allowing people to buy directly from a social media account is the quickest way to sell products, and therefore substantially lowers the risk of losing customers somewhere in the process. Various social media platform realised the potential of a direct sales channel and have developed features to facilitate this.
Instagram, for example, has a built-in feature that allows brands to add tags to posted pictures. When a viewer clicks on a tag, a detailed description of the product appears, and when he clicks a second time, he is redirected to the retailer’s website where he can buy the product.
Facebook has a somewhat similar feature, that allows brands to add a ‘buy now’ button to their posts. When a viewer is interested in the post and clicks the button, he or she is immediately directed to the retailer’s website and given the opportunity to buy the product(s).
In China, the country ruled by WeChat and Weibo, they certainly haven’t missed out on this opportunity of the direct buying option. You might already be familiar with the options in WeChat, where official account can make use of a built-in ecommerce platform that allows them to sell goods and services, and enables customers to make payments with their WeChat wallet.
But did you know that Weibo has some great options as well? Let’s dive deeper into the wonderful world of China’s Twitter and learn how you can get your followers to buy!
Weibo has a built-in shop feature that works pretty simple: it deep links to the Taobao/Tmall app. And believe us when we say, this combination is a match made in heaven. Taobao and Tmall are widely known and used in China, but not really considered fun places to ‘hang out’. People usually only visit Taobao when they want to buy something, preferably as quickly as possible. Weibo, on the other hand, is a social platform where people post their views, watch videos, follow opinion leaders and share interesting content. People that visit Weibo are usually not looking for something, which obviously does not mean they cannot be persuaded into buying something. Especially in China, where people are known for following the herd, consuming brands and products that are liked, commented on and/or shared by their friends and family will drive an inner urge to ‘wanna buy’. This directly explains the importance of ecommerce features on social media platforms. Because what better way is there to ensure actual transactions than to let the consumers walk the path of the least resistance.
So, how to use it?
There are two different ways in which your Weibo account can be used as an eommerce channel. Probably the easiest way is adding the link of your Tmall store to your post on Weibo, somewhat similar to the ‘buy now’ button on Facebook. Clicking this link will redirect your viewers to your Tmall store and enable them immediately to buy your products.
The slightly more complex way is to build a Weibo shop within your Weibo account, that will allow you to direct viewers to the products available in your shop. There are two different ways you can do this:
Official account page
When a Weibo account includes a Weibo shop, some of the products will be displayed on the homepage. After clicking the shop’s headline or a specific product, (potential) customers will be redirected to the Weibo shop where they can view all available products. When a product is clicked on, a detailed product description will appear. When the customer decides to click through, he or she will be redirected to the specific product page on Tmall where the product can be bought.
Images in post
Both company and personal accounts have the ability to include images in their posts on Weibo, and link these images to product pages for ecommerce purposes. The mechanism is similar to the mechanism explained before, but now the (potential) customer is redirected from a Weibo post instead of an account page. When a (potential) customer clicks on a product, he or she is redirected to a detailed product description in the corresponding Weibo shop. When clicked a second time, he or she is redirected to the specific product page on Tmall and given the opportunity to buy the product.
KOLs
Besides brands using Weibo as an ecommerce channel, Key Opinion Leaders often use Weibo to direct their followers to ecommerce as well. KOLs are already widely used by brands to create brand awareness and reach potential customers, so why not use them to increase your sales rate as well? And it’s a two-way street, as the KOLs often get a commission off the sales that ran through their link. A great example of this phenomenon is Linxin Disgn, a typical fashion KOL that posts articles featuring clothes, beauty products and makeup tutorials. The account pushes about 50 post per days, and monetizes via ads and Taobao integration. The strategy used is simple and exactly like highlighted above: in the majority of posts two links are offered together with product promotions. The first link leads to a discount offer. The second link takes the user to the product on Tmall, where the product can be bought with the just acquired discount.
Marketing based on sport events has been popular for a long period of time, and the trend has become increasingly robust compared with previous years. During FIFA World Cups, both brands related to sports, such as Nike and Adidas, as brands non related to sports, such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Amazon, and Durex, are busy launching a series of World-Cup themed marketing activities through digital marketing channels. From the perspective of corporate brand marketers, the World Cup is without doubt a golden opportunity for marketing activities.
