On Friday, January 29^th, 360quan.com hosted their 90后潮流先锋榜 (post-90’s generation pioneering trends list) awards ceremony in Beijing. Actor Li Chen emceed the event featuring stars such as Jade Liu Li Yang and Yico Zeng, who came to receive their award and perform for the cheering crowd of Chinese teenage fans from all over China.

These same cheering teenagers and their peers voted on actresses, actors, artists, bands, brands, musicians, and works of art of various types for their influence and pioneering abilities in their respective industries. In collaboration with Mogo, 1626.com and YOHO!, 360quan.com invited their post-90’s generation members to vote within two categories, one for most ‘pioneering spirit’ and the other for ‘must have’ product or brand.

eno won the award for ‘must have independent brand.’ Among the list of ‘must have’ were: HP (notebook), Samsung (mobile phone), ONLY (women’s apparel), Adidas (sports apparel), New Fei Fei 新飞飞 (Netease’s 3-D online game), YOHO! (e-commerce site), Twice (jewelry accessories) and Mito Xiu Xi 美图秀秀 (image processing software).

Here’s who they voted for pioneering spirit: Jade Liu Li Yang 刘力扬 (singer), Xiao Song Jia 小宋佳 (actress), Lucky Monkey 跳猴乐队(fusion punk band), Shi Yan Fei 施艳飞 (up & coming actress), Chang Si Si 常思思 (up & coming folk singer), Zhang Xiao He 张小盒 (online character), Chen Chen 陈晨 (written work). And here’s who they voted for the pioneering spirits of the post-90’s generation (meaning they were actually born in the 1990’s): Yico Zeng 曾轶可 (singer), Li Chen 李晨(TV host), 杨紫 Yang Zi (pop star), BY2 (Singaporean music duo), Caffiene (band), Ai Shui Shui 艾水水 (TV & Film work).

360quan.com is China’s fastest growing social media network for post-90’s generation youth. With close to 25 million registered users, 360quan.com is devoted to providing an online home for people with similar interests, online clans, and super-connectors. The platform provides all the basics of an SNS, including personal space, blogs, music, videos, photo albums, games and other multimedia services and content. Their users have a distinct urban youth culture; they are the hip-hop artists, the make-up stylists, the snowboarders and the parkour clubs that  are leading China’s youth revolution.

Once again thank you 360quan.com and special thanks to our post-90’s generation fans!

]]> http://enovatechina.com/blog/post-90%e2%80%99s-chinese-youth-vote-eno-as-a-%e2%80%98must-have%e2%80%99-brand/feed/ 1 http://enovatechina.com/blog/analysis-how-to-pick-a-celebrity-endorsement/ http://enovatechina.com/blog/analysis-how-to-pick-a-celebrity-endorsement/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:10:11 +0000 John http://enovatechina.com/blog/?p=1147 Another week has gone by and as we all prepare to head off for vacation, it is time to reflect on a lighter but unusually complex topic of celebrities and their endorsements within China. So if you are unfamiliar with the Chinese celebrity landscape, you may inquire as to way we are spending so much time on celebrities. Fair question.

Unlike in the West, celebrity endorsements are not seen as “selling out” but are actually a positive testament to star status–an endorsement or many means you have “made it.” This positive association with brands and celebrity endorsements results in a ton of money being thrown around to celebrities and multiple questions and studies on how to measure the ROI on these investments. In addition, mega celebrities are playing the game well and are becoming saturated with endorsements. Jay Chou alone has, at some point, endorsed the following global brands, let alone the local brands, Pepsi, Panasonic, Motorola, China Mobile, Colgate, World of Warcraft 3, National Geographic, Metersbonwe, Sprite, and Levis.

While I do not believe Chinese consumers are rejecting stars with multiple endorsements, I do believe a brands’ recognition with a certain celebrity becomes diluted unless you are one of the top brands a consumer recalls when asking about a specific celebrity. (click here for a good report on popular brands associations)

So, therefore, if you are Sprite, Coca-cola, Nike, Reebok, or any other global brand, you are doing pretty well with your mega-celebrity endorsements of Jay Chou, Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, etc. But what about the rest of us? As reported earlier, what about an up and coming brand like Vancl, how do they develop a strategy for their celebrity endorsement? Here is what I would do.

1. Give up on the mega-star, but if you must…get one that exists across multiple channels
If you haven’t locked one down yet, it is probably too late. Sure they will take your money and be in your commercial but it will take an excessive amount of marketing dollars to build much unsolicited brand recognition. If you can’t fight the urge, however, focus on the mega-stars that can give you more bang for your buck across several channels. Jay Chou’s star power comes largely from the fact it’s spread over numerous industries, he’s a musician, actor, director, desginer, fashion icon etc.

