#5 The Value of Targeting Overseas Chinese with Vera Wang

09/04/19 • 34 min

Welcome back to the only podcast to ask: China, WTF?! What’s The Future?

Arnold Ma, founder of Chinese creative agency Qumin https://qumin.co.uk/, gets to the bottom of what tomorrow may look like, globally, by dissecting China's today. The podcast focuses on Chinese tech disrupters, people and cultures.

In this episode, we shine a light on the millions of Chinese people living overseas and highlight their value to Western brands. We invited Vera Wang to share her own experience of living abroad and working with Western brands.

With a million followers across social media, Vera Wang aka WG Empire is a famous Chinese Influencer living in NYC. Aside from being nominated the first Chinese blogger in the US, she created her own public relations company ‘WG Empire’ and recently launched ‘Verified’, a brand that showcases Chinese designers to the world. Her goal is in line with Qumin’s: Connect China and the West.

Topics include:

00:36 Vera’s move from China to New York and her journey as the first Chinese blogger in America

02:28 Being a Chinese blogger in 2012 (Qumin was founded at the same time)

04:10 Bloggers are ‘free’ brand consultants

06:15 Chinese people in China value the authentic stories provided by Chinese bloggers abroad

10:00 How brands can ‘dip their toes first’ before they go into China

11:33 Three key myths about (overseas) Chinese consumers: they care about lanterns, dragons and red envelopes, they don’t use Instagram or YouTube, they only notice marketing that’s in Chinese

15:50 The need for different marketing strategies for Chinese people in and overseas Chinese

17:07 Why on the ground teams are essential when marketing to Chinese people in China

23:55 The creative industry in the West vs technology innovation and service design in China

26:48 Brands can be more experimental with overseas Chinese, as they are more open to different beauty standards

27:26 Although Chinese people are still very traditional culturally, China isn’t behind – it’s just different, and changing rapidly

28:13 Brands should tap into existing cultural tensions

29:57 More people are going back home to China and becoming advocates

31:27 Being Chinese is a USP for Chinese bloggers overseas

If you like this episode, hit subscribe for more and follow 'Qumin' on LinkedIn for the latest updates.

You can also watch the show on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSCZyPj532E&feature=youtu.be

Welcome back to the only podcast to ask: China, WTF?! What’s The Future?

Topics include:

00:36 Vera’s move from China to New York and her journey as the first Chinese blogger in America

02:28 Being a Chinese blogger in 2012 (Qumin was founded at the same time)

04:10 Bloggers are ‘free’ brand consultants

06:15 Chinese people in China value the authentic stories provided by Chinese bloggers abroad

10:00 How brands can ‘dip their toes first’ before they go into China

15:50 The need for different marketing strategies for Chinese people in and overseas Chinese

17:07 Why on the ground teams are essential when marketing to Chinese people in China

23:55 The creative industry in the West vs technology innovation and service design in China

26:48 Brands can be more experimental with overseas Chinese, as they are more open to different beauty standards

27:26 Although Chinese people are still very traditional culturally, China isn’t behind – it’s just different, and changing rapidly

28:13 Brands should tap into existing cultural tensions

29:57 More people are going back home to China and becoming advocates

31:27 Being Chinese is a USP for Chinese bloggers overseas

If you like this episode, hit subscribe for more and follow 'Qumin' on LinkedIn for the latest updates.

You can also watch the show on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSCZyPj532E&feature=youtu.be

Previous Episode

#4 A Day on Chinese Platforms

Welcome back to the only podcast to ask: China, WTF?! What’s The Future?

Arnold Ma, founder of Chinese creative agency Qumin https://qumin.co.uk/, gets to the bottom of what tomorrow may look like, globally, by dissecting China's today. The podcast focuses on Chinese tech disrupters, people and cultures.

