Instead of writing my thoughts early on, I’ve taken a step back to talk to people, absorb the reality of the situation and really begin to see the issue from a consumer point of view. I believe statistics are only good for discussion as the real feeling can only be obtained from observations of daily life.

Here are some examples I have gotten throughout my last 10 months of findings. The opening of a 7th floor Barbie boutique. I never knew Barbie has so much stuffs in there and it’s amazing to just be awed by their product range. At the height of financial crisis, they opened their doors in Shanghai and to my surprise, the place was packed with people and everyone within 100 meters of this store carried the bold and beautiful pinky Barbie signature bag. I was truly stunned by the fact an item of luxury like dolls can be a centre of attraction during times when the whole world is looking at cutback, downtrend, recession as keywords in daily lives. One thing to note is there were a lot of discussions in regards to this store on BBS and BLOGs before it’s opened that has driven its hype.

A very interesting example was when I was having a quick discussion with an associate on why cars are selling so well in China while the rest of the world is literally trying to dump their stock with the most ridiculous offers, his reply almost has me chocked on my food. According to him, “If I can’t buy stocks or bonds because it’s volatile and the apartments price is not going down … what can I do with the money I have ? I change a car to upgrade my life. Simple as that. Just remember Chinese like us has the habit of saving money and pays with cash unlike the western world who lives on credit … this is the reason why we can still survive the financial crisis.”

While the examples I provide might be skewed towards isolated cases because manufacturing for export has definitely taken a bigger hit in China and I will not deny that most of the people I speak to represent the above average middle class income.

Nevertheless, one thought has been consistent - Marketers in China are looking for innovative ways to reach out to consumer. ROI, measurement and delivering results has been topic of discussion I’ve been involved for the last 6 months. And I think it’s great because digital today is seen as a possible outlet to shave marketing yuans but still deliver the business results that marketers so wanted. The pressure is ON to China to perform and EVERY single global brand wants a strong year in China. No doubt I feel for every marketers here are trying to explore all the opportunities and as such, digital has become the conversations of not mere pageviews or unique visitors but how it can be a business driver.

For some, you will begin to question the strategy, the endless focus groups you’ve done in various provinces was actually accurate. Its like witchhunt and I have no doubt you will find flaws in every facet of your campaign. Then again, wouldn’t prevention be better than cure.

I have a very interesting methodology. Work bottom up, literally. So, how does that work …

1. What are our measurement metrics for this campaign ? We would identify the type of measurements we need to have the basis of setting the results right. For example, if our measurement is about how many people registered for a free trial, then we need to setup our entire tracking that leads people to registering for a free trial. In this part, you have put your measurement and tracking in place.

2. Content pillars - What type of content or hooks I need to have both rationally and non-rationally to get these consumer to be interested in actually thinking about registering. This way, I can easily map that perhaps in this case, the rational point is it’s easy to get a free trial, no commitment and on the emotional equation, it might be necessary to see how beautiful, sexy or even cool they can become by trying out the product. Well, you’ve just identified all the content matrix that would be relevant to help drive your consumer to register for a free trial

3. Channels - Look at the content (rational and emotional) and see whether you can amplify those in different digital channels. You can then investigate mobile, kiosk, ARG, UGC, social network, etc. to see relevance. Finalise a shortlist of channels that would be used and what pillars will be represented in each of those pillars.

4. Creative Idea - You must be wondering how to bring this to life. More time, agencies tend to focus on the execution without prior thinking of the idea. Its not wrong for them to do it that way. The only problem is the result of the campaign is it has no life, no excitement and more importantly, no involvement. In this area, that’s where magic happens. Knowing well that we need to measure registration, have all the content to drive them to it emotionally and rationally, we need a real magic wand to solidify the focus. A core idea is always important because it focuses the consumer on only one single thing.

5. Consumer Insights - Now that you have the above three items mapped, you need to qualify it with consumer insights to see its relevance. Have unaided consumer research (qual and quan) to see whether your consumer are finding the whole creative idea or pillars resonate with them.

6. You’re almost reaching the end of the campaign - Requalify your business, marketing and communication objectives. This is probably the final checklist on whether the campaign is meeting all these areas

There you have it. A succinct and concise way to have a singleminded focus on a great campaign that deliver the results you’re envisioning. Now, go reward yourself with a glass of wine.

Technorati Tags: digital campaign creative idea plan planning how

At the moment, mobile marketing is not on every marketing plans purely because marketers still believe is mass marketing. I can see the shift beginning now because media inflation (up till 70%) has left a lot of marketers with no choice but to explore other medium. The most prominent medium is probably digital but there’s also a slow but steady stream of drive towards mobile marketing. A very good case was Tribal DDB’s mobile digital coupon for McDonald’s - the ability to make mobile a sales driver rather than just informational has not only helped reduce printing fees, but also spread the distribution opportunity. If agencies like us can continue to think of great mobile ideas that helped conversions, I’m quite certain that it will play a rather critical role to clients’ marketing plan.

