January 2022 - The WeChat Agency

How To Engage Audiences During Chinese New Year on WeChat?

January 28, 2022

On February 1, the Chinese New Year will be upon us, and it is historically a time of celebration, full of feasts, fashion, and, may we say, financial festivities.

With the New Year in mind, businesses are focusing their advertising strategy on the year’s most important holiday. The way companies approach the holiday season can teach marketers how to use consumer insights to build culturally relevant advertising.

Because China’s consumer market, which is predicted to rise to $8.4 trillion by 2022, is seen as a crucial development potential for luxury brands aiming to recover from a difficult year in 2020.

Moreover, simply put, the Chinese market and the festivals fascinate brands. However, understanding the cultural nuances around the occasion might make the difference between a successful campaign and one that fails.

Firstly, a campaign will take off when brands make the effort to discover what customers actually value and the cultural significance of the holiday they’re celebrating. Secondly, even if Chinese New Year isn’t on your marketing calendar, there’s a lot to learn from some of these brands that we at KRDS worked with, to create innovative WeChat CNY campaigns.

Lastly, types of activities and campaigns for Chinese New Year are unlimited. From static or GIF greeting cards to elaborated mini-site campaigns, you name it. Don’t forget the latest craze – branded WeChat red packets with lucky money.

What is a Hongbao, Red Packet?

This year, at KRDS / The WeChat Agency, we created our own WeChat Red Packet cover.

Hongbao Red Packet WeChat

Click here to discover how to create yours! Creating Your Own Red Packet Cover On WeChat—The Ultimate Guide

Chinese new year campaign for Montagut

To celebrate the Chinese New Year with Montagut fans and promote a new collection, we created a mini-site for customers to discover the perfect look for Chinese New Year celebrations.

The outfit suggestions were made based on the weather forecasts in their hometowns (geolocation) and the user’s personal preferences.

Montagut Campaign WeChat

Greetings Poster

Wechat holiday greetings for Procter & Gamble

CNY Poster WeChat

Greeting cards creation for BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas WeChat

Are you curious how other brands in China celebrate other festivals? Check out our previous post on China’s Christmas: How It Has Evolved Over the Years.

If you require further support with setting up your WeChat account or assistance with customizing your Chinese new year greetings/campaign, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

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China News Roundup

January 25, 2022

Shopify and China’s JD.com team up to capture cross-border sellers

JD.com, a major Chinese online retailer, has partnered with Shopify to let global firms harness China’s massive desire for imported goods, as well as Chinese merchants, sell internationally:

The first part of the deal will put the JD-Shopify alliance in direct competition with Alibaba (which counted 35,000 international and more than 6,000 brands entered China via Alibaba)
JD’s account creation process will take 4 weeks instead of 1 year for Shopify-powered firms to start selling. The platform will leverage technologies like automated translation and price conversion, as well as cargo aircraft to transport items.
Using Shopify’s direct-to-consumer approach to export Chinese goods competes directly with market leader Amazon, which has been establishing itself as a gateway for Chinese exporters.
The two e-commerce giants appear to complement each other — Shopify brings the range of products and JD offers its extensive global warehousing and shipping infrastructure.

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/18/shopify-jd-china-partnership/

Alipay unveils NFT-powered museum collectables in honour of Chinese New Year

Alipay is bringing a series of NFT-powered digital collectables inspired by the 12 Chinese

zodiacs, with the tiger – the Chinese New Year’s zodiac sign – as the star of the show.

A total of 24 institutions around the country are anticipated to take part and release NFT work featuring tigers. Topnod, a mini-program integrated into the Alipay app that collects, discovers and shares digital collectables, powers these NFT collectables. This new NFT marketplace was launched last year and is seen as another move into blockchain technology and NFT trading by the tech giant.

The Fortune of Patriotism, the Fortune of Prosperity, the Fortune of Harmony, the Fortune of Kindness, and the Fortune of Dedication are all represented by digital collectables.

To target a younger audience, almost 2,000 museums in China have established their own mini-programs on the site. The internet market for NFT has proven to be a successful means of bringing these cultural artefacts to China’s tech-savvy youth.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/news/alipay-unveils-nft-powered-museum-collectibles-in-honour-of-chinese-new-year/

[Xiaohongshu] 6 Lessons from Chinese Beauty Brands

In 2020 China’s Beauty market was valued at USD 6.34 billion with an average growth rate of 12%.

Thanks to KOLs and KOCs, RED is the key platform for product and brand discovery.

The Diamond-Shaped Seeding Method
Male influencers
Ingredients & Routine
Meeting Needs at Speed
High Quality & Informative Content
Posting Frequency & Topics

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/_LpvQ7sJnjIqLgyG-qFYQg

How Have Brands Used Channels Since Its Launch Two Years Ago?

