From the strategy developing perspective

1. In-depth review of the brand’s past strategy and its performance. Identify what’s done good, what needs improvement, if there was any missed out opportunities, etc.

2. Set up clear goals and outcomes for 2022

3. Divide the journey into different phases. It’s good to promptly understand the market feedback for further actions as China is a very dynamic and quick changing market.

4. Keep close attention to the market trends, policies, consumer trends, etc.

5. Learn from the industry best practices.

6. Make regular review sessions of the directions, the outcomes, and the performance to be on-point.

From the business mindset perspective

Be patient and be fully prepared, there’s no quick win in China and success takes time and smart investments.

When it comes to market research methodology, there are so many to talk about. We usually base on project goals and objectives to choose the suitable methodologies for research. Let’s take a real case as an example.

Project background:
The client would like to understand the opportunities and risks of establishing an official brand presence on a mainstream social media platform, due to the brand having encountered a severe public crisis and a lot of negative voices on that platform in the past. 

• The main methodologies we use:

• • Firstly, we use primary research to analyze the existing brand’s official social media presence and performance in China, also benchmarking with the competitors to see where the gaps and opportunities are.
  • We also use social media listening to identify the share of voice, the users sentiment and attitude, the topics, the trends, the potential risks, etc.

• The outcome:

We help the client determine that the influence from the public crisis was decreasing, and that the brand was no longer a target, but instead a background. Compared with the industry best-practices, it’s of great importance for the brand to also establish a two-way communication with the audience. Based on these results, we developed an account strategy for the client.

• Industry trends, opportunities, challenges
• Industries best practices / their key to success
• How to develop social media marketing strategy
• How to identify the target audience

Blindbox X Archaeology

• An interesting phenomenon this year is that Chinese museums have also joined the ranks of blind box players. In the first hour of Double 11 this year, the sales of 8 museums more than doubled year-on-year. The five major museums including Sanxingdui and Gansu Provincial Museum, also co-branded for the first time to gather creative ideas from various collections and renewed a limited edition co-branded archaeological blind box.
• The archaeological blind box is on the other side of the trend when it comes to young consumers, this trend sensitively notices and caters to the interest of the spiritual world from young people.

I’m working on several Chinese digital marketing strategy projects for various international brands. I understand the most updated trends and the logic behind the case studies through my daily work and through more than 5 years as a participant and observer on major Chinese social media apps like WeChat, Weibo, Red, Bilibili and Douyin as they evolved into the platforms they are today.

I’m from Mainland China and I deeply understand your audience. I know Chinese consumers, young people in China and I know how China’s social media ecosystem works. I’ve been helping international brands develop marketing strategies. I listen closely and do my research to understand what each brand wants and needs.

The training curriculum is customized based on your desired learning outcomes and your existing knowledge of particular topics. I prepare my training after getting an initial understanding of the outcomes you’re looking for and your pain points. Then I incorporate industry trends and best practices. You can make adjustments to it after I send the outline for your review. Essentially, you have your say in selecting the kind of content you and your team will receive at the training session.

Before the training begins, we’ll discuss the training and I’ll also send you a digital form to fill out. with your company background, your team’s profile, your previous experience with China digital marketing, the topics you’re interested in, your pain points and the outcomes that you’re looking for. That’s it. If you have any materials that you think would be helpful for us to use as a reference, you’re welcome to send them along.