‘Everyone’ in the tier 1 cities in China wants to buy international brands. The biggest growth areas, indicated by increasing website visits, are health, fitness, beauty, education, cars (the average age of a Lamborghini owner in Shanghai is an astonishing 24) and car clubs.

At the same time China isn’t without its challenges. As the country moves through the Kuznets curve new challenges are presenting themselves in no uncertain terms. The government is attempting to drive growth down from 10% to 7%. The environmental challenges the country is facing are massive, the labour market is getting tighter and skills shortages are already apparent.

The current boom has been achieved through rapid urbanisation which has delivered huge growth but at a rate that cannot continue. In fact, according to Jonathan Watts author of `When a Billion Chinese Jump` and the Guardian’s Asia correspondent, the biggest fear is China running out of water.

Speakers at the conference, including Watts, Stefan Rust, Exicon, Richard Tsang, SPRG, Nicola Menelssohn, IPA (recently returned from a trade delegation visit to China) shared more of the above and more of the below but in particular some sage advice if you are thinking of doing business in China (some of which might sound familiar to us Europeans)

China is not one market

Developing  ’guanxi’ (relationships) with government officials or influential individuals is key to success

Understand the importance of  ’face’

Speed – fast response times are expected

Scale – individual Provinces can have between 50-100 million people

Many Chinese companies insist on playing by their own rules

And as I open Jonathan Watts’ book the opening paragraph tells us what is waiting. ‘As a child I used to pray for China………….And please make the world peaceful. Please help the poor and hungry people, and please make sure in everyone in China doesn’t jump at the same time (which would shake the earth off its axis with disasterous results for us all).’

Scary, but China is the home of scary numbers.  Here are a few mind boggling China facts:

Population – 1.338 billion

GDP-  $6.3 trillion

In 3 years China added more internet users than exist in the USA

PC penetration 16 per cent % in 2007 will be 25 per cent by 2013

IT spend 2011 – $80.2bn

You can’t show a Chinese policeman in an ad in China (it’s ok if he/she is US/British, though)

Key language is Putonghua plus its 1000 dialects

Shanghaiese is a different language to Putonghua

Five Provinces have 49.9% of all mobile users

The Nokia OVI store owns 65% of app store visits in China

Decline in web useage -3%

Increase in mobile web usage +28%

Mo Elnadi (@MoElnadi), Head of Digital Strategy, The Reptile Group

There are many new applications that make very good use of geo-location and particularly FourSquare check-ins.  A new application called #Hashable, for example, allows professionals to connect and keep track of others whom they met at an event, or make business introductions among their trusted networks.

Waze, on the other hand, provides the driving community with a free SatNav system that automatically updates maps and traffic jams based on members’ check-ins as they drive around towns worldwide, using your mobile phone GPS receiver.

Follow: @MoElnadi for more Social Media tips

See Also: 

Location-based services: A Fad or the Future of #SocialMedia Marketing? (Part 1 of 3)

What is the future of location-based service? Does it really lie in local search or services? (Part 2 of 3)

2 Location-Based Apps That You Can’t Live Without (Part 3 of 3)

A Marketer’s Guide to Social Pull Marketing  - (Part 1 of 2)

Mo Elnadi, Head of Digital Strategy, The Reptile Group

What is the future of location-based service? Does it really lie in local search or services?

Many professionals are currently also using FourSquare to business- network, and discover like-minded people around them at events such as trade shows and conferences for example. The potential to Tweet from within those applications increases their effectiveness and also contributes to this trend.

We’ve yet to witness a big debate around privacy concerns and willingness of mobile users to share their geo-location. An state seems to have been reached whereby users understand that the trade-off is that they now know that, for example, by sharing their location, they benefit by getting more relevant search results and offers.

Marketers need to examine the behaviour of online consumers through studying their ‘intent-driven actions’. Those actions could act as a strong signal of intention, to help brands discover the right moment to engage with consumers effectively as `timing` is key in building intimacy, trust and to  create real value over time. And this is where those applications come in very handy.

By customers declaring  ‘where they are now’ to marketers, they are connecting the physical to the virtual using location-based mobile applications like FourSquare which acts as a powerful signal of intent that says :`I am here. I am consuming your product. So what have you got for me?`

Consumers also love sharing tips about venues through those apps. This sharing concept is very common as an act of generosity by those who just want to help; as they believe that the most generous person among a similar community almost invariably, acquires the greatest influence among their network. Many may be less philanthropic; it could just be a status symbol.   Nevertheless, many marketers believe that this action automatically provides word of mouth opportunities for their brands and venues; as marketing messages get amplified, and promotional materials are shared by users with their friends, who in turn repeat the pattern with others creating a ‘viral effect’ transforming consumers from passive ‘recipients’ to proactive ‘sharers’.

