CIC_GroupM Knowledge Collaborative White Paper - < Chinas Young Consumers in the Age of Social Media >

The Vibrant Lives of Digital Youth:

in the Age of Social Media

CIC - GroupM Knowledge White Paper on Youth

© 2011 GroupM Knowledge & CIC The Vibrant Lives of Digital Youth: China’s Young Consumers in the Age of Social Media 1

Preface

Over 50% of the CEOs of online platforms like Qing Blog, group-purchase sites, vertical portals and mobile platforms in China are born
after the year of 1980. Their shared background and experience means they are well informed of their peer’s wants and needs in terms
of these digital services and as such, create platforms that resonate and win supports amongst their audience. The central role of the
internet in the lives of young people hinges on a desire for new experience and self expression. This virtual identity helps them to create
real-world self-image.

China ‘s youth have a strong sense of individuality and are pioneering social media. With the evolution from social media to social
business, it’s essential that brands to understand their behavior and develop social media strategy that resonates with this audience.
Brands who can skillfully participate in the online community to expand brand recognition, develop preference, loyalty and affinity, can
shorten the distance between themselves and their consumers.

Following the launch of 'The Voice of Luxury: Social Media and Luxury Brands in China' in October of 2011, in December, CIC and GroupM
Knowledge once again cooperate to develop industry understanding of young people’s online behavior. This report aims to foster such
deeper understanding with reference to contemporary social pressures. As such, this white paper can also guide brands in indentifying
target audience and creating effective marketing strategies.


Preface
The China Youth Report looks at the daily lives of Chinese youth, the effect of celebrity culture and influence of brand image. Although
youth may experience different upbringing and environment, they do share strong characteristics. Generally speaking, 80’s generation
are more willing to express themselves while 90’s tend to enjoy making the most of life’s entertainment. gap year, little fresh and “Let’s
build our own town” community are quite popular among China’s youth nowadays, such styles and events are great opportunities and
practice for them to express themselves. There are key areas of interest amongst the young generation, the top three being music (30%),
astrology (28%) and Zhai (15%), which means hanging out at home. Sleep and Fu also make it into the top 20 as favorite tags chosen by
Chinese youth. Young people are exploring identity and realizing their self-worth and social value, while discovering interests that enrich
their lives.

Celebrity culture has traditionally been a key area of interest for young people and as such, celebrities play an important role in
mainstreaming social media. Self-made stars, or those who have been plucked from obscurity to achieve celebrity status, have an
aspirational quality that particularly resonates with young people. In the list of most discussed stars on Sina Weibo, five of the top ten
are self-made celebrities. Their Weibo accounts allow their audience a closer look at this lifestyle and encourage young people to chase
their dreams with the sense that anyone can 'make it'.

Finally, youth are working towards a better quality of life. They have a keen recognition and strong sensitivity to branding and products.
They eat McDonald’s and pursue a future filled with BMW and Chanel. Compared to other age groups, youth are more willing to interact
with their favored brands. They also love sharing their views of brands in entertaining ways. All of this is valuable business for brands.

The aim of this white paper, a collaborative effort from CIC and GroupM Knowledge, is to help brands better understand their target
audience’s psychology and behavior, and as such, become an effective tool in the development of successful social business.


Research Methodology

Research Methodology

• With GroupM Knowledge’s deep analysis of 80’s and 90’s generation in China, the co-branded Youth White Paper gives an overview
of the youth market in China, with particular focus on their online preferences, consumption habits and lifestyle.
• CIC monitored young people’s online activity in social media; blogs, BBS, video sites and in particular, via in-depth analysis of Sina
Weibo. A sample was taken of 2,000 young people’s Sina Weibo account information; 1.2 million tweets, 20 thousand Weibo tags
and 4.4 million followed users are delved for this report.

Data Source

• All data and results of GroupM Knowledge are quoted from 'Analysis of Post 80s and Post 90s (GroupM), '2010 Weibo Research'
(GroupM & Sinomonitor), '2011 China Youth Media Behavior Research' (GroupM & China Youthology), and third party data from CTR-
CNRS.
• CIC identified 80’s and 90’s generations by their Sina Weibo tags and stratified them according to age and region, finally settling
on 2,000 young Sina Weibo users and collecting for the first half of 2011. According to regional classification, 42.54% of 2,000 users
are located in Tier 1 cities, 20.47% located in Tier 2 cities, 20.47% located in Tier 3 cities, and 22.36% in Tier 4 cities. By age group,
30% were born in the 80s and 70% were born in the 90s.


