June 2018 - The WeChat Agency

With great events come great opportunities

June 27, 2018

Events such as the FIFA World Cup are important for companies as it is a way to increase their brand equity… And because a lot of the World Cup’s viewership will come from mobile, brands that are mobile-driven (food delivery apps, e-commerce apps, parts supply apps, and biking/ride-sharing applications) have special opportunities during this event.

REMEMBER

Back in 2010, web traffic rose by about 35% and the use of mobile data bandwidth (4G) went up by 24% during the World Cup matches. With the evolution of social media and the advent of platforms such as WeChat in China, the event is expected to reach as many as 3.2 billion users worldwide.

Although leveraging events for a marketing campaign can be a killer tool to raise brand awareness, it is essential to follow some rules to make the best of it.

BE USEFUL AND ENTERTAINING

The key to standing out in today’s marketing world is by creating unique and entertaining content.

Indeed, Social Media are more than simple chat rooms, they provide any kind of information and more.

CREDIT : KRDS for CANAL+

Interactive platforms can provide a real experience for the users. The H5 functionalities of the N1 APP in China, WeChat, is a preferred tool for digital marketers. Also this is very easy to share. (We will come back to that point later)

Besides that, with such a big audience base, it is essential to choose your audience according to their preferences, in order to provide them with their favorite content, eventually time zones, location and sex.

CREATE SHAREABLE CONTENT

The best way to create effective content is to choose the right format and the right channel. Therefore it is good to have a multitude of cross-media campaigns that can be completely personalized for the brand.

CREDIT : KRDS for Groz-Beckert (vote for your favourite team and try to win an Apple Watch!)

Keeping branding to a MINIMUM will let user share the content in a more natural way. In fact, content that has minimal branding is more likely to go viral. So whether it is the content you produce or from your company’s website, we recommend to not let the digital content have a ”corporate” feel to it.

A good example is when we have worked with Groz-Beckert. We tried to provide users with an interesting platform that they can enjoy and share.

STAY SAFE

The FIFA has specific regulations regarding their brands and logos, so, as frustrating as it may be, you must comply with the regulations (unless you are an official sponsor). From a commercial viewpoint, you cannot use terms such as Russia 2018, World Cup, FIFA etc.

CREDIT : KRDS for FFF (see more)

Hashtags (Weibo)

Also it is better not to use the official hashtag #Russia2018# or #WorldCup#* etc. In fact each game played during the cup is likely to have its own unofficial hashtag (like #USAvsPOR). That will be a good way to stay on top of the action. The same thing applies on Weibo.

*The double Hashtag is used on Weibo

With all these tips what will be your next campaign ? Let us know in the comments !

Guiyang 2018: The New Big Data Expo

June 13, 2018

In 2017, the China International Big Data Expo was a success and many well-known personalities attended it. Following the success of the previous year edition, the 2018 edition of the event was organized once more time in Guiyang.

Such a big exhibition does not go unnoticed, especially when the biggest Big Data companies take part in it! The list of participants includes Microsoft, Google, Huawei, Intel, Dell, Oracle, SAP, Alibaba, SAS Tesla and Tencent.

On the agenda: a summit in which the government and businesses engaged a dialogue, five speeches with key industry stakeholders and forums about the integration of Big Data in everyday life. Participants were also able to discover the latest technologies in 5G, blockchain 4.0, AR, VR … and participate in activities and demonstrations.

For the third time, Jack Ma, General Manager and President of Alibaba participated in the exhibition. In his speech, he addressed the topic of Big Data and its application to poverty alleviation. This approach has been highly appreciated and indicates the importance of this technology as well as its scope.

WeChat & Big Data

Social networks are also affected by the advent of Big Data. It is obvious that the evolution of the latter will deeply impact the way users interact on social media. Although it is not always clear if (and how) institutions can make use of all collected data, some companies like Tencent (WeChat) have a large database that allows them to know who the influencers are and to facilitate the work of Digital Marketers by allowing them to focus their expenses on key opinion leaders.

Pony Ma, who also participated in the conference, added that digitalization is an important process and that the contribution of the new digital ecosystem will surely improve our quality of life.

For more information discover the China International Big Data Expo 2018 on video.

WeChat Mini-programs: A strategy for the future?

June 6, 2018

In March this year, Tencent’s flagship mobile application, WeChat, has reached one billion user accounts. The application which stands out due to its versatility as well as its flexibility continues its search for innovation.

WeChat is a social phenomenon !

“The strategy for WeChat is that they’re trying to embed themselves into your lives so that you can’t leave WeChat,” says Matthew Brennan, Co-founder of WeChat consulting firm China Channel. The app is basically an “operating system for your life in China,” he adds. Indeed, it is quite hard to a great number of people to stop using this application as it connects them to their friends, family and the rest of China.

The app is basically an “operating system for your life in China,”

This is where mini programs come in :

WeChat mini-programs are “sub-applications” inside WeChat system. Since their creation in 2016, they’ve made available numerous functionalities such as web-based business (e-commerce), task and coupon management.

JD.com (the second biggest B2C online business in China) has built up an internet business mini-program that allow users to access the wide range of products offered by online retailers. In addition, the direct access to the WeChat wallet make it easy for users to purchase products and improve the overall experience.

Mini-programs have innovative feature :

For instance, if you are at a bus station, you might see its QR code. But if you’re not waiting for a bus, it won’t appear. A good mini program can give users updates about incoming buses.

BUS TIME CHECKER : 车来了精准的实时公交

In Tencent’s final quarter budgetary strategy for 2016, the organization showed a clear interest in developing and expanding mini-programs. As stated: “broaden and deepen services in low-frequency use cases, connect more offline services to online users, and provide more venues for users to sample functionalities offered by apps”. (see more)

A long-term strategy…

Eventually, WeChat seems to be willing to replace the current systems used by Apple and Google: iOS and Android. Indeed, with Google play blocked in China, there is a niche to be compensated, that Tencent wants to fill by offering a very accessible store (one of the most accessible in fact).

In addition, Apple may see the traffic on their app store decrease with the success of the mini programs. This would be unfavorable for Apple as China is an important market for the company’s growth.

That being said, Tencent could be an important actor of an eventual “post-app” era which could transform the way consumers consume. And the giants of the industry, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon (GAFA) be ahead of the pack. At stake could be a dominance of the industry valued at about $102 billion by 2020.

Interested in technology? Discover how WeChat is integrating AR into the platform to build an innovative user experience!