Follow: @MoElnadi for more Social Media tips

See Also: 

Location-based services: A Fad or the Future of #SocialMedia Marketing? (Part 1 of 3)

What is the future of location-based service? Does it really lie in local search or services? (Part 2 of 3)

2 Location-Based Apps That You Can’t Live Without (Part 3 of 3)

A Marketer’s Guide to Social Pull Marketing  - (Part 1 of 2)

It’s your second week in your new job – you’ve made all the silly mistakes everyone makes in their first week and you’re now in a very modern, glass walled meeting room. You’re learning all about your new role, the people you will be working with, your new clients, and of course you’re about to be tested for drug use.

Are you nervous?

Well you shouldn’t be!*

It’s not actually standard practice. I was simply learning Concateno tests for illicit drug use via a simple oral swab. Concateno is Europe’s biggest drug and alcohol testing provider, and is currently pushing for the widespread adoption of roadside drug testing in the UK.

Concateno has developed a device specifically for mobile drug screening – the Alere DDS2 – which would allow a motorist (such as myself) to be screened simply by rolling a tiny swab stick in my mouth for a minute, and then inserting the swab into the Alere DDS2 device and waiting a couple of minutes for the results – a process similar to the current roadside alcohol test; the breathalyser.

Walking through Concateno’s Oxfordshire laboratories (whilst peeking through laboratory windows to see the scientists at work – I’m a geek at heart) it became clear how serious, and extremely complex the drug testing process is, as well as the energy and determination Concateno has to make our roads a safer place with devices like the Alere DDS2.

All this excitement and learning is what eventually lead me (in true “blissfully unaware” guinea pig style) to the glass room with the little Alere DDS2 drug screening device, and being presented with a swab stick to put in my mouth. As my new team looked on (enjoying the show a little too much I felt),  I gingerly handed the stick back over to the Concateno technician, and waited for what seemed an hour, but was actually just a couple of minutes for the results….

I was clear! All negative. Clean as a whistle. Why are you looking so surprised?

*Unless you’re into drugs. Then you’d have every right to be nervous.

Mo Elnadi, Head of Digital Strategy, The Reptile Group

In your opinion Is location-based marketing -mooted as one of 2011′s big trends- a fad or does it have potential to develop into a viable channel for marketers and brands? Is FourSquare already over?

Far from it, location-based marketing is here to stay. What we are witnessing is a paradigm shift both among the marketing community and in consumer behaviour.  Mobile penetration rates and wireless device usage trends mean that sharing your location – whether proactively or not- is inevitable as more GPS-enabled tablets, cameras, laptops and embedded devices are introduced to the market.

As the `check-in` trend becomes more and more mainstream, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg.  There are currently around 5 million users on FourSquare alone worldwide – a figure achieved in less than 2 years.  Such has been FourSquare’s success that  it has  forced Facebook to shut down and re-think its `Facebook Places` check-in proposition and is eating the market share of Google Latitude. It is only a matter of time that this geo-located check-in behaviour will hit critical mass.

One of the most noticeable differences between Social Media platforms and traditional media is the possibility for members to ‘share content’ of different types, including, in this case, their hard-earned FourSquare ‘Mayorship’ status and badges.  They do this in the hope of getting potential discounts and special offers from participating venues and brands. Brands including Starbucks and Dominos Pizza are already offering special discounts to ‘Mayors’ in some participating branches worldwide.

This `Gamification` of real-life actions has proved to be working successfully so far.  What attracts many users is the creation of a fun environment where they can turn their daily routines into a virtual competition and so share their achievements and win rewards.

Follow: @MoElnadi for more Social Media tips

See Also: 

Location-based services: A Fad or the Future of #SocialMedia Marketing? (Part 1 of 3)

What is the future of location-based service? Does it really lie in local search or services? (Part 2 of 3)

2 Location-Based Apps That You Can’t Live Without (Part 3 of 3)

A Marketer’s Guide to Social Pull Marketing  - (Part 1 of 2)

Immediately I felt like Alice in Wonderland when I was asked to enter the building through a small door within a door and knew that it was going to be a hyper-real adventure. After swallowing a pill that would allow the technicians to monitor my heart rate, pupil dilation and salivation, I was taken through a variety of rooms and gardens with many objects labelled ‘Eat me’ and ‘Read me’. I was asked to make many choices, including what to drink, choosing my favourite objects from a selection of trays and assessed by Sweet Shoppe technicians on what colours, foods and textures I was drawn to.

