Since its founding in 2004, the social network has passed many milestones as it skyrocketed from a few million U.S. users to millions more around the world. Looking back at Nielsen data from over the last eight years, here are some of the key moments in Facebook’s story:

• In January 2009 Facebook passed Myspace to become the top social network/blog site for the first time, a position it’s held in the U.S. ever since.
• Between 2005 and 2009 Facebook doubled its traffic each year in the U.S., surpassing 10 million uniques for the first time in November 2006 (11.6M).
• Facebook connected friends around the globe quickly: reaching 10 million unique UK visitors by April 2008. In 2009, the French, Spaniards and Germans followed suit, with 10 million visitors apiece in January, May and November, respectively.
• As recently as August 2011, Facebook overtook Orkut as the top social networking site in Brazil; it has continued to grow its audience since then.

Facebook continues to grow around the world, with consumers in each market finding unique uses for social media sites. While Facebook is the top social network globally, many netizens visit multiple social media sites; in Japan blog sites are more popular in the social media category (Facebook is ranked 5th), and in Brazil sites like Tumblr and Google+ are growing quickly as well. Currently Facebook is the top Social Networking & Blogs site in eleven of the following 12 markets:

Identify what they want
Sometimes less means more to lose. By optimizing your product portfolio to provide the greatest incremental volume, you can maximize sales value to align with what consumers actually want. Tactical listing and delisting decisions based on facts requires identifying the risks and opportunities of listing/delisting and evaluating the assortment health of categories in the aisle.

A study of 38 categories in the east region of China revealed that the smaller the store, the bigger the gain. Only 58 percent of the categories reviewed actually reach the smaller channels. With a bigger gap to fill, there is a bigger opportunity to offer an assortment structure that is aligned with shopper needs. Determining the product characteristics that drive demand across channels in the right number of stores will provide the most optimal assortment strategy.

Build a better linkage between online and offline
Current online shopping in China is dominated by a few key stores, but is that the right strategy? At least for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), it might not be, since those channels are owned by non-FMCG categories and the presence of FMCG categories is low. Also, there is a limited opportunity for FMCG exposure within those stores since online shopping occasions are more planned, focused and direct in terms of their shopping behavior, compared with offline shopping.

A potential solution is to build an online space owned by FMCG categories. Hypermarket online stores offer the best opportunity for expansion as online shopping and hypermarket shopping share commonality in terms of shopping occasion and shopping needs. As such, by building a better linkage between online and offline shopping and utilizing existing resources, FMCG categories might be able to create a dedicated online space to further take advantage of growing online shopping trend.

Make your TV money work harder
Knowing how much to spend on advertising, where to allocate spending and how to optimize on a real-time basis to maximize return on investment (ROI) are some of the most challenging issues facing marketers today when it comes to TV optimization.

TV ad performance is more than just good creative. Other factors such as programming, media weight, placement, cross-platform exposure and competitive activity also have significant impact on advertising breakthrough and branding performance.

The new news is that brands can now optimize their TV advertising and media plans in flight, to achieve more than 10–20 percent gains in effectiveness. By measuring breakthrough and branding on a daily basis, brand advertisers can optimize performance by:

• Optimizing creative rotation to focus on strongest spots.
• Editing spots to improve branding and messaging.
• Moving spend from 30 second spots to high-performing 15 second spots.
• Shifting spending out of lower performing genres and into higher ones.
• Determining when ads are worn out and need replacement.
• Learning from and applying insights from competitive advertising.

Real-time ad effectiveness measurement is now a reality. Smart marketers are leveraging this capability to optimize their creative and media allocation decisions in-flight to greatly improve advertising performance.

Diagnose effective/ineffective ads
Using the power of science, you can capture consumer’s unarticulated deep subconscious response to ads, logos, package, brand attributes, in-store displays and merchandising layouts, therefore you can impact sales dramatically.

Nielsen NeuroFocus has done thousands of ad testing and gathers the core Neurometrics of Attention, Emotion, and Memory for every second of the consumer’s experience with the ad. This level of detail allows you to diagnose effective/ineffective segments and to uncover areas for improvement, second-by-second. A study carried out by a third party using approximately 50 television ads in 14 campaigns found that Nielsen NeuroFocus effectiveness is highly correlated with sales, significantly higher than traditional research methods.

