Hey all; this is an article from Metan by Gordon Chu; it covers Gordon’s experience and insights with China reality TV. Give it a read if you’ve got the time.

On one of my frequent extended stints in China, I had a quiet evening to kick up my feet and to peruse the hundreds of channels Chinese television has to offer (for pure market research purposes of course). Admittedly, I have a short attention span already as-is, so you can imagine the flurry of remote clicking that occurred if the myriads of soap operas and variety shows did not catch my eye.

Then, “it” hit me… “It” is like a bad automobile accident you see by the roadside – you know you shouldn’t turn your head to see, but out of pure curiosity for the wicked, you simply cannot help yourself. “It” is, at the rawest and most basic form, a great sociological study on everything that is wrong with fame, relationships, and greed… in other words, “it” is great TV.

Contestants on an episode of If You Are the One in Nanjing, China, on May 22, 2010

I’m talking about the hit phenomenon program, “If You Are the One” that is taking water cooler chatter by storm in China. To give context to anyone who has not heard about this program, it’s a match-making reality show where singles meet singles in front of millions of people each show (talk about pressure). And the hook for the whole show? The often questionable money-driven (aka “Gold-Digging” antics) requirements that this now very relevant generation of singles are looking for in their soul mates.

The show has taken notice even of the Chinese government prompting them to immediately shut down production and exhibition of the show due to the often sexual innuendos and references to a very anti-traditional moral basis where money is the main driver for many of the singles. Watching this show, it’s not that difficult to understand why the government would be concerned with the way the program portrays this new up and coming generation of singles.

Girls’ Perspective

On the show, girls are depicted as ‘gold-digging’ animals – only attracted by the number of RMBs that are attached to the suitor’s name. A stable job is no longer the litmus for ‘enough’ for girls, but is the entry point for girls to consider. Don’t have a car? Get in the back of the line. Have a house? Hello Mr. Right…

Best put, a contestant on “If You are the One” said to a potential suitor offering her a ride on his bike, “I’d rather be crying in a BMW than to be laughing on a bike”.

Largely, the attitude of girls can be largely accredited to the cultural upbringing of this generation of single children. Often labeled as a generation of “little emperors and little empresses”, the first generation is now at the age for marriage and is a depiction of just how strong the level of entitlement is. Surrounded by new-earned money and incredible growth, money is what drives the lives of this new generation and is very apparent in the marriage process.

Guys’ Perspective

On the flip side, the attitude of girls can also be largely accredited to how guys operate and think about marriage in the Chinese culture.

Equally on the show, guys are depicted as spineless creatures – more of the prey than the predator between the sexes. No longer are the traditional equal roles of man and woman taken into consideration, but the guys cower behind what appears to be very over-dominating female figures on the program. They accept the new status quo and adapt their lifestyles to the new norm.

So, the question begs to where did this shift happen in the fragile balance between men and women.

Ask any guy in China about marriage and I would venture to say that much of the pressure is done by themselves and their families. Especially with single boys in the family expected to carry on the family name, it’s not uncommon for the guys to feel the pinch and pressure by their parents to settle down, get married, and start popping out babies sooner than later.

Thus this interesting supply-and-demand relationship between guys and girls in China. Guys feel the familial pressures to find a mate and the demand for girls go up. Girls understand their shrinking supply and drive standards to an all-time high. While this may be an over-simplication of the actual matter at-hand, it’s hard to argue against the fact that culturally, the dynamic between guys and girls are changing.

Generations Divided

To further complicate the matter, the show not only caused stir between genders, it also created a chasm between generations. Comparing even to the previous generation, the ideals, philosophy, and moral basis has been almost completely eradicated with no trace of evidence.

Economically, the previous generation spent much of their lives paving the foundation for their children and successors. They painfully went through the turmoil of growing the country to the powerhouse that it is today. This was a result of savings, family unity, and an unselfish attitude that the country was towards a single goal – all vastly different that is evident to today’s generation in China.

What Does this all Mean?

Success is often a double-edged sword and is particularly the case when the growth of success is as fast as China had experienced over the last 30 years.

