1). 5 Bar Craze Igniting New Net Culture
Every Chinese class, from primary school to matriculation, has a class captain ranked by the number of bars on their arm. Those of the highest rank are awarded 3 bars. But… Recently netizens were exposed to the new, 5 bar class captain of Wuhan. This illustrious new rank has inspired China’s net population, particularly through the extremely viral microblog medium, sparking a huge volume of UGC centered around the red sash and 5 bar badge signature. We’ve seen this turn from amusing net trend into Taobao commercialization in barely 2 weeks.
2). Mother’s Day Viral Video Ad
Last Sunday, the 8th of May, was Mother’s Day. To celebrate this special occasion, Safe Guard produced a video about those happy, hygiene based memories that we associate with our moms. The video ended on an emotional high note, linking to www.thanksmom.cn and allowing us to send one of 200,000 Mother’s Day cards.
3). Tuita Opening for Public Beta
Following in the footsteps of DianDian.com, a site that is itself a clone of western social media aggregation site Tumblr, China’s top online gaming company SNDA has established an interest-based social network, Tuita.com. The product design follows DianDian’s quite closely and reinforces the growing trend of lite blogging in China.
4). HaiDiLao (海底捞) Personal Marketing
Chinese restaurant HaiDiLao (海底捞) added a personal touch to solving a customer dispute. Even in this fast paced, digital age, the manager took the time to send a hand written apology letter, complete with flower, to compensate for the inconvenience. This touching gesture was posted to Sina Weibo and was soon widely spread; great PR for HaiDiLao and advert for the power of authentic engagement via social media.
5). Vancl Trend Upgrade
Vancl is rapidly becoming synonymous with creative, adaptable and widely adopted promotional content. In previous editions of IWOM Mark, we’ve looked at various incarnations and evolutions of the Vancl format. From the initial text ads, there’s now a new Vancl video circulating Sina Weibo and feedback from netizens is positive. To keep the marketing message fresh and have netizens view it as a upgrade of the original, particularly when the format has been used so extensively by everyone from your average netizen to the Police, is very impressive.
