This is a good attempt for Lenovo to utilizes viral marketing on their high-end product range, with aims to gradually shift consumer perception from an older image to one that is younger, more vibrant and unorthodox. In these videos, office executives are seen enjoying the benefits of their superbly fast laptops.

Parking Lot

Washroom

Copier Room

I. Netizen Size

By June 30, 2010, the number of Chinese netizens exceeded 400 million, up 9.4% from late 2009 and increasing by 36 million within six months. In line with the sustained increase in the number of Internet users, the popularization rate of the Internet has been rising steadily in China.

• The total number of netizens in China had increased to 420 million
• The Internet penetration rate reached 31.8%
• 364 million netizens (86.7% of total) access the Internet via broadband
• 277 million netizens (66.0% of total) access the Internet via mobile phones while 49 million (11.7% of total) ONLY use mobile phones to access Internet

II. Netizen Demographic

The proportion of male users to female users in China had been 55:45, with a slight increase of male users. The age structure of Chinese Internet users was optimized constantly, showing a trend of maturity. The proportion of users aged 30 to 39 increased considerably within six months. Internet users are still tilting gradually to low education and low income.

• Gender:

- 54.8% male netizens and 45.2% female netizens

• Age:

- 1.1% under 1
- 31.8% between 10 – 19
- 28.1% between 20 – 29
- 22.8% between 30 – 39
- 11.3% between 40 – 49
- 4.9% between 50 – 59
- 2.0% 60 or older

• Education:

- 9.2% with elementary or lower
- 27.5% with up to middle school
- 40.1% with up to high school or basic technical training
- 12.0% with college school
- 11.3 with a bachelors degree or higher

• Profession:

- 30.7% Students
- 7.9% Employees in Party, government, and institute
- 3.8% Executives
- 15.1% Enterprise Staff
- 9,9% Technical professionals
- 1.7% Rural migrant workers
- 3.1% Workers in industries and service industries
- 16.7% Self-employed/Freelancer
- 4.7% Agricultural, forestry, husbandry, fishery laborers
- 2.0% Retirees
- 4.2% Jobless, laid-off and unemployed people
- 0.3% Others

• Income (RMB):

- 8.1% no income
- 20.5% Under 500
- 13.5% 500 – 1000
- 13.9% 1000 – 1500
- 14.4% 1500 – 2000
- 14.4% 2000 – 3000
- 10.1% 3000 – 5000
- 2.8% 5000 – 8000
- 2.3% Above 8000

• Structure:

- 72.6% urban netizens, and 27.4% rural netizens

III. Netizen Behavior (Internet Access)

Home is still the primary place netizens browse Internet. Less and less people went to Internet Cafes, while more and more people surfing the Internet in the office. Netizens spent more time (increased 1.1 hours a week) on Internet than half year ago. The utilization rates of both mobile phone and laptop grew up.

• Access Places:

- 88.4% from home
- 33.6% from Internet cafes
- 33.2% from office

• Access Time:

- average 19.8 hours a week

• Access Devices:

- 73.6% via desktop computers
- 65.9% via mobile phones
- 36.8% via laptop computers
- 0.8% via other devices

IV. Netizen Behavior (Internet Application)

Although Google made a big operation change in the China market, the popularity of search engine service still showed a positive increase. With the hot phenomenon of Microblogging in the first half year of 2010, social networking service became even more popular. Net literature earned a sustaining growth rate with iPad’s launch globally and up-and-coming SNDA Bambook locally. Online shopping, paying, and banking is a lightspot with over 30% increase in utilization rate.

• Popular Internet Applications:

- 82.5% netizens are using online music service
- 78.5% netizens are using online news service
- 76.3% netizens are using search engine service
- 72.4% netizens are using instant messaging service
- 70.5% netizens are using online gaming service
- 63.2% netizens are using online video service
- 56.5% netizens are using email service
- 55.1% netizens are using blog service
- 50.1% netizens are using social networking service
- 44.8% netizens are using net literature
- 33.8% netizens are using online shopping service
- 31.5% netizens are using BBS/forum
- 30.5% netizens are using online paying service
- 29.1% netizens are using online banking service
- 15.0% netizens are using online stock speculation service
- 8.6% netizens are using online travel reservation

Below is the full report (in Chinese), and you can also download it here in PDF.

Position: Digital Media & Social Media Specialist (Shanghai)

Key Responsibilities:

I. Objectives of Job

• Lead digital media buying, planning and execution
• Lead social media management
• Assist with digital marketing planning and execution on project basis

II. Tasks of Job

• Develop digital campaign media strategy, taking leading role in project management
• Social media management-including BBS, twitter, social network, etc
• Daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly report coordination and implementation
• Coordinate with integration work of each functional team from marketing department
• Industry case study and share

Requirements:

I. General Skills

• 3-4 years working experience
• Good communication skill and presentation skill
• Good command of English for speaking, listening and writing

II. Functionality Skills and Technical Skills

• Digital marketing experience in auto industry-agency/inhouse
• Better with PR experience
• Have a good understanding on marketing trend and Chinese custome

III. Management and Leadership Skills

• Has strategic thinking
• Junior manager skill is required

IV. Education and Personal Traits

• At least university degree (Marketing/Communication/Journalism is preferred)
• Strong team work spirit
• Willing to help and support others
• Open minded and creative

If you are qualified and interested in this job, you can send your resume to ChinaHR@chrysler.com. Please also refer to IN2marcom in the email.

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide is a global, integrated communications agency. It is the NO.2 independent PR agency in the world. It offers seven global practices: Consumer Marketing, Corporate Communications, Analyst Relations, Healthcare, Public Affairs, Technology and WE Social Innovation, along with its digital strategies group, WE Studio D.

Leaving Razorfish is a hard decision for me, because of the great people, great works, and great clients. The achievements we have got in past one year is so amazing, which makes me feel great honor being part of it. The agency’s “experiences that build businesses” mantra is now in my heart and becoming one of my philosophies for digital marketing.

