Emergence of an active online sharing culture where 1 in 4 social media users ‘start something’ has significant implications for brands.

SHANGHAI, 15 JULY 2010 – As the social media scene in China continues to attract mindboggling user numbers, ever increasing marketing dollars and new business ventures, an irreversible cultural shift has occurred. Modern Chinese society is now bound by a new sense of connectedness that has been enabled and inspired by the internet. At the same time a profound new spirit of ‘sharing’ has emerged as the essence of netizens’ online lives.

The “OgilvyOne Connected” research in partnership with China Polling set out to unravel and reveal the fundamental changes that social media has had on how Chinese consumers connect with each other, how trust is built and how influence and word of mouth really travels.

SOME NETIZENS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

In the world of traditional offline marketing, a widely accepted practice is to focus on the 1-2% of consumers that are ‘fashion forward trendsetters’ in the anticipation that they will influence more consumers on the brand’s behalf.

But one of the most noteworthy and valuable findings of this research turns this notion on its head by demonstrating that in the ‘flatter’ world of social media, there is still a ‘cool group’ but it is much, much larger – comprising a whopping 26% of all Chinese social media users. These ‘Initiators’ are the bold 1 in 4 social media users that regularly start conversations, create content and publish their views and opinions online. They are also the fertile starting point for new ideas, services and products.

A further 29% of Chinese social media users are ‘Commenters’ – people who may not initiate, but who do react and comment on other people’s views. They are also the ‘accelerators’ of new ideas, giving them momentum and wider acceptance.
The largest group, comprising 45% of social media users, are ‘Gawkers’ who quietly browse, observe and look for entertaining ideas and brands that are already popular.

According to Chris Reitermann, President of OgilvyOne China & Ogilvy & Mather Group Shanghai, “In China, social media users are generally highly engaged with brands. They see brands and the discussion of them as an integral part of their ‘social network’. And with one in every four users ‘creating’ influence and waiting to be inspired, the economics of prioritizing and investing in the Initiators is more attractive than ever.”
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With Google’s sudden announcement in January about the possibility of stopping its operations here to the time that it forwarded all of its China (.cn) domain traffic to its Hong Kong website in late March, it has definitely been a rollercoaster ride in terms trying to keep up with all of the intrigue and also to find out what the fall out might be from the exodus of such a major player in the Internet world.

China Polling’s tracking research on China search engine branding and usage has revealed some interesting reaction to Google’s move, all from a brand preference perspective but also in terms of brand satisfaction.

We have tracked the above with our search engine usage panel before the January 13th Google blog announcement by its chief legal consul to just before the transfer of its China traffic to Hong Kong. We then looked at the traffic to date and it seems that Google has a very solid following here with Chinese Internet users.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, June 2010

We are seeing a dip in preference for Google, especially during the stormy days between the initial announcement and the eventual closing of its China (.cn) domain. This drop in preference can be attributed to the immense publicity that the Google event has generated here and it also shows that it’s not all positive. However, the preference level has come up a point right after the announcement to forward the Chinese domain which means that Chinese Internet users are still using Google and are forgetting about the whole incident.

The real gain that’s being made in this whole episode is of course Baidu with its favorability going up all the way, but actually taking shares away from the lesser known search engines here. This makes a lot of sense in that the free publicity generated from the Google event is helping to bring in more users for Baidu.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, June 2010

One of the key matrixes that we have been tracking is the user satisfaction for each of the search engines. There is a surprise here with literally no change before, during or after the exodus for the Google devotees. However, we are seeing a very sharp drop in the user satisfaction for Baidu, this validates the fact that a lot more users are trying out the market leader but do not like the user experience, which we’ve already heard a lot of grumblings about.

The fact that Google user satisfaction has stayed the same is testament to the fact that Google users are still using Google and getting the type of results that they need from the Hong Kong site but also from Google.com which is still available in China.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, June 2010

Note: Full survey results are available in .PDF by clicking on the following link: China Search Engine Brand Tracking

Number of Samples: 1515
Before Jan. 13th: 693
Jan. 13th – Mar. 23rd: 450
Mar. 24th – Present: 369
Data Capture Period: 2009.6.29 – 2010.6.11
China Polling conducts a series of Omnibus Surveys on an ongoing basis to provide continuous tracking of consumer trends in China. This tracking of consumer behavior allows for the most up to date information about what’s hot and what’s not here in China. The average 20 question survey for this Search Engine Omnibus answers some very basic questions for this very competitive market. All real-time datasets are available to purchase online. Additional questions can be added into the Omnibus Survey and fielded at any time. For more information please contact Allan Chou at allan@chinapollng.com.