Today’s Chinese consumers are more connected than ever before, with media playing a growing role in the lives of an increasing number of Chinese—across all age groups and geographic regions. But, the dynamics of the Chinese media market make for a unique environment for marketers and advertisers looking to reach the country’s consumers.

Television is an essential piece of a successful marketing mix model in China, but it can be costly. Recently, increased demand for ad time from local advertisers along with global brands has combined with a short supply of ad space driven by regulations to significantly increase the cost of TV advertising. Despite high costs, TV still offers tremendous reach, particularly as digital options thrive in the country’s most urban areas. Thus, TV will likely remain the anchor of brands’ marketing mix for reach and engagement, and advertisers will increasingly seek greater returns on investment through more effective and efficient TV advertising.

China’s 500+ million Internet consumers and growing mobile/smartphone populations ensure that digital media remain on the minds of marketers as well. And, social media’s increasing importance has consequences for a brand’s total share of voice, as consumers share their own opinions with friends and strangers alike.

In fact, among many consumers, the lines between TV, online, and mobile screens are becoming less and less distinct. Nielsen’s cross-media measurement panel in Shanghai has found that half of Shanghai households regularly engage in multi-screen media consumption while watching TV.

Thus, while digital media offers some precision marketing advantages, its fragmented and sometimes-multitasking audiences mean that digital ad campaigns are most effective when combined with other ad channels like TV.

As China’s media landscape continues to evolve, companies with the most effective marketing and advertising strategies are the most likely to reach and win with China’s increasingly connected consumers.

Learn more about Nielsen’s marketing effectiveness solutions.

The compound annual growth rate for the Chinese auto market is estimated at 7.4 percent between 2011 and 2015. Comparatively, the U.S. growth rate is 7.2 percent.

Ganesh Relekar, Director, Automotive Industry, Nielsen Greater China, discussed the issues and challenges facing the automotive industry and outlined the strategies necessary to meet the emerging demand of Chinese consumers. Speaking at Nielsen’s Greater China Consumer 360 Conference in Beijing, Relekar said that understanding the changing demographic landscape and knowing where and how to reach consumers is critically important as these changes will impact automotive demand and expectations.

Chinese auto makers face three major challenges: Finding the right demand in market, reaching consumers effectively and creating optimal distribution systems.

Emerging demand
Evolutionary consumer dynamics are reshaping the vehicle demand structure. By 2020, China’s population in the 45 and older age group will increase by 118 million, while the 25–44 age group will decrease by 22 million. Such a shift in age structure implies a growing base of wealthy consumers with an increased need to trade up.

A few factors will affect future car-buying behavior considerably. Industry overcapacity issues will intensify in the next five years, growing from eight percent in 2011 to an estimated 21 percent in 2015. This oversupply will fuel increased competition and drive down car prices.

Surging fuel prices will also affect consumers’ purchasing decisions. As gas prices increase, so will the demand for hybrid and smaller vehicles. With hundreds of models to choose from, savvy consumers are looking not only for high-performance, fuel-efficient vehicles, but good-looking ones too.

Luxury Opportunity
The past decade’s luxury car sales growth more than doubled the pace of the total market. Market size of luxury vehicles is close to one million and expected to double in the next five years. However, with rising wealth and rising aspiration, the market is growing heterogeneously.

As the competition and demand landscape is changing, Nielsen classified luxury car consumers into five groups with a number of attitudinal and behavioral variables. Each group showed distinctive differences in car needs, media habits and lifestyles. For instance, more Value Seekers (34%) and Business Leaders (28%) are interested in buying a hybrid vehicle than other segments.

In the future, Value Seekers and Image Enhancers will represent higher volume opportunities, as they are predominantly younger or female buyers looking for luxury A/B segment vehicles (e.g., MB B-class, BMW 3 series, etc.). Brand Leaders and Technology Upgraders represent higher profitable opportunities, as these consumers are about 35 years old, intending for luxury C/D segment vehicles (e.g. Audi A6L, Lexus LS600).