However, the exciting opportunity at Waggener Edstrom (WE) is the one I cannot miss. Firstly, I am enthusiastically exploring the value of social media in different disciplines. After many years of social media research & analytics and social media marketing, social media communication is the right way I want to move. Secondly, as the China Digital Lead, the position offers me more leadership roles rather than the middle-level management responsibilities in past jobs. Thirdly, being a member of WE Studio D APAC Team, my roles enable me work across the region with our Hong Kong office, Singapore office, and even Korea & Japan alliance. Such exciting collaboration will definitely bring me more regional experience and become a strong add-on to my local expertise.

Changes on this blog:

• I will expand the scope of IN2marcom from Mainland China to Greater China. So you will see some Hong Kong cases soon and maybe Taiwan’s in the near future.
• More insights and learning on social media across various marcom disciplines.

Things WON’T be changed:

• It’s still an individual professional blog. The views expressed on this blog are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of my current and former employers.
• As an independent blogger, I will still share great case studies from any agency and brand, even it is WE’s competitor and our clients’ rival. I will also criticize, but it’s NOT related to my current position.

So keep visiting, commenting, sharing and retweeting please!

I tried to transfer my hosting from one server to another, however,  it still didn’t work. It seems GFW not only blocks the IP but also the domain.

I have no idea why government censors my little weblog. It’s all about professional marketing communication in China’s digital and social media spaces, no political content and statement. The only thing might be associated is that I had reported the “Green Dam – Youth Escort” censorship software (click here and here) and quoted by BBC and ChinaSMACK.

As a solution, I’ve launched a mirror site IN2marcom.jasonzhanjia.com for readers in China. Meanwhile, a new Feedsky feed has burned for subscribing. For global readers, IN2marcom.com and its FeedBurner feed are still working well.

In addition to those “Parisian chic”, how to make a big impact on Internet, where new generation of Chinese ladies spend more time on?

It’s always a challenge for luxury brand to engaging with consumers digitally since it has to keep at a distance with the audience. Finally, Dior found its way to impress the Chinese ladies through a heavily invested and exposure media strategy.

Cooperating with top lady portals / verticals like MSN China, Sina Lady, Onlylady, and Yoka, Dior wholly re-skinned these beauty and fashion communities with its “Lady Blue Shanghai” campaign theme for a couple of days.

What’s your thought on it?

Update (2010.5.20)

“Sales of luxury goods grew 12% in 2009, to $9.6 billion, accounting for 27.5% of the global market, according to Bain & Co. In the next five years, China’s luxury spending will increase to $14.6 billion, making it the No. 1 luxury market globally. In 2009, China overtook the U.S. to become the world’s second-largest luxury-goods market, behind Japan. Roughly half of the luxury goods purchased in China are bought as gifts.”

source: AdAge China

enovate now looks for an Social Media Editor who would be responsible for supporting enovate business development, brand development, and marketing by extending enovate’s online presence. The candidate will create, curate, publish, and track content on various platforms: enovate’s website and newsletter, other online publications, SNS, micro-blogs, etc. This position provides candidates a stepping-stone to join our research and trends insights team.

Position: Social Media Editor (Shanghai)

Key Responsibilities:

I. Content Development

• Manage Chinese and English language content for enovate: content theme development, brainstorms, and content assignments
• Develop a monthly podcast on current themes and youth trends
• Recruit and coordinate contributors
• Develop content for external sites (such as PSFK and AdAge)

II. Grow and Track

• Ensure content dissemination through various channels
• Use Twitter, Sina Weibo, LinkedIN, etc. to engage others
• Develop press releases and assist the Director on marketing major reports
• Continue to track enovate’s online presence with established metrics, and develop new ones where necessary
• Represent enovate at relevant social media, web, mobile, and business development conferences

Requirements:

• Passionate about various facets of Chinese Youth culture
• Excellent English written communications skills; Advanced Chinese language proficiency
• Enthusiastic social media / online community participant
• Familiarity with Chinese online space (SNS, Blogs, BBS, Sina Weibo, etc…)
• A deep understanding of how to use social media tools to communicate and build relationships
• Effective time management skills, with the ability to organize and prioritize efficiently
• Knowledge of Illustrator and Photoshop a big plus

How to apply:

Send Resume, Cover Letter, and Writing Sample to Nick@enovatechina.com (subject line: job inquiry)

WKSH is now looking for a Social Connections Manager that will assist in branded social media efforts, from strategy and planning, to implementation and analysis. The successful candidate will be a committed power user of social media communities and tools in China, with a solid understanding of how to drive audience engagement and transmit content across Chinese online social networks, BBS forums and blogs.

Position: Social Connections Manager (Shanghai)

Responsibilities:

• Act as the digital guardian of brand voice across online communities
• Develop and execute online community engagement and content strategies aligned to brand and business goals.
• Manage branded properties by blogging, posting content, responding to comments and feedback, extending service commitment to social media outlets
• Conduct outreach and build relationships with online influencers and local community groups
• Monitor online conversations and activity across social spaces, synthesize, and make recommendations for action
• Build and manage performance and engagement metrics reporting and analysis

Basic Requirements

• Passionate about the web, and highly knowledgeable of the China online landscape, from both a technology and cultural perspective
• Excellent communication skills, and fluent in online expression
• Analytic Skills, able to track performance, analyze information and transform this into actionable insights
• Proactive, and able to work within a dynamic working environment

Additional Requirements

• 2+ years experience in interactive, social media, or PR
• Native level Mandarin (written, spoken)
• Conversational level English
• Experience with online social media and insight tools
• Proven track record owning and curating an online community that has generated substantial following

If you are qualified and interested in this job, please send your resume to jobs@in2marcom.com and DO include “W+K Social Connections Manager” in your email title.

Razorfish was acquired by Microsoft as part of its acquisition of aQuantive, but functioned as an independent company. On August 9th, 2009, Microsoft sold the firm to Publicis Groupe.

Currently, Razorfish is looking for a Shanghai-based social media manager who is to work on the Nike account.

Position: Social Media Manager (Shanghai)

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement social media plan for our clients, which will include IWOM (internet word of mouth program), influencers marketing, partnership program with communities and web2.0 websites.
• Come up programs and partnerships ideas with community websites, work out the details with partners, monitor progress and make any adjustment to deliver good results. The programs can be tactical or long-term and be in various formats like user generated content, viral campaign, etc. to engage consumers on special topics on the brands / campaigns.
• Develop and implement seeding plan, monitor and moderate participations and interactions, and make any adjustment if needed.
• Engage influencers in the various social community sites, and develop special partnership and program with them to influence their preference on brands / products / campaigns, and get positive discussion on line.
• Establish performance benchmark of the social media campaigns and measurement methodology. Provide tracking and metrics to communicate and validate the community effectiveness, and prepare reports and presentations to client.