However, corporate sponsors struggle with share of media voice in the crowded space

[SHANGHAI: APRIL 29, 2010] On the eve of the official opening of World Expo 2010 Shanghai, China Polling Beijing and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide / Shanghai have released a new consumer survey of Chinese social media users’ feelings and intentions towards the event. The survey uncovered that a third of social media users knew a lot about Expo 2010 and 60% of those polled are planning to attend.

“Social media is clearly driving online excitement surrounding the Expo,” said Michael Darragh, Digital Strategic Planner at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide / Shanghai. “This trend reflects the importance of word of mouth when it comes to this event. Expo visitors are paying close attention to recommendations both online and off when planning their Expo adventures.”

Poll respondents were overwhelmingly getting their Expo news from TV programs over any other form of media, including online. However, over 50% of respondents are relying on online resources for visit planning, and 27% of respondents are relying heavily on online conversation for their trip planning.
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As part of our on-going effort to conduct more public service related research for various none-for-profit organizations in China and aboard, we have recently launched a tracking study to learn more about what the 19 to 25 year olds in this country think about domestic and International issues.

From the research results we see that Chinese youth are thinking about interacting more with rest of the world and are extremely proud of what China has achieved and are not afraid to say so (which is not the case in the past when the country was more insular and less of a global player).

We see that over 60% of the respondents say that China should reach out to share ideas and also interact more with the rest of the world. And 25% think that China is leading the way in all areas of world development which shows that they have the great confidence in what China is tackling as a world leader.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, January 2010

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China is currently producing more beer than any other country in the world and that’s not just because of its population but also attributed to the ever growing consumer class. So, how are the beer brands doing in China and what are local beer drinkers looking for in their brew?

China Polling has recently launched an on-going survey on beer drinkers and there are some very interesting breakdowns when it comes to beer preferences.

We’re finding that women prefer the local Yan Jing (Beijing based national brand) over the other major brands. A 4.5 to 5% gap separates Yan Jing from its competitors when it comes to female drinkers. This potentially could be based on product differentiation since Yan Jing has been pushing fruit flavored products in the major markets over the last few years. More »

SUVs are becoming the most sought after car models for auto buyers here in China. After surveying 1,052 automobile consumers in the last month, 59% indicated that they have intentions of purchasing an SUV as their next car.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, September 2009

For the potential SUV buyers, majority are 2nd time car buyers with their main purpose of upgrading or buying an additional car.

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Recent results from China Polling’s continuous tracking survey reveals that China consumer still showed strong confidence in the local economy as they continue to say that China will weather the economic situation better than the rest of the world. The numbers have actually gone up from our initial tracking starting in Q4 of 2008.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, June 2009

Growing trend of consumers who responded that they will not put off any major purchases or investments and they will continue with their lifestyle. We see the uncertainties in Q4 2008 and Q1 of this year but what a reversal in Q3 2009 as we see dramatic change in their confidence to spend more. More »

Even as global search giant Google expands its businesses such as computer operating systems, Baidu the locally grown search company still dominates China’s online search market.   China Polling’s most recent Omnibus survey on search engine usage find that, of the 370 panelists, 68.9% preferred to use Baidu and only 24.9% for Google.

Early adoption seems to play the most important role for Baidu users as they continue to stay with the local Chinese favorite.  When asked for reasons why they use Baidu, “Becoming a habit” is mentioned the most followed by functionality and search results.

Furthermore, “More advanced Chinese search” was selected the most which highlights Baidu’s core brand equity as a predominantly Chinese language search engine. More »

“A real digital era.”, “The age of high speed internet connection.”, “Video phone calls” and “Substitute for notebook PCs” are common perceptions of the 3G services among Chinese consumers (results from the most recent China Polling National 3G Study).  With the rising expectation of 3G, China Polling has surveyed 406 consumers around the country to find out what they really want from 3G phones and services.