Table of contents
Chapter I
P06 – P18 Exploration and Self-Discovery

Chapter II
P19 – P45 Youth’s Diverse Interests

Chapter III
P46 – P56 Youth Digital Footprint

Chapter IV
P57 – P65 Defining Celebrities

Chapter V
P66 – P72 Brand and Youth


YOUTH
Exploration and Self-Discovery


PART
ONE

80’s generation 90’s generation
The 80’s generation, those born between Most of the 90’s generation are students,
1980 and 1989, are now 22 to 31 years of from 12 to 21 years old. As such, they
age and may have either just landed their spend most of their time in school. Their
first job, or have several years of work short term goals are quite clear; do well in
experience. their studies and get into a good school.

The 80’s generation are at a stage where Unlike 80’s generation, 90’s youth are less
they want to define their sense of self. concerned with who they are and where
They want to explore a meaningful life they’re going, and more about enriching
and develop a fruitful career. Their coming their boring school life with entertainment.
of age has coincided with rapid So, celebrities catch their eye and have
development of China’s digital become an important part of their lives.
technologies and social media. As a result,
they are aware of a wide variety of new
life styles and emerging cultures amongst
their peers.


PART
ONE Emerging Consumption Generation

Post 80s Post 90s

- Driven by entertainment – anything can be a source
Character - Like to express personality and are self-driven
of amusement
Background
- Significant social changes - Rapid Internet development
growing up

Idols - Sports stars, Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities - Japanese, Korean and cult celebrities

Activities - Basketball, football, Go-Kart… - Parkour, fancy basketball, hip hop…

Spirits - Personalized, egoism - Amusement, enjoyment

(Common character) Consumption driven by self-satisfaction
Consumption
attitude - Pursue quality and personalization - Proactive consumers
- Enjoy life and tend to consume on credit - High consumption potential and influence

Source: GroupM 80s & 90s Analysis


PART
ONE 90’s Generation See Themselves Different with Other Generations
A Weibo based keyword survey showed that the 90’s generation view themselves in similar terms to the wider
community; only buzz ranking uncovers differing attitudes. Zhai (宅) is a common attitude amongst all young people.
90’s generation think of themselves as free and in the eyes of the wider Weibo community, the 90’s generation are
immature and rebel.

Keywords voted by 90’s generation Top 8 keywords of 90’s generation descriptions voted by 90’s generation
1.Zhai (宅) 137,002 6.Rebel(叛逆) 36,570
2.Free(自由) 71,290 7.High-profile(高调) 36,116
3.Characteristic(个性) 70,209 8.Pre-mature(早熟) 35,826
4.Sensitive (敏感) 46,944 9.Emotional(情绪化) 32,058
5.Fashionable(时尚) 37,043 10. Neuroticism(神经质) 27,653

Keywords voted by others except 90’s
Top 8 keywords of 90’s generation descriptions voted by other Sina users
generation
1.Zhai (宅) 130,979 6.Fashionable(时尚) 36,256
2.Characteristic(个性) 73,997 7.Emotional(情绪化) 30,999
3.Pre-mature (早熟) 45,749 8.High-profile(高调) 30,956
4.Rebel(叛逆) 43,113 9.Non- mainstream (非主流) 30,778
5.Sensitive (敏感) 40,466 10. Neuroticism(神经质) 25,855

This survey got near to three hundred thousand of netizens join in 15 days. link.


PART
ONE Youth Are Experiencing Greater Pressure
Pressures On How To Release
Academic Pressure Senior high school students throw
all books after examination end
China’s youth are experiencing
increasing societal pressures.

Students face ever more
competition in high school and
university enrollment exams.

Young professionals are
struggling with career
development and the soaring
Employment Pressure Flash mob for high house pricing cost of real estate in China.

Three major pressures
• High real estate price
• Career development
• School enrollment


PART
ONE The Internet Inspires China’s Youth to View Life from Different Perspectives

Thanks to the Internet, Chinese youth now have more opportunity to communicate with those who travel and study
overseas, making them think about life from different angles. So, they seek freedom and self-worth, not a 9 to 5
routine.

China’s youth are no longer satisfied with reading stories. Instead, they want to see world, write their own story and
share it with their peers.

From Watching Online: Weibo
and Blog Articles

Online: Offline:
Douban Interest Groups and BBS
Youth Hostelling Association

To Action


PART
ONE Youth Are Inspired by Peers’ Success

Online stories mobilize youth to think about the kind of life they themselves actually want to live. Whether from your
own friends or young people in foreign countries, real stories of adventure and discovery inspired them to take action
and seek out their own lifestyle.