Requirements:

• Strong experience in implementing social media programs in key portals, bbs, communities and web 2.0 websites
• Passionate for today’s trends on social networking, user generated content, web2.0.
• Experience with, and passion for, creating and consuming new content types: websites, blogs, podcasts, wikis, etc.
• Strong relationship with community sites, web2.0 sites, influencers, to able to implement interesting and unique campaigns.
• Experience handling international brands will be an added advantage
• Good English and good presentation skill will be an advantage.
• A self-starter with the willingness and desire to “roll up your sleeves” and get the job done. Self
• Motivated showing strong sense of ownership, and enjoy satisfaction of implementing your ideas/plans and see the results.

If you are qualified and interested in this job, please send your resume to jobs@in2marcom.com and DO include “Razorfish Social Media Manager (NIKE)” in your email title.

Nokia Solution is responsible for driving Nokia’s offering of solutions, where the mobile device, personalized services and content are integrated into a unique and compelling package for the consumer. The unit is tasked with concepting and creating such solutions.

Position: Social Media Marketing Manager (Beijing)

Responsibilities:

• Developing strategic and operational plans around social media, managing execution, budget and measuring results
• Develop long term social media programs to create buzz and conversation with customers for Nokia Solution
• Develop short term/tactical social media programs which aligned with Nokia Solution strategy.
• Manages agencies in the revamping of social media programs, ongoing maintenance and updates
• Establishes and maintains cross-functional working relationships with operational support from media.
• Provides social media marketing insight and direction for cross-functional teams throughout the Company.

Qualifications:

• Deep understanding social media landscape in PRC
• Marketing expertise, and operational experiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, both English and Chinese
• Creative & strategic thinking
• Ability to handle multiple tasks

If you are qualified and interested in this job, please send your resume to jobs@in2marcom.com and DO include “Nokia Social Media Marketing Manager” in your email title.

Results across the region showed that Twitter has established itself as the dominant channel for sharing news about technology brands across Asia, except in Hong Kong as well as in China where it is banned. Google and Microsoft also continued to rank in the top 10 across countries, alongside discussions on local telecommunications brands in each market.

Break down to the China market and here are the key findings:

• 184,374 online conversations relating to 88 large technology brands tracked within 472 influential channels. This represents one major technology brand mentioned online in China every 42 seconds, compared to one brand mention every 38 seconds found in DBI 10.1 (2009Q4 data).

• Google, which led all other brands in terms of brand mentions in the first quarter, saw its buzz factor increase significantly amid online debate over its withdrawal from China. The total number of brand mentions online of Google grew by 30 per cent since DBI 10.1 and 55 per cent in terms of Channel Index.

• Acer followed Google as the second most buzzed brand, with a total of 10,431 online brand mentions, a jump in position from #9 in DBI 10.1. Acer also leads all other brands in terms of its engagement index, which evaluates how leading online content creators (influencers) are being actively wooed by brands.

• The two major telecom carriers in the country, China Telecom and China Unicom, continued to rank in the top 10 list of “buzziest” brands in China in third and eighth place respectively, due to the active promotion of their 3G services and mobile phones. Mobile manufacturers Nokia, Sony and Samsung also made the top 10 list.

• Kingsoft made DBI’s top 10 buzz list for the first time with 5,573 major online buzz, most likely due to its online marketing /engagement initiatives surrounding new anti-virus services, WPS software and an online video game drive. The company also ranked #4 in terms of Average Engagement.

• Overall, telecom and mobile phone companies and software companies are the most discussed brands online, followed by several technology brands such as Sony and Samsung. Software companies such as Oracle and Kingsoft improving their ranks both in terms of buzz volume and engagement.

1. Google | 34,211 mentions
2. Acer | 10,431 mentions
3. China Telecom | 10,137 mentions
4. Nokia | 10,048 mentions
5. Microsoft | 9,100 mentions
6. Sony | 7,081 mentions
7. Samsung | 6,636 mentions
8. China Unicom | 6,009 mentions
9. Kingsoft | 5,573 mentions
10. Oracle | 5,527 mentions

For more details and market-by-market fact sheet downloads, link here.

One critical query from my perspective is about Brandtology’s data collection methodology. The DBI results indicate that most of top 10 ”buzziest channels in China” are on Tianya, China’s leading mass BBS community. But based on my experience, there are much more buzz around technology brands on IT vertical sites, for example PConline for consumer IT, Chinabyte for corporate IT, and iMobile for mobile phone. Not sure whether Brandtology covers these sites (a full list here and here) and is able to grab all the data. If not, the DBI may be a bit misleading on media /channel selection for brands’ social media strategy.

Portal: Sina, Sohu, Netease

Portal: QQ, 21CN

Portal: Tom, China, MSN

Portal: Yahoo, iFeng

Search: Google

Search: Baidu

Search: Bing

Search: Soso

Search: Sogou

Search: Youdao

Forum Community: Tianya

Forum Community: Mop

Social Networking: Kaixin001

Social Networking: Renren

Social Networking: Qzone

Social Networking: 51.com

Social Networking: 360quan

Social Networking: Douban

Social Networking: Myspace

eCommerce: Taobao

eCommerce: Paipai

In 2010Q1, Dell and Mazda presented the mostly popular viral videos for the Ophone and Mazda 2 respectively. McDonald’s and Nike produced a lot of viral ads throughout the first quarter, the former’s are very funny while the latter’s are in pretty high shooting quality.

