losers, bromance and chicken & beer: a journey into chinese web culture

“Losers, bromance and chicken & beer: a journey into Chinese web culture”

Labbrand, China Connect conference – March 6th 2014

Labbrand.com 2014 Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 2

Question 1: What is web culture?


Web culture is a collective construction that is the result of millions of online actions

What is web culture?

Dissemination Discussion Creation

Forwarding and sharing content, thereby giving certain items exposure and legitimacy as topics of debate worthy of attention.

Contributing one’s point of view about different topics through online discussions.

Creation of original content by netizens.


What are the different expressions of web culture?



Images

“Mom, hit me one more time!”



Videos

“I just hit a duck!”



Language 骚年

吓米

何弃疗

欧巴男票

PPMM

有木有

土豪



Behaviors

Going out for fried chicken and beer

Posting pictures of statues wearing PM2.0 masks



Icons

Guo MeiMei Adult video star Sola Aoi



Discussions

Discussions about the 2014 CCTV Chinese New Year Gala


Why is web culture unique?


Few sources of content Oligarchy Information travels slowly Audience receives content (purely passive)

Power from above

Infinite number of content sources Decentralized democracy Information travels instantly Audience receives and creates content (active)

Reflects grassroots opinion

Traditional culture Web culture



Web culture shakes up the status quo! Examples

Female bachelors 女汉子

Releasing pent-up frustrations 无聊吐

槽

Bromance culture 腐文化


Question 2: Why is web culture so important in China?


Why is web culture so important in China?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Print Radio TV Internet Mobile

Source: KPCB

Breakdown of media time: China vs USA


Why is web culture so important in China?

Do you live at least part of your life online?

Do you have a parallel life online?

86% 42%

61% 13%

Source: IAC/JWT


The social web in China is disproportionately important in Setting the tone of popular debate Allowing people to express themselves Creating new elements of culture

Why is web culture so important in China


Question 3: How can my brand use web culture?


Dimension 1: web culture as a source of market insights


Doing market research in China is hugely challenging Market size Market fragmentation (geographical, social, generational) Cultural barriers Extremely fast pace of change Questionable reliability of data Distance from market (for western brands) ….

Web culture as a source of market insights



To Grok

V. “To understand something so thoroughly that the observer becomes part of the observed. To understand intuitively or by empathy” Notion introduced by Robert Heinlein in “stranger in a strange land”.


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Web culture allows brands to “Grok” China.


Why is web culture a great tool to “Grok” China? Highly reliable (based on millions of web interactions) Directly measurable Spontaneously created by netizens (no bias, reflects what they truly think) Granular (can easily see who is talking about what and where) Always up to date Insights that come to life instead of abstract figures Cheap



Web culture allows you to decode China


Society

Lifestyles and attitudes

News and current debate

Ex: key social issues, generational gaps, class relationships, gender relationships, perception of political power, relationship with the outside world etc…

Ex: life habits, entertainment habits, vocabulary, consumption behavior etc...

Underlying macro trends

Circumstantial elements

Ex: reaction to hot news items, most popular pop culture elements (movies, TV shows, music etc…), hot discussion topics, hot brands etc…


Web culture allows you to decode China


What it shows about society

What people do

What people talk about

Underlying macro trends

Circumstantial elements


Example 1: “Love from the stars” 来自星星的你 News and current debate §  “Love from the stars” took the country by storm, becoming

the most discussed topic online in early 2014 Lifestyle and attitudes §  Following the popularity of the show, millions of young

Chinese mimic the show’s lead character by going out for fried chicken and beer

Society §  The show hits a hot button with its target audience: love

and the search for “Mr. Right” §  The type of pure, untainted love presented in the show is a

far cry from the experiences of most of the viewers



Example 1: “Love from the stars” 来自星星的你


Eating fried chicken and beer is a perfect example of how web culture influences lifestyles. The show helped the Chinese poultry industry recover from the bird flu crisis.