For youth, it’s not just admiring the travelling experience, but the underlying attitude towards life.
Youth lifestyles and attitudes: 'travelling/gap year'; little fresh/小清新'; 'Lifestyle of City And Nature/乐城族'

Xing An, 23 years old, started her XieXie and CaiCai, a young couple Chang Liu and Yue Gu, finished their 3
gap year in Jan 2011. spent 40K RMB travel to 18 countries months hitchhike from Beijing to Berlin
in 10 months. in 2009.
Blog Visit: 40,149
Sina Weibo follower: 3,065 Sina Weibo follower: 40,634 刘畅 Sina Weibo follower: 50,989
谷岳 Sina Weibo follower: 73,656

Above data is updated till Nov.14th 2011

PART
ONE The Gap Year Is A Journey of Self-Discovery and Realizing Dreams

Youth is struggling with dreams and reality. They are not only seeking for material
but also pursuiting dreams. Right now, youth are on the way to find their dreams.
***
A ‘gap year’ (also known as a sabbatical, time
off or time out) is an expression referring to a period
Gap year Sina Weibo Tweet
of time, which needn’t necessarily be 12 months, in
2010: 1,045 tweets
which students take time off and do something other
2011.01 ~2011.08: 174,496 tweets
than schooling, such as travel or work.
—Wikipedia

'但是，也有很多人怀揣的理想，始终没有迈出脚步。并不是我们钱赚的不够多，时间不够用，其实是
我们缺乏安全感。
安全感不是朝九晚五的公司班车，也不是每月一次的薪资账单。
安全感是对自己的认同，对理想的执着，是别人没法给予的，是人本身的一种特质。' link

'Some people haven’t even started to dream. It is not about money or time, we just don’t have a strong sense of
security to start the journey.
A sense of security is not the company’s shuttle bus, and it’s not paychecks every month either.
It is identity and the persistent pursuit of one’s dreams. We can’t get it from anyone else. It is something within
us.'
'我希望过间隔年..体验一下到底人生能给我带来多大意义..或许是我一生中最渴望的一件事了..我的青春,
我的梦想已经被现实抛弃很远..我很沮丧,我又很不甘心..不甘心! ' link

'I want to have a gap year to experience the life meaning. This might be what I desire most. My youth, dreams are
so far away from my real life. I am depressed but don’t want to yield.'


PART
ONE NGO and Volunteers Activity – Achieve the Value of Life
China’s youth are responsible and motivated to volunteer at social events that help those around them. As
such, participation in various social events, oversees internships and volunteering have become popular.

AIESEC Asia Volunteer Group

AIESEC is the world's largest student-run
organization. It offers overseas volunteer
opportunities and internships, to help
young people get experiences and skills
that matter today. Link

Blog Visit: 37,321
Sina Weibo Follower: 4,178

PART
ONE Little Fresh – Maintaining Identity in A Flawed Reality

The 'little fresh' group indentify
themselves as natural, being of
good taste, pure and elegant.

What does Little Fresh look like?

• Like photography
• Like canvas shoes
• Like cotton clothes


PART
ONE Lifestyle of City and Nature:
Youth Strive to Escape the Stresses of Daily Life

乐城族
Lifestyle of City and Nature

China’s youth feel the stress from day to
day life, so they welcome any chances
that could make them get out of the city
and slow the pace of life.

A community called 'Let’s Build Our
Own Town' meets their needs. Young
people work together to build a new
town, showcase their achievements and
inspire others.

854 members,
504 netizens participated events
1,188 netizens show interests in this
activity.
'Let’s build our own town/自己建小镇' community.


PART
ONE Value of Life: What Youth Wants?

• Dream Youth are not opposed to work, just
want to pursue their dreams.

• Courage In the face of real-life pressures like
family and career development, some
youth seek encouragement to take
action.

• Lifestyle Youth are seeking a lifestyle which is
different with normal daily routine.

There is an opportunity for brands to be with youth, provide information, guidance and
encouragement to pursue their dreams.


PART
TWO Value of life: The Cultural Role of Youth Media

• Lifestyle guidance In a society as fast changing as China,
youth lack of advises directly from
older generations. So, media should
take responsibility as a mentor for
youth.

Chinese youth are evolving in terms of
• Enabler of individuality personal identity. They choose media
that echoes this sense of individualism.

Youth use media to establish their
• Identity ingredients identity. They re-negotiate
interpersonal relationