With its recent reforms, Weibo is becoming more versatile in adapting to a myriad of digital marketing campaigns for luxury brands. Luxury brands accounts are key players leveraging their exposure on the popular platform, with a total of 55.67 million fans and 13.6 billion feeds created as of October, 2017. Here is why Weibo is an ideal promotional platform for luxury brands.

Influencers and tools that could fuel fan economy are readily available on Weibo, which many luxury brands are desperate to construct. While celebrities in the traditional sense maintain mass appeal, digital influencers, or KOLS, have built their followings by carefully curating content through much closer interaction with their fan base. The latter is key to better understand the interests and preferences of Chinese consumers. Weibo is hence an ideal channel for luxury brands to collect consumer feedback and introduce incentives to boost sales.

Weibo is considered an open platform for information sharing in the Chinese market, especially when it comes to raising public awareness in a short time. Known as a major promotion platform that contributes to higher interaction rates, statistics showed that around 53.5% of information about luxury brands are received on Weibo, in which younger women are found to be more receptive to advertisements and engagement activities from KOLs.

Weibo campaigns have proven their ability to yield great Return on Investment. According to a report by Bain, Chinese women’s most desired luxury label Chanel attributes its successful annual performance on a smart Weibo content strategy with a strong focus on its fragrances and brand culture. Gucci, which boosted their Weibo content strategy to raise brand awareness in China, yielded strong increase in sales for the first quarters of 2013, and a positive forecast for the year 2014.

Optimistic forecasts predict that in 2019, the mobile ad market will reach RMB 500 billion in scale, with Weibo as the key player. Let us know if you need help to rethink your digital marketing strategy in order to direct to the right audience.

For a Hong Kong brand, it can be difficult entering the China market due to major cultural differences between Mainland China and Hong Kong. These differences, ranging from language to legal systems, lead to distinct consumer behaviour in both markets. This explains why Hong Kong brands often have a hard time cracking into the Mainland China market.

Starting from 2017, New Digital Noise has been helping Prince Jewellery and Watch, one of our local clients, to gain presence in the Mainland market. With local teams in Hong Kong and Shanghai, we are able to devise separate social media and digital marketing strategies that fit respective markets.

Established in Hong Kong since 1984, Prince Jewellery and Watch is a renowned seller of prestigious brand-name timepieces and high jewellery. Focusing mainly on Facebook, the brand’s Hong Kong strategy is more lifestyle-driven, introducing the exquisite designs carried by the brand through topics inspired by day-to-day life.

It is crucial for Hong Kong brands to identify with mainland consumer tastes in order to tap into the market. And when it comes to luxury watches and jewellery, Prince’s target audience prefers practical information with no-nonsense. Our Shanghai team has curated a series of straightforward, product-driven content on Prince’s official Wechat account, most of them with readily-available pricing for followers.

Brands open up immense market opportunities via WeChat given its abounding users. As of September 2017, there was an average of 902 million logged in users daily and 797 million monthly active official account users. It is predicted that the number will only keep rising in 2018. Explore your opportunities and come chat with us if you wish to know more about digital marketing strategies tailored to the Mainland market.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is sparking off a new wave of disruption that comes at a skyrocketing pace — inventing new business models, reshaping industries, and building the impossible. As a forward-thinking business leader, how would you harness the change?

Cyberport’s Digital Entrepreneur Leadership Forum brought together inspiring minds on 1 February 2018, where they envisaged ways to embrace change in the new era of AI. Twelve key speakers from different sectors spoke to an audience of 450 about the practical implications of AI from technology, change management and investment perspectives.

NDN Group was one of the participating technopreneurs to showcase our innovative solutions at the Forum as well as sharing our views on the future of AI. AI, more specifically Chatbot applications, can help automate our businesses, driving cost down as well as improving productivity and efficiency of our business operations.

There is no lack of readily-available AI applications in the market, but none are viable unless fully-adapted to individual businesses’ existing processes. At NDN, we help corporate customised chatbots to solve problems and grow business.

Armed with AI machine-learning technology, we’ve integrated chatbots with the ability to process natural language. As AI progresses, chatbots will become more skilled in natural communication, emotional intelligence and data analysis.

With all the big data we are creating, improvements in algorithms will transform AI from a tool that the brightest companies use to gain a competitive advantage today to one that is required simply to survive in business. It’s time to embrace the change and unlock the full potential of AI technology for your business.