Entitlement will be a definite issue to consider. No longer will the powerhouse labor force that paved the foundation for success is able to keep the pace as it has and the baton will soon have to be passed to the responsibilities of this new generation. How will this new generation react to the call for the continual growth of the economy? How will this generation of “little emperors and empresses” contend with the rude awakening that the doting lifestyle they’ve experienced for their entire lives will someday be their own responsibilities to endure?

Opportunity will also play a crucial role in China’s future growth. The previous generation has already built the foundation for growth – it is now this generation’s work to build upon growth. Previously, the aspiration to get schooling abroad and to build roots in the United States was every Chinese dream. It was thought of as the epitome of success and to build upon a better life. Today, it’s not uncommon for college graduates to want to stay after graduation and build a base in China – a far different cry than it was even just 10 years ago.

Control will ultimately be the biggest force in defining China’s future growth for this new generation. Largely controlled by how much the government intervention will let the free market reign, it will ultimately impact opportunities, innovation, and growth for China. Opportunities will become more abundant as more cross-border business will continue to foster China’s economy. Innovation will flourish and be encouraged as resources (both human and monetary) will continue to flood China’s doors. And growth for China will continue as it defines itself to be a leader in the world market.

Conclusion

Who would have thought I would have this new-found epiphany of China’s growth based on a reality dating show that emphasizes money over matter. It wasn’t the actual act that was appalling to watch, it was what the acts meant that surprised me to see how fast and how far China has evolved in its thinking.

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Picked this one up via Adquan; it’s a Phillips campaign recently launched by DDB Shanghai, in conjunction with Shanghai Expo and the theme “Better City, Better Life”.

The primary focus is viewing Phillips’ “better life” value-add through the eyes of a child. This is a route thats been done before by many giants; normally when the product isn’t at the forefront of day-to-day life, the easiest, most relevant default is to go for kids.

Phillips latest technology terrorizes small children with shadow dinosaurs.

So why kids? Well, one-child-policy aside, Chinese parents put a lot of hope on their children to attain the “better life” they didn’t have when they were growing up through China’s very turbulent times. In their children, Chinese put the hopes, dreams, and aspirations they themselves didn’t necessarily achieve; but due to the influx of information from TV, movies and the web, they know others enjoy.

Therefore by presenting Phillips through the eyes of an innocent child, this campaign thus grabs the attention of parents who aspire for a better life, not necessarily for themselves, but rather a bright(er) future for their kids.

Talking about innovative technology that will change the world may not matter to someone who lived through/experienced the aftershocks the Communist revolution (such concerns can be perceived as a luxury, when faced with day2day drudgery), but talk about that same person’s kid growing up in a better world, and you’ve just increased your chances of cutting through the mental clutter.

Related articles from around the web.

• During World Expo, Artist Brings Chinese Peasant Inventions to Downtown Shanghai, Highlighting Individual Creativity Over Expo’s National Pavilions (prnewswire.com)
• Shanghai’s 2010 World Expo Exposes Challenges for China’s Cities (thecityfix.com)
• Somehow I Found This So Touching (Shanghai Expo Dept) (theatlantic.com)
• Why the Chinese Energy Policy is Important to Everybody (solarfeeds.com)
• The Shanghai Expo is a worthy symbol of today’s China (telegraph.co.uk)

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Found this one via LRB Forums. It’s a Japanese viral spoofing “The Ring” for Asus computers. Normally I wouldn’t post a Japanese viral, but this was found on China’s Youku, and has managed to garner 620k views in about one month, as well as a slew of commentary from China’s netizens ranging from date requests to the “ghost”, to helpful pointers on how the ghost can defeat Asus computers.

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Picked this one up via Danwei and Thomas Morffew; it’s a cover story from China Computer World bashing Tencent, the very powerful internet company behind QQ and numerous others. As you can guess, it’s not very flattering.

Hail to the king, baby. This title is loosely translated to mean "Fucking Tencent".

Danwei goes on to discuss how Tencent is widely recognized as the worst copycat in China; using its considerable power and financial resources to squash innovation by copying and repurposing it for their own profit once it’s clear there is profit to be made. A string of stolen ideas have made Tencent into a powerhouse; but the cost could be hamstringing China’s innovative and creative potential.

Funny isn’t it? And here common thinking leads us to believe China benefits from copies while westerners lose; but it turns out its hurting more then helping; a short term opium fix that makes today seem light and airy, but tomorrow a puke-fest freakout.

