CHINA: NEW DIGITAL DESTINATION

Today with all the advantages of scale, China is on the verge of becoming the world's biggest digital market. Viral marketing is going to become very hit in china in coming years. In asian countries after Japan, china is a real digital destination.

According to the statistical data of AdAgeChina, China has 500 million mobile-phone subscribers and more than 122 broadband users. And even though digital spending still trails in the market, it's growing fast as multinationals try out new interactive programs.

CEO of Youku, Mr. Victor Koo said that just a year after launching Youku already has reached 80 million video views per day.

Today number of social networking websites are used for marketing company blogs or individuals (Linked.in, facebook, My space etc).

According to analysts, China will be the No. 1 internet market very quickly, and online advertising will become a significantly higher portion -- 8% to 10% -- of the market. Today digital advertising accounts for only about 5% of all media spending in China today, but experts said that figure is skewed by local brands' scant interactive spending.

In AdAge china digital marketing conference, Dan Wong, NOKIA’s VP-multimedia sales and channel management said that “for some products in the upscale Nseries, we spend about 25% or 30% [of the budget] or sometimes higher on digital". Mobile is more advanced in China than in the U.S. but still faces obstacles ranging from budgets to figuring out how to use a new medium and measure its effectiveness.

In viral marketing, the professionals or multimedia marketing division should be very keen, energetic and have deep interest in innovating new ways to promote himself (company).

Like us, Chinese marketers were very much inspired by “American idol” and its Chinese reality-show imitators. With minor changes sponsors like Pepsi invited Chinese consumers to submit a 200-word script for a spot that would be shot with a pop star.

In such promotion sponsors got unbelievable response around 28,000 scripts poured in and 5 million people voted for their favorites. A 28-year-old schoolteacher won, and his spot was filmed and aired. The program become a huge success and turned the face of multimedia marketing in china.

Lenovo Group turned its sponsorship of the Olympic Games' longest torch relay -- stretching across 31 provinces and 113 cities in China over three months -- into a more earnest version of "American Idol." The marketer partnered with Google to invite people to send in nominations explaining why they should get to carry the torch.

More than 6,000 people entered, said Deepak Advani, Lenovo's chief marketing officer and senior VP of e-commerce. "We picked 18 finalists who posted their videos on YouTube on why they should run the torch." One student lobbied his entire university for votes, he said.

Coca cola, international brand used web as promotion channel to penetrate deeper into the Chinese market. Have a look at the article ==>

Here at this point if we compare India with china, we are very far from it in mobile penetration, we have penetration of 21-24% nearly 250 mn subscribers half of china. In digital marketing or advertising we are also far behind due to poor infrastructure and immature mindset to understand and convey such message to the public.

source: Adage china digital marketing conference