Effective reach
Increased marketing costs are posing a real challenge to auto marketers. Nielsen reports the average cost to air a single commercial increased 63 percent in five years from 9,000CNY in 2007 to 14,000CNY in 2011. Auto marketers are actively complementing traditional TV and print campaigns with online advertising strategies. In fact, the Q2 2011 year-on-year growth rate of online advertising (18%) exceeded the growth rate of traditional media (14%).

Regardless of the medium, effective automotive advertising effectiveness in an era of heightened marketing costs must resonate with the audience using compelling creative that is delivered in engaging programming. Nielsen research shows that developing a creative that connects with the viewer exceeded brand recall norms:

• Create the Hook: Give the viewer a reason to pay attention to and remember your ad by using a relevant storyline, humor, elements of surprise and emotion. Successful auto ads analyzed by Nielsen increased memorability by 51 percent.
• Be Consistent: Use consistent elements overtime to help viewers become more familiar with your ads. Successful auto ads analyzed by Nielsen increased brand communication by 34 percent.
• Focus on Messaging: Keep the message simple and focused. Successful auto ads analyzed by Nielsen increased message communication by 24 percent.
• Connect with Engaging Programming: Seek placement of your ads in high-engagement programming. Viewers who are watching the programming closely will watch your ads closely too. Successful auto ads analyzed by Nielsen increased engagement by 10 percent.
• Repeat Exposures: Be impactful, especially in saturated environments such as sports. Give viewers an opportunity for repeated exposures regardless of the flighting approach—multiple ads in a program give concentrated media weight. Successful auto ads analyzed by Nielsen increased brand recall by 90 percent.
• Integrate Programming: Advertising within a sponsored program often results in an ad lift and a chance for a deeper impression on viewers.
• Choose Relevant Content: Choose content for the ad that will be particularly relevant to a specific program audience. Successful auto ads analyzed by Nielsen increased brand recall by 81 percent.

Optimal Distribution
Which markets are ripe for auto expansion? What is the city capacity for distribution and what locations are most successful? Taking into account factors such as demographics, income, competitive landscape, cartography, etc., a fact-based expansion strategy can be developed that pinpoints the hot-spot cities with the highest probability of distribution success.

In order to achieve success in a single-digit growth market, China’s auto makers need to devise a new winning formula, one that focuses on maximizing consumer value through continual product and marketing innovations. At the core of this formula is listening to what consumers are saying and watching their behavior.

In China, recent gains in income and the growth of the middle class over the past decade have dramatically increased the demand for retail banking services. While the finance industry has responded with greater numbers of offerings and services, many Chinese consumers have expressed dissatisfaction with several banking services and their overall customer experience. In fact, a recent Nielsen analysis of Chinese social media conversation about retail banks found over half (55%) of the consumer comments about banking experiences were negative, compared to 15 percent that were positive.

Having recognized these challenges and with competition heating up, many banks are seeking to approach the customer experience in a new way. Indeed, as Chinese consumers increase their use of banking services from basic transactional needs (e.g., savings, credit cards) to more substantial financial dealings (e.g., loans, wealth management), banks have an opportunity to cultivate long-lasting and rewarding relationships with their customers. But, to do this, they must build trust and reinforce positive interactions at every possible customer touch point.

Traditionally, physical retail branches were the only channel for customers to interact with financial institutions. But, technological advances have led to the development of different banking channels, introducing alternative ways for banks to connect with their customers. Internet banking, mobile phone transactions, and ATM machines are all customer interactions with banks—and opportunities for banks to build consumer trust and loyalty. A recent consumer study by Nielsen found 79 percent of Chinese bank consumers use ATMs, 75 percent use online banking, and 26 percent bank by mobile phone. Satisfying interactions at each of these channels can build consumer trust and loyalty, helping to persuade them to deepen their relationship when they need additional financial services.

Banks that are successful in building brand equity and deeper relationships with customers will have a significant competitive advantage and be poised for the most robust growth. The key is to understand that all touch points are critical and ensure that the products and services offered via these channels enhance the overall customer experience at each different point.