2. Regional stars: Now On Sale, Prices Slashed
As we noted earlier, regional talk show hosts can be very popular and influential in their respective markets. Pick up a few in your major target markets and put all the money you saved into regional advertising. They may not have a national appeal but I can guarantee they are a bargain and resonate well with the provincial population.

3. Missed Connections–Looking for celebrities in the oddest places
Celebrities in China today are dynamic, interesting, and driven by different motives than in previous generations. Celebrities such as Han Han and Xu Jinglei represent the voice of the modern celebrity in China. Crossing a wide range of activities including blogging, racecar driving, charity work, and social activism, these celebrities show that in order to appeal to Chinese youth, simply having a pretty face is not enough to sell products. Also in Chinese society the acceptance of unconventional celebrities suggests a new shift in the definition of a celebrity in China. The recent popularity of Zeng Yike from HappyGirl or fantasy RPG character Ling Er, show that celebrity power can come from non-traditional areas. Online Internet memes also have significant power to give ordinary people their 15 minutes of fame. Recent examples including Xiao Pang, Jia Junpeng, and Furong Jiejie, all have gained celebrity status in ways unbefitting of normal celebrities.

So there you have it. A few tips the next time you are given either a blank check or a miniscule budget. Although I have enjoyed digging into the lives of so many celebrities, I do not envy anyone who actually has to pick one.

John Solomon is the co-founder and director of enoVate. In addition to posts throughout the week on various topics, John synthesizes the data and analysis developed by the enoVate Insights and Strategy Team and provides readers with the key trends and future indicators for brands, agencies, and investor to be aware of within the complex and convoluted celebrity industry. For our full brief on the topic, please do not hesitate to contact us.

First and most importantly, celebrity endorsements are as much art as science. While some marketing professors and other thinkers have tinkered with a way to measure the effectiveness of an endorsement on the brand, the majority of materials out there suggest that this link is almost impossible to measure. Some endorsements clearly drive a company’s sales. Some do not. Others are just plain difficult to analyze.

Sometimes an endorsement clearly affects sales. Let’s take the local clothing brand Semir. In 2003 they chose Nicholas Tse, a Hong Kong star, as their endorser.

A wise decision. Sales of Semir’s clothes jumped in 2003. The brand added 100 franchises in 2003, a number far greater than that of 2002. For the five years that Nicholas was the spokesperson, Semir was averaging 50% increases in sales each year! Customers in stores were reported to say things like “I love Semir because of Nicholas!”

Here is a clear example of an endorsement driving sales. Semir’s clothes weren’t driving the increase: the line that Nicholas endorsed was certainly not too different than previous seasons. Apart from Nicholas, nothing about Semir was new.

But there are also some mismatched partnerships. Many Chinese citizens refuse to believe that Tiger Woods, the world’s greatest golfer, should be driving a buick. Buick is reportedly paying Tiger USD 8mil/yr for this endorsement, but is it fair to assume that he is not creating 8mil in new car sales?

And what is your celebrity isn’t the squeaky clean poster child you paid for? Who remembers Barry Bonds’ inhuman growth and Kate’s taste for white powder? hm….

Brands and their legal teams have figured out how to at least build in an insurance plan with these endorsements. Morality clauses! These legal gems are embedded in endorsements contracts. If an endorser violates this provision, a company has a legal right to end the contract. The prohibitions can include almost anything the company wants to put in, from breaking the law to just talking bad about the brand.

Some believe that celebrity endorsements are a sure way to better a brand. Others vehemently disagree. There are thousands of papers and polls that will prove either point.

So let’s be bipartisan and try to derive something out of this mess. Well, it’s clear that choosing the right celebrity to endorse your brand can, at least, NOT hurt your it. Best case scenario, that celebrity can actually be good enough to drive people to purchase. But a poor choice can certainly hurt your image.

Because there are very few ways to accurately measure the effect of your celebrity (except in a few extreme cases), it’s also inherently risky to hire an expensive celebrity, a human likely to make mistakes and fumble in the public spotlight, to endorse your product.

But as Semir’s example proves, a smart choice that matches the brand image and desires of your customers can clearly propel your brand into the stratosphere. China has yet to invent a Q Score (America’s scoring system for its celebrities and their likability) but here is a partial list that details the going rate for some Chinese celebrities. It’s anyone’s guess if any of these expensive talking heads will help your brand, but at least choose someone who fits your image. enoVate hopes to not see Jackie Chan endorsing Nascar.

