The new digital landscape has changed how we communicate and even to the point, how we tell classic jokes over a mug of beer. We embrace so many new technologies that we sometime forget to walk over to our staffs for a good pat in the back for job well done but instead send some hooray emoticons as a representation. All these changes were seen great by some yet totally irrelevant to others.

As a digital person following the landscape since 1994, I love how we’ve evolved together with technologies and even my mum does Skype with me nowadays. With the recent addition of webcam capabilities in Skype, I cannot hide from her my growing eye bags.

So, how does technology impact on China, a country where absorption of technology is limitless? I’m constantly amazed at their willingness to take on any new digital innovations – for example, where we’re still toying with the idea of Bluetooth technology for marketing effort, many marketers has already introduced them to users who are more than willing to switch on their Bluetooth to download freeware.

China always has some of the best practices on how to transmit information to the masses (remember, 1.3 billion) and no doubt, new digital channels can disseminate the information more efficiently making Chinese fiercely adopting them. If you look at QQ, one of the most successful IM in China with over 200 million active users* has also one of the most active casual games platforms in China. The vividness also reminds me of a karaoke session where I see some of the patrons happily playing with QQ games in a club. Now, all these explosion of digital means more brands are being represented online but yet there’s also a lot of lost souls whose representation is a mere adaptation from their TV or print advertising. Marketers know they have their potential customers waving at them in the digital space and many are trying to outdo each other on innovations as well as creativity. Is this the right way ?

There are no fast rules or short-cuts but there are some ground rules that you can apply all the time when preparing any brand or product campaigns. This is the 5 Digital Mantra.

Digital Mantra #1 – Read your consumer. It’s weird when we do a TVC campaign, we generally run through a series of consumer tests but when it comes to digital environment, we hardly think about what the consumer want before releasing it online. Many times, your digital channel is as important in delivering a messaging that holds your entire campaign so it’s imperative your digital partner has the capabilities to provide you with the appropriate thoughts on customer needs.

Digital Mantra #2 – Digital is not a clone machine. A good digital campaign is hardly an adaptation of key visuals from your ATL campaign but rather an extension of the core idea into what digital channel can deliver. Digital is multi-layered and has unlimited depth for consumer to immerse and explore. Creating another adaptation of your key visual that was represented in the print environment does not fully exploit the potential of this channel. Always get your digital team to work on the core idea but build more depth and engagement giving your consumer an immersing effect.

Digital Mantra #3 – Digital is not website. For many agencies, website is digital. Perhaps, it’s true if we’re in 1994 but our eco-system is not only limited to website but beyond it. Websites are as important because it builds engagement but its existence alone is no longer sufficient. Digital kiosks, mobile applications, holographic displays are some of these extensions that can complement your digital campaign effectively. Get your digital partner to think beyond this and if they can’t, change them.

Digital Mantra #4 – Digital Freshness. Run your favourite TVC two years and you can see your ad getting less recall but nothing serious happens after that. Run your web campaign for one year and you’ll hear millions of people talking about you – negatively of course. In Web 2.0 environment, consumers are inter-linked, talk to each other and generally love to comment about everything. You have to keep your campaigns fresh, your ideas lovable and generate the right word-of-mouth so you’ll gain the right reputation in the digital world. And because digital is recorded all the time, you cannot undo a bad reputation and chances are they will be in some obscure BLOGs that will always be there for infinity.

Digital Mantra #5 – Digital Exploitation. When you see an opportunity, strike it hard. My Physics lecturer always reminded me to strike when the iron is hot and so should we when it comes to digital landscape. Consumers move along like flocks of birds in the digital world, going to where there are interesting happenings and leaving once they have finished up the watering hole. The opportunity to exploit a digital phenomenon is whether your digital partner has the ability to search through the landscape for the right trend.

Does these 5 mantras promise glory in the digital world in China ? No, it doesn’t. On the other hand, it will make sure that every single experience from now on would be more positive, the digital exposure of your brand will deepen and consumers will start noticing you differently.

* Source : Tencent Q306 Results Release

Last Modified : November 7th, 2007 Filed under : Digital Navigate : Previous post / Next post