1. “The Most Amazing DIY Of The Year” | Dell Ophone

View: 2,404,044 | Comment: 385 | Favorited: 820 | Embed: 68,169

2. “The Most Fuel-efficient Car At The Gas Station” | Mazda2/Chana-Mazda

View: 1,228,426 | Comment: 480 | Favorited: 151 | Embed: 512

3. “Real Person Counter Strike” | Uni-president Instant Noodles (I feel it’s so bloody & no meaning for the brand)

4. “New Paying, New Life” | Alipay.com

5. “The Three Kingdoms” | McDonald’s Lunch

6. “Flying Dove With A Letter” | McDonald’s Lunch

7. McDonald’s Spicy Chicken Wings Promotion I

8. McDonald’s Spicy Chicken Wings Promotion II

9. McDonald’s Spicy Chicken Wings Promotion III

10. “Can You Challenge Me – Blindfolded Shot” | Nike Pro Combat/Nike Training & Nike Basketball

11. “Can You Challenge Me – Hercules” | Nike Pro Combat/Nike Training & Nike Basketball

Any time, when you come across a Chinese viral video, please do me a favor to dig it out. You just need to send the video URL to EYES-ON-ME@in2marcom.com, I will add it to the list. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

Disclosure: I’m an employee of Razorfish, which produced the two Nike viral ads.

Here in China, three cities will have their own swarm party / challenge:

Shanghai
Time: 7:30pm – 10:00pm
Contact: (+8621) 64317027
Location: Tara 57, 2/F 57 Fuxing Xi Lu
Foursquare Venue: http://foursquare.com/venue/537674
Website: http://4sqday.com/event/shanghai-foursquare-day-swarm

Beijing
Time: 8:30pm – 11:00pm
Contact:  +8613641361514 / +8615210013848
Location: Apple Store, 19 Workers’ Stadium North Rd
Foursquare Venue: http://foursquare.com/venue/313487
Website: http://4sqday.com/event/beijing-foursquare-day-swarm

Hong Kong
Time: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Contact:  (8526) 7685252
Location: 52 Wyndham St
Foursquare Venue: http://foursquare.com/venue/346730
Website: http://4sqday.com/event/hong-kong-foursquare-day-swarm

If you are still new to Foursquare, watch below video and get a quick understanding how to unlock your world with the Foursquare.

Let’s join this global celebration of Foursquare Day on Friday. Unlock the Swarm Badge (50+ check-ins) or even Super Swarm Badge (250+ check-ins over a 3-hour period) for your city!

On April 6, KFC launched a digital campaign called Super Tuesday on China’s top e-commerce site Taobao. The rule of the campaign, dubbed a “one-second act (秒杀),” was set for 10:00 am, 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm on the day and involved 100 e-coupons for each “act.”

Unexpectedly, all the three types of e-coupons had been available to download from several online communities since late morning. They were soon spread out through various social media channels. One 50% off coupon for the 64RMB KFC family bucket meal was very much welcomed by consumers. It was supposed to be released on 4:00 pm and only the first hundred people who managed to grab them were supposed to be able to use them, as KFC originally planned. However, the coupon itself didn’t claim clearly on that. Instead, it was said the e-coupon could be used after it is printed and copies of coupons are also valid.

During the lunch time, consumers printed the coupon and brought it to local KFC restaurants. Most of them were rejected with the excuse that the coupon is supposed be release and used until after 4:00 pm. Consumers understood the rule although they were disappointed.

On 1:30 pm, KFC suddenly posted a statement on the campaign site, official brand site and official e-coupon site to shut down the campaign.

Dear netizens:

Following KFC releasing the first round of promotion, it received a warm response from many netizens, but fake electronic coupons for the last two rounds [of the promotion] have already appeared on specific websites. Because of this, KFC has temporarily decided to stop the second and third round of promotions. All coupons relating to the second and third round of promotions currently in the market are all fake coupons, and KFC restaurants will not accept any of them. Any inconvenience this has brought to you, we ask for your understanding. With regards the follow-up promotion, we will post a notice on the KFC official website later.

KFC China
April 6, 2010

(translated by chinaSMACK)

During the dinner time, consumers who read or not read the statement, came to the KFC restaurants with the coupons. Staff from different stores told different excuses and some of them printed out the official statement and put it at the cashier. This led to protests in many KFC restaurants by customers who felt they were cheated and being lied to. Some customers refused to leave, demanding explanations and that KFC honor their promotion.

Some consumers even order McDonald’s takeout to KFC restaurant to fight back.

Through tweets, posts, photos, videos…… complains and angers were spread out quickly and widely. Consumers insisted that the coupons are not “fake” but just leaked earlier. The attention on this crisis broke out on Tuesday night, expanded extremely on Wednesday, and (fortunately) started weakening from Thursday. However, the media kept reporting the issue heavily (indicated by Baidu Index).

.MY POV:

1. Poor Planning

The most critical piece of this issue is KFC allowed copies of the coupon to be valid (as stated on the coupons), but the rule of online promotion allowed only 100 consumers to be able to get each type of coupon.

It is probably because the campaign planners thought the limited time and quantity of releasing e-coupons is enough to limit the promotion. The coupons did not feature any unique identifiers limiting it to single-use only, the terms of use was simply copied from a normal one. They didn’t see the weak points in their plan until it was too late. They were also failed to anticipate a big discount e-coupon (Chinese consumers are very incentive driven and price sensitive) would spread as far as it can through social media.

2. Bad Response

The e-coupons were most likely leaked out early by internal leaks or mistake. Either way, KFC is so bad in controlling confidential campaign information. Leaked coupons are not “fake”, they just become “invalid” after KFC canceled the promotion at last minute. As a brand, KFC surprisingly made consumers foot the bill of its mistake. This is such a stupid and irresponsible decision.

The ways you can also get involved digitally:

follow earthhour on Twitter and tweet what you are doing using #earthhour

be a fan of earthhour and update your Facebook status

friend with earthhour on Myspace

see earthhour photos on Flickr and share yours to http://flickr.com/groups/eh2010

watch earthhour videos on Youtube and add yours to http://youtube.com/group/earthhourglobal

There are also plenty of things that you can add to your blog or site, from banners and buttons to supporter widgets and Virtual Lantern pages. Check out all of the ways you can show your support at Tools and Downloads and Spread the Word on www.earthhour.org.

Two months after announcing to leave China due to Chinese government’s censorship policy and amount of highly sophisticated hack attacks from mainland to Gmail accounts, Google said earlier today that it stopped censoring its Chinese search services and redirected Chinese users to Google.com.hk.

Google also said it would retain much of its existing China operations, including its R&D team and local sales force, but the scale depends on the ability mainland Chinese users to access the Hong Kong-based site.

“Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Google.cn has been hard,” David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, wrote in the blog post. “We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement.”

Soon after Google’s announcement, State Council Information Office responded and scolded that the company must comply with the China law.

Already, before Google’s January announcement, authorities were blocking its YouTube and Blogger sites. “We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision,” Mr. Drummond said, “though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services.”

Key findings from the study:

• OVERALL: 79% Fortune Global 100 companies are using at least one of the social media platforms, but only 20% are utilizing all four platforms to engage with stakeholders.

• ACROSS PLATFORM: Twitter is the most popular social media tool among Fortune Global 100 companies, with almost two-thirds (65%) having a presence on it. At least one-half are reaching audiences through Facebook (54%) and YouTube (50%). One-third (33%) maintain corporate blogs.

• ACROSS REGION: Companies based in the United States and Europe were most likely to use Twitter (US: 72%, Europe: 71%) or Facebook (US: 69%, Europe: 52%) than they were to have corporate blogs (US: 34%, Europe: 25%), while companies from Asia-Pacific were more likely to utilize corporate blogs (50%) than other forms of social media (Twitter: 40%, Facebook: 40%).

• PRESENCE: On average, the Fortune Global 100 companies have 4.2 Twitter accounts, 2.1 Facebook fan pages, 1.6 YouTube channels and 4.2 corporate blogs.

• ACTIVITY: Companies with active accounts have 27 tweets per week, 3.6 Facebook posts per week, 10 new YouTube videos per month and 7 blog posts per month. Within the last week (during the period of data collection) 82% had tweeted and 59% had posted content on their Facebook fan page. And in the prior month, 68% had posted a video on YouTube and 36% had posted an entry on a corporate blog.

• ENGAGEMENT: Companies using Twitter were following an average of 731 people each, and 38% of companies were responding to people’s tweets. 32% have also “re-tweeted” or reposted user comments during the last week.

Unfortunately, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have been blocked in China till now. So I don’t have any comment on regard to local insight.

“This report’s findings show how China’s netizens are already discussing many aspects Shanghai Expo, from tickets to pavilions to sponsors,” said Thomas Crampton, Asia-Pacific Director, 360 Digital Influence, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. “Chinese consumers can make or break brands online, so listening is the first step to developing a powerful strategy to engage them.”

“China has one of the world’s highest levels of engagement within social media, with brands featuring in many discussions,” said Sam Flemming, chairman and founder of CIC. “Anyone looking to truly understand Chinese consumers – and the digital world that is so important to them – can find no better place than social media.”

The report, ExpoSay, tracked 128,854 Expo-related comments taken from 13,994 blogs, bulletin boards, news and social networking sites in the Chinese Internet space during December 2009. Ticket-related topics were the subject of most online Expo chatter.

Ten key findings from this report:

1. BBS were the most popular platform to discuss Expo, followed by blogs. These two platforms accounted for 68% of total buzz.

2. Expo buzz peaked during Week 2 (Dec. 8-14) after an announcement of an impending price increase (from 140 RMB to 150 RMB) of the Expo ticket. The news quickly brought predictable criticism and became a hot topic for discussion.

3. Phrases about “what (price) to buy” and “how to buy” became the most frequently associated keywords with “Shanghai Expo Ticket”.

4. Among the buzz around buying a ticket, “way to buy” and “place to buy” became hot topics. Group purchases and online purchases are the most common way to buy a ticket.

5. Expo tickets has become a hot incentive for various brand campaigns and organization activities. Happy awarded netizens were showing off their tickets online.

6. Mobile phone tickets are expected to change purchase modes. Discussions centered around the benefits of the
RFID SIM card (as a mobile credit card), the mobile device (whether it supports the card or not) and where to get a mobile phone ticket (which service halls sell the card).

7. Expo Global Partners including China Mobile, General Motors, Bank of Communications and State Grid accounted for almost 50 per cent of buzz among all sponsors.

8. Nonsponsors were the subject of more than 80% of buzz, primarily due to content contributions from Sina, Sohu and Netease, all of which are major Chinese portals and competitors of senior sponsor QQ.

9. Taipei overtook Hong Kong as the second most discussed city among Netizens when pop singer Wang LeeHom was named goodwill ambassador for the Taipei Pavilion.

10. USA overtook Japan to be the most mentioned country as news of movie star Jackie Chan’s imminent appearance on a Shanghai World Expo float in the Rose Bowl Parade broke in December.

The Economist recently issued a special report on social networking. The report, A World of Connections, provides a clear and high-level overview of the development/status of social networking sites and how they impact brand advertising, corporate internal communication, small business, talent search & recruitment, and privacy.

The content probably nothing new to digital marketing savvy and social media guru, but trust me, it is worth reading. As always, The Economist special report can help you neaten your knowledge and its flow.

I. Netizen Size

The number of Chinese netizens reached 384 million. Among them, 60.8% have accessed the Internet via mobile phones, the size almost double within one year.

• The total number of netizens in China had increased to 384 million | 28.9% increase YoY
• The Internet penetration rate reached 28.9% | 27.9% increase YoY
• 346 million netizens (90.1% of total) access the Internet via broadband | 28.1% increase YoY
• 233 million netizens (60.8% of total) access the Internet via mobile phones | 97.5% increase YoY

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II. Netizen Demographic

With the “Xiao-Xiao-Tong” Internet popularization program by Ministry of Education, the number of schoolchild netizens grew sharply in 2009. In addition, 30 – 49 years old with stable income is the main class of Chinese netizens.