By now no brand would dismiss the power of a successful social media campaign in digital marketing. Being able to interact with users around the world instantly, the platform’s capacity to engage and influence consumers is beyond our imagination. With its far-reaching impact, a brand can be elevated or ruined in a matter of posts. Therefore, choosing the right social media partner is crucial to your social media success.

We are happy to announce KATE, a dynamic makeup brand under Kanebo Cosmetics Inc., has appointed New Digital Noise as their social media partner. We have since helped KATE devise social media strategies, oversee content creation and monitor daily operations of its different social media platforms.

To resonate with KATE’s younger audience, who use multimedia content online for tips and advice, we have debuted a series of step-by-step video guides on charming eye looks with the brand’s eye-shadow palette.

There’s no better way to create hype on social media than hosting a prized competition. And a competition that gets personal with followers further drives brand loyalty. We created a game for KATE where Facebook followers were to guess how many lipstick shades are in a featured photo, and to share which colour appeals to them most. Ten lucky winners were awarded a free lipstick. The game has reached over 17K people online and has an average of 8% engagement rate.

If you are looking for a new digital partner and are not afraid to try something new, please do not hesitate to drop us a line. We are more than happy to have a chat and hear your needs.

By now, cryptocurrency is not a stranger to the world. It has become one of the most polarising topics out there. Some see it as digital gold and to some, it’s fool’s gold. To help interested individuals understand what is cryptocurrency and the underlying Blockchain technology, NDNX Cowork Tech Hub, in partnership with Success Resources, brought Cryptocurrency Investor Summit to Hong Kong. On 28 January, over 600 people attended this full-day free summit.

NDN Group CEO Andy Ann was one of the speakers at the summit where he has shared his view on cryptocurrency and the potential of Blockchain. He stressed the need to understand two key points before fully understanding cryptocurrency.

First, Blockchain is the underlying technology of Bitcoin. It can support a wide range of applications and it is already being used for peer-to-peer payment services, supply chain tracking and more. Think accounting ledger that appears in the digital space. It is designed to store information in a way that makes it virtually impossible to change data without being detected by others. Therefore, it is tamper-proof. Today, a central authority like the government or bank verifies monetary transactions. Blockchain could replace these centralised systems with decentralised ones, where verification comes from the consensus of numerous users rather than one central authority. Any changes made on Blockchain are reflected across the entire network.

Second, one needs to grasp the genuine concept of money. Throughout history, we have used commodities like salt, cocoa, silver, gold, and in the modern economy, currency (i.e. banknotes, coins) as a medium of exchange so we don’t need to use the barter system. In fact, the banknotes we use today don’t have inherent value since it is considered as a medium of exchange. When you go to a shop and buy something, both you and the cashier agree that the banknote used, for example, a HK$100 note, represents a certain value.

You will ask, what dictates the value of a banknote? For centuries, currencies were tied to “gold standard”, meaning the value of banknotes depends on the government’s gold reserves and each can be swapped for the other. In 1931, Britain had dropped this tied and then the USA followed shortly because gold is scarce, and supply could not catch up. Nowadays, supply, demand, and faith in the government form the basis of currencies.

After the 2008 financial crisis, many don’t trust the centralised system (government, banks) anymore. In October 2008, a mysterious person who solely identify himself as Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper on “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. Few months later the first Bitcoin was launched.

Today there are over 1,000 types of cryptocurrency. People need to understand the fundamentals in order to adopt this new technology. Just like buying a home or vacation package, people need to understand and do research before they take action. It is just a matter of time, when cryptocurrency will reach mass adoption.

New technologies come and go, but the ones that stay derive from the following term: Globalisation. Take internet in the 1990s for example, no one really understands what it is, then internet traction started to roll, several internet bubbles formed and popped, but yet realised its power to bind everyone for speedy communication. By the late 2000s its services and technologies had been incorporated into virtually every aspect of human’s lives. Today we practically cannot live without it. E-commerce, Facebook, Uber, online banking, WeChat are all by-product of the internet.

The new wave for cryptocurrency is surging, and will no doubt further enhance globalisation by revolutionising speedy yet trustworthy transactions.

The economy is evolving and changing. The ubiquitous proliferation of technology and social networks in all aspects of our global village is having a clear impact on the world’s economy. Money is changing hands in new ways. Some of which are proving entirely different to track and measure than before. The new economy has many characteristics which distinguish it from its old version: innovative, explorative, but one trait seems to be defying it, collaborative. A light in the end of the tunnel may be shinning for those of us who dream of a reality of an economy focused on long-term goals instead of the old relentless push for endless growth without an explicit objective.

