Invite colleagues
This morning, I battled traffic and snow to get across town to have a breakfast meeting with Mark, a senior executive working within a US software vendor. Apart from a funny incident when ordering scrambled eggs, the conversation was focused mainly on what was going on in the Chinese Internet space. We discussed the general Internet landscape and who was doing what and with whom.. normal chit chat for two Internet professionals.
Mark asked me what I thought was 'hot' in China and this gave me the perfect excuse to talk about all the topics I find interesting. I responded, "the main areas of growth and hence the most interesting will be in Affiliate, Mobile Search, and Social Media."
Affiliate Marketing : With eCommerce developing at a rapid pace in China, I see a new generation of Affiliate Marketing companies establish themselves in China. I would argue that affiliate marketing has yet really taken off, and we have been tainted by a generation of Ad Unions and Ad Networks pushing unsophisticated CPA (cost per sales) campaigns with little too no thought on the affiliate selection, ad placement or campaign mix. The result- Unhappy advertisers who perceive it as a useless channel in China and publishers who see little commercial benefit. I see the next generation have better understanding of the affiliate principles, more effective optimization processes and clear (transparent) reporting (check out U2Mee). Although Affiliate Marketing is not an appropriate channel for all online businesses, I expect many new online businesses will explore this channel in the next 12 months.
Mobile Search: Mobile has been "the next BIG thing" every year for the last couple of years in China. I have been wrong in the past few years but I believe with the adoption of 3G and the interest of the China carriers to establish a position in this space we will see 2010 as "the year"... I hope. One of the killer apps to be found on the wireless web will be search. Already a hotly contested space (Google, Baidu and Microsoft) should all be vising for dominance on this device for their search products.
Social Media: Social media has created new ways of operating in the digital world. Platforms such as Xiaonei, Renren, Kaixin001 (in the West- Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) have created an environment in which everyone has the opportunity to get their thoughts, multimedia and networking skills across to a mass audience. Businesses have jumped on board and it’s a channel that doesn’t appear to be fading in any way. Concentrate on the major platforms for broad audience, consider micro-blogging as another channel, in certain markets it has become a medium for real-time distribution of content (and marketing messages).
Another area I used to think was more interesting was that of online games but given the recent changes by the Chinese regulators that have now banned foreign investment in the domestic online game industry, I am less optimistic about the abilities of this sector to see innovations and develop new opportunities.
So Mark, I know you are a self-confessed 'lerker' of my blog but please come out, comment and let me know if I missed anything... :)
Written on Tuesday, 10 November 2009 20:08 by Matt McDougall