The final stage of the journey was in a musky open room with a large white projector. On being given my customised Sweet Shoppe goody bag, and with Holition’s creative 3D augmented reality application, the ingredients of my bag came to life on a screen directly in front of me. This was the most interesting part of the journey, as all my decisions had created this conclusion on my personal character, shopping preference and shopping mindset. The technology virtually brought my chosen sweet to life and character assessment adding to the overall hyper-real experience.

It was decided by Sweet Shoppe powers that be I am a chocolate dib dab, my character is social, my mindset is nostalgic and my mindset is indulgent – which I think everyone at Chameleon would say is a more than fair and accurate assessment.

Throughout the experience there were eerie moments where the host, shop assistant and shop keeper seemed to know more about me than I had told them. There were many references to my earlier ambition of wanting to be a Blue Peter presenter, which made me question how much they already knew about me. Through the proliferation of the internet and social media, the world has shared personal details, funny anecdotes and consistent status and location updates – which you wouldn’t necessarily share with a stranger offline. Throughout the futuristic experience, it raised questions over wider privacy issues, acceptable information and security as well as the benefits and personal touches of the staff understanding what I liked and accommodating those needs.

Despite consumer spending woes and economic anxiety, there is a huge increase in online shopping, providing a real opportunity for the retail industry to go back to basics and focus on its customers and personal preferences to encourage them to not only spend money but also return and recommend; developing brand loyalty.

In the famous words of Willy Wonka: “Invention, my dear friends, is 93 per cent perspiration, 6 per cent electricity, 4 per cent evaporation and 2 per cent butterscotch ripple.” If some retailers could create their own recipe of success to understanding its customers, the industry will be able to deliver a customised and engaging experience.

…And so the cycle of incompetence goes on.  Until, that is, the next agency is sacrificed on the altar of poor results with the client team successfully ducking any responsibility for another lamentable performance.

It needn’t be like this.  The one thing that great client/agency combinations have – and by great I mean the sort of teamwork that  gets the type of results that move the clients business forward –is a big, flexible spine that connects them together.

For big, read strong. For flexible, read the fitness of the relationship. After all that’s the evolutionary definition of an organism’s ability to successfully evolve – the ability to adapt. But it’s also a spine built on trust, mutual responsibility to deliver and the ability to take risks and regroup, not blamestorm, if things don’t go quite according to plan.

I’ll admit for most of my professional life I’ve been an agency man, so might have a particular view on such things.  But I have experienced life on the other side too.  In a recent two-and-a-half year stint as a global director of communications for a very fast-growing technology player, I drove agencies through a profound cultural change.

Gone were the days when the incumbent agency had to spend half of their time politicking or wondering how many PowerPoint presentations they were going to have to do before the client would have the guts to make a decision; let alone handle the internal processes that would enable them to do their work to the best of their ability.

So shocked were they at this turn of events, which was completely contrary to their usual client handling experiences, that it took a number of cycles before they realised all it required to get action was a quick email or phone call against simple metrics: How did it support the company’s business plan? How would it drive the company’s key messages; what would be the expected results and what was the budget required?

Once a decision was made and responsibilities were allotted, that was it. And on this basis the agency started to innovate, their morale improved, their performance rocketed and results kept rolling in.  Pretty soon they were part of the team that was voted Global Communication Department of the Year at The International Business awards in New York in 2009.

So if you want to get the best out of your agency do likewise. Get a spine, show some guts and you’ll get ahead.

Across a maze of halls and endless corridors, this year showcased the very latest developments in broadcasting, mobile TV, IPTV, digital signage and R&D making it essential for everyone’s understanding of the industry and its future. The major themes that we saw coming out of the show was the vision of the connected home, multi-screen and the role of OTT.

We were in attendance with Pace, a leading developer of technologies, products and services for global broadband and broadcast markets. It was a particularly exciting show for Pace this year – as well as showing some pioneering new technologies and providing the first view of Elements, its service range on its exhibition stand – Pace played a prominent role at the conference with Neil Gaydon, Pace’s CEO, delivering a keynote and Jaime Fink, Senior VP of Technology, taking part in a panel session.

During the conference, Pace held interview briefings with 10 key media and eight leading industry analysts on Pace’s portfolio, the company’s roadmap and how Pace is ‘Making it all work’ – the company’s theme for the show. Briefings included the BBC, Gartner, IMS Research, IDC, Screen Digest, Rapid TV News and Broadband TV News. Coverage totals currently stand at 60 pieces!