“Growth at all cost” is still in some part presented as the twisted solution to all problems, when in reality it is the exact cause of many of them. It undoubtedly leads to ecological destruction and inequality in allocation of increment in income. Even worse than that, it lacks any moral principles and its only purpose is “More”.

The old economic model was centralised. Brands which succeeded were the once which build channel distributions and strive to grow outward exponentially.

The manner of doing business was in large part based on the so-called net mentality. Companies would cast as wide a net as possible and make it reach as far as possible with the hope that they would catch as much metaphorical fish as possible. And that undoubtedly worked. But it worked at a time when the channels for outreach to potential clients were much more limited compared to 2018’s reality. Also, the consumer’s choices in business offering services and products are far greater today. Another difference is the extreme targeting of very specific niches which has never existed before. There are TV channels dedicated specifically to children, golfers, foodies, fishermen and many more.

Compared to back in the day when there were a handful of channels on TV on which to run ads. What about YouTube? It is comprised of literally millions of channels which could be used to advertise any imaginable business.

There is a clear distinction between new and old economy. But what are the actual main characteristic, meaning, and importance of the “new economy”? Mainstream media has left a lot to be desired in providing an extensive answer to this question.

We could with confidence call the new economy a “collaboration economy”. The philosophy of the new economy can be, albeit admittedly rather simplistically, summed up in the equation “1+1=3”.

It is all about connections and partnerships. Less emphasis is placed on competition and more of cooperation. It is about learning that coexisting is not detrimental to business, on the contrary, it can be beneficial.

At the core of every successful collaboration, you will find shared goals and values but also skills which complement and supplement each other. The new economic model is open to using this to its full advantage.

The new economy is also distinctly decentralised with different people or networks of people handling different parts of a unit. Companies no longer feel obliged to run their own department for each aspect of their business. They can co-curate with another company which offers a specific service. Thus a network of specific services comes together as a living puzzle.

Today’s winning companies all share a common focus on building communities, culture, and platforms.

Why? Because it multiplies networks, gives valuable insights and brings down research and development time.

What stands out most about this new economy is perhaps the fact that big corporations have a realistic opportunity of becoming the catalyst for change. The new economy is strongly characterized by an increased emphasis on delivering better quality and having an impact on consumers. Those businesses which are thriving in the new economic environment are the once who understand that the client wants goods and services which raise their overall quality of life. Consumers are informed, connected and inquisitive, with a tendency to begin putting their core values above creature comfort. They want to know how their purchase will optimise and improve them long-term. That is part of the reason why some giant companies are utilizing corporate social responsibility as a marketing tool.

For example, Procter & Gamble launched the first shampoo bottle manufactured out of partially recycled plastic waste collected from beaches around the world. The average consumer today cares about climate change and feels let down by the government when it comes to taking action against it. The new economy looks accommodating to a mutually beneficial symbiosis between corporations and consumers, big sales resulting in more environmentally friendly decisions being made in the manufacturing industry. The end goal of Procter and Gamble’s Head Shoulders Beach Plastics Bottle project is to reduce new plastic used for shampoo bottles by 1/4 by the end of 2018.

Other juggernauts to launch products from recycled materials include Addidas, Nike, Patagonia, G-star Raw Jeans and many more. Corona beer has promised to protect 100 islands from pollution by the year 2020. Of course, we are nowhere near home and dry yet, but at least there is a promising trend emerging.

This model of doing collaborative business could create the desired profitable circular and sustainable economy for future generations.

Another pillar for cooperation between businesses is the assertion of blockchain technology. The future of information is decentralised. The new economy is favoring blockchain technology for its agility of use and safety mechanism against malicious alteration of information.

How does the “new economy” mentality compare to the old one?

It used to be that employees were more than happy to have a stable job and it was not uncommon to spend your entire professional life with one employer. Hopping from company to company was frowned upon. Working hours were clearly outlined as was the distinction between work life and personal life and people left their job at their desk, rarely bringing it home with them.

The new encourages the opposite professional behavior in many ways. Employees are more than happy to change things up by switching companies when a better opportunity presents itself. The work day is enhanced with a ping pong game in the break room or pizza-lunch-brainstorming. Working hours get moved all over the place around in the span of a 168 hours work week, do it on a Sunday morning if you have to as long as it gets done.