WeChat has prioritised Channels since its launch two years ago. The following are some of the most important updates:

In December 2020, live streamers can use live streaming filters, host lucky draws, and connect with other live streamers.
In May 2021, Channels finalized its commercial function by adding a product tab on videos. Users can watch videos/live streams while placing orders.
Later in October, Tencent connected WeCom and Channels so that brands can maximize the conversion opportunities of their video content. For example, sales associates can share brand Channels videos with their clients.

The 3 types of favoured content are:

Emotion-based
Professionally-generated content (news, official announcement)
Entertainment

The 3 types of channel live stream are:

Complements OA performance
Education content
Fashion & entertainment

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nieKtQ-z8ID1K8fIgkC1dw

Top 10 global consumption trends in 2022

Stock goods: Because they couldn’t get the products and services they required on a regular basis, hoarders began to buy similar items or come up with inventive solutions.
Low-carbon lifestyle: As public awareness of climate change grows, customers are making attempts to reduce their carbon footprint by purchasing ecologically friendly goods and taking other practical steps, and they want brands to play a role in environmental protection.
Older consumers get involved in digital: they are comfortable with and adapt to new technology, and they can shop and use a variety of services via digital platforms.
Rise of financial enthusiasts: Consumers’ investment confidence has gradually increased, and they know better how to improve economic security through financial management.
Interest and purpose-oriented behaviour: The pandemic has made great changes for consumers – people have re-examined their values, lifestyles and life goals.
Rise of the metaverse: As consumers pay more attention to the metaverse in 2022, businesses will have the opportunity to build brand value in this new digital ecosystem, promoting e-commerce and virtual goods sales.
Second-hand consumption: With the increasing awareness of sustainability and personalization, people have gradually eliminated the prejudice against second-hand goods and promoted the development of point-to-point platforms.
Urbanized pastoral life: More environmentally friendly activities, such as indoor agriculture and roof gardens, can be integrated into urban areas to better complement the pastoral city trend.
Self-love: Self-acceptance, love and tolerance have become the most important life attitude of consumers. If the product can make consumers feel optimistic and confident, the brand influence will also increase.
Return to the new normal in diversified ways: When consumers consume online for convenience or safety, they are also eager for meaningful social connections. Therefore, it is very important to adopt the mode of combining the two to meet the new normal of consumers.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/DnE_rpUlgWI-gi_G2NWZDg

The more social, the more social phobia, how does online social lower people’s social ability?

We constantly emphasise the Internet’s convenience and fun, but the reality is that people are becoming increasingly fearful of social situations. Although, in many situations, online social networking can efficiently overcome the inconveniences of time, geography, and form. However, an increasing number of people are avoiding face-to-face social situations.

Take a look at the social phobia search index over the last ten years, which has been steadily increasing. According to Guangming Daily’s social terrorism statistics, more than 62% of people have a clear social terrorism tendency.

Social phobia manifests itself in a variety of ways. When people meet up with acquaintances, they are hesitant to say hello and hide silently; they are also hesitant to talk in public and avoid doing so. Dinner is shared among friends, but everyone bows their heads and plays with their phones; Even the salesperson doesn’t want to ask questions when you are shopping.

The network allows for greater self-presentation: people used to try hard fitness, beauty, makeup, and plastic surgery to improve their charm and image. All problems can now be readily solved using social support software. The external image created by software will have a significant gap, in reality, causing people to be afraid of revealing their true self’s real life.

The Internet provides more social forms: they can escape the anxiety and fear of social interaction with the help of takeout, express, WeChat and games without being exposed to the sun.

The network provides stronger communication ability: on the Internet, we have more time to package our behaviour. We have enough time to think about the content of each other and trigger more interesting topics; To sort out the words you respond to.

Link:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xvuPAPcWmGByKhzA20NOfg

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WeChat (Weixin) Class PRO 2022: Top Highlights

January 18, 2022

WeChat which is known as Weixin (pronounced way-shin) in China is the country’s killer app, a highly addictive social networking tool that allows smartphone users to send messages and share news, photographs, videos, and web links, similar to WhatsApp in the United States or Line in Japan.

Every year, WeChat organizes the annual conference “Open Class Pro” aimed at WeChat creators to find out what that number means for small businesses and what other new plans the networking giant has in the works.

WeChat Open Class Pro Highlights

1. On January 4th, 2022, at the annual event promoting the app’s new functions and strategies, a group of middle-ranking Tencent executives dubbed “WeChat lecturers” worked together to persuade Chinese users, including content creators and merchants, that the app would continue to be an important tool for entertainment and business in China with its mini-programs and short videos.

2. One of the main takeaways from the event was that the number of mini-programs – primarily created by third parties – has been gradually increasing, with 450 million daily active users expected by 2021. WeChat users visited small programs 32% more frequently in 2021 than the previous year, according to the Shenzhen-based tech giant.

