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For the folks working in the Chinese Internet space tend to watch out for the report authored by the China Internet Network Information Center. In the 27th China Internet Development Report it was reported the number of Chinese netizens had reached 457 million, an increase of 73.3 million compared with the same period in 2009.  Interestingly, the report also claimed there were 450 million broadband users.

 I have been asked to present to a distinguished group of Swiss thought leaders, that include folks that manage some of the largest companies and those that input ideas to global NGO groups. This is quite an honor to be given this opportunity so I wanted to get a good idea about their current knowledge and interest is in the Chinese Internet space.

As it transpires, they have been described as having just a basic understanding of the Chinese Internet space. At first, I was a little surprised but on reflecting it should be expected as given the reversal of roles, I too would probably have little insight. To make this presentation a little more interesting (rather than a load of slides outlining millions of users here and millions of users there), I took a Mythbusters theme to at least make it more interesting. Please continue reading and you will find the presentation.

I am a keen proponent of using Social Media Marketing (SMM) in digital campaigns as part of a multi-channel approach. However, I am often surprised by some of the comments from clients suggesting they see this channel a niche or the edgy side of digital marketing. I know that the Internet is littered with firms and individuals touting themselves as social media 'experts' and just like the "snake-oil salesmen" of the old wild West, we will see this segment go through a period of rapid growth as many jump on the social media bandwagon.

Below, you can see the spending trends emerging in SMM and clearly we are seeing the first phase of a rapid period of growth. Although these are numbers of based on US research, I have no doubt we will see this reflected in China and in Asia more broader.

It is widely acknowledged in the travel and hospitality sectors (as well as others) is that brand awareness will affect consumers’ purchasing intention. Therefore, with potential revenues at stake, a large number of hotels are spending a tremendous amount of capital on enhancing their brands and brand awareness. In particular, the multi-national hotel companies that are expanding their footprint in China; opening new hotels and expanding into new business areas such as food/beverage, event room hires and conference facilities.

Therefore the results from the "Chinese Hotel Brand Survey" (March, 2010), researched and published by SinoTech Group is an interesting guide in highlighting which of these leading 16 hotel brands are achieving a broad recognition in China as well as understanding the key drivers for consumers in selecting a hotel. The results were telling and should inform those hotels wanting to drive room sales through online marketing.