• Gender:

- 54.2% male netizens and 45.8% female netizens | fluctuated from 52.5% : 47.5%

• Age:

- 1.1% under 10 | 175% increase YoY
- 31.8% between 10 – 19 | 9.7% decrease YoY
- 28.6% between 20 – 29 | 9.2% decrease YoY
- 21.5% between 30 – 39 | 22.2% increase YoY
- 10.7% between 40 – 49 | 11.5% increase YoY
- 4.5% between 50 – 59 | 7.1% increase YoY
- 1.9% 60 or older | 26.7% increase YoY

• Education:

- 8.8% with elementary or lower | 63.0% increase YoY
- 26.8% with up to middle school | 4.3% increase YoY
- 40.2% with up to high school or basic technical training | 2.0% decrease YoY
- 12.2% with college school | 12.2% decrease YoY
- 12.1% with a bachelors degree or higher | 8.3% decrease YoY

• Profession:

- 28.8% Students | 13.3% decrease YoY
- 7.5% Employees in Party, government, and institute | 27.2% decrease YoY
- 3.1% Managers | 31.1% decrease YoY
- 15.0% Enterprise Staff | same
- 10.4% Technical professionals | 19.5% increase YoY
- 2.4% Rural migrant workers | 7.7 decrease YoY
- 4.4% Workers in industries and service industries | 120% increase YoY
- 13.0% Self-employed/Freelancer | 5.1% decrease YoY
- 2.8% Agricultural, forestry, husbandry, fishery laborers | 21.7% increase YoY
- 2.1% Retirees | 5.0% increase YoY
- 9.8% Jobless, laid-off and unemployed people | 78.2% increase YoY
- 0.8% Others

• Income (RMB):

10.0% no income | 566.7% increase YoY
18.0% Under 500 | 30.8% decrease YoY
14.5% 500 – 1000 | 10.5% decrease YoY
13.7% 1000 – 1500 | 14.4% decrease YoY
13.4% 1500 – 2000 | 2.9% decrease YoY
15.4% 2000 – 3000 | 12.4% increase YoY
9.3% 3000 – 5000 | 16.3% increase YoY
2.7% 5000 – 8000 | 6.9% decrease YoY
2.9% Above 8000 | 52.6% increase YoY

• Structure:

- 72.2% urban netizens, and 27.8% rural netizens | fluctuated from 71.6% : 28.4%

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III. Netizen Behavior (Internet Access)

Home is the main place netizens browse Internet. Less people go to Internet Cafes while more people surfing the Internet in their office. Mobile becomes a main device for netizens, one reason is mobile phone has a much higher penetration rate than computers in China, especially those underdeveloped districts.

• Access Places:

- 83.2% from home | 6.1% increase YoY
- 35.1% from Internet cafes | 20.8 decrease YoY
- 30.2% from office | 45.9% increase YoY

• Access Time:

- average 18.7 hours a week | up from 16.6 hours

• Access Devices:

- 73.4% via desktop computers | 17.9 decreased YoY
- 60.8% via mobile phones | 53.9% increase YoY
- 30.7% via laptop computers | 10.4% increase YoY
- 0.5% via other devices

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IV. Netizen Behavior (Internet Application)

Search engine service replaced instant messaging service to be the 3rd top online application. Social networking service is a lightspot in 2009, which reduced the popularity of IM and BBS. Online gaming and shopping kept a sustaining growth rate. Financial related applications like online banking, paying, and stock speculation increased most significantly. Although the overall rate of online travel reservation isn’t high yet, the growth is really rapid.

• Popular Internet Applications:

- 83.5% netizens are using online music service | 0.2% decrease YoY
- 80.1% netizens are using online news service | 2.0% increase YoY
- 73.3% netizens are using search engine service | 7.8% increase YoY
- 70.9% netizens are using instant messaging service | 5.8% decrease YoY
- 68.9% netizens are using online gaming service | 9.7% increase YoY
- 62.6% netizens are using online video service | 7.3% decrease YoY
- 57.7% netizens are using blog service (on both BSP & SNS) | 6.3% increase YoY
- 56.8% netizens are using email service | same
- 45.8% netizens are using social networking service | N/A
- 42.3% netizens are using net literature| N/A
- 30.5% netizens are using forum / BBS service | 0.7% decrease YoY
- 28.1% netizens are using online shopping service | 13.3% increase YoY
- 24.5% netizens are using online banking service | 26.9% increase YoY
- 24.5% netizens are using online paying service | 39.2% increase YoY
- 14.8% netizens are using online stock speculation service | 29.8% increase YoY
- 7.9% netizens are using online travel reservation | 41.1% increase YoY

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V. Mobile Internet

The penetration of mobile Internet was very high, but it was still dominated by traditional messaging and information based applications. However, mobile search was a star point for marketers and music kept the popularity.

• Base:

- 233 million mobile netizens (60.8% of total netizens)

• Popular Mobile Applications:

- 77.8% mobile netizens are using mobile instant messaging
- 75.4% mobile netizens are reading mobile information (WAP news, SMS/MMS newspaper, and e-novel)
- 55.2% mobile netizens are using mobile search engine
- 50.4% mobile netizens are listening/downloading mobile music content
- 22.8% mobile netizens are connecting to mobile social networking
- 19.3% mobile netizens are playing mobile online game
- 18.4% mobile netizens are using mobile email service
- 16.5% mobile netizens are watching mobile TV

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Below is the full report (in Chinese), and you can also download it here in PDF.

Google Inc., owner of the most popular Internet search engine, is considering shutting its Chinese Web site and offices after discovering a “highly sophisticated” attack last month aimed at gaining access to e-mail accounts of human-rights activists.

In investigating the attack, Google said it discovered that at least 20 other large companies in industries such as finance, technology, media and chemicals had been targeted. The company also said it plans to stop censoring results on its Google.cn site and hold talks with Chinese authorities.

Click here to continue reading reading the new on BusinessWeek.

Around the noon, the Google.cn search results indicate the search giant may have already stopped filtering.

For more updated information, please keep following the HASH tag #GoogleCN on Twitter.

In December, automobile brands were still the major players, as well as FMCG brands. I’m very excited to see more and more domestic brands like Chery, Harbin Beer, and Zhonghua Toothpaste started investing in viral marketing and presented very cool video clips. 2010 is the year of Expo and World Cup, so Coca-Cola and Adidas delivered relevant videos respectively at the end of 2009.