In 2021, according to Lake Zeng Ming, CEO of Tencent’s Weixin Open Platform, more than 700 million individuals used pandemic-related services such as Covid-19 testing and vaccination appointments via WeChat micro-apps.
Tencent also stated that over the next three years, it will pay 10 billion yuan (US$1.57 billion) in subsidies to small merchants to encourage them to modernize their digital infrastructure.

3. Tencent also held a special session at the event on Channels, the app’s own short video service that will launch in 2020 and compete with Douyin, which has over 600 million daily active users in China.

Tencent has taken a step-by-step strategy to promote Channels, giving video content a more prominent position on WeChat. Channels had amassed 200 million users as of June 2021, according to the most recent data from Tencent, but WeChat has not given updated user counts since.

4. Weixin’s annual conference in Guangzhou also highlighted advancements in the app’s payment and search functions, as well as the commercial version. But it was the app’s “channels” feature’s short videos and live streams that grabbed the Internet by storm.

Social Impact Methods in Empowering the Vulnerable

Weixin has included a new option for older users called Easy Mode, as well as an improvement to the Parental Control Mode for underage users, further boosting connections with age-specific updates.
Weixin launched a scheme for over 60,000 Shenzhen sanitation workers that allow them to eat for only 0.01 yuan a week at roughly 1,000 restaurants throughout the city. To assist gather funds, more than 20,000 eateries and their customers in China joined the philanthropic project.
In another case, Weixin developed the Star Knows campaign and used the Mini Program to enlist the public’s love and support in order to expand the number of books available to rural children.
Weixin also employed the Mini Program to assist Chinese users in becoming more environmentally conscious. Weixin launched the country’s first educational mini-program dedicated to the science of carbon emissions to raise public understanding of climate change.

The 2022 Open Class PRO conference went all out to achieve net-zero emissions, with speakers and guests wearing clothing made entirely of recycled plastic bottles. According to professional calculators, this event established a balance between emissions created and emissions removed from the environment

Weixin stated that it will continue to improve its products and provide support to developers, content creators, and partners in order for them to survive in the dynamic ecosystem and collaborate to provide more people-oriented innovative services.

How Did Small Businesses Benefit From Weixin Mini-Program?

Case study

Xiao Mian, a popular street meal from China’s southwest serves hot, tingly, and mouth-numbing dishes. Su Xuxiang, on the other hand, sees a lot of potential for delicacy across the country. Weixin’s noodle business has grown to 150 locations nationally in the last seven years, thanks in part to his mini-program feature.

Benefits

Yujian Xiaomian, co-founder of SU XUXIANG stated “Weixin was the first platform we used for orders and payments. We opted to employ the mini-program features two years ago. It not only improves our service, but it also allows us to better understand our clients. With the users’ permission, we can see what foods they prefer and where on the menu they spend the most time. It has also aided us in attracting six million people’’

Mini programs are less expensive and easier to develop than standalone apps, making them perfect for low-budget start-ups.

Tencent’s Weixin, or WeChat, claims that 450 million people used its mini-programs on a daily basis in 2021. These mini-programs are WeChat-based services provided by third parties.

According to Weixin, small and medium-sized firms created 90% of new mini-programs in the previous year.

Tencent’s XU YANGYANG Catering and Life Services Business Weixin Open Platform is a platform created by Weixin. “COVID-19 cases continued showing up all over the place in 2020, wreaking havoc on dine-in services. That’s why, in addition to catering, we encouraged contactless ordering in barbershops and laundry services. The number of mini-programs and daily active users had doubled a year later. Most crucially, the number of transactions increased by a factor of five. We believe we’ve improved the efficiency of enterprises and society, which will lead to a stronger economic recovery.”

Conclusion

If you’re targeting higher-end customers, WeChat Mini-programs will almost certainly remain an important element of your marketing ecosystem. This is because they make it easier to convert new users.
Users that try out services through the WeChat Mini program are considerably more likely to upgrade to a Native App.
They’re a powerful tool because of their capacity to transform WeChat content into e-commerce.

If you require further support with setting up your WeChat account, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

Sources:

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-01-07/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDYxODQ1/index.html

https://chozan.co/wechat-vs-weixin/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/weixins-open-ecosystem-reports-user-and-engagement-growth-301455662.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weixin

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162340/chinas-ubiquitous-wechat-doubles-down-mini-apps-short-videos-it-faces

https://walkthechat.com/wechat-mini-programs-simple-introduction/#:~:text=If%20you’re%20targeting%20higher,convert%20to%20a%20Native%20App.

https://recordtrend.com/industry-information/all-highlights-of-2021-wechat-open-class-pro/

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China’s Weekly Learnings

January 17, 2022

Xiaohongshu’s registers new trademark ‘Laohongshu’, eyeing Chinese elders

Xiaohongshu is now focusing on the elderly in China, a profitable customer segment that is mostly untapped.

