China marketing experts’ obsession with WeChat may be overshadowing microblogging giant Weibo, but new research shows Social influence in China is definitely still a “WeChat + Weibo” thing. Ever since the meteoritic rise of WeChat in China, brands have begun to put a greater emphasis on Tencent’s WeChat mobile messaging app, setting up subscription accounts and blasting long- form content to its fans, sometimes three to four times a week. Many smart brands have developed customer engagement environments on WeChat …

Maybelline leveraged celebrity and KOL power to sell 10,000 lipstick products in just two hours. They used the star power of Angelababy as well as army of internet KOLS to create buzz, but importantly gave local consumers a chance to participate in the frenzy. On the video sharing app Meipai, Maybelline promoted a live internet stream of Angelababy and internet celebrities – known locally as “internet reds” – trying and choosing new lipstick products from Maybelline.  The show is called …

Vogue Me, a new bimonthly magazine, is the very first fashion magazine in China that is specifically created for the post-Nineties generation – born after 1990. This unique version of Vogue was in part inspired by the success of Vogue Mini, an IPad app that launched in China last year.   On the first day of online pre-sales of Vogue Me, 30,000 magazines sold out in just six minutes. Moreover, the edition featuring a double cover also powered to 45,000 sales in only one hour. …

Following the tips of  Eva Chen, we would like to point out the top 5 rules that are highly applicable for brands that want to have a better performance in Chinese local platforms such as WeChat and micr-blog Weibo. 1. ENGAGEMENT, NOT FOLLOWERS Chen mentions that many fashion brands are locked in an “arms race” for followers. But large followings alone rarely drive business impact. Far more important is real conversational engagement.”  The arms race, she suggests, distracts brands from focussing on …

New research from the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) suggests brands will need to start paying more attention to China’s affluent travelers from second- and third-tier cities. Their report reveals that out of the more than 200 million trips expected to be taken out of China by Chinese travelers this year, more residents of second- and third-tier Chinese cities are trekking to overseas destinations as flight connections become more flexible and favorable to these tourists. On their itineraries are Asia’s …

This tips are for companies that want to get their product into China or increase sales there. Companies often believe that they have two choices: go it alone via a China WFOE or by forming a joint venture with a Chinese company. Entering into a distributorship relationship with a Chinese company (or companies) is another option. From a strictly legal perspective, distribution (and reseller) relationships between foreign and Chinese companies are fairly straightforward. They certainly are easier and less risky than joint venture …

Starbucks has enjoyed great success in China, but moving their coffee experience over to Tmall (their first global e-store) was a huge challenge. Starbucks provides a great case study of how to enter and succeed in China.  Starting their first store when the idea of coffee culture was very much a ‘foreign concept’, the brand put in the ‘hard yards’ to educate local consumers, and provide a consistent experience through their increasing number of stores. When the market started to …

As incomes rise for Chinese consumers, the “good life” is becoming about much more than just being able to afford material objects, according to the results of a new McKinsey survey.  The consulting firm’s newly released report “The Modernization of the Chinese Consumer” finds that confidence in future income growth is shrinking, but those who are seeing rising income are investing more in their health and leisure time with family. 55 percent of Chinese consumers still agree with the statement “My household …

To launch a new service providing Chinese consumers access to overseas products, Walmart has launched a creative series of digital activations – with the theme of connecting local shoppers to the world. Walmart has been in China since 1996, but has struggled to create a powerful retail foothold as it has elsewhere in the China.   To capture the new realities of Chinese shoppers – e-commerce savvy and globally focussed – Walmart has launched a new service to their China …