Football fans like to share what they see and hear on social media, which enables social media to play a role in sportevents. Take the 2014 World Cup in Brazil for example. Statistics showed that, apart from the audience watching the football matches on TV, there was a large audience watching online. In 2014, the World Cup online audience reached 489.000 people. In 2014, that number skyrocketed to 783.000 people. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the average number of monthly active users reached 500 million and 200 million on Facebook and Twitter, respectively. In 2014, these numbers rose to 1.28 billion and 255 million, respectively. Besides this, around 60 million photos were shared on Instagram, and the average number of monthly active users exceeded 200 million. From the perspective of user interaction media, social media is enjoying growing popularity among users. In 2014, 141 million Facebook users had in total 459 million times of interaction activities (including comments, likes and sharing) related to the World Cup. This total number exceeds the total of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2014 Super Bowl.
Besides the active use of social media by means of commenting, liking and sharing, social media has also become an important source for football fans from where to get photos, news, information and rumours about their favourite football teams and players. This automatically raises the question how brands can achieve successful marketing through these popular sportevents, in order to improve brand awareness and increase revenue. In the run up to the Brazil World Cup in 2014, Durex launched a series of activities involving the World Cup to enhance sales. Through their WeChat account, they launched the “World Cup Limited Set”, “The Durex Gift Box”, and other activities that cleverly combined their brand’s products and the World Cup theme, using a World Cup exclusive gift as an incentive to connect with the popular topic and promote product sales.
At present, even though the Chinese national football team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Chinese firms are already planning promotional activities related to the global sporting event to boost sales. Home appliance maker Hisense, for example, presented its World Cup Tv at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou. This customized ULED TV, with several pre-installed World Cup apps including the official FIFA World Cup app, is scheduled to go on sale worldwide in April 2018.
Although promotional activities, competitions, lucky draws and exclusive content are great ways to attract fans, raise brand awareness and improve sales, it is important to remember that these kind of content or incentives used to increase conversion require innovative thinking and execution across the right channels. The importance of social media combined with popular global events is evident, but only when designed and executed properly.
On July 22nd, 100 people bought a car on WeChat. This is easily one of the most interesting WeChat ecommerce case studies to date. How were the cars sold? What sales techniques did they use? Why was this campaign such a success?
100 limited edition MINI Cooper, a total value of 30 million RMB, sold via the WeChat account of mega popular fashion blogger Becky Li (黎贝卡).
She has attracted sponsorship deals from an impressive lineup of international luxury and beauty brands including Chanel, Dior, Burberry, Gucci, and Hermès. As a fashion and shopping blogger Becky Li certainly reached the upper levels of China’s massive influencer economy.
In China they are more commonly referred to as key opinion leaders (KOLs). The bloggers posts about what designers they’re wearing and what products they’re using in an attempt to influence both the taste and shopping habits of millions of upper-middle class followers. They produce on average four times more views and close to eight times more engagement than the brands’ own accounts on WeChat, according to L2’s China: KOLs Insight Report.
This particular campaign had the “Perfect mix”
Becky Li is not a sales woman, nor is she an expert on cars, and yet this campaign managed to convince 100 people in under 5 minutes! How you may ask, well it was a clever mix of the right content for the right audience:
For her more impulsive followers, she evoked their emotion by quoting a review from a follower who was a full-time mother.
For her rational followers, she listed the practical features and functions, and subtly slipped in a celebrity testimonial.
For those pursing lifestyle purchases she threw in an exclusive hand-over ceremony and cocktail party.
For international companies wishing to battle in China, obtaining an ICP license is a must. ICP stands for Internet Content Provider, the license is issued by the Chinese government and allows you to host your website on the domestic server. This is basically a permit for you to communicate with your Chinese consumers online: your email, SMS, public account on Wechat etc. are all depending on it. Meanwhile, due to the rather heavy Internet censorship, websites hosted outside China either open very slowly, or worst case scenario, are not accessible at all.
Sounds complicated? No problem! We will sort out the basics about ICP license for you, so as to decide if you need such a license and how to get it.
What type of ICP license should I get?