In the old economy it helped if you knew the right people but in the new economy, it would be impossible to succeed if you don’t know them.

In the era of information explosion, social media content has to stand out in order to leave a lasting impression. There ought to be something extra to push forward your ideas and to appeal to the audience. When practically almost every digital marketing agency invites Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to promote new offerings, New Digital Noise believes more can be done to spark awareness for a new product.

When Subway launched their Meatball Sandwich, we initiated a campaign that is set to generate noise among young Hong Kongers — its core target audience. Our team approached JOOX, a popular music App in Hong Kong to co-curate a list of songs that evoke wild emotions for delicious food none other than Subway’s Meatball Sandwich. The playlist is supported by a feature article that celebrates foodie culture. It is estimated to secure 30,000 views on JOOX within three to four days.

Aiming for both mass awareness and conversions, we have also carefully selected an array of high-engagement KOLs such as WHIZOO to create word of mouth and targeted media channels such as Eat and Travel Weekly to boost awareness and build hype. By putting a fun and unexpected twist to social niche marketing, we help to amplify the brand’s tongue-in-cheek personality and reach out to young tastemakers in this particular market.

JOOX has long been streaming music to a loyal group of young audience. It supports a variety of formats of creative awareness campaigns, like watching video advertisements in exchange for VIP access and paid partnerships such as feature article, which was adopted as part of the Meatball Sandwich campaign. If you are not afraid to try something new, please do not hesitate to drop us a line. We are glad to help!

While jewellers with a strong global presence are highly sought after in China, localising the brand’s marketing campaign to suit local tastes takes great understanding and expertise. Starting from 2017, New Digital Noise has been helping India’s premium diamond jewellery house Nirav Modi to explore both Hong Kong and China markets with very different approaches.

The jeweller has launched the EMBRACE Collection, a series of versatile, innovative and playful diamond jewels with a unique patented stretch mechanism. Based on their distinct market mentality, consumption patterns and usage of digital devices, the Hong Kong campaign focuses on driving an emotional experience and showcasing the collection’s innovative design; while the China campaign stresses luxury and femininity.

We make use of Facebook in Hong Kong to create empathy and engagement through the theme of Embracing Every Moment. With the popularity of live stream mobile applications in China, Nirav Modi’s promotion includes video marketing on YI live streams, which could help building a loyal fan base and bringing brand awareness.

Image and text, videos, native and location ads were used in Wechat to target the Mainland Chinese fan base; while in Hong Kong, the Facebook advertisements feature a visually-appealing and intriguing carousel with tips on creating exciting moments in life to stimulate excitement and pleasure.

The Nirav Modi campaign is a rewarding experience for our team to exercise our understanding of the ever-changing consumer landscapes in both Hong Kong and China markets. Feel free to contact us if you want to know more.

Since the launch of WeChat a little less than seven years ago, Weibo has been fighting a tough fight for users and exposure. But towards the end of 2017, the Chinese social media giant regained momentum and won back the hearts of users in the fast-evolving internet ecosystem. Optimistic figures of performance were recorded in the third quarter last year, with monthly active users amounted to 376 million, 27% more than the same quarter in 2016. The success of Weibo as a full-service digital ecosystem is by no means accidental.

Cao Zeng-hui, vice president of Weibo, attributed the achievement to the efforts Weibo put in video content, vertical segments and multi-channel networks (MCNs).

Videos

Riding on the explosive growth of short-form online videos in China, Weibo has strategically steered its content towards this multimedia format, fostering a staggering 175% consumption growth compared to the same quarter in 2016. Working closely with large television channels and content producers, including sports leagues like the NBA and NFL to keep its short videos topical and refined, the micro-blogging site also launched features such as Slideshow (光影秀) and Weibo Story (微博故事) in the first quarter last year to encourage user-generated content.

Weibo is the primary platform of abounding key opinion leaders (KOL), where they post videos and live video streams. Monetisation methods, paid content, advertising, and e-commerce has been rolled out to boost quality content creation.¹ Through these Chinese celebrities, Weibo is able to reach out to millions of fans, making it an ideal platform to build brand influence. According to Wang Gao-fei, CEO of Weibo, advertisers have made their move to shift ad budgets to video ads.¹ Ultimately, the company expects video to replace photos as the preferred visual medium for social sharing.²

Content Verticalisation

Weibo has been actively creating the presence of 55 vertical content segments, covering food, fashion, sports, pets, education and more. It instigates key opinion leaders and multi-channel networks to create in-depth, specialised content for that particular segment, thus allowing each segment to build stronger user loyalty and cultivate better endorsements. Critics described this business model as one that coupled top content creators and e-commerce to generate impressive growth in revenues.

Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs)

As of November 2017, Weibo has collaborated with more than 1,200 multi-channel networks, offering them programming, funding, cross-promotion, audience development and other services to support their growth. MCNs are the reasons for Weibo’s expanding video database. A key player in Weibo’s efforts in content verticalisation, MCNs like papitube, Pear Video and Beauty Q partner with top content creators to create premium, content-rich materials for Weibo users that presents avenues to improved engagement.²

As a result of its strategic planning, Weibo is able to strike back and rebuild a presence in China’s competitive social media landscape. And its marketing potential to help your brand gain a foothold in the China market is not to be underestimated. Feel free to chat with us if there is anything we can help!

 

References:

1)http://technode.com/2017/02/23/video-saves-weibo-from-two-year-decline-best-year-2016-sina

²⁾ https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/29/3-quotes-that-tell-weibos-growth-story.aspx

³⁾ 微博用户发展报告

Are you wondering how social media marketing will change this year? Need some fresh ideas? This article might be able to help.

#1: Instagram

If you still haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, you really should. It is a good way to get brand awareness and grow followers. Across the globe, there are over 800 million Instagrammers — more than 500 million of whom use Instagram every single day, sharing more than 250 million pieces of content each day. If you have a good image and use the right hashtag, you will draw much attention and attract the people you want.

If you compare to Facebook, Instagram is still relatively cheaper to grow followers. We think that 2018 might be the last year where the overall cost to grow followers is still low.

#2: Facebook

Facebook is a good way to build community, but if your Facebook strategy is to chase Like, it is the wrong approach. What makes a page successful and keep attracting viewers is the quality of your content and its context. If they like your content, they will come back. Likes are expensive. It costs an average of HK$30 per Like.

Facebook is for mature audience, at least in Hong Kong. The average age of Facebook user is 35. People at this age or older refrain from Liking posts, while still logging in every day to see what is going on with their friends or see what their favourite brands are promoting. You will be wasting your effort chasing Likes when your target audience doesn’t like to leave trails on social media.

#3: Media Personalities

Call them KOLs, influencers or media personalities. If you don’t already know them, you should.

Akina Fong 方健儀 you will recognise her from TVB evening news a few years back. Akina is a very experienced journalist who worked for RTHK and TVB News. After six years with TVB News, she became the Senior Information Officer, News at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Now she does various freelance projects, ranging from event MC, writing column articles and creating online content with different media and brands. She is such a versatile personality that she can switch topics from geopolitics to lifestyle. Brands love to work with her because of her journalism background and professionalism.

Pomato 小薯茄 produces numerous funny short videos. They are a team of four who graduated from film studies and decided to set up their own production company. The four of them are usually the key characters in their videos, think early days James Corden, but younger with high local relevance. They have over 57,000 followers on Facebook.

WHIZOO has over 110,000 followers on Facebook. They are a media brand on Facebook; think the early days of 100毛, but more lifestyle-focused and without print. Every Friday night they do a one-hour Facebook Live show discussing different topics that are very relatable to the audience in their 20’s.

#4: Live Broadcast on Social Media

People love to go to live concerts or theatres. If tickets sold out or you cannot be there physically, would you be willing to pay to watch live broadcast online? We see that monetising live online broadcast or Facebook Live will be something entertainment sector might develop. Instead of watching for free, viewers will have to pay a fee, register or play a quick game so brands can build their database further, another way to connect with the target market.

#5: Payment Application

Small online stores that operate on Facebook or Instagram will find new payment applications like HSBC’s PayMe very useful. PayMe is designed for HSBC customers to pay their friends swiftly and hassle-free. Facebook has always wanted to launch a payment system but till now it is not available. Setting up online payment with credit card companies is not cheap. PayMe is easy to use and it can transfer money to different banks and most credit cards, it has potential to be big. If popularity continues to grow, HSBC can monetise it through placing ads in the application. PayMe is an application worth paying attention to since many bank with HSBC in Hong Kong.