More lately, elder generations have witnessed a surge in internet usage, becoming more tech-savvy as a result of the pandemic, to the point that a new wave of influencers over 55 has emerged. In the next few decades, China’s elderly population is expected to exceed 500 million. They are the generation that is catching up on social media and becoming more visible, particularly on short-form video platforms.

Xiaohongshu justified the registration as a defensive measure after discovering that many other parties were attempting to register the Laohongshu trademark ahead of time. As a result, a defensive registration has been implemented to keep malevolent squatters at bay.

It all began when Youyou Video, a new app, was released in June, around the same time as the trademark application was filed. With features such as bigger fonts, voice remarks and feeds that include tips on age-reducing clothes and makeup, the app displays a focus to the middle-to-elite-class senior female users.

With the Chinese population rising and more people entering the digital world, Chinese elders are becoming a new market that Internet companies like Xiaohongshu are vying for.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/news/xiaohongshus-new-trademark-registration-approved-eyeing-chinese-elders/

Crackdowns in live streaming in China: how brands should approach it

Key takeaways:

As the Chinese government promotes the ‘Common Prosperity’ concept, the government is cracking down on live streaming.
Foreign brands should pay greater attention to the government’s live streaming laws and alter their tactics accordingly.
Brands should ensure that their collaborating influencers follow the regulations of the government, or at the very least that the influencers’ personal behaviours do not have a substantial impact on them. Viya had to pay a record-high sum for tax evasion despite being the “live streaming queen.”
Based on the restrictions issued by the government, e-commerce platforms are likely to tighten their regulations. Although the guidelines are still in the works, they are expected to limit live steamers the ability to use the platform in the way users are used to. They should, for example, speak Mandarin and dress more appropriately.

In China, crackdowns on live streaming do not always imply that the government is opposed to it. Rather, it means that businesses should ensure that their live streaming strategies are in line with, or at the very least do not contradict, government rules.

Link: https://daxueconsulting.com/chinese-livestreaming-crackdown/

How Do Brands Encourage User-generated Content On Bilibili?

Bilibili began as a video platform for anime, comics, and games. It is now one of the most widely used video platforms among Chinese Generation Z. It’s also known for having a very active community.

UGC is one of the most engaging mediums that companies can use (user-generated content). Because Bilibili users respect authenticity, high-quality user-generated content (UGC) can quickly go viral, allowing the business to reach thousands of new prospective customers, stimulate product development, and more.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/phbEIoaoBg7Ipik8F5YF_g

Tapping into the explosive growth of personalized beauty in China

In traditional offline beauty stores, sales associates greet customers, try to understand their needs and make product recommendations.

That has changed now. People may now access massive amounts of information with a few easy clicks at home thanks to modern technologies. Algorithms aid in the limiting of the knowledge pool, while other users’ ratings and reviews on social media assist in determining whether a product is truly effective. COVID merely accelerated the process.

They are guided by a variety of diagnostic tools, artificial intelligence (AI), widgets, applications, online quizzes, and online experts. However, in many cases, none of the items is actually individualised. The technologies under discussion are more concerned with speeding up the decision-making process of consumers than with meeting their actual demands.

WeChat’s powerful ecosystem provides a full data collection, branding, marketing, selling, and brand refresh cycle.

Link: https://beautymatter.com/articles/tapping-into-the-explosive-growth-of-personalized-beauty-in-china

WeChat Red packet cover

New shape: from rectangle to different other shapes

New ways to get: the users can get them from their Moments.

Users who receive Moments ads with the label “shake out surprises” can shake and receive the red packet cover. If the sponsors give you “one more” chance, you can share the cover with one of your friends and they will receive one as well.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3JzCpTEFbG7rQWPyvnVfow

Bilibili 2021 Top 100 uploaders

Bilibili selected 2021 Top 100 uploaders by their professionality, influence and creativity and will hold a ceremony this Friday at 19:00. It’s a good opportunity to know why they are outstanding from the uploaders.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5PooWe308n67FhdD9fmW9Q

Wecom 2022 new product launch conference summary

At the new product launch in 2022, Wecom mainly talked about three major points.

The first point is to connect the consumer market and bring businesses closer to their customers, as evidenced by the channel and WeChat customer care. When watching the video, watching the live broadcast, or on the main page, users can add Wecom personnel to the video number. WeChat customer service means that it can be customised whether it is in the official account channel mini programme or outside of WeChat.
The second point is to establish a connection between upstream and downstream partners. Companies from upstream and downstream can join the corporate address book and contact each other at any time. People from various companies can collaborate to produce papers that can then be shared with a single click.
The third point is that enterprise Wechat has partnered with Tencent to establish a new office function called Tencent document Tencent conference. Working on, viewing, and commenting on online papers is convenient for a large group of individuals. WeChat allows users from outside the company to collaborate on documents. Internal and external colleagues, partners, and other meetings can be invited to online meetings. There are further features like meeting minutes that can be sorted into text records automatically.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5OKKBjZ5TMvg437xOQU0oA

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Creating Your Own Red Packet Cover On WeChat—The Ultimate Guide

January 13, 2022

It is a widespread custom for adults to gift red packets containing monetary gifts to children during Chinese New Year. However, in recent years, the habit of presenting friends and coworkers has transferred to China’s super-app, WeChat. As a result, the opportunity for brand visibility and interaction arose thanks to this behavioral change. Last week, we covered different ways in which brands can engage with their audiences during the Chinese New Year, today we will dig more into how to create your own red envelope on WeChat.

