Looking Ahead to the Digital Future in China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 11, 2012 -- Chinese Social Media; the hottest marketing tool in China.

Chinese Social Media sites; Weibo, Renren, have thrust China marketing light years ahead, to the point where Weibo is now the default on line marketing tool in China. China Social Media builds a close relationship with customers, relating to their needs and wants in real time.

When you stop to realise that Confucianism is the corner stone of Chinese culture which stresses social harmony and relationships it is easy to see why Chinese buyers are already predisposed or conditioned to this type of marketing.

Digital; The NEW Revolution China
Chinese are early adopters, readily accept new technology which is comparatively cheaper here and have a staggering number of on line users
Even smaller, poorer remote villages are "connected", via a PC [most likely a Mac!] Laptop, Smart Phone or Tablet.
China has one of the globes most modern Internet systems, albeit grossly overloaded at peak times and subject to certain controls.

Look around any bus, train, subway, taxi, street, coffee shop, you will see Chinese people, across the age spectrum totally immersed in their Smart Phone or Tablet.
Whether reading news, playing games, shopping or QQ, China's extremely popular version of ICQ chat that provides entertainment, romance, news and advertising this opportunity rich platform is an indispensable way to reach customers in China.

From high school students chatting, to office workers playing games to relax their mind to white haired grannies checking their stocks, China is addicted to E technology.

Everywhere you turn an LCD screen is "in yer face" from small 15 * 20 cm built into the back seat of taxis or domestic aircraft, larger units in buses, trains, public building foyers and lifts, shopping malls, supermarkets, banks, subway and train stations, airports and huge mega pixel monsters atop buildings or around places of public gathering. All with one purpose, to inform! THERE IS NO ESCAPE!
For as long as I can remember, restaurants, tea shops and others have had multi TV's strategically positioned carrying entertainment and marketing material. The TV screen and China are synonymous.

At the end of November 2011 China had 505, 000,000 Internet users,.... and counting.
While maybe not new in US and Europe, Chinese Groupon has exploded in popularity, the success driving it into a huge range of sectors. Such is the leverage a rather large population with cash can bring to bear on the market..

Shoppers can now chose from a vast range of goods and services, especially luxury goods, from clothing, toys, skincare, restaurants with sometimes as much as 50+% less than advertised price.
It remains to be seen just how far this will cut into China marketing.

On line shopping is becoming one of the top mediums in China retailing, especially foreign branded or sourced products, partly from natural human desire to "stand out" and partly from a lack of trust in domestic products. This is driving the development of LBS, Location Based Services.

Used largely in the west for weather forecasting, traffic conditions and "public' announcements, retailers such as Starbucks are driving it into mainstream marketing in China, combining on line with in-store.

And with every application the marketers are there, QQ shop, QQ this, QQ that, even QQ currency, at every turn an E-marketing message is there, somewhere on the screen.
Chinese are also avid computer game players, a fact exploited by companies such as VW who use the Weibo [the Chinese Social Media = to Twitter] format to draw fans to their site via games, competitions, on line "holidays" or test drives.

Back to the Future
So what lies ahead?

With just a few weeks left until the start of the Chinese New Year, the year of the Dragon, lets make some predictions.

We expect that by 2015 on line shopping will be the norm in China revolutionising marketing. It already has a very strong following from E commerce stores on Taobao but a relative new comer, 360 buy is now the hottest new favourite.
We expect this to spread to mainstream retailing and the taken up by the large hypermarkets such as Carrefour who are already testing the waters.

New generation devices will become multi functional and indispensable.

Currently in Beijing and other cities, bus and subway commuters can use their mobile device to activate the ticket stile on buses and subways eliminating the need to carry a plastic travel pass.
Future devices will incorporate personal data such as passports, electronic keys for cars, offices and home, replacing plastic bank cards and cash. Book and pay for travel, movie tickets, hotels, meals, practically everything via a mobile device and bluetooth.

More and more businesses will incorporate "reward based" games into their Social Media sites to keep customers engaged and loyal. Combining on line experience with actual in store presence shoppers will be able to play on line for prizes or tokens which can be redeemed either in store or virtual shopping.

Location based services [LBS] will explode further blurring the edges between reality and virtual.

3D TV is due to roll out in China in 2012 which will likely see the closing of the gap between mobile devices and TV.
TV may become more dynamic interactive rather than the passive media it is now. Expect to be able to access your Social Media via you PC, mobile of TV. An integrated multi media hub centred around one device.
Government have indicated an overhaul and improvement in the speed of Chinese Internet beginning in 2012.

Voice recognition and translation software will improve and become a cost effective solution to the point where today's touch pads are redundant. It will be possible to speak in your language to a client with another language through either your TV, laptop of mobile device and have her hear and fully understand in her language via her wireless head set using either a blue tooth or wireless connection.

We are reluctant to predict the "paperless society" the PC was supposed to have done that decades ago, but we do expect more magazines and new-sheets to be viewable on a smart device and maybe, fewer hard copies printed?
We may see China take the lead here as in the last 4 or 5 years there has been an awakening of the dangers from environmental damage and pollution, driven by China's army of outspoken micro bloggers.

As recently as New Year 2012 the Chinese government has agreed to monitor and release data on the less than 20 microns of "matter" in Beijing s air, resulting directly from Chinese bloggers discontent and pressure.
The GREEN movement is still in its infancy here, but given the recent problems and health scares, if it is going to get traction, China will be the place.

However, we expect that governments, globally, not just in China, will become more wary of the ease which information can be transmitted and used via Social Media and new smart devices and we can expect to see a tightening of regulations and greater controls over Social Media and the Internet generally.

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