There are two types of ICP license—ICP registration and commercial ICP license. Depending on the nature of your website (informational or transactional), you’ll need different ones.
The ICP registration, or BeiAn in Chinese term, is required for websites that are not intended for commercial transactions. Such registration is available for websites owned by either a company or an individual. Meanwhile, the procedure for registration is easier and faster. Your request will normally be processed within 1—1.5 months.
A commercial ICP license is for companies looking to sell products in China, especially ecommerce platforms. Starting from 2015, Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WFOE) holding a valid Chinese business license can also apply for a commercial ICP. While this new policy has somehow paved the way for foreign retailers, remember that it is a new regulation and do expect a lengthy and tedious process.
Why an ICP license is a must for your online business in China?
Basically, an ICP license gives you the possibility of communicating with your Chinese customers online. Sending out emails and SMS, opening a Wechat account under your company’s name, or having your company information listed online. Despite of the essential function, there are more benefits.
SEO ranking: Chinese search engines such as Baidu and Sogou offer better ranking to websites hosted locally.
SEM strategy: Only by obtaining an ICP license, can you promote your website through Baidu adword.
Better online marketing: One of the best personal communication channel in China is email. And to send emails in China, you need to have an ICP license. Otherwise if you are sending from a foreign server, the email delivery rate will be very low.
Better user experience: Typically when your website is hosted in China, it opens and responds faster. Moreover, you can also have a .cn domain by having an ICP license, which shows Chinese consumers more ‘authenticity’ and ‘reliability’ of your site.
How can I get an ICP license?
You can obtain an ICP license through the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in China. It’s important to notice that the website, as well as the entire application is ONLY in Chinese, so you might need help from your Chinese colleagues or agencies.
You also need to prepare quite some documents for the application. Feel free to refer to below as a quick checklist of the documents you may need:
Copy of your business license in China (valid and with company seal)
Certificate for your domain name
Information of your contact person (Chinese national only) in China
Information of the company owner (can be non-Chinese national)
Picture of your Webmaster or the legal person (taken at a certain verification point)
Signed copy of the ICP license application form
Final tips:
It may sound a bit ‘intimidating’ to undergo all the verification and documentation process. But having an ICP license can indeed help you unlock tremendous potential for your online business in China. Bear in mind some final tips and hope they can make your application easier!
Prior to your application, you need to set up an entity in China. You can either register yourself as a Wholly Foreign Owned Entity, or have an office established in China.
The timeline for application could vary in different provinces/cities.
One of the most convenient way is to file an application through your hosting provider.
While an ICP license gives you more opportunities with your online business, it doesn’t give you’re a guarantee. There are more regulations regarding content, privacy, transaction etc. Make sure that you are playing by the rules.
For international companies in China, MNCs and SMEs, localizing digital marketing strategy is hard. First, it’s a big challenge to sell almost anything in the (over-) saturated market. Second, find the right proposition is also tricky. Resting on the laurels of ‘foreign heritage’ is no longer the way out. With millions of foreign brands flooding into the market, the only way to differentiate yourself is to demonstrate your product value and the unique brand story behind.
Similarly, pricing also matters when it comes to positioning your brand. Most of the international brands believe that their foreign nature allows them to ask for premium price – yet this is only partially true. Many local brands (such as Huawei and Xiaomi) are now leading the domestic market, leaving the premium positioning unfeasible for foreign brands. Besides, mid-income consumers are increasingly interested in purchasing quality and affordable products directly from cross-border platforms. As a result, pricing should be competitive among imported goods, while reflecting your product quality.
Moreover, it’s also a good strategy to offer discounted prices during major ecommerce festivals in China.
Unique consumer psychology is one of the most drastic difference between China and the western world. It’s fundamental for foreign companies to get through some key points before rolling out any online activity in China:
Purchase cycle
In most of the European markets, consumers start their online purchase by searching through a search engine – even if they know what they want. In China, this is not the case. A typical online purchase path is: discover a product on social media channels (e.g. Weibo) → search for the product on marketplaces (e.g. Taobao & JD) → Place an order on the platform.
