ASIA-PACIFIC – BEIJING, CHINA, SEPTEMBER 2011: A ongoing study by marketing consultancy R3 has identified the most engaging brands in China in the last three months. According to interviews with more than 1,500 respondents, local telecom giant China Mobile is leading the way, with international brands Apple, Nike, Nokia and Coca-Cola following closely behind. Athletic company Li Ning, Mengniu Dairy, Lenovo, Sony and KFC are in spots six to ten.
Coca-Cola and athletic company Li Ning were the fasted moving brands in China this quarter, in terms of R3’s Engagement Index. Looking at Brand Recall , Coca-Cola increased significantly up 46% this quarter. “Coke invested heavily in digital this year, and the recall is paying off against Pepsi and the market at large” said Sunny Chen, consultant at R3. “Li Ning also grew in recall through its online efforts, as one of the top three recalled Weibo brands” she added.
Covering more than 100 brands and companies, China Mobile still leads the way in China for loyalty and ‘favoritism’ against all others. “China Mobile continues to build engagement and interest through M-Zone, celebrities like Jay Chou and heritage. Only brands like Dove Chocolate and KFC can get anywhere close to it for loyalty,” said Chen. “But in terms of Brand Values, Apple has now moved ahead of China Mobile for the first time – consumers have a rich knowledge of the brand and rate it highly in a number of areas.”
As more and more marketers recognize the power of digital marketing, Coke and Nike are still standing ahead of other companies online. “Coke built a number of highly engaging promotions this quarter, including an on-pack device driving web traffic. One in twelve respondents spontaneously mentioned the brand this quarter, and given they mentioned more than 100 companies, this is quite an achievement,” said Chen.
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Both Sina and Tencent Weibo microblogs have continued unprecedented growth in China in terms of Consumer Engagement, surpassing ‘traditional’ SNS vehicles for the first time. “Brands such as Nike now have as many as 11 different Weibo accounts, targeting different consumers within their base with relevant messages” said Chen. “There’s certainly no sign yet of Weibo slowing down in terms of involvement , interest and passion.”
Although Sina dominates in Shanghai and Beijing, in Tier Two cities, Tencent performs significantly better on Loyalty, particularly in Wuhan and Chengdu. Marketers need a balanced approach to Weibo if they intend to cover all of China effectively.