For Episode 4 Qumin take a journey through time and replace the magic carpet with a phone. Arnold, Sam and Louisa whizz through 24 hours on both a UK and a Chinese phone and pinpoint differences and similarities. They look at user behaviours and habits, as well as the platforms these manifest on.

Sam Phillips is Qumin’s Account Director who looks after all the global brands, while Louisa Loehrig takes care of Qumin's marketing.

Topics include:

3:37 The Chinese Dream vs ‘Generation sensible’

6:15 Why mobile apps are so powerful in China

9:30 Mornings in the UK vs in China

12:34 ‘Jinri Toutiao’, Bytedance’s hyper-powered news platform

13:19 How WeChat replaced email: The convergence of professional and social spheres

16:03 How AI algorithms and interest-driven content feeds cater to heightened user expectations

19:01 The commute to work: transport, in-transit entertainment and breakfast

20:42 Omnipresent signal: zero downtime in China

23:41 What the fierce competition between Chinese corporations (e.g. Alibaba vs Tencent) means for consumers

33:01 The biggest difference between Western and Chinese platforms: Social operating systems

34:01 ‘Digital self’: Profiles and online identities in China vs in the West

35:27 The importance of desktop in the UK

37:21 Work in the West is doable without a phone, but in China: no phone/no WeChat, no business

40:50 The Chinese favour culture

42:07 Red envelopes and social currencies connect life and work on WeChat

45:29 Ordering a takeaway for lunch in China: Cheap, quick, convenient services enabled through manpower

47:01 Saving time and convenience are key with mobile service design in China

48:24 The importance of food in China

53:01 The death of TV in China and the rise of mobile short form videos

56:50 China’s content marketing is a preview of the future

If you like this episode, hit subscribe for more and follow 'Qumin' on LinkedIn for the latest updates.
You can also watch the show on YouTube: https://youtu.be/avrSGAjOVlw

Next Episode

#6 Deepdive into Douyin, TikTok's hyperdeveloped Chinese twin

Welcome back to the only podcast to ask: China, WTF?! What’s The Future?

In this episode, we chat about Douyin, China’s hyper-developed TikTok twin. It is no secret that short-form video is taking over the world and that brands need to jump on the social train, so now is the right time to be looking at Douyin when you’re thinking about China marketing.

Although Douyin and TikTok are owned by the same Chinese giant Bytedance, they are rather different in many ways. We touch on the different features and focus, as usual, on the people that use Douyin, their user behaviour and how that influences the content on the platform. Of course, brand strategies and monetisation models are also introduced.

Here are some time stamps for reference:

02:00 Differences between TikTok and Douyin
03:10 The figures on short form video in China
04:28 Douyin’s AI and interest-driven content feed
07:24 China’s other popular short video platforms (Kuaishou, Xigua, Huoshan, etc.)
08:19 Kuaishou and the competition between Tencent (WeChat) and Bytedance
10:49 Difference in content and users on Douyin and TikTok
14:13 User motivations (‘Uses Gratification Theory’) and clever ‘undercover’ adverts
16:34 Seamless E-commerce on Douyin: ‘see now buy now’
19:02 The future of social media: combining the best part of social media and the best part of e-commerce
19:46 Influencers / ’content creators’ on Douyin and how to work with them
21:49 Meritocracy and the global influencer movement from lifestyle and commentators to talent and creators (led by Douyin)
25:26 The importance of Douyin search, trends and rankings
27:37 Paid media and monetization of platforms in the West vs China
29:11 Brand accounts and stores on Douyin (low barrier to entry)
31:02 Myths and huge missed opportunities: You needn’t focus on WeChat and Weibo and pay to play - Douyin is a good platform to gain organic traction
34:09 What’s the future?! Influencer fraud and click farms, platform competition and innovation
If you like this episode, follow us/subscribe for more. You can also watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QNcRZIJvFTc
Feel free to contact us on [email protected] with comments, thoughts and suggestions.
The next episode will be on wealthy Chinese consumers!