Perhaps taking down this giant will be the first needed step to seriously curbing aggressive copy tactics and allowing IP to grow and fertilize China’s maturing creative scene? Perhaps; but likely not anytime soon. This is bad news for China, but arguably good news for China’s many creative entrepreneurs; as similar to the need for skilled managers sucking talent in from all over Asia (primarily Malaysia), the need for better creative and more innovation will be sought from overseas providers who haven’t lived under the oppression of gangster penguins.

QQ's harem; where smaller copycats are birthed. Long live the king.

Above pic via Chinasmack.

Related articles from around the web.

• China’s Tencent on prowl for global Internet buys (reuters.com)
• Tencent’s Quiet Ascent (online.wsj.com)
• China’s Internet Gets Around to Security (blogs.wsj.com)
• China’s Tencent Q1 net profit up 78 pct to new high (reuters.com)
• China Cracks Down on Microblogs [Voices] (voices.allthingsd.com)
• Emerging Internet Giants (economist.com)
• What Valley Companies Should Know about Tencent (techcrunch.com)
• BRICs Meet SARCs: Tencent, Digital Sky Technologies and Naspers (blogs.forbes.com)
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Accessing Twitter from China via VPN or proxy takes forever, so recently I discovered a way to get around it by accident. This happened while I was tinkering with my Linkedin account, and discovered that Linkedin’s twitter plugin “Tweets” will allow you to access Twitter direct from China sans proxy/VPN.

This is pretty cool, as now I’ve got two social networks in one interface, without the need for s…l…o…w VPN access. All I need now is a Facebook plugin and I’ll be back in SNS heaven with Linkedin cutting a hole through China’s great firewall.

So... much... spam...

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Here’s an eye opener: China’s most famous digital blogger is more popular than China’s top movie and sports star celebrities combined… by a pretty wide margin.

This is crazy, but when you think of it, oddly intuitively right. Offline celebrities are great, but seem distant and inaccessible. When compared to your average blogger or online celeb however, there exists the opportunity to engage, keep up with them daily, and share more of their lives; more points of contact eventually equal greater engagement, assuming the content of those engagements remains fresh.

From Nielsen APAC Social Media Report.

From the above, we see China’s “rebel” blogger “Han Han” at the top of the popularity charts with 57%, distantly followed by Zhang Ziyi, China’s most popular movie star siren at 23%. Afterwards is the briefly uber-popular Brother Sharp, aka “Prince of Beggars” at 13% followed by Yao Ming, the NBA baller superstar at 3%.

An internet fad generates over 400% more popularity than China’s national hero? Has the world gone mad?

Not only that, according to DigiTrends, Han Han is going offline, appearing in outdoor ads across China’s bus and subway networks for Vancl.

Who needs movie stars when you can use bloggers?

Pretty interesting no? It’s clear the influence a lone blogger can have, and brands are reflecting this in their campaigns; not only is Han Han on outdoor ads, but China’s bloggers are a common staple in your average WOM campaign diet.

I know what you’re thinking: “Rand, these nobodies became somebodies… so how can I too become a Chinese internet celebrity?”

This is a very good question, most appropriately answered with the following headline:

How to become a Chinese Internet celebrity.

Here are a few cases of internet celebs; some of them manufactured by China’s “buzz”agencies, and other arising naturally, either through talent, sexuality, or serendipity.

Furong Jie.

“Sister Furong” was manufactured by a now defunct China ePR agency. Back in “the day” the calling card of China’s social media agencies was the ability to create viral content online. Generally this is on the low end of low end in terms of budgets; but when done right became cultural phenomenons. Sister Furong is one such example.

"Sister Furong" and her iconic "S" pose. Haunting.

It’s pretty clear that Sister Furong was created to be mocked. She’s a not-so-attractive woman, posing as if she were very attractive, in poses that are supposed to be sexy (the “S” shape) but upon the briefest of inspections clearly are not. It’s a play on ignorance wherein the viewer feels a brief sense of superiority; and it was a smash hit with China’s netizens, launching Sister Furong’s agency into the top echelons for a brief window in time.

Sister Furong's "Internet Celebrity" Media Plan.

Sister Furong's buzz; notice how its been maintained over four years by the agency.