With over 500 million people online, China’s e-commerce industry already offers major opportunities to retailers and is poised for significant development in the years ahead. Currently, 38 percent of Chinese consumers shop online. With a population as large as China’s, this represents huge amounts of commerce, yet the percentage of people buying goods online is far below rates in Europe, the U.S., and even other Asian markets, where online shopping penetration rates can reach upwards of 60-80 percent. Many in China are already preparing for the time when the rest of the population begins to adopt e-commerce. Central planning is underway, warehouses, distribution centers and other logistics are being constructed, and manufacturers and retailers are refining the product lines and assortments. In fact, the China Internet Network Information Center predicts online retail sales could reach 3 trillion Yuan in 2012 (~$475 billion USD). And, trends suggest Chinese e-commerce will only grow from there.

In this ripe environment, retailers planning their Chinese e-commerce strategy have two overarching goals: expand their consumer base, and improve consumer satisfaction and loyalty. China’s online shoppers right now are primarily younger and more educated consumers (with 80% having a college education). For these shoppers, price and convenience rule. For traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, entering the online market expands their potential shopper base by offering more convenient buying opportunities. To truly win in e-commerce, retailers must synergize their online and brick-and-mortar shopping experiences to improve the customer’s experience both online and offline. Flexible shopping and delivery/pick-up options and smart promotions can facilitate sales both online and off, boosting a retailer’s overall bottom line. Satisfied customers with successful online purchases are likely to drive more sales as consumers share positive experiences via social media. A recent Nielsen survey found 85 percent of Chinese consumers regularly use social media to share their experiences with online purchases.

E-Commerce Retail Strategies
As retailers look to synergize their offline and online businesses, the challenge is how to develop successful marketing strategies for the sophisticated Chinese consumer.

1. Products – Chinese online shoppers are primarily young and educated consumers who are seeking value and convenience, along with particular types of products. Offering unique product assortments online—products unavailable in most offline stores—and giving the consumer multiple convenient options for payment and delivery are likely to resonate with these shoppers.
2. Price/Cost – While consumers do expect some cost savings online—at least in some categories like apparel and electronics—price is not their only consideration when choosing an online retailer. Favorable reviews from previous customers, product availability/choice, and fast delivery offerings also drive many online purchases in China, so retailers who meet these demands can likely avoid losing out in a price war as long as they maintain a low-cost reputation.
3. Promotions – Online shopping offers many advantages for precision promotions, giving the retailer opportunities to better reach their potential customers. Combining promotions online and in brick-and-mortar locations can help synergize the two businesses and drive sales.
4. Communication – E-commerce and online shopping flip the traditional store-to-consumer one-way conversation. Consumers are now searching out retailers’ websites for specific products and learning about goods via social media. Retailers need to engage in this social conversation and interact with China’s tech-savvy consumers who are increasingly open to boosting e-commerce spending.

China crossed over from a majority rural to a majority urban country when the urban population increased by 21 million last year. The urban population of 691 million residents now officially represents 51 percent of the total population. But marketers striving to reach only urban consumers are missing out on a 650 million rural consumer opportunity and a market worth almost $500 billion*.

Dale Preston, Senior Vice President, Analytics & Consulting, Nielsen Greater China, discussed that while urbanization is important to the development of consumption in China, attention to the buying behavior of migrant and rural residents is critical. Speaking at Nielsen’s Greater China Consumer 360 Conference in Beijing, Preston said that companies can no longer ignore the rural migrant segment of the market where consumers are often experiencing brands and products for the first time and thus, are forming brand connections that may last a lifetime.

Migrant workers fueling urbanization
The influx of migrant workers in urban areas carries considerable implications. By 2020, 32 percent of China’s 900 million urban residents are likely to be migrants. Today, around 20 out of every 100 villagers are migrants; almost half (45%) are blue collar workers, one-third (35%) are students and one-fifth (21%) are semi-skilled blue collar workers.

It is important to note that there are key differences between urban and migrant consumers. According to the World Bank, migrant workers send home around $45 billion a year. Some send as much as four-fifths of their incomes to their families. Because of the amount migrant workers send home, they are not likely to spend as much in urban centers (i.e., they don’t behave like the average urban consumer). Also, families in rural villages have more money to spend on better homes, children’s education, consumer durables and more premium groceries.

Tomorrow’s migrants will not need to travel far to find good jobs as urbanization is helping to drive the development of China’s lower city tiers and interior regions.

Less than 5 percent sales impact
The effects of these transitional consumers will impact the big city tiers, but the size of the impact will be much smaller than expected. A continued and keen focus on rural villages is vitally important for sustainable growth strategies. With increased government investment in rural areas and policy changes favoring rural and low-income workers, there is a rising income base among these residents. Marketers that understand the changing purchase dynamics of both urban and rural consumers will be poised for success.

Shop more, but spend less
Nielsen finds that the rural shopper makes twenty percent less shopping trips than urban residents, but spends one-third more on each trip, totaling an average monthly spend of 418RMB, which is 1,199RMB less than urban consumers and highlights the growth opportunities with these rural consumers. Rural shoppers living in lower-tier cities typically have larger families and lower incomes than higher city tier residents, and shopping is considered a social event where interpersonal relationships are valued.

Rural shoppers are less likely than urban consumers to switch stores, but they follow urban purchasing trends closely. Willing to travel to shop in modern trade outlets in higher city tiers about once a month, rural shoppers are exposed to an assortment of options not found in the villages. As these lower-income consumers move up the value chain, marketers need to pay close attention to purchasing patterns and align product availability in the villages. Product assortment and good quality are important purchase drivers for the rural consumer—even more so than price and promotions.

In the past, companies have focused on low price and often low quality offerings to penetrate villages. With village consumers becoming more affluent and aspiring to a higher quality of life, they seek products with key features and benefits similar to the ones they see in urban centers. Understanding what theses “must have” product attributes are and then offering tailored products at a lower price point to meet these needs will be the key to success.

While no categories are expected to grow excessively, urbanization will impact categories differently. With greater exposure to products not available in village stores and with rural consumers moving towards the same behavior as urban consumers, expect shower gels, body moisturizers, liquid laundry detergents, jasmine teas, men’s skincare and juices to see the greatest growth.

Evolving lifestyles and values
Lower tier consumers are experiencing the pushes and pulls of a society in transition. As a means to improve their lifestyle, they have a higher aspiration to achieve financial success than higher tier consumers, but they are not ready to compromise a healthy work-life balance. Family and respect are important and seeking social approval is a driving force. To reach lower tier consumers, brand communication must incorporate social themes.

A great store environment is a real differentiator for retail competition. Marketers have an opportunity to appeal to shoppers from a bigger trade area. Offer a shopping experience that makes an emotional connection with shoppers and meets their need to be “entertained”. While managing price is critical, product assortment and value need to be in lock-step with consumers desires.

*National Statistics Bureau, China & Nielsen Forecast

More than half (56%) of local innovations are “me-too” products compared to 10 percent for MNCs. Among companies with revenue from innovation, nearly two-thirds (63%) of innovations are incremental, while only 14 percent are “me-too.”

Karthik Rao, managing director, Nielsen Greater China, identified the importance of creating new ideas to help stimulate consumer demand and how companies can drive more revenue from innovation. Speaking at Nielsen’s Greater China Consumer 360 Conference in Beijing, Rao discussed a landmark study that provides a roadmap for how to increase the odds of new innovation success and outlined what successful companies are doing differently than others.

Drive more revenue
How can local companies drive more revenue from innovation? Winning big through innovation requires long-term sustainable growth, which comes from having an innovation process in place and implementing it every step of the way:

1. Build a separate innovation team. A team focused solely on innovation drives more revenue. Forty-three percent of local companies do not have formal new product development team, while only 18 percent of MNCs do not have one.
2. Make time for ideation. Take time for white space identification and ideation. Nielsen studies show that companies that invest in the ideation stage earn 20 percent more in revenue from new products.
3. Have a rigid and consistent process. Companies with stage gates drive 53 percent more revenue from innovation than those that do not. Only one-third of local companies have stage gates, while almost two-thirds (62%) of MNCs do.
4. Launch with excellence. An effective knowledge management system gives an edge from learning from past launches. Companies that have consistently used and updated a knowledge management system have generated 12 percent more revenue from innovations than companies that have not.

Manage ideas lightly, but handle the process precisely
Innovative companies in China will purse breakthrough and incremental innovation rather than “me-too” products and should allow at least one year for the innovation process. Involving global expertise at later stages than early on and adopting a knowledge management system will greatly improve your chances for new innovation success.

While the in-home TV and computer are still the most popular devices to watch video content, usage and growth in online and mobile technologies is making a sustained impact. Three-quarters (74%) of global respondents report watching video via the Internet (on any device), up four points since 2010, and over half of global online consumers (56%) say they watch video on a mobile phone at least once a month and 28 percent at least once a day.

Mobile video is particularly prominent in Asia-Pacific and Middle East/African regions, where 74 and 72 percent of online consumers, respectively, report watching video on mobile phones at least once a month, and almost 40 percent (38% and 37%, respectively) say they do so at least once a day. While mobile video is currently less prominent in North America than in other parts of the world, it is seeing the highest growth rates in mobile phone video consumption. Thirty-eight percent of North American respondents say they watch mobile video once a month, up eight points compared to the 2010 reported results.

“The convenience of mobile connectivity has revolutionized how people are engaging with digital content and each other around the world,” said Dounia Turrill, SVP, Client Insights, Nielsen. “With the growth of smartphones, mobile video consumption is on the rise for entertainment content, particularly in emerging markets where many consumers leapfrog home Internet altogether in favor of the all-in-one smartphone.”

For more, download Global Online Consumers and Multi-Screen Media: Today and Tomorrow

About the report
The Nielsen Global Survey of Multi-Screen Media Usage was conducted in August/September 2011 and polled more than 28,000 consumers in 56 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America. The sample has quotas based on age and sex for each country based on their Internet users, and is weighted to be representative of Internet consumers and has a maximum margin of error of ±0.6%. This Nielsen survey is based on the behavior of respondents with online access only. Internet penetration rates vary by country. Nielsen uses a minimum reporting standard of 60 percent Internet penetration or 10M online population for survey inclusion. The Nielsen Global Survey was established in 2005.

• Men spend 50 percent more time browsing the web on their smartphones than women.
• Women spend 3 hours more on calls every month as compared to men.
• Women spend 4 times the amount of time men spend on Instant Messaging (Chat) applications.
• Men experiment more with apps – they install, on an average, 16 applications in a month compared to just 11 by women.

Calls & Messaging
Women spend nearly 20 hours a month on calls and messaging which is almost 33 percent more than time spent by men on the same activity. Also, incoming and outgoing calls both last longer among women.

Web Browsing
Men spend 50 percent more time browsing on their smartphones than women. The average number of websites visited by men is 20 in a month compared to just 14 among women. However, women prefer social sites more than men as 43 percent of web pages visited by women are social networking sites, compared to just 32 percent for men.

Online Applications
Women use online apps substantially higher compared to men, driven mainly by chat apps such as WhatsApp Messenger (which women use three times as much as men), Google Talk and Nimbuzz. Men however, don’t mind asking for directions on their smartphones, accessing the Google Maps app more than women (45% vs 32%). Men also install more apps than women – 16 applications in a month compared to just 11 by women. For both men and women around 20 percent of all apps installed are online apps.

About Nielsen Informate
Nielsen Informate  Mobile Insights leverages innovative smartphone metering technology to provide intelligence into evolving consumption patterns of mobile device users. Based on accurate, real-time usage data, we help clients understand consumer behavior and develop product and marketing strategies. Nielsen Informate maintains opt-in smartphone panels to generate syndicated reports, in addition to building custom panels and conducting custom surveys for clients. Our insights aid decision makers across various segments like operators, OEMs, publishers, advertisers, content creators and aggregators and application developers.