Introduction to WeChat
With such a vast digital cluster at our fingertips, it can be easy for things to slip by. This includes WeChat, a Chinese social media app that is changing the Chinese way of life. WeChat is in short, a free, cross-platform and instant messaging application developed by Chinese company Tencent in 2011.
Over the last couple years, it’s gained notoriety for its ease of use and impressive range of functions including:
- Gaming
- Money transferals
- Video calls
- Instant messaging
- Reading news
- Review posting
- Ordering food and services
- Fitness Assistance (e.g. WeRun step tracker)
Like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, WeChat is a great way to connect with friends and families. However, with its versatility and effortless integration into daily life, companies are already viewing WeChat in a different way; as an opportunity to put their brand at the forefront of people’s lives. Companies including: McDonalds, Pepsico, Montblanc, Burberry, Mercedes-Benz and more.
Case Studies to Inspire Your Brand
PepsiCo ‘Bring Happiness Home’
During the 2014 Chinese New Year, it is a tradition for Chinese people send good wishes to friends and families. PepsiCo placed their own twist on the classic tradition through their holiday campaign called ‘Bring Happiness Home’. People used WeChat to record an audio message that would get mixed in with a soundtrack of the popular ‘Bring Happiness Home’ theme song, to share with friends and loved ones.
“You could also add in effects like the sound of a train, and say, ‘Mom, I’m on my way home,'” said Tim Cheng, chief creative officer of DDB Group Shanghai, which created the campaign.
“It’s about spreading happiness, as opposed to ‘buy Pepsi,'” Mr. Cheng said.
McDonalds ‘Big Mac Rap’
Similar to PepsiCo, McDonald’s WeChat campaign also integrates WeChat’s voice capabilities. McDonalds’ rolled out a campaign all over China promoting its signature Big Mac hamburger, featuring “The Voice of China” TV host Hua Shao. Amongst the shows’ defining features was Hua Shao’s opening monologue delivered at a blistering fast pace in which the host introduced the show and thanked sponsors.
The brand sponsored a contest asking people to upload videos or sound clips of themselves delivering the “Big Mac Rap” in Hua Shao’s fast-paced style. “Hua shao talk” subsequently become a big trending topic and was the object of countless spoofs and imitations.
This campaign inspired online chatter and countless spoofs. The campaign includes deep discounts on Big Macs to encourage people to go “back to basics” in their sandwich choice. As China-based branding agency Labbrand points out, uploading the audio on WeChat is simple, and the app then opens up possibilities of user-generated content on a mass scale.
Montblanc ‘Moon Phase Products’
The Swiss watch brand Montblanc, launched a campaign highlighting the importance of moon phases for the Chinese population. Through WeChat, Montblanc offered its followers the chance to participate in the promotion of their Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar, and Bohème Perpetual Calendar Jewelry watches which included on the watch dial a moon phase complication that tracks the wax and wane of the moon.
Members would type their gender and birthdate into the app in order to receive information of their birth moon phase and the effect it has on their personality, passions, hobbies and work. These results were developed by Wang Xiaoya, a famous Chinese astrology author.
WeChat ‘Red Envelope Gift Exchange’
The most viral recent Chinese social media campaign came from WeChat itself. As WeChat delves into e-commerce, it needs people to plug their bank numbers into its payment service Tenpay.
To accomplish this, it offered an updated take on the new year tradition of exchanging ‘red envelopes’ or hongbao, as gifts. WeChat digitised the tradition by creating a gambling game where users send money to a group, with sums randomly distributed among people.
This feature was instantly a smash hit, and reportedly over 20 million envelopes were exchanged during the campaign.
WeChat Data Report
WeChat recently unveiled their ‘2016 WeChat Data Report’ at the 2017 WeChat Workshop Pro Edition event in China. Listed below are a selection of the key takeaways from the data report.
‘Overall’ and ‘Messages’
- 768 million daily users along with a 35% growth from 2016.
- 50% of users use WeChat for at least 90 minutes a day.
- 65% of all Monthly Active users were born in the 80s or 90s.
- 67% Year-over-Year growth in total messages sent per day.
‘Video & Voice Calls’ and ‘Moments’
- 100 million calls average daily, up by 180% from the previous year.
- 70% of calls are from Typical Users (Users born in 80s or 90s).
- Average calling minutes per User each month for Youth Users and Typical Users is 65 minutes each while Senior Users sit at 82 minutes.
- Proportions of WeChat Moments posts (WeChat’s equivalent of a Facebook feed) with original content are 73% among youth users and 65% among typical users.
Five things to take away from ‘Introductory Guide to WeChat for Businesses‘
- WeChat is in short, a free, cross-platform and instant messaging application developed by Chinese company Tencent in 2011.
- Over the last couple years, it’s gained notoriety for its ease of use and impressive range of functions.
- With its versatility and effortless integration into daily life, companies are already viewing WeChat in a different way; as an opportunity to put their brand at the forefront of people’s lives.
- 768 million daily users along with a 35% growth from 2016.
- 50% of users use WeChat for at least 90 minutes a day.