Among participants, 53.2% showed strong interest in 3G phones including those who are already using them and those planning to purchase.  The rest at 43.6% also showed interest and willingness to learn more about 3G phones and service.  Detailed information regarding 3G phone features, services and fees are their most want to know areas of the new standard.  Only 3.2% showed no interest in buying 3G phones.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, May 2009

When asked about the timing of purchase, 90% stated that they would purchase within a year.  Whereas 10.7% would purchase within a month, 26% would purchase within 3 months, 27.8% would purchase within 6 months and the rest 27.2% would purchase in a year.

The most important aspects for consumers when choosing a 3G phone are Features & Applications and Brand.  Top 3 features are Internet connection & speed, Smart operating system and Screen Quality.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, May 2009

In terms of the preferred operating system, 70.2% picked Windows Mobile, followed by Symbian which is 10.7%.  The most popular applications are High-speed internet connection, Video phone calls and High-speed MMS sending including video or audio.

Powered by China Polling Real Time Stats, May 2009

China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA is the most popular service providers in the survey (62.8%), followed by Unicom’s WCDMA (17.7%) and China Telecom’s CDMA2000 (15.3%).  This mainly du to major marketing efforts on the part of China Mobile to rolled out 3G, and it also demonstrates the brand popularity and loyalty achieved by China’s number one mobile service provider.

Number of Samples: 406
Data Capture Period: 2009.3.2 – 2009.5.19
China Polling conducts Omnibus Surveys on an ongoing basis to provide continuous tracking of consumer trends in China.  This innovative approach to tracking consumer behavior will allow companies looking to enter the China market to get the most up to date information about what’s hot and what’s not here in China.  All real-time datasets are available for purchase online.  Additional questions can be added into the Omnibus Survey and fielded at any time.

In our last report on young Chinese consumers (published in October, 2008) we see that the youth in China definitely want to have more gadgets in their lives.  In this installment we’ll find out what are their favorite brands and some of their spending habits?  With our year-round tracking studies we are able to pin point the purchase and spending behaviors of these consuming “maniacs.”

Recent study shows that Apple, Adidas, Nike and Lining are still the top ranked brands that youth in China love the most.  We will need to take Apple out of the equation since one of the incentives of participating in our survey is an Apple product.  So the number one brand for youth in China is Adidas and closely followed by Nike, which is no surprising since these two sporting good giants are fighting it out from shopping malls to shopping malls across China. More »

“Bottom fishing” maybe the most used “Keyword” in describing what’s happening to businesses such as the stock market and real estate, or even for the travel industry globally.  Looking for business opportunities among discount travelers is especially important ever since the start of the global economic crisis.  However, stimulated by deep discounts and the continuously falling foreign currency exchange rate, many Chinese consumers are considering this year to be a good time to travel abroad.  So, it might be a good idea for the travel industry to go trolling for high end travelers rather than using drift nets to fish for schools of sardines.  According to a recent World Tourism Report (released at the Berlin Tourism Fair), China’s outbound tourism business is actually expected to grow in 2009.

China Polling has conducted a nationwide online International Travel survey to try to understand what Chinese consumer travel plans are and what the outbound tourism travel will be like this year.  The 133 panelists surveyed since last quarter of 2008, 28.2% said they have traveled once in the last year, another 28% traveled twice and 27% have traveled more than twice last year.  Among all, 29% have visited foreign countries before and an overwhelming 96.4% plan to travel abroad in the future.
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With a huge yearly jump of 128.5% from 2007~ 2008 China’s online shopping has reached trade volume of RMB120 billion. Buying online has become one of the most preferred shopping channels for Chinese consumers. Cost and time savings plus conveniences and abundant product offerings has helped to convert regular offline shoppers to online.

What are consumers attitude toward online grocery shopping? China Polling’s recent online study on FMCG learned that only 2.5% of Internet consumers refused to shop groceries online, 60.6% of consumers either are frequent online buyers or willing to buy online in the future.

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The current global financial crisis is obviously a major concern for consumers around globe. While consumer spending and confidence remains low around the world especially the US market how do Chinese consumers react and what are their expectations for the future? A recent national survey done by China Polling shows that despite the global slowdown, consumers feel more optimistic compare to rest of the world.