1. “Theory of Relativity” | New Regal / BUICK / Shanghai GM

View: 963,636 | Comment: 173 | Favorited: 169 | Embed: 426

2. “The Fatty’s Love Story” | smart / Mercedes-Benz

View: 243,342 | Comment: 232 | Favorited: 79 | Embed: 238

3. “The Beauty Comes Across The Most Tough Egg” | Chery A3

View: 1,821,951 | Comment: 1,243 | Favorited: 172 | Embed: 771

4. “If You Are The One” | Chery Fengyun II

View: 901,858 | Comment: 816 | Favorited: 399 | Embed: 228

5. “Swiping The Card Amazingly” |  Mobile Phone with Public Transportation Card Inside / China Unicom

View: 1,719,943 | Comment: 62 | Favorited: 7 | Embed: 155,284

6. “The Most Impressive Launch” | e-surfing 3G / China Telecom

View: 879,009 | Comment: 500 | Favorited: 1,157 | Embed: 2,885

7. “School Beauty Throwing Famous-branded Goods” | Zhonghua Toothpaste / Unilever China

View: 1,258,797 | Comment: 53 | Favorited: 177 | Embed: 5,233

8. “-34℃” | Harbin Beer

View: 1,090,038 | Comment: 239 | Favorited: 341 | Embed: 23,076

9. “Blind Date” | Mengniu (果蔬酸酸乳)

View: 1,058,368 | Comment: 717 | Favorited: 951 | Embed: 811

10. “The Best Medicine for Mania” | Mengniu (果蔬酸酸乳)

View: 442,899 | Comment: 250 | Favorited: 61 | Embed: 96

11. “Happiness in China – Our Dream” | Coca-Cola Shanghai Expo2010

View: 406,068 | Comment: 479 | Favorited: 12 | Embed: 11

12. “The Lionheart of Lampard” | Adidas Football

View: 476,943 | Comment: 35 | Favorited: 70 | Embed: 128

Any time, when you come across a Chinese viral video, please do me a favor to dig it out. You just need to send the video URL to EYES-ON-ME@in2marcom.com, I will add it to the monthly list. I believe EYES ON ME will be a comprehensive and authentic highlight for China Viral Video under everybody’s collaboration. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

ChinaMode is the first grassroots award to encourage innovative Internet and mobile applications and services in China, initiated by OpenWeb.Asia and operated by the 14 most influential Chinese tech bloggers Appin, Williamlong, Web20share, Kenengba, Jandan, MobiNode, Webleon, Showeb20, Vista2.o, Yunkeji, Riku, Herock, China Web2.0 Review and MobiNode.TV.

Who are the real winners, which application and services are the most valuable ones and which are the most innovative startups in 2009, now their names are in Chinese Internet users’ hands. Details of this awards, including nomination details, award categories and etc, will be available on the official site on 15th Dec, 2009.

In November, some brands utilized viral video as a channel to promote their campaigns. Chevrolet again delivered a new video for the “CRUZE, Chasing in Marcao” campaign. RedBull produced five rough clips for the “It’s Time for RedBull” campaign and P&G made a clip for a campaign of LivingArtist. Castrol kicked off its 2010 World Cup sponsorsip program through three well-done videos. This month, some IT brands also stood out, including IBM Cognos, Lenovo ThinkPad, and Lenovo IdeaPad. Last but not least, 2009 ONE SHOW (CHINA) Young Ceative Competition generated a lot of awesome viral videos for HP, the sponsor of the competition.

1. “Chasing in Marcao – The Bounty Hunter” | CRUZE / CHEVROLET / Shanghai GM

View: 817,297 | Comment: 194 | Favorited: 15 | Embed: 22

2. “It’s Time for RedRull – Watch Derby Match” | RedBull

View: 384,476 | Comment: 138 | Favorited: 5 | Embed: N/A

3. “It’s Time for RedBull – Make Your Husband Love Shopping” | RedBull

View: 233,256 | Comment: 180 | Favorited: 16 | Embed: N/A

4. “It’s Time for RedBull – Chase Beautiful Girl” | RedBull

View: 308,172 | Comment: 193 | Favorited: 22 | Embed: N/A

5. “It’s Time for RedBull – Play Mahjong” | RedBull

View: 176,770 | Comment: 122 | Favorited: 3 | Embed: N/A

6. “It’s Time for RedBull – Hang Out in The Night Club” | RedBull

View: 229,185 | Comment: 146 | Favorited: 5 | Embed: N/A

7. “Kleif Makes Professional Spa at Home” | P&G LivingArtist

View: 212,138 | Comment: 550 | Favorited: 352 | Embed: 118

8. “A Middle-aged Lady Juggle The Tofu” | Castrol

View: 1,604,643 | Comment: 71 | Favorited: 194 | Embed: 118,281

9. “A Man Juggle The Briquet” |  Castrol

View: 586,968 | Comment: 8 | Favorited: 19 | Embed: 352

10. “A Boy Juggle The Shoe” | Castrol

View: 931,648 | Comment: 16 | Favorited: 39 | Embed: 1,688

11. “Magic” | IBM Cognos

View: 81,691 | Comment: 34 | Favorited: 8 | Embed: 184

12. “38,756 Piece of Stickies” | Lenovo ThinkPad

View: 973,083 | Comment: 348 | Favorited: 366 | Embed: 373

13. “The Zebra Girl – UU” | Lenovo IdeaPad

View: 1,001,518 | Comment: 1,164 | Favorited: 306 | Embed: 152

14. 2009 ONE SHOW (CHINA) Young Ceative Competition – viral video for HP MyStage
please click here to check out all the finalist videos (very awesome)

Any time, when you come across a Chinese viral video, please do me a favor to dig it out. You just need to send the video URL to  EYES-ON-ME@in2marcom.com, I will add it to the monthly list. I believe EYES ON ME will be a comprehensive and authentic highlight for China Viral Video under everybody’s collaboration. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

The campaign started with creating a profile page of the store’s manager, Gordon Gustavsson. Then Gordon uploaded 12 pictures of store’s showrooms to his photo album. Within a two-weeks period, the person who tagged their names on a product first can won the item. Through the campaign, people gladly added their name to an “interactive IKEA catalogue” and spread to all of their friends via FB profile page, newsfeed, links, etc.

Check out below video, it is a great animated showcase.

Regrettably, today I read a post by Mandi Bateson which said Facebook wouldn’t allow such competition any more due to its new promotion guidelines:

Two weeks ago Facebook changed their promotion guidelines to only allow competitions through applications and only with prior consent from Facebook. This means no 25 words or less responses to status updates, no uploading photos to walls, no using fan profile photos nor even referencing Facebook as part of the competition.

The findings in this study are based on comprehensive qualitative and quantitative offline research conducted by CIC in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. Topic 3 looks to evaluate consumer online behavior and provide suggestions for how brands can participate in online communities based on these consumer preferences. Below are some top-line findings and highlights from the study.

