From the category archives:

Insights

Levi’s; So you think you can “blog”?

10.28.2009 Insights
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It is of no surprise brands and companies are struggling to find alternative and cost-effective ways to sell, survive and possibly stand out in the over-crowded world wide web. So, given this is the era for blogging – it’s no surprise many brands are fast jumping into this space. It just seems to be there [...]

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Big Ideas vs. Small Ideas; Forest vs. Trees.

09.15.2009 Insights
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I recently spotted a great article on Razorfish‘s blog titled: “Does SIM mean big ideas matter less?”.  I thought this was interesting until I realized the underlying duality of the question was inappropriate. Dualism, or “black vs. white” is never really the way to go; its always a compromise is it not? We may maintain [...]

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China Ghetto-Level eCommerce.

09.13.2009 Insights
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Here’s something I spotted over the weekend; the series of pics looks like a woman purchasing DVDs; but upon closer inspection I realized it was China ecommerce in action, albeit on a ghetto-level and dealing with “illegal” pirated Nintendo Wii, Xbox360, and PS3 games. So what we see in this series of shots is a [...]

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Where are the opportunities in China’s E-commerce landscape?

09.13.2009 Insights

How many of you shop on Taobao? If you’re Chinese I apologize for asking such a stupid question. How about this one: How many of you could name the top 5 E-Commerce sites in China? Now think. You have time so don’t hurry. If you cannot name more than three you wouldn’t be alone – [...]

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Advertisers becoming more agressive, so what is the ideal relationship?

09.11.2009 Insights

It’s incredible the lengths advertisers are now going to capture the consumers attention. The digital space is becoming increasingly more aggressive and less tactful. Marketers are now oozing desperation; and with major portals crowded it’s a challenge for the ‘traditional thinkers’ to capture the consumers attention. The result ‘KIDNAP’ the screen. It makes sense right? [...]

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Prying Open Chinese Wallets.

09.08.2009 Insights
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I was sent an article today from the author of buzzandthecity; it was a link to a FT article titled “China Goes Shopping” wherein Chinese are described as “penny pinching, ruthless, suspicious shoppers”. One key excerpt from the article caught my eye: “Even when they can easily afford it, buying a PC typically involves six [...]

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Social Media promotes generation ‘ME’

09.06.2009 China Consumer Profile
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This is an excerpt from an article on our sister site ZeroDegrees. I wasn’t surprised to learn that the bulk of Social Media evangelists consider the space as a way to promote themselves.  Nothing wrong with promoting yourself – I mean we can’t all have a ‘Don King’ like character doing our talking for us. [...]

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The Meta-Reality of China Advertising.

08.04.2009 Insights
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About a month ago, I presented my general thoughts and impression on advertising in China at NextStep @ The Factory. This post is a recreation of that 20 minute presentation; I’ll cover the point of branding, how it applies to China advertising, and case studies that show these ideas in action. Connecting on an emotional [...]

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Shanghai World Expo 2010, will they really come?

08.03.2009 Insights

So the big question I’m getting asked more and more now is ‘Will the Chinese go to the Shanghai World Expo 2010?’ but the real question is ‘Do the real Chinese actually care about it? Fortunately the powers to be do – they have a lot on the line from an international standpoint. It is [...]

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missniuniu case study; Building traffic through China’s social networks.

07.13.2009 Insights
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Say hello to our little friend. Building traffic/leads to your business is tricky. Especially so in China where many of the medium are either too broadly targeted, too expensive, or simply faked numbers. So here’s the logic: A quick rundown of your options looks something like this: PRINT: Magazines will cost you about RMB 20k – [...]

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How to unblock your website in China.

07.05.2009 Insights
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Recently a few posts popped up about websites being blocked in China at cnreviews and peking duck. Littleredbook, and other sites I run, have been blocked a few times before; to remedy this, I figured out how to unblock using a simple trick.  Now whether this works for you or not, I’m not sure – [...]

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Marketing to China’s 4th-6th Tier Cities.

06.30.2009 Insights

A recent report from Ogilvy titled “China Beyond” uncovers quite a few interesting findings on China’s 4th – 6th tier rural cities. Data cover a wide range of insights and business strategies for marketing to China’s lower tiers. The book cover is interesting as well – newspaper is often used as wallpaper in China’s rural cities; [...]

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“Sichuan Earthquake Coke Boy”; Profit motivated generosity sparks controversy.

06.18.2009 China Modern Culture

A recent post at Chinasmack features a young boy who received a free college education from Coke. Named “Earthquake Coke Boy” by netizens, Xue Xiao became famous when after being rescued from the SiChuan earthquake, the first words he muttered through the pain was “Uncle, please give me an ice cold Coke.” Now this is [...]

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