"More intelligent online marketing needed" - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

As the number of internet users in China is exploding, more intelligent online marketing is needed, says Shaun Rein, president of the market research company CMR, in RedOrbit.

"The increase in the number of internet users in China shows once again that companies need to spend more time determining their digital marketing strategies," he said...
Rein also argued that the figures showed an "increasing comfort on the internet by a broader range of consumers", pointing to the growth of online sales as an example. The report shows that China's small-scale e-commerce sector is growing rapidly. Around 23.8 million netizens use online payment services, up 72 per cent from last year.
In terms of online activities, accessing music remains the most popular, with 85 per cent of users doing so.That was followed by news, instant messaging and online video.

Was the iPhone girl a fake?

the Foxconn girl

I have mostly ignored the hype of the so-called iPhone girl, a girl from the Foxconn factories in Shenzhen that became famous, because some of her pictures were left on an iPhone that emerged abroad. The Chinese internet has many of those hypes and I have only one life, that is also very busy without the iPhone girl.
But from a translation of an article in Yweekend (done by ESWN) an interesting twist shows up. According to "sources" (as we call them in the SCMP jargon) claim Foxconn has been setting up the whole hype from A to Z. The Chinese reporter give a nice overview of the affair, and then turns to Li Er, who has a reputation of setting up internet hypes himself.

"This is clearly a case of Internet promotion. You can tell just from the process. I know who handled this 'case.' It is a team of people. But I cannot tell you who they are, because I am acquainted with them."
Li Er analyized: "This 'most beautiful Chinese worker' is like that 'most beautiful cleaning girl' that we did before. The concept is completely identical. You bring up a clean and pure image of a pleasant-looking beautifu lfemale worker. The only difference is that this affair was triggered by having a foreigner post photos to an overseas website. But this is precisely where it is brilliant."
"The planners of this affair thoroughly understand the Chinese mind -- a lot of Chinese people think that anything that happens overseas must be real. On this point, they were very successful." Li Er said that almost all of the popular "most beautiful girls" on the Internet were promoted by Internet promoters from behind the scene.
These so-called "most beautiful girls" are part of the "girl series." From Tianxian MM to the girl who swapped a safety pin for a villa," they were all variations of the same "girl series." The rapidity by which iPhoneGirl became red-hot popular on the Internet showed that the planning and execution of this campaign was perfect and effective.

Take care, this is only based on one source, but it sounds pretty convincing to me! When it is true, it is certainly one of the better done scams on the Chinese internet.
More at ESWN.

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The internet is one of the major forces in China and at the China Speakers Bureau we are happy to have a range of speakers who are very familiar with both the internet in China and China's other media. If you are interested in having a speaker about this subject, do get in touch.

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Dealing with cross cultural dilemma's

cross-cultural dilemma's
Wikipedia Today I was asked by a potential client to give a few possibilities from our stable of speakers who are able to discuss with US-based senior executives cross-cultural dilemma's for working in China. That was a tough pick, since we have a decent group of speakers who could do that job. In in the end I picked four and since this is a rather generic advise (I would not share with you our formal proposals of course), here is my pick:

1. Tom Doctoroff, CEO of Greater China, J. Walter Thompson. Tom has been setting up the most successful foreign advertisement agency in China and from his long-time experience he has great battle stories and thorough analytical insights to share.
2. Mark Schaub, author and lawyer, the first foreign lawyer to join a Chinese law firm, combining a great sense of humor with more than a decade of experience in getting foreign firms into China (and sometime out again).
3. Paul Denlinger. American-Chinese with a long-term experience in advising both Chinese and foreign companies (especially US firm) in dealing with the China market.
4. Shaun Rein, one of the most-quoted China-specialists in US-media, with a solid background in finance and investment banking, he has set up a leading consumer research company in China and one of our most-wanted speakers.