Do netizens want companies to listen to IWOM and participate in online communities?
The majority of netizens are positive towards companies listening to IWOM and participating in online communities.

• 52.7% of netizens interviewed responded positively to the idea of companies listening to IWOM.
• 47.2% of respondents do want companies to participate in online communities so that they can communicate with the companies directly.

About 40% of respondents are indifferent to companies listening and participation with concerns over the sincerity and motivations of companies’ listening to IWOM and participating in online communities.

How should companies participate in online communities?
Based on the research, netizens’ online communication platform preferences are as follows:

• 68% of respondents prefer to communicate with brands on third-party BBS over other platforms.
• 37.3% of respondents prefer to communicate with brands on company BBS hosted on an official website.
• 24.5% of respondents prefer to communicate with brands on a company blog hosted on an official website.
• 10.8% of respondents prefer to communicate with brands on a company blog hosted on a third-party website.

CIC recommends that companies abide by the following e-community participation principles: be transparent about their participation, use friendly behavior, avoid interrupting the community dynamic, respect efluencers’ independence and be fair in response to complaints.

What kinds of online campaigns will attract netizens’ participation?
Based on the research, CIC found consumer preferences for campaign activities and rewards.

• Entertainment-driven activities are the most attractive to netizens overall, followed by product experience activities.
• Male respondents had more passion towards communication-driven activities and lottery driven activities; female respondents preferred product experience and event-driven activities.
• Cash or gift items were the most attractive rewards to netizens, followed by opportunities to join offline activities and free product trials.
• Male netizens care more about the emotional satisfaction of being recognized during the activity; female netizens prefer more practical incentives such as financial incentives or experience opportunities.

Below is the full report:

Send me a message to jason.zhanjia@in2marcom.com if you want a PDF version.

Disclosure: CIC was my former employer from August 2006 to June 2009.

Following last month’s heavy podcast, automobile brands like FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen still actively took advantage of viral videos to promote their new models in October. The other two major product launches in this month were the Windows 7 and China Unicom’s iPhone, of course Microsoft, China Unicom, and Apple won’t forget to made viral clips to catch as much attention as possible. At the same time, Unilever’s Lipton brand contributed some cool videos produced by AKQA.

1. “Let Designer Tell You About Golf 6″ | GOLF6 / FAW Volkswagen

2. “Crazy Car Trilogy – Episode 2: Save Energy” | SUPERB / SKODA / Shanghai Volkswagen

“Crazy Car Trilogy – Episode 1: Parking Disturbance”

3. “It’s Your PC, Simplified” | Microsoft, Windows 7

4. “iPhone and WO” | China Unicom

5. “An Introduction to iPhone 3GS” | Apple, iPhone 3GS

6. “Happy Afternoon In The Office: Sugar + Red Tea” | Unilever, Lipton

7. “Happy Afternoon In The Office: Lemon + Red Tea” | Unilever, Lipton

8. “Happy Afternoon In The Office: Milk + Red Tea” | Unilever, Lipton

Any time, when you come across a Chinese viral video, please do me a favor to dig it out. You just need to send the video URL to EYES-ON-ME@in2marcom.com, I will add it to the monthly list. I believe EYES ON ME will be a comprehensive and authentic highlight for China Viral Video under everybody’s collaboration. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

Without a key feature of WiFi connectivity and at higher prices than widely available black market models, China Unicom’s iPhones are absolutely not able to satisfy Chinese consumers. As a result, it is ridiculed as a “castrated iPhone”. I came across below cartoon last night. It is a classic visualization of such satire.

According to Baidu Index, the media attention rate of China Unicom’s iPhone has increased 200% in this week, while the consumer attention rate has only grown 51%. Can China Unicom meet its goal of selling 5 million iPhones in three years?

some related reading material
FINANCIAL TIMES: iPhone hits the shelves officially in China
CBS NEWS: iPhone Comes to China without WiFi
WSJ: Chant in Beijing: ‘iPhone! iPhone!’

Razorfish was acquired by Microsoft as part of its acquisition of aQuantive, but functioned as an independent company. On August 9th, 2009, Microsoft sold the firm to Publicis Groupe. In China, Razorfish purchased Hong Kong and Shanghai based e-Crusade in October 2006 to enter the Greater China market. On March 1st, 2009, e-Crusade rebranded to Razorfish (China).

Currently, Razorfish is looking for a Beijing-based social media manager who is to work on IT & technology clients like Microsoft.

Position: Social Media Manager (Beijing)

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement social media plan for our clients, which will include IWOM (internet word of mouth program), influencers marketing, partnership program with communities and web2.0 websites.
• Come up programs and partnerships ideas with portals and community websites, work out the details with partners, monitor progress and make any adjustment to deliver good results. The programs will can be tactical or long-term and be in various formats like user generated content, viral campaign, etc. to engage consumers on special topics on the brands / campaigns.
• Develop and implement seeding plan, monitor and moderate participations and interactions, and make any adjustment if needed.
• Engage influencers in the various social community sites, and develop special partnership and program with them to influence their preference on brands / products / campaigns, and get positive discussion on line.
• Establish performance benchmark of the social media campaigns and measurement methodology. Provide tracking and metrics to communicate and validate the community effectiveness, and prepare reports and presentations to client.

Requirements:

• Strong experience in implementing social media programs in key portals, bbs, communities and web 2.0 websites
• Passionate for today’s trends on social networking, user generated content, web2.0.
• Experience on technology clients and familiar with IT portals and communities will be an advantage.
• Experience with, and passion for, creating and consuming new content types: websites, blogs, podcasts, wikis, etc.
• Strong relationship with community sites, web2.0 sites, influencers, to able to implement interesting and unique campaigns.
• Experience handling international brands will be an added advantage
• Good English and good presentation skill will be an advantage.
• A self-starter with the willingness and desire to roll up your sleeves and get the job done.
• Self-motivated showing strong sense of ownership, and enjoy satisfaction of implementing your ideas/plans and see the results.

If you are qualified and interested in this job, please send your resume to jobs@in2marcom.com and DO include “Razorfish Social Media Manager” in your email title.

Disclosure: Razorfish is my current employer. I am the head of social media China.