Digital Marketing Strategy
KOL
Words from peers and influencers are important references when buying online in China. Therefore, KOL marketing is incredibly effective in boosting brand exposure. KOLs usually operate their own account on social media, and collaborate with brands to deliver promotional content (video, article, live-streaming etc.). However, a common obstacle with KOL marketing is: making sure that you are picking THE RIGHT influencer(s), out of thousands of KOLs, for your target audience.
Social branding
By using a master App such as WeChat, companies are able to both sell and engage their audiences via content marketing. Moreover, WeChat also enables brands to embed loyalty programs into their official accounts.
Personalized communication
While social media such as WeChat is for making a social blast, when it comes to personal communication, email and SMS are still dominating in China. Brands are able to track & store user behavior, and use the information to personalize the message to each consumer.
As for SMS marketing, companies are able to add a unique signature to the text preview, enabling recipients to immediately recognize the sender. In the message, you can also include a URL directing to a webpage and track who has clicked on the link.
Customer service
Local consumers are used to immediate and personal assistance. In China, customer service across different platforms is available 7 days a week, 16 hours a day, at least. And of this almost around the clock service more than 80% takes place via Wechat, live chat or over the phone.
Timing also matters in customer service as 90% of the online shoppers will make inquiry BEFORE placing an order. Hence if the response rate is not good the customer will almost certainly be lost.
SMS integration is highly important in customer service. Consumers want to know where their packages are. SMS integration allows companies to update customers about their order, payment and delivery in a timely fashion.
In conclusion, finding your way in the Chinese market requires both innovation and localization. It’s essential for brands to deliver the right message, to the right person, at the right time.
Stay tuned to learn more about the ecommerce world in China
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If an international brand wants to establish online business in China, Tmall is the marketplace it can almost never avoid. To make things easier, brands can work with Tmall Provides (TPs). These agencies offer help from A to Z: establishing a Tmall store, sorting out legal issues, protecting your IP and strategizing your digital marketing campaign…Below are the basics that you should know if having a Tmall store is in your plan.
What exactly is a TP?
TPs are agencies certified by Tmall to help sellers with their marketing, logistics, IP protection, IT development and more. In fact, Tmall global accept foreign merchants ONLY if they work with a TP. Such agencies were selected by multiple criteria, including: # of years of experience working with cross-border ecommerce in China, bonded warehousing options and multilingual skills of staff etc. Besides basic store setup, TPs could assist with almost everything. Below is a chart listing out what TPs can do for merchants:
Why you should work with a TP
Besides the mandatory part, one of the biggest reason for collaborating with TPs is that they speak the local language. They are able to assist international brands with quick responses to consumer demands. They are the expert of the local market – knowing exactly how Chinese consumers are like. Finally, they have rich experience working with foreign brands – being able to bridge the gap between your brand image abroad and domestic.
How does it work?
In general, TPs charge brands in 3 ways: 1) fixed monthly service fee; 2) commission based on sales; or 3) mix of 1) and 2). Working with TPs could be pricy. Typically, a resourceful TP charges anywhere between 20,000 to 100,000 RMB per month (fixed fee); or a 5% – 10% of revenue share. Note that this cost is only going for TPs, excluding platform fees and commissions.
Is there any risk working with TPs?
Yes, there is. Despite that TP could be a great help for new comers in China, it can also bring additional challenges. First off, cross-border ecommerce is still a relatively new business in China. Hence, there are some TPs operating without extensive track record. Secondly, being certified does not guarantee quality. Companies themselves know best about their brand story and heritage. Therefore, close monitoring is required when working with TPs – so that your brand image in China doesn’t deviate from the origin.
What you should look out for when working with TPs
Select on service expertise
TPs usually offer one-stop solution, even though they may have limited experience in some regards. Determine what specialties are most important to you, and make the selection accordingly.
Select on product category
Tmall often classify TPs by product category, so as to better assist its vendors. For instance, TPs dealing with food & beverage would have different expertise than those handling baby care products.
Select on geographic location
Apart from national regulations, cross-border ecommerce pilot zones may have their specific procedures. Therefore, selecting the right location may give you easier access to online business in China.
(Resources from ‘China Cross-border E-commerce Guidebook’ published by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Shanghai)
Want to find out more about TPs? Contact us info@agencychina.com for more information.
