ShanghaiZhan: All Things China Marketing, Advertising, Tech & Platforms Ali Kazmi & Bryce Whitwam

Welcome to the latest invasion, no it's not TikTok but Shein & Temu!

It's hard to imagine that 4 of the top 8 U.S. iPhone App Store apps are from China. While TikTok and Capcut make the list, the two big surprises are e-commerce juggernauts Temu and Shein. These companies operate unique, manufacturer-to-customer business models and do not manufacture products but simply work with armies of factories throughout China to use powerful algorithms to serve up a plethora of options. Shein reached an estimated $24 billion in revenue in 2022, while Temu reached 161 million users throughout the world. What's the future of these two platforms? How will Amazon respond?
1. Why have these two platforms become so popular? How do they work? How are they different?
2. What makes these platforms uniquely Chinese? What things are similar to their Chinese platforms?
3. How is Temu disrupting the market, given that it doesn't sell recognized brands and people have to wait to get its stuff?
4. Advantage Shein: consumer-responsive fashion
5. Given its incredibly responsive manufacturing model, will Shein develop more up-market products, or will it stay on the low end?
6. Morgan Stanley says that Temu's growth is non-sustainable. Will Amazon pick up the slack?
7. How will Temu impact China's manufacturing tiers? Will it enable them to sell name brands and compete against Amazon?
8. Does Temu need to deliver a group-buy model to survive against Amazon?
9. Will Costco-style value brands emerge from the Temu model?
10. The importance of time spent on the platform and how it will impact Temu/Shein business performance.

How can brands take advantage of China's new transformation? We decided to invite our livestream episode guests, Chris Baker, founder of Totem, and Minne Wang, Senior Reporter with Campaign Asia, for an in-depth discussion on 5 of the 10 considerations in Totem Media's 2024 report. The report (with links below) is a must-read for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of marketing in China for the next few years.

1. Consideration 1: Value Purchases rule - will this impact brands with weak value propositions? We think so.
2. Consideration 2: Wealth Divides Growing - are we seeing changes in the ever-important middle class?
3. Consideration 3: Trust is Under Pressure: Consumers increasingly scrutinize their purchase decisions, including those in CPG categories. How should brands respond?
4. Consideration 4: Social Commerce is Still Key - are we seeing a move away from Taobao and a greater focus on RED and Douyin?
5. Consideration 5: Brands Need Impact (and not just impressions): How do brands simultaneously focus on brand building while driving sales? How do we prioritize with fewer brand campaigns?
6. A/B Test

Ali and Bryce welcome authors Bessie Lee and Peter Bomer of the book, "China Inside Out," which explores themes of innovation, entrepreneurship, and challenges through interviews with some of China's leading business minds. The interviews were taken from Bessie's popular podcast, Bei Wang Lu(贝望录). Bei Wang Lu showcases the thoughts and actions of leading market and business leaders in China. Bessie is the former CEO of WPP and GroupM and is currently CEO of JLL. Peter is currently CEO of The China Hack.

China Inside Out explores themes such as the digital transformation in Chinese retail, the distinctive characteristics of Chinese entrepreneurs, innovation strategies, and the challenges and opportunities within China's unique business environment with guests like Wang Zhimin, is Founder & Chairman of Nova Vision, Liu Xiaolu co-founder NEIWAI, and Hou Yongpu, Founder of Yongpu Coffee.

1. What's behind the Bei Wang Lu(贝望录) name?
2. What inspired you to write a book, and why did you choose these stories?
3. How do Chinese entrepreneurs handle trial and error, and how is it different from the Western model?
4. Is entrepreneurship still alive in China now that the country is experiencing a slowdown?
5. The small-scale scope for Chinese entrepreneurs: Is there a system that allows flexibility?
6. How do Chinese brands adapt so well to consumer needs?
7. How do foreign brands create success in today's China? What does it take to win?
8. How do you describe China brand growth - is it niche' or is it about scale?
9. A/B: Memos, New Shores, China Innovation & Restless Experimentation

Where is China heading in 2024? Ali and Bryce decided to do a quick recap of our livestream event last week to highlight a couple of the major trends that stood out for us. You can watch the livestream event by clicking below OR download the entire report yourself. Check out the link below.

1. What surprised you? How will advertisers react based on the trends based on the investment scenarios? Brands will spend a lot more on last-mile.

2. The reconfiguration of media spending blew Bryce away, especially. the rise of Xiaohongshu and Douyin and the importance of social commerce over traditional commerce. People are taking more time to decide on what they want to buy.

3. What's the magic behind Xiaohongshu (RED)? Could it go global?

4. How will brands embrace more loyalty/private traffic? Will this help them overcome the economic slump and slowdown in sales, or should they continue to focus on acquisition?

5. How do you define loyalty in the new China?

6. What should be the priority for brand spend? Is this a good time for brands to take a longer-term approach?

China ad fraud has been in the headlines recently, and we wanted to have a show about it. As expected, getting someone on the show to discuss this sensitive topic has been impossible. But we finally found one: Dr. Augustine Fou. He is the Founder of Fou Analytics and a leading expert in the field, boasting a profound understanding of digital marketing, cybersecurity, and advertising. With a Ph.D. from MIT, Dr. Fou has been on the frontline of programmatic and digital marketing for three decades.

1. What is ad fraud? What is it, and how does it work?
2. What's the motivation to buy fraudulent ads?
3. Are impressions still an important measure of advertisement effectiveness?
4. Can we buy on the big platforms where the humans go?
5. Why do they engage in ad fraud if they're not getting the results? The marketing/sales disconnect
6. Is there an opportunity for new and emerging brands to use advertising as it was meant to be used?
7. Can AI help relieve the ad fraud problem? The answer is no.
8. How do brand relieve their addiction to ad fraud practices?
9. How do you drop in tags that may reveal ad fraud (that may ultimately rejected by some publishers)?
10. Where do you think ad fraud relief will go? Enter the CFO.
11. A/B Test: Humans, 1 Billion, Platforms, and Humans

What are the big marketing, advertising, and technology trends facing China in 2024? Ali and Bryce scoured the internet so you don't have to, uncovering 3 trends we think everyone should be paying attention to. What are the "meh" trends - the ones we have seen before, ones without context or thought, or ones simply that won't happen at all? We call these "BS Trends."

Ali's Trends:
1. China's Rise of Mindful Consumption: How can brands take advantage of this trend?
2. Personalization & AI: What do you win/lose as a marketer with hyper-personalization?

Bryce's Trend: The Revenge of Creative Mediocrity in social media + Quiet Selling: Chinese are getting bored & brands are getting lost. What to do about it?

The BS Trends...you'll have to listen and find out!