Now of course this will have a backlash effect; following this route leads to ridicule. Which brings us to…

Yufeng Luo.

Yufeng Luo sent thousands of marriage seeking leaflets in Shanghai’s busiest districts, with strict conditions such as “handsome”, “great attitude”, “rich”, “college educated”, “great job”, “1.72-1.83 meters in height” etc. Generally such superficial audacity would seem arrogant; that’s until you see Yufeng Luo.

wow.

Also the product of an agency, Yufeng Luo was deemed “the most confident girl in all of China” by China’s netizens. Successful for the agency, at her peak Yufeng Luo was interviewed on Jiangsu TV, and had her own TV show, but for the girl that played the part?

Yufeng Luo at Shanghai Expo.

A little embarrassing yes, but with Shanghai’s crowded streets, and especially the Expo’s packed crowds, the invisible “barrier of mocking” may be a benefit. Maybe.

Brother Sharp.

Brother Sharp, or the “prince of beggars” was an organic viral phenomenon, not created by an agency. He’s just a cool looking beggar walking on the street who happens to suffer from extreme mental problems.

Whoa, looking good!

Whoa! International Fashion Star!

...whoa....

.........whoa?

Yes Brother Sharp cross dresses; as you may have guessed these next “fashion statements” met with a little less fanfare, though they certainly did get attention. Upon deeper study, Brother Sharp’s got some serious mental issues, which upon reflection may be the secret that turned him into a fashion icon, cause as we all know, fashion is insane.

Here today, gone tomorrow; Brother Sharp's buzz peaks for a month, and then fades away.

Brother Sharp managed to catch attention; but it was a brief case of serendipity before he slid back into the general fuzz. Unlike Furong Jie’s managed buzz, Brother Sharp peaked and was gone in an internet minute.

Xinyu Zhang.

Now here’s a movie celebrity who became an internet celebrity. It isn’t too hard to guess what makes Xinyu a star; and a star she is to China’s many geeks. Xinyu is the spokesmodel for video games, football, and through a nude picture “scandal”.

NOW we're talking.

Xinyu Zhang followed an arguably “traditional” route vs. her celebrity counterparts, selling sex rather than some freakish contextual oddity.

I'm guessing that peak is when the naked "scandal" photos broke out.

Generally we see sustained activity throughout the years, managed by consistent activity, linking to video games, and guys who want to see her naked.

So there you have it.

Becoming a Chinese internet celebrity isn’t too hard it seems if you’re willing to sell your soul. In the case of Han Han we have true talent and true connection to his audience. In the case of the others? A focus on one extreme facet of personality blown out of proportion to cartoonish characterization.

We get a sense of short term vs long term benefits, and the meaning of connection, be it based on mutual respect, or a complete debasement of one’s image.

One thing is certain, these celebrities are commanding greater awareness and public attention than their offline counterparts, and the reason is simple; it’s engagement and connection on a day to day emotional level that makes these celebs more accessible, and inherently more interesting.

Just like ad campaigns that turn into social media campaigns; the same with digital vs. offline celebs; it’s no longer one big bang, but a series of small bangs over time to increase affinity and to lengthen conversations. In a sense this has been done previously, but in another sense enough has changed in the traditional model to make this a “new enough” field that requires exploration and for brands, optimization.

Related articles from around the web.

• Han Han: China’s rebel blogger (cnn.com)
• Dozens of outspoken, popular blogs shut in China (salon.com)
• Brother Sharp Appears On Stage At Fashion Show In Guangdong (chinasmack.com)
• Han Han: A Government That Cannot Protect Its Children… (chinasmack.com)
• Several China Blogs Go Offline (online.wsj.com)

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Here’s some beautiful ads that have zero demonstration of Brand USP, and are actually a bit forgettable in the end after the initial “ooo thats nice” reaction fades into “… zzzzz”.

Beautiful, but what connects shadow puppets to wind from a fan...?

In China, an electric fan is required when playing classic musical instruments.

Yes, statues of golden men riding swans is a great way to convey the powerful wind producing properties of your fan.

Let's not forget the electric fan's relevance to FISH.

Dragons. Ok. One thing missing is Chinese kites - those are relevant to fans/wind right? Give me some freaking kites Acuma!

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Given the choice, I'd probably live on the right side of this poster.