• More Trouble for Celebrity Endorsements in China – Wall Steet Journal
• Branding and Celebrity Endorsement – Martin Roll
• Star Power (Luxury Brands and Celebrity Endorsement) – Lab Brand
• All About…Celebrity Endorsement – Brand Republic
• Cool Jay (The Jay Chou Story) – Time Magazine
• Jay Chou Breaks Asian Entertainment Endorsement Fee Record – Zimbio

Feel free to comment on the links or notify us of any other interesting celebrity tidbits from around the web.

In the world of endorsements, this summer will be remembered for the idol drama “一起来看流星雨” (Let’s go to see the Meteor Swarm together ). The TV show was adapted from Japanese manga artist Yoko Kamio’s “Boys of flowers,” a piece that had already spawned successful TV series in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Hunan TV Station released the mainland version this summer with great fanfare. The response was overwhelming, though not necessarily positive. Many decried the show as the worst example Shanzhai on Chinese TV. Others supported the show. Either way, few predicted the amount of attention and commentary the show would generate.

While some will remember the show for its ability to take 5 former reality TV contestants from obscurity to instant stardom, we at enoVate are more interested in the show’s ad placements and impact.

Fans and detractors of the show were most vocal about the never before seen level of advertising. A product placement ad appeared almost every 5 minutes. From the MG car that the characters drove to the school uniforms that were created by Metersbonwe, many scenes were filled with obvious product placements. Even the shampoo was clearly an ad placement.

Many online started to protest against the show’s level of sponsorship. Netizens complained that they felt inundated with hard sells and ads and that they were no longer watching a drama but rather an extended commercial.

If we ignore the online noise for a moment, we can find some insightful takeaways. The show quickly topped Hunan TV station’s list of most watched programs. Since the show launched online, up to 30 million people searched for its name on busy days. The program’s two main actors, Zheng Shuang (郑爽) and Zhang Han (张翰), have both made it into the top 3 “most searched entertainers” list. Other actors（Yu Haoming 俞灏明and朱梓骁 Zhu ZiXiao) are also ranked within the top 20.

While we cannot quantitatively access the impact of these product placements, if the above example of actors catching fire is in any way representative of the power of the show, brands should be pleased with their strategy. The show’s audience was the 15 ~ 28 years old segment, the most important consumer group in China. Despite the grumbles from some about the saturations of ads, these brands were tied to some of the biggest stars in China over the summer and anyone who tuned into the show is now more aware of these brands and their products. Even if there wasn’t a direct increase in sales from some of these brands, they were, at the very least, still the topic of conversation for millions of young Chinese this summer. This author thinks that is a great example of the old adage “any publicity is good publicity.” As a viewer, sure, I would have appreciated a few less obvious ad placements, but as marketer I can appreciate the power of the strategy. A more creative use of ads will hopefully appear next summer, but until then, we can sit back and appreciate this summer’s most impactful marketing.

What’s interesting is that this news not only reveals the nature of how the brand has researched the endorsement, but it’s also indicative of overall brand and business development. VANCL originated as a purely online B2C retailer of shirts for men, aged between 25-40. As it superseded its business model inspiration, PPG, VANCL has gone on to include a complete line of menswear, footwear, and both women and children lines.

Male celebrities polled included Tony Leung & Andy Lau. The winner remains anonymous.

Female celebrities polled included Xu Jinglei & Song Hye Keo.

As VANCL’s early core product (menswear) was limited and the brand image uncluttered, anonymous models/actors who could “provide demographic cues such as age, gender and role” were appropriate for the online marketing carried out by the brand. The decision to move towards celebrity endorsement shows the need to restore a more focused brand identity as “celebrities offer all [of the above] meanings with special precision [and] in addition, they offer holistic image and personality through associations.” A wider range of product, an expanding target base, can all lead to brand image being watered down. If VANCL can select appropriate representatives they can realign and refocus the core meaning of their brand and grow their base.

Whether or not this push to recruit celebrities will mean further shifts in VANCL marketing, such as expanding to new platforms, is yet to be seen. So far the entirety of their marketing has been online. If it is to remain that way then it is important that Vancl employ innovative ways to best leverage their chosen star(s) power. With shanzhai celebrity endorsement popping up around China, photos alone won’t suffice.

Celebrities don’t make a campaign but they drive one, buying an endorsement is the first step but how VANCL best uses it remains to be seen.