Example 2: Diaosi (losers) 屌丝 News and current debate §  Many young Chinese men discussing how hard it is for

them to conform to social expectations of success (car, house, wife…)

Lifestyle and attitudes §  The term “diaosi” enters popular vocabulary §  The “diaosi” attitude emerges based on self-depreciation,

irony and mild nihilism

Society §  The “Diaosi” phenomenon represents a major cultural shift:

the first sign of broad scale rebellion against social norms and conventional definitions of success



Example 2: Diaosi (losers) 屌丝


90% of Chinese students define themselves as Diaosis. These people represent your customers of tomorrow.


Example 3: Tuhao 土豪 News and current debate §  Conspicuous behavior from Chinese millionaires gets major online

exposure §  Release of golden iPhone 5s further fuels debate about tasteless,

conspicuous consumption

Lifestyle and attitudes §  The word “Tuhao” is brought back to the front scene and becomes a

commonly used word to qualify nouveau riche type behavior §  Luxury consumers move towards lower-key brands to avoid Tuhao

associations §  Young consumers ironically mimic Tuhao attitudes (the hipster

Tuhao)

Society §  “Tuhao” expresses the deepening gap between China’s first

generation of super rich and the new upper-middle class




Example 3: Tuhao 土豪

The gold iPhone was quickly dubbed the “Tuhao gold iPhone”, an association the brand would probably have liked to avoid.


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Web culture is your window onto what’s going on in China.


Dimension 2: web culture a driver of brand actions


Web culture as a driver of brand action

Web culture elements can be integrated into any type of brand action

Brand repositioning

Campaign design

New product launch

Product innovation

Online content production

…


Example: the Diaosi guide to hotel booking by Ctrip


How can Diaosis impress their bosses when helping them book a hotel abroad? Ctrip has the solution with its Diaosi guide to hotel booking. Thanks to Ctrip, Diaosis can navigate the obstacles and get on the boss’ right side!


Example: Diaosis stand up for their computer games


What is one of the key characteristics of Diaosis? They play computer games. Game producer ZT Games positioned its game “World of immortal heros” as the game of choice for a generation of proud Diaosis with this hard hitting ad in which gamers proudly claim “I’m a Diaosi!”.


Example: KFC riding the chicken and beer craze


It’s a dream situation when the country’s hottest TV show heavily features your star product. Hours ahead of the series finale, KFC heavily promoted its super fast home delivery service on Sina Weibo and encouraged its fans to post pictures of themselves enjoying beer and KFC chicken.


Example: Android and DELL defeat the Tuhao


The concept of Tuhao was from the very start strongly associated with Apple’s gold iPhone 5s. In a recent ad for Dell tablets, the cute Android alien mascot defeats the arrogant golden Tuhao alien and his army of minions!


Example: Canon’s capitalizing on the “virtual girlfriend” buzz


In recent weeks pictures of a netizen’s “virtual girlfriend” have gone viral on social media, symbolizing the loneliness of many Chinese men desperate to find love. Canon reacted by asking its fans what they would do if they too had such a virtual girlfriend.


Example: Buick seducing the post 80s generation


Online is where individuals assert their status as members of a generation. Buick has used these codes in its latest “encore” campaign that features one video for each year of the 80s decade. The campaign positions Buick as the brand of choice for the new generation.


Question 4: How do I make my brand and business receptive to web culture?


How to do it

Spot Share Take action

§  Have strong listening tools

§  Identify the elements of web culture that are most relevant to your brand

§  Share knowledge about relevant web culture elements across the company

§  Be able to quickly take action based on elements of web culture (requires organizational agility and de-centralized decision making processes)

How can your brand make the best out of web culture?


Time for some questions!

@Kevingentle @labbrand

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losers, bromance and chicken & beer: a journey into chinese web culture

Marketing

underlying macro trends

current debate

fried chicken

web culture

hotel booking

market insights

circumstantial elements

diaosi guide