OPINION: Putting the world in the pockets of consumers

It’s now a truism that consumers are no longer tied to their TVs for ‘appointment viewing’ and can watch their favourite shows via their smartphones, tablets and computers – where and when they want.

For the creators, packagers and distributors of high value video content previously limited to traditional pay-TV platforms, this new world provides almost infinite new opportunities to engage with the consumer. As the latest data already shows, TV is genuinely everywhere and consumers are consuming more TV than ever. Undoubtedly it’s the technology that’s done it.

The newest technologies are permitting viewers to be entertained via multiple touch-points on novel devices to engage with brands in ways that were not possible before. In addition to linear TV, brands now have new opportunities to interact with their audiences via smartphones, tablets, games, social networking and a multitude of additional formats. But it’s the companies who are making the content for these new platforms and devices, which are maximizing the opportunity.

On the other hand, consumers have become more vocal and “marketing-savvy” via blogs, tweets, status updates while ‘liking’ and ‘friending’ their favourite brands or TV programs.

Informed decision-making is now easier than ever before with a myriad of sites devoted to reviewing products, TV programs or films, which means that popular opinion now holds unprecedented influence in swaying consumer decisions with the proliferation of social networking sites and blogs.

With the future of TV going mobile, the communications industry is now able to put the world in your pocket – delivering content to blackberries, iPods, iPads and other mobile devices – making the promise of television anywhere, anytime a reality.

Rocking the social networking platforms

Canon recently ran a successful campaign using Weibo, a Twitter-like micro-blogging site, to promote the 30th Beijing International Marathon. Their “Chinese Forrest Gump”, who ran and posted his location throughout the city, invited people to run with him eventually resulting in him, being invited to participate in the actual marathon itself.

Cosmetics company Lancôme distinguished itself by utilizing social media platforms relatively early in China. The company started its official online community in 2006 providing product information, beauty tips, news and events information and forums and chat-rooms for members to exchange comments. Lancôme also created a group page on Kaixin001, a Facebook-like social networking site, to further engage members on the site and to channel them back to their own community.

Media landscape in the next five years

The media landscape will become increasingly more interactive with its consumers providing almost instantaneous engagement with products and other consumers, for instance while watching TV, viewing online video, playing online games. New ways of marketing will continue to evolve to take advantage of our ever-growing interconnected society.

Influencing the public

Social networking and micro-blogging sites truly have the potential to skew public opinion and we are now in an age where the average citizen is an influencer of consumer decision making – where information can go viral at breakneck speeds to make or break a brand.

The trick, however, is to balance consumer engagement via multichannel TV in a positive fashion without being seen to be overtly manipulative.

Lessons for marketers in China

It is important to listen to your consumers and to constantly monitor the channels they are using – be cognisant of what they are saying about your brand and what they are saying about your competitors.

Make an effort to understand the local market – especially if you are a foreign company. The key is to create resonance. It is inevitable that you will need to spread your message in their local language and across multiple platforms. Knowing the local culture will go a long way in gaining and maintaining trust with your consumers.

Also, know the media landscape. To be effective, your marketing campaign needs to be seen in the right media to reach your target market and to meet your objectives.

Finally, even though social networking sites are popular, be well prepared before embarking on social media campaigns because, once a conversation has been started with a consumer, you must be ready to monitor and respond to comments on a full time basis.

Biggest local observation so far

China is a booming economy and there are many developments that are changing the face of marketing in the country.

One of the biggest observations is the increasing popularity of search engine and video sharing websites. In fact, in China, search queries accounted for more than 20% of the global total in 2009.

Online communities are also hot at the moment. Forums, BBS (Bulletin Board System) and social networking sites rank among the highest in terms of user numbers and “stickiness” – making them ideal tools for word-of-mouth marketing.

Its citizens are also becoming increasingly more mobile as larger number of smartphone users surf the internet with their mobile devices. The integration of the internet, telecom and CATV is expanding mobile marketing opportunities to reach vast numbers of people as never before.

Because of this, the line between traditional and new media continues to blur as such standards as TV, radio and newspapers explore and adopt new ways of reaching their consumers in order to remain competitive in today’s market.