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So wise, so true.

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Hey All, I’ve recently been asked to blog on Campaign’s APAC site (formerly Media). Below is an article I just published. To see the original, visit Campaign Asia.

The problem with social media is that its a very broad term; it’s sort of like saying “advertising”, which in itself can mean a huge amount of differing services, all with different objectives; ATL, BTL and whatever lies in between.

This begs the question “so what?”. Well here’s “so what”: the first step is to define the market, and then define the goals of the campaign. Lets start with the basics, and then move ourselves up the ladder to the more complicated, but ultimately optimized social media infrastructure.

The evolution of the typical social media campaign is intuitive, but not obvious. To sum it up:

• 1. Promotion
• 2. Conversation
• 3. Community

So lets take a quick stroll through each of these layers; my guess is you’ll be able to identify which stage you’re at in your social media efforts.

This pic is distantly related to this article. Distantly.

Promotion.

This is where all brands begin, and its the first step between traditional “push” advertising and social media. This falls in the arena of “buzz marketing” “viral marketing” etc; which is generally a campaign focused 3 month push that ultimatly looks to get about the same results as alternate advertising options for a much lower price.

Is it possible to obtain high results with low(er) adspend? I’m not sure about other markets, but I am positive that its possible in China; though of course the content of the campaign needs to change accordingly; as in traditional advertising you’re looking for a big message; but in social media marketing you’re actually looking for a conversation, or a message that can turn into a sustainable conversation over time. That means the message needs to be big, but then many sub-messages need to support the main message and those sub-messages can be spanned over the campaign time period to generate the traffic desired.

Social Media promotion campaigns tend to live off the Brand’s website, existing in BBS/forums and SNS sites, as well as other categories (Wiki, FAQ, and Blogs). Promotion KPIs tend to be traffic and registrations.

Conversation.

Conversation requires the brand to build its own social media assets and use them as a platform of communication. This includes creating a blog, or a group on Douban, or encouraging interaction on the Brand’s site. It can also include having Branded pages on Facebook and twitter, or in China, Renren / Kaixin, or Sina microblog; though in China, Brands will be charged a hefty sum to live on established social media portals. This prompts additional strategies of leveraging current social networks to drive traffic to Branded social networks; but this is the topic of another post.

The key to the “conversation” phase is that communication is coming directly and transparently from the Brand itself; this creates a relationship between customer and Brand irrespective of Brand promotions or short term tactical campaigns. This is when we start building “earned” media, or consumer equity and trust.

Community.

The final stage is when conversations happen consumer to consumer, rather than brand to consumer. Once communities are built, they don’t require the brand to keep the conversation going, but rather provide enough community that members share their experiences with each other. This is where we start moving into user-generated content, honest opinions and concerns, and organic market research; it’s here where the efforts take on a life of their own.  We see this in China with Lancome’s community as well as several other communities in the gaming and auto industries.

Onward.

So there you have it; a simple quick tour through the evolution of social media campaigns. These layers are like an inverted pyramid, with the most brands at level 1: promotions, and the least at level 3: community.

When perceived through this model, the future of social media is pretty clear; but that certainly doesn’t mean we can hop over to the optimized “community” level right away. For a variety of factors, we’ll see Brands move slowly through each layer as they become more familiar and accustomed to social media. Why? Well KPIs get a bit fuzzy the higher the altitude, so until a reliable system for tracking ROI’d results surfaces, we’re likely to see conservative brands stick to basic levels.

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1. P&G Xiaonei campaign, dressed as Social Media… smells like a big Ad With opportunities to win cars, flights, holidays and even cash you have to wonder why anyone would go and support a bar of soap or shampoo product for simply a ‘chance’ to win a 200RMB value prize pack. But once...
2. 360quan; Social network for teenagers proves China’s youth are insane. Chinese youth are insane. Well ok, maybe not insane, but certainly not sane either. Lets call them “unsane”. Why, pray tell, do I make such nasty accusations? Well the short answer is I’m judgmental and have a selective ignorance (that I...
3. Part 3: China Social Media In The Zone Welcome back class; I hope you had a very relaxing weekend, but at least took some time to review Part 1 and Part 2. Today we will be introducing Chapter 3; brace yourself as we enter the zone of big...