When asked whether consumers believe China will weather the economic situation better or worse than rest of the world, 70.2% believe that China will be better off, while only 8.4% believe China will be worse off. The remaining 23.6% think China will go through some tough time the same as other countries. But, Chinese consumers feel quite confident about its local market. As we take a closer look at some comparisons around the country, results show that consumers in Beijing have the highest confidence level at 73.7% who believes that China will be better off and Shanghai consumers have the lowest confidence level with only 56.3% believe, with 18.8% believe that China would be worse off. Guangzhou and Shenzhen consumers are also feel much less confident. More »

Male cosmetics consumption has been on the rise in recent years with extremely strong growth in the area of skin and personal care products. With rising consciousness in attaining “The Look” Chinese consumers both men and women are spending more and “investing” in cosmetics so they can look and feel better. And for men, it’s really about using cosmetics to get ahead in their careers.

China Polling’s ongoing study on cosmetics have revealed that almost 99% of male consumers regularly use cosmetics, with Facial Cleanser, Body & Hair Care and Shaving Care being the most frequently used products.

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Chinese consumers increasingly turn to online search for high quality and useful health information to support their health care decisions. Consumers use the information they have searched to improve their health.

China Polling’s recent study revealed that almost 90% of Internet users search for health care information online. The top-search and most cared about medical information are Diet, Nutrition, Vitamins or Nutritional Supplements, followed by Exercises or Fitness related information. It’s obvious that people prefer information to improve or maintain their current health conditions more than solving any ailment or treatment for medical problems.

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Unlike many western countries that are experiencing economic slowdown in recent years, China’s retail market continues to expand. Much of this continued growth is contributed to the Chinese youth between the ages 15 to 28.

As a result of the one-child policy, the so called “First Generation” has become the major spending group in China. It’s common here in China to see parents and grandparents saving and pampering the only child in the family (that’s four grandparents to one child). Thus, making the youth of the country the most influential consumers with strong spending powers. Some have declared that to win in the retail market in China, “is to capture the hearts, minds and wallets of youth”.

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Understanding consumer preferences when it comes to buying a new mobile phones is definitely the million dollar (or billions of RMB) question for manufacturers here in China. Many have put lots of efforts into developing new designs and technology to meet the fast pace consumer demand for newer phones here. So coming up with the perfect phone is fierce competition here in China’s mobile phone market. In a recent national study conducted by ChinaPolling, consumers were asked questions regarding their purchase preferences for mobile phones including their purchase frequencies, types of mobile phone they want to purchase next and their budget. The stats show that the majority (36%) of the mobile phone owners would change their mobile phone within 1 year. When it comes to the actual time they would purchase their next phone, 36% of the consumers responded that they plan to purchase a new mobile phone within next 3 months.

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With 1 out of every 10 unlocked iPhones being used here in China, Apple’s “Wunderphone” inevitably become the hottest mobile device of last few months. Its revolutionary design is gaining tremendous popularity among the fashionable here in China.

China Polling has been fielding a Mobile Phone Omnibus survey for the last two months and is following the buying preferences of consumer for their next mobile phone purchases. Unsurprisingly, over 65% have heard of iPhone, and among this group, more than 85% are willing to actually buy an iPhone if it’s available here in China. Obviously, this number indicates a strong demand for the iPhone, but what are the “iPhonephiles” looking for when it comes to making a purchase decision? Findings show that Battery Life, Memory Size, Style/Design are the top features when picking aå phone for all consumers. The difference between iPhone lovers and the not yet converted is all about branding. The non iPhone lovers prefer Music and Camera features rather than being wooed and indoctrinated by the hip Apple brand equity.

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Step into any major electronics store in China and veritable teams of workers flock out of nowhere to move in for the kill. Nametags glint in the fluorescent lighting as employees shout news about their latest release and repeatedly ask the customer what he needs until he finally cracks under the pressure and surrenders his cash in exchange for an electronic device he wasn’t even sure he wanted. This phenomenon is not without cause: Chinese shoppers in electronic stores cited store personnel as the second most influential form of advertisement.

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Chinese women speak up about what they want more of during the holidays.

Number One: More reliable products

With another National Day just around the corner and Chinese New Years following soon after, we wanted to know what Chinese women wanted more of during the Chinese holidays.

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