What is a WeChat Red Envelope?

Tencent’s WeChat red envelope (or WeChat red packet cover – 红包封面) is a WeChat-based feature that was developed in China. But the concept itself is not new. In fact, it’s based on the Chinese tradition of hongbao (red envelope, or red packet), in which money is presented as a gift to relatives and friends.

Tencent released the function in January 2014, and it has since grown in popularity, with Tencent reporting 2.3 billion transactions on the first day of 2016.

Users can give monetary presents to other users within a private conversation or group chat in the form of virtual ‘credits.‘ A user’s WeChat Pay account gets credited with funds that can be utilized to make purchases.

WeChat offers two sorts of ‘red envelopes’: pairwise red packets, which send money from a private chat between two users, and group red packets, which distribute money in a group chat. After posting the ‘grouped’ red envelope to a group chat, the app assigns the amount in each envelope to each receiver at random. Fights for the biggest win of an envelope is a common and fun sight at the annual dinners across China.

Why Do Businesses Require Red Packets?

Moreover, there are other motivations for mobile payment companies to compete during this period, aside from the red packets being a cornerstone of WeChat’s development history. Because the Lunar New Year is the most important Chinese celebration of the year, there are more transactions than at any other time of the year.

Thus a number of other brands, such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Burberry, and many more have incorporated the red envelope concept into their Chinese New Year’s marketing strategies. This year with more and more hype around red packets, payees are especially encouraged by brands to transfer ‘lucky money to a friend, thereby assisting the brand in expanding its brand awareness. Sometimes, like in the came of Gucci, users need to book their slot to receive the cover they can use via a mini-program to make it more exclusive.

On the other hand, consumers may also receive a red envelope with a surprise discount after purchasing something in-store using WeChat Pay. These companies are often FMCG brands because a discount signals value and are generally not an incentive that luxury brands want to be associated with.

Step by Step Guide on Customisation Process of The Red Envelope

Step 1: Registered account and Required materials

Chinese mainland WeChat official account is open to everyone for registration: http://cover.weixin.qq.com

Red Packet Cover On WeChat

Step 2: Submission for review

Check the official WeChat page for design requirements and specifics.

Format: PNG / JPG / jpeg
Width and height: 957 * 1278 pixels
Size: ≤ 500kb

Red Packet Cover On WeChat

After you’ve finished customizing the red envelope, send it to the WeChat team for review.

Audit Cycle: The audit cycle is generally 1 working day.

Audit Result: The results will be published on your official WeChat account and sent over by mail after the audit is completed (WeChat envelopes). You can also check the status of the audit in my “seal” at the same time.

Red Packet Cover On WeChat

Step 3: Payment and refund

Select the number of users of the red envelope cover after approval and pay the payment item to create an order.

Price: The red envelope cover costs one yuan per piece.

Payment method: Payments can be made via Wechat, internet banking, or an offline transfer or remittance.

Refund: Only when the red envelope cover is removed from the shelf due to infringement, and there is a red envelope that is still within the distribution validity period and has not been successfully received by any user.

You will get a return for unused red envelopes at a rate of 1 yuan per piece.

Red Packet Cover On WeChat

Final Step

Step 4: Release cover

The cover can be distributed to the selected user after it has been properly purchased. It will expire after six months. Users will not be able to receive it after it has expired.

Distribution methods include:

QR code
Serial code
Link

According to the activity scenario, user group, collection rules, other factors, the customization party can choose the best distribution strategy.

Red Packet Cover On WeChat

Step 5: Trial cover

After each red envelope cover’s approval, ten trial covers for ten Wechat accounts can be obtained.

The cover is effective for two hours after scanning the code and can be used an unlimited number of times. The trial run expires after two hours have passed.

Red Packet Cover On WeChat

Step 6: User to use

Users can use the cover up to 3 months after they receive it as many times as they want. The received cover will automatically become invalid after the expiration date and cannot be used again.

The red envelope display, which has been sent, will not be affected.

Red Packet Cover On WeChat

Step 7: Data analysis

Following the distribution of the cover, you can view real-time distribution data. You can also check data from the previous day, and cumulative statistics on the site. It includes:

covers purchased,
covers received,
red envelopes issued,
red envelopes opened,
how many times users accessed the red envelope details page,
how many times the users view the cover story,
and the number of times the viewers skipped the cover story.