Chinese consumer uses mobile a lot - short messaging, voice and data. Most of their news are read via mobile wap sites from renowned portals like Sina. They send a lot of sms and are very prone to receive spam smses. This has created a general dislike for spamming and marketers who know their grain better would not go down this route. Most of the campaigns on mobile are based on consumers selecting to opt-in, wanting the information because it offers value, delight or curiosity.

There’s still a lot to learn about mobile marketing in China but as the market continue to mature, I can see clearly mobile is a very useful medium in a country this size. Another case is Tier 5 cities - there are no broadband or sometimes electricity in farm lands. The only communication available is mobile and their usefulness can be a big help to famers. Imagine farmers can check the value of their crops through GPRS and thus avoiding the middle man accepting their goods at a lower value. As the matrix become more complicated when we move to other cities, we can clearly see that mobile has a bright future in being relevant not only from a voice channel but also as a great information provider.

I will be one who advocate that mobile would be a strong contender in the coming years as a channel that marketers will not forget in their marketing plans.

To start off, perhaps it’s important to understand the other categories like Bought Media and Owned Media. Bought Media is simply the money you spent on media buying like TV, print, online banners or even paid search. Of course, this is the most traditional approach to advertising and reaching out to consumer - a tried and tested method that has reached a point now that there are so many tools available by media specialists that promise to target your consumer with the accuracy of a F-16.

We also have another form of media, which is called Owned Media. The difference is this media is directly owned by the brand itself like your store, your kiosk, your website or even collaterals like pens, pencils, notebooks. The biggest opportunity for you to drive marketing messages in your own media lies in your website and also your retail store (if you’re a retailer). This media is totally within your control and it’s key you put as much energy into making it well here as well.

Finally, the topic I would like to passionately discuss is Earned Media. It’s not easy to gain earned media but the ROI on it is phenomenal. Earned Media is basically an uninitiated (most of the time) discussions on your brand - it could be within user generated content, social media network, conversations over lunch or dinner with friends, virals and any word of mouth.

In a society or especially China where social networking is extremely strong, Earned Media can be gained if marketers understand how to smartly be relevant in the realm. I’ve seen too many brands trying to be a social network, creating applications and trying to use a traditional Bought Media approach to social media. While Bought Media offers an entertainment and informational value to a consumer, Earned Media needs to be relevant to context and scenario.

Consumer will engage with brands that can stay relevant with them within the social network space but will immediately drop those who try to hard sell themselves into the network.

A marketer once asked me, “Jit, how do I justify spending marketing dollars into social network when I can’t shout too loud about my brand, can’t put big promotion and worried about the outcome (+/-)”.

This is an interesting question that I told him that I will answer it in my BLOG. Here you go, social network is a like DNA double helix. It’s tight, linked to each other and together can be extremely powerful. To shape social network its not about creating loud promotional messages but to create relevant topics that people are keen to discuss. If they decide to pick on your topic, talk about it, then you have conversations going. Small pockets of these conversations will end up in strengthening your entire brand in the digital space.

A brand can be powerful if you’re part of this DNA, being relevant and you will have more people shouting about you than you can ever do with Bought Media. Personally, I’ve seen marketers whom became consumer would seek social network for advises on which product is a better option. Most time, those influencers help solidify their choices as well.

Now turn it around and start playing smart in social media marketing - it will seriously drive your brand into a realm you’ve never seen before.

Ignoring the actual implication of the message, what I want to share is how powerful is the digital medium in China. This entire process was distributed across to China within a few hours and the entire screen on my Messenger.

I can imagine there’s so much opportunity when it comes to digital and creating a positive mob could just drive a brand so powerfully. Well, I China.

I’ve come to realize I’ve been relying on gadgets to entertain me while I’m absolutely bored and didn’t know how much it can affect me. I would recommend the following items that can be critical to a pleasant flight (inclusive of business class travelers). I called it my Top 5 must have on planes :-

5. Computer – A great item because it can be your work machine, your entertainment device (if you have DVDs handy) or even a gaming device. The only drawback is it only last a max of 3 hours so on a long haul, you need more than a computer. As a note, in some planes, they do have electricity outlet but then again the wattage is low so your charger might not be able to provide enough juice.

4. Bose Quiet Comfort 3 – Never really fond of the ambient noise in a plane. It disturbs a lot when you’re trying to get a nap. I’ve tried many but this one is probably one of the most comfortable ear piece that provide a good noise reduction. Moreover, it has an adapter that can be plugged to some planes that uses a two prong format.

3. Sony Playstation Portable – This is a very handy device for gaming, movies or even listening to music. You can easily spend a few hours on one charge and if you bring along another spare battery, it will probably be able to stretch you a few more. By then, you’ll probably be bored and looking for other entertainment.

2. iPod – Now, this device can also be used to watch video and listening to music. I’m biased to Apple products though there are probably a few other good ones out there that meet this requirement too. Nevertheless, it’s a necessary item in your arsenal for traveling because without music, you’ll just continue to twitch your thumbs till it come off.