Pace wasn’t the only one to walk away from IBC 2011 as best in show. Our Lucy was named “feistiest in show” for her school ma’am charm in running media schedules.

A potential client approaches you, apparently dissatisfied with the proactivity of, and the results delivered by, their current agency. You, of course, listen incredulously to the unfolding story of apparent sloth, nod sagely and sympathetically. You then check out the coverage delivered, investigate their site’s analytics and so on for confirmation of the sorry tale.

It soon becomes clear that, as reported,  the incumbent agency is doing a very poor job and you quickly convince yourself you could do a lot better, accepting the invitation to pitch. Then you discover that the client has burned through three agencies in around as many years.

The previously desperate-to-see-you-tomorrow-at-7am potential client then disappears or starts hiding behind the mechanisms of the pitch process. The brief – when it arrives – tells you nothing about the company or its real strengths and weaknesses, let alone its ambitions. Rather, it’s a list of tick boxes.

Denied proper briefing you are unable to find anything more about the company’s real business goals, targets and the internal and external barriers to achieving them as the prospect has decided that any question must be sent by email. The answers are then disseminated amongst all those invited to pitch for the business, which you find may be a group approaching double figures.

Worse still – and you should have suspected this from the tick box format – procurement` and a junior administrator are actually running the process. A strategic selection of an intellectual property services firm is being selected in the same way as a supplier of frozen chips for the company’s canteen. Classy.

It soon becomes painfully obvious that the client is in a vicious circle. The middle men and women with whom you are dealing have little insight to the company’s business strategy, no real engagement with the CEO and are constantly guessing what they might think rather than actually asking them.

As the face-to-face  pitch gets underway, every idea more original than scripting a press release is met with a wince and a detailed explanation as to `why that might not be possible`. As the pitch progresses it becomes clear from the ultra-tactical process questions and fixation on single issues that the client side really don’t get it and, worse, might even be more than a little intimidated by the discussion.

It’s clear in these situations that everything is about reducing risk rather than taking a chance, not a step-change to make a real difference going forward. These sorts of pitch processes ensure only one thing. That they will eventually result in the selection of an agency that poses no threat whatsoever to the status quo, is devoid of original ideas and without a strategic bone in its pedestrian body. It’ll make no difference whatsoever.

To be continued…

With a quarter of a billion engaged users worldwide, and growing daily, there is no doubt that Twitter is effective as an instant communication tool, and even influential when it comes to reaching the right audiences for a specific brand. But many brands are still failing to realise the difference between mass-broadcasting messages and the full potential of this real-time communication tool, which allows for two-way communication with their target end users.

Given their classic ‘Push’ Marketing backgrounds, by continuing to operate in a traditional ‘broadcast mode’ or perceiving Twitter as a one-to-many mass media channel, organisations are missing out on opportunities to both gain invaluable customer insight and build stronger social media relationships.

How to get more out of Twitter
For marketers to reap the benefits of this popular social media service, they need to focus on three main strategic activities:

Listening: By knowing what existing and potential customers are saying about their brands and gauging their sentiment, marketers will build a wealth of detailed customer insight that would be invaluable when it comes to defining social media strategies or taking marketing decisions in near real-time. This can be done by using professional monitoring tools, or depending on a brand’s in-house resources and skills, by hiring a professional specialist agency.

Engagement: By getting genuinely involved in relevant discussions on Twitter, a brand will quickly build its reputation and position itself as a thought leader in its specific industry sector. A good start is to be useful to -and generous with- its customers, using techniques such as special offers, and sharing valuable product tips, recommendations and advice to help customers compare products throughout their decision cycles.

Supporting: Twitter is also a great tool to identify those who need help using your products or services, and to see what customers are sharing with others about their overall experiences of your brand including after-sales service satisfaction. Knowing about both negative and positive experiences in a timely manner, then following a professional strategy to deal with such situations is crucial. By getting in touch with those customers, effectively solving their problems and maybe sharing more tips, marketers can easily switch public complaints into a positive word-of-mouth situation for their brands.

Follow @MoElnadi for more #SocialMedia tips

See Also: 

Twitter: Building Relationships and Proving Social Media ROI  – (Part 2 of 2)

Location-based services: A Fad or the Future of #SocialMedia Marketing? (Part 1 of 3)

What is the future of location-based service? Does it really lie in local search or services? (Part 2 of 3)

2 Location-Based Apps That You Can’t Live Without (Part 3 of 3)