Red Packet Cover On WeChat

Conclusion

Way to carry on traditions change these days. The one thing that has remained constant is the desire to enjoy the company of loved ones during this special time of year.

Also, around this time of year, the red envelope is a great way to attract a wide spectrum of customers and build your customer base. As a result, any company seeking to build a business relationship with the Chinese market should consider taking advantage of these prospects.

If you require further assistance with customizing your red envelope, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

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This Week’s Highlights in China

January 11, 2022

China announces breakthrough in 6G mobile technology

A huge milestone in “world’s fastest” real-time wireless transmission has been announced by a high-tech institute:

The maximum transmission speed might be up to 100 times faster than the present 5G system, which can already carry data 20 times quicker than prior standards.

Around 2030, China is anticipated to see 6G technology hit the market. It lays the groundwork for future 6G holographic communication, the emergent buzzword “metaverse,” and other yet-to-be-developed applications.

By “replacing the vast number of cables in the data centre, allowing for more efficient Internet transmission,” it might also “substantially” cut expenses and power usage.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/news/china-announces-breakthrough-in-6g-mobile-technology/

WeChat users & platform insights 2022

Overview:

1.26 billion monthly active users
330 million use video calling.
780 million users are on the social networking section WeChat Moments
120 million publish updates
450 million users access Mini Programs
The commercial realization of WeChat mini-games increased by 20%
China game live streaming revenues to double by 2021
WeChat Search: The number of monthly active users of WeChat search has reached 700 million according to WeChat official data released in January 2022.
WeChat Pay: more than 240 million users. It boosted the conversion rate of e-commerce orders by 14%
WeChat Channels: Tencent’s ultimate weapon in the short video market. It’s maturing with the integration with Official Account, Search, Mini Programs, etc.
WeCom: 80,000 enterprise WeChat partners, with a year-on-year growth of 400%.

Link: https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/31608/wechat-statistics/

Is Xiaohongshu losing its attractiveness?

In recent months, RED has encountered a number of significant challenges, both internally and externally.

Unfair KOL/UGC content was discovered for a large number of brands, while other accounts were accused of producing overly-beautified and unrealistic evaluations. The site was also attempting to appeal to more male customers by advertising gaming-related content, as well as sexually suggestive information that may potentially reach minors.

Furthermore, Douyin and Taobao are adding new elements to their “growing grass” (种草) efforts.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/is-xiaohongshu-losing-steam/

Tapping into the explosive growth of personalized beauty in China

In traditional offline beauty stores, sales associates greet customers, try to understand their needs and make product recommendations.

People may now access massive amounts of information with a few easy clicks at home thanks to modern technologies. Algorithms aid in the limiting of the knowledge pool, while other users’ ratings and reviews on social media assist in determining whether a product is truly effective. COVID merely accelerated the process.

They will be guided by a variety of diagnostic tools, artificial intelligence (AI), widgets, applications, online quizzes, and online experts. However, in many cases, none of the items is actually individualised. The technologies in the discussion are more for speeding up consumers’ decision process rather than catering to their real needs.

WeChat’s Powerful Ecosystem Offers a Complete Cycle of Data Collecting – Branding – Marketing – Selling – Brand Refresh

Link: https://beautymatter.com/articles/tapping-into-the-explosive-growth-of-personalized-beauty-in-china

WeChat open class pro-2022

Channels: promote it by supportive policies and Livestream concert

Lead the traffic to the original creators; make 1 million creators have income
Livestream concert: in 2021, they held 2 big concerts (Westlife: 27 million visitors; Mayday: 12 million visitors)

WeChat pay: in the past, people used WeChat coupons/discounts to save 22.9 billion RMB; the total consumption amount was 520 billion RMB.

Optimize the digital management
10 billion RMB project to help the small and micro-merchants to upgrade their system

Mini program: DAU 450 million

the mini-program accelerated their integration into all walks of life due to the pandemic, such as Make an appointment for vaccination, Online office tool and Government service etc
They will Improve the users’ experience and support the service provider

Search: MAU 700 million

Integrate Search to mini-program, account and Channels

WeCom: Over 1 million people use WeCom in 1 hour at the same time, they will focus on

Internal management
Connect the brand and the potential customers

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/RVvgIcrpLguNpL_wTLN1sA

The lifestyle trends making it big in 2022… from air fryers to going green

More than 70% of Xiaohongshu users are from the post-90s age, who are young, active, and enthusiastic about their life. They provide a peek into what fascinates China’s new generation by researching the latest trends and sharing their experiences on Xiaohongshu. By evaluating the content on Xiaohongshu throughout the year 2021 and sorting out quickly growing trends, we can predict which ones will most likely break into the mainstream in 2022 and be extensively adopted by the young Chinese population this year.

In 2022, let’s look forward to the trends that will add a refreshing spin to everyone’s lifestyles:

Mountain life

For the past two years, there has been an epidemic. People who live at home and work for lengthy periods of time can feel suffocated at times. To slow down, they appear to need to find an outlet and take a deep breath of fresh air outside.

Air fryer

According to xiaohongshu’s trend projection for “frying everything using an air fryer,” there would be more than 60 million searches for information connected to the air fryer in the station by 2021.

Immersive experience

Xinhong data (xiaohongshu data platform of Xinbang) https://xh.newrank.cn/ ）It shows that the notes of “immersive home”, “immersive bath” and “immersive makeup” released by several xiaohongshu users have won more than 100000 praise collections

Ice Skating and Skiing

The volume of searches for “skiing tutorial” in Xiaohong Book increased by 100% year over year in 2021. There are more skiing-related notes (380000+) than skateboarding-related notes (280000+) that can be done all year.

Link: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/en/newsroom/detail/the-lifestyle-trends-making-it-big-in-2022-from-air-fryers-to-going-green

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Weekly China Review

January 4, 2022

Baidu unveils China’s first metaverse platform ‘Xi Rang’

Users can create avatars, connect with other players, and explore the virtual world of XiRang using Baidu’s new metaverse platform.

It is available in China and lets you create avatars, chat with other users, and even build your own place on the platform. Players can explore Creator City, XiRang’s first city, as well as the surrounding virtual natural landscapes and other traditional Chinese settings.

Unlike Meta’s ‘Horizon Worlds,’ which is only available to Oculus Quest 2 headset owners, XiRang may be accessed via a smartphone, a computer, or a virtual reality headset. Baidu hopes to encourage creators to develop new activities on its platform in a variety of areas, including gaming, entertainment, education, advertising, and events, by making it easily accessible.

Link: https://www.scmp.com/video/technology/3160931/baidu-unveils-chinas-first-metaverse-platform-xi-rang

What Will Travel Retail Look Like in 2022?

The Chinese Duty-Free Group’s priority in 2022 and beyond will be on finding new ways to deliver more commodities choices to travel retail shoppers.

The travel retail industry should focus on rising market prospects in newly opened duty-free zones including Qianhai Pilot Area, Henan Pilot Free Trade Zone, and Pudong New Area in 2022. To further its retail growth beyond the pandemic, China wants Hainan to become a key holiday destination for both Chinese and overseas visitors.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/china-travel-retail-trends-hainan-shanghai/

What is exactly a metaverse and why does it matter? Report

By the end of 2021, the term “metaverse” had become a buzzword that was all over the news. However, the concept might be perplexing, and different stakeholders will understand it differently.

Mark Zuckerberg, for example, refers to it as the “embodied internet.”

Although the metaverse is still in its infancy, some existing technologies and platforms already provide many chances for businesses to exhibit themselves there, demonstrating their digital innovation and readiness to interact with users online. Building a 3D presence can also open new revenue streams.

Interoperability, or the seamless connectivity between digital experiences, is a key feature of the metaverse. Closed platforms, on the other hand, are the rule right now.

Link: https://media.monks.com/articles/report-make-sense-metaverse

Who are KOCs and how do you work with them?

KOCs means Key Opinion Customers. Compared to KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) they are individuals with relatively strong influence over their peers, family, friends and group of potential followers.

Because they are not paid, they are more genuine, making KOC marketing a low-cost marketing method. This means fewer people will see your content, and you’ll have less control over it. You’ll also have less tracking.

Platforms: Xiaohongshu, Dianping, WeChat, Douyin.
Methods: asking for feedback, personalization, product seeding, live streaming, focus groups.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/u9IQ3gyL_tR0-COMeniOBw

2021 Top 4 trendy scenarios for brands

Metaverse: As a result of the post-pandemic increased social virtualization, marketers sought out new scenarios to expand their commercial opportunities.
Xirang (希壤)is the name of Baidu’s social metaverse app. In the app, users can make friends and trade. Xirang will become a major site for life, work, and recreation in the future due to its strategic location. The ambition of Baidu is to become the Metaverse’s infrastructure platform, providing AI, cloud computing, and other technical engines for Xirang and other Metaverse businesses. Xirang’s version number is currently – 6.0, which is still negative after more than a year of development and testing. It’s not ideal, and there’s still a lot of opportunity for improvement. Many brands, including Burberry, Oreo, and OPPO, have developed their own NFT variants.
Outdoor camping: People are increasingly interested in outdoor activities as a result of the disease, and they want to get in touch with nature. According to Alibaba research, the number of reservations for tents and camping on their travel platform surged by more than 14 times month over month
– CTI magazine worked with Milklad and Red to host a “City coffee camping season” offline event.
– Adidas teamed up with Camplus, an outdoor lifestyle platform, to host an outdoor hike at the Great Wall’s base.
New consumer brand stores (Concept store or crossover): This type of store helps communicate the brand’s distinct concept to a younger audience.
– Ice cream brand Zhongxuegao collaborated with coffee shops
– Coffee brand Saturnbird collaborated with lifestyle brands and organized a pop-up market. It will become a dancing party at night.
Creative Livestream: The brands tried different formats like talk shows or created new formats to attract potential users.
– Down jacket brand went to Tibet
– Milk brand showed the audience the cattle on the grassland

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cfi9hkzjXVOs1rJpwMw9-g

Why don’t young people pay for the “internet celebrity brand” anymore?