1. Book or magazine – The number one most important material for traveling. Remember during the last 15 minutes of take-off and landing, you’re not allowed to use any device. This is where a book or magazine comes in handy. It even helps to overcome boredom if you ran out of juice on everything else. I suggest a good book to help you past time.

Some may argue that we can speak to our neighbour but then again, you’re leaving everything to chance that you will have a decent neighbour.

The gameplay is extremely simple click and see what happened, nothing arcade about it and sometimes, I can still remember vividly classic games that are based on that. Though that, it’s addictive because you’re challenging real people in Facebook, friends or unknown people to see who has a mightier kingdom.

More and more games are relying on social network to build their strength (look at how successful is Warcraft and XBox Halo). Similarly, if marketers wants to engage their consumer today, the reliance on social network is paramount for success.

Like the saying, “Success doesn’t build success, people build success”. Go and enjoy yourself.

Gmail account started to be exclusive by invitation only - that created so much hype everyone wants to be invited to have an account. I was one of the lucky ones to have it initially and thought it was a good email services. Though I have my own email service, I still find Gmail offers so much convenience that I basically direct my POP3 account into Gmail nowadays.

Facebook was small and became big, thanks to millions of people Poke or Super Poke each other. I find it extremely amusing that little details always fascinate (we had intense conversations at bars in regards to Poking!) people and make them remember. Currently I have helped my dad and mum into Facebook as well in the hope they will continue to swim the digital stream.

iGoogle is simply one of the best tool in organising myself. My morning coffee always accompany by my iGoogle snapshot of the world - something that I will not be able to comprehend not having nowadays.

Wordpress basically powers my blog. Without it, I might still be writing HTML codes, CSS style sheets just to ensure I have the pagination and border padding right. Wordpress has been with me for 3 years and will continue to be my top blogging tool.

Taobao is one of my few China entrant. It sells everything. The beauty about it is there are millions of people setting up Taobao store to flock their wares ranging from home made mobile phone to antiques. The search capability is phenomenal and the payment method is almost flawless. When I was first introduced to it, my first thought was gosh, they aggregated all the China shopping into one site.

MSN Messenger has matured over the years and can stand strongly against Yahoo! Messenger or Google Talk. Again, I will still have all three switched on because not all my friends has converted and I’m not too keen on those one for all IM programs.

Firefox has been my main browser since they launched. With the recent additions of great plug-ins, I see no reason to stop using Firefox. I know Explorer will continue to make their browser stronger but we will have so look and see then.

Yahoo! Widget is cool because it gives me what I want most at the quickest time possible but this is only applicable if I’m using my PC. On my Mac, the Dashboard is more than sufficient to support my needs.

Google is one of my most used search tool. I cannot possibly live without it … I can when I don’t need it. Besides that, I would also use Baidu, a China based search engine that performs equally well, with a few upgrades.

Techcrunch is where I get all the gossips on technology and will continue to do so. They have some of the most breakthrough news, acquisitions, mergers that even market analyst sometimes visit this site for inside story.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list but are some of my digital needs on a daily basis. There are also lists for gadgets, books, etc. but for now, try out if you haven’t used any of the above.

1. What was the most impressive digital campaign that impresses you in 2007 ?

Audi online campaign “wake him”

Adidas “The Rook”

2. What are your thoughts on China digital growth ?

Fast and messy. Exponential and anything goes.

3. What are your thoughts on social networking sites like Facebook or Xiaonei ?

“Sorry i have not tried social networking sites like facebook or xiaonei, but interested in it. It is a digital way to connect your friends even friends of your friends, sharing thoughts and experiences, get more real-time information from more all aspects.”

“You really have to have a lot of time to literally *play*. More for younger target.”

“Don’t go there often”

4. What’s your favourite gadget of 2007 ?

“I have to say that my favourite gadget of 2007 is iPhone, although it is not 100% perfect, I was waiting for it for long time, bloody charming, glossy interface, iconic, 70% smart system and 60% good utility.”

“PS3″

“None.”

5. What would be your wish for 2008 ?

“A red apple”

“Peace. Harmony. Rest. For me. The rest of the world can do what it likes.”

“To have a baby.”

As a technology person originally, I’ve been exposed to data, its structure and always feel comfortable with it around. And through the years, the thought of using data to build stronger creative work makes total sense. Now, it’s easier said than done because how do one use statistics to bring a big idea to life ? The preliminary data that most agencies use are probably qualitative or quantitative research, sprinkle a dash of lifestyle study, consumer journey, buying habits and you can pretty much chart what these type of consumer like.

Moving a step further, we begin to look at previous business-customer transactions, how each type of advertisement and promotion impact on speed of conversion. Of course, this kind of data optimisation require client’s full confidence in your agency to divulge confidential and business critical information - but the results can be phenomenal purely because large consultancy can see the data to provide insights but true relationship agencies are able to see the data and bring communications to life.

End results would mean higher response rates, better conversion ratios, stretching your investment dollar further and finally making your business more successful.