Regulatory caution halt China's global aspirations

A German-German deal
got in place
Getty Images via Daylife Officially global expansion might be high on China's agenda, but financially disastrous purchases in the past have made the central authorities rather careful. China's Development Bank (CDB), a financial institution controlled by that central government, failed to buy the German Dresdner Bank for USD 10bn and lost it to its German competitor the Commerzbank, writes the Financial Times.
The same CDB invested last year in the British Barclay Bank, an investment that lost half of its value in no time. Also its Blackstone investment in the summer of 2007 and the heavy losses triggered off much public and internal scrutiny. Chinese banks, cutting their losses in Freddie and Fanny, are just another recent example or a problem China is having, sitting on more than one trillion US-dollars in trade surplus.
Investing your capital in a market that is global going south, might not be rather profitable in the short run. Focusing on the long term, if clever, might be hard when both the public and the central government are breathing in your neck.

Update: An insightful piece in the New York Times about the same subject. Do note especially the turf war between the central bank and the ministry of finance.

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At the China Speakers Bureau we have a range of speakers who can help you in both gauge China's financial industry and get a sense of what China's government is trying to do. Do give us a call when you need our help in tracking down these experts.

Howard French to join the China Speakers Bureau

Howard French

The former Shanghai correspondent of the New York Times Howard French has joined the China Speakers Bureau as a participant. Currently French is associate professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Howard French has not only been a keep observer of China's fast development, he also called Japan, Africa and the Americas his home, allowing him to put China position into a truly global perspective.
More at his profile.

Mixed messages about Coca-Cola's record acquisition

Arthur Kroeber

Coca-Cola is coughing up USD 2.4 billion to acquire China's leading juice maker, the Huiyuan Juice group, spending much more than the current value of the Chinese company, writes AFP.
Analysts, including consulent Arthur Kroeber of Dragonomic in Beijing, have mixed feelings about the purchage, to put it midly.
According to AFP:
If approved by local authorities, the deal would be the largest takeover by a foreign firm of a Chinese company, said Arthur Kroeber, managing director of the Beijing-based economics research firm Dragonomics.

"Coke's in an interesting place in China: They've been here forever -- they've been here for 30 years -- (but) there's not a whole lot of profit growth for them in their existing soft drink market," he said.
"You have huge volumes, but your margins are always microscopic, so you need to look at how you can diversify into new products lines."

The purchase seems to be part of an international policy by Coca-Cola to move into non-carbonated drinks rather than based on the Chinese economic realities. While it would certainly be good for the volume of the sales and the company's market share, margins would be rather low, making it an investment for the long haul at best.
Moving into markets like retail and low-end consumer goods has seldom been a lucky move by foreign companies in China.

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Arthur Kroeber is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau, together with a larger group of authoritative experts on China's economy. When you are interested in having him as a speaker, do get in touch.

Sex or soccer: what should be the debate?

Rowan Simons

National debates on many issues are no exception in China, but now the China soccer team has touched a very raw nerve, as ChinaSmack summarizes. At this stage, disappointed fans seem to pick anything to go after their former Olympic heroes:

Last month, rumors appeared that several members of the national football team were seen checking into hotel rooms with prostitutes or female fans. Xie Yalong, the head of the Chinese football association promised to investigate into the matter and promised the players would be punished if true. Several days ago, pictures appeared on many Chinese BBS forums like Tianya, Mop, and NetEase confirming the rumors, showing three members of the national football team with several girls returning to their hotel.

Now sex has come into play, you might forget about the real debate about soccer, a debate where for example Rowan Simons has played a role with his book Bamboo Goalposts. Rowan Simons has been instrumental in organizing grassroots soccer in Beijing. But with the eye on the Beijing Olympics, the relevant government organizations decided for an elitist approach of soccer, killing its amateur recruiting ground that has been the basis of any solid soccer nation. That discussion seems more important than the 30-minute sex deals of the players.

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Rowan Simons is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. If you are interested to hear him speak about, for example, soccer in China, do get in touch with us.