Last year, an Internet celebrity brand Zhong Xuegao developed a “lixiangguo” dumpling brand. The price of a single dumpling was around 3 yuan, with the hopes of attracting customers’ attention through “high price,” however it had had little success.

Why don’t young people want to pay for the “internet celebrity brand” anymore?

For internet celebrity products, most customers think that the products are expensive. Consumers will choose them because of their temporary popularity, and give them up because of the influence of product quality.
In most cases, High-cost investment and huge risks make brands unbearable. They focus on Marketing which can bring a lot of traffic in the short term, so brands spend money on famous platforms like Douyin, they only pursue marketing and ignore products.
Many internet celebrity products generally have a weak foundation, the team and products are not mature enough and will not be finely operated.

If a wanghong brand wants long-term development, it should pay attention to promoting product design; it should also pay attention to user experience. Continue to innovate and create new value.

Link::https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-J95lxEC7zOS3b-wAI__2A

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NFT and Metaverse in China

January 4, 2022

What does the latest news mean for NFT and metaverse in China? China is one of the countries that has publicly maintained its anti-crypto position, ordering a statewide ban on all crypto-related transactions earlier this year and threatening defaulters with fines.

Not only that, but officials in the country have begun a crackdown on crypto mining activities, citing the detrimental environmental impact as one of the reasons why such activities will no longer be tolerated in the country.

However, despite a difficult year at the hands of China’s anti-crypto government and the Chinese central bank’s request that these be monitored, the country’s IT giants are optimistic about launching metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFT) businesses.

Companies in the Metaverse Race

The majority of the businesses that registered for trademark registrations belong to the tech sector. This includes well-known brands such as Huawei and Hisense. The former filed a trademark application for “Meta OS”. At the same time, the latter filed many trademark applications in fields such as social services, advertising, and science.

Tencent, the gaming and Internet giant, has also gotten in on the act, filing nearly a hundred metaverse-related trademark applications, including “QQ Metaverse,” “QQ Music Metaverse,” and “Kings Metaverse.” Also, Epic Games, an American gaming company in which Tencent owns a 40% share, is moving forward with its own metaverse plans, maybe with Tencent’s help.

Alibaba has launched a new company called Yuanjing Shengsheng, with USD 1.58 million in funding. “Sources familiar with the topic” indicated that the new business will focus on metaverse, but did not go further.

Baidu’s Xirang

Baidu is not staying behind with its own metaverse launched last week and called Xirang, “Land of Hope” in Chinese, accessible through a virtual reality app. The biggest search engine in China cools down the expectations. Its representative said that “it could take up to six years for a full launch”.

Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant, JD.com has already issued its first NFTs and they’ve received a positive response. The fintech published five series of the JOY Dog character-themed tokens on its Lingxi platform with minimal fanfare.

RTFKT, a creator of digital goods such as virtual shoes and NFTs, was recently acquired by the international brand, Nike.

Also following White Castle’s entry into crypto, Applebee’s is introducing a new NFT every Monday this month.

In less than four months, a gaming brand has increased its total worth to $2 billion by joining the metaverse and NFT race. Also, NFTCN, a company that was founded in claims to have worked with over 1,000 Chinese artists and handled over 10 million RMB in NFT transactions. Similarly, many more tech giants and multinational companies are joining the Metaverse & NFT squad.

What Does This Mean for Chinese NFT and Metaverse Enthusiasts?

China has unquestionably established itself as a centre of technology innovation and progress. China’s inhabitants mostly lead the pack in terms of technological adoption.

This is especially true in the emerging NFT field. Google trends data shows that the country is one of the top three countries in the world for “NFT” searches.

According to Grayscale data, Chinese officials implying space surveillance simply means that residents of both countries may have limited access to the $1 trillion space potential. A total crackdown on the sector isn’t completely off the table.

We’ve seen brands experimenting with NFT-like offerings like e.g. Burberry sold NFT deers together with a limited edition scarf during the 11/11 shopping festival. It was also a part of Tmall’s Metaverse Art Exhibition. Drops of limited editions created by luxury brands very often spark enthusiasm from Chinese consumers especially when the concept combines an innovative approach. Despite that the usability of the tokens is quite low, the items sell out quickly and are in high demand.

Predictions

We believe that metaverse and NFT will only grow further in China despite the challenges and different factors and environments. Given the fact that all the Chinese Internet giants – BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) are already launching their own metaverses and strong adoption of online payments (with virtual yuan rolling out by the banks). These are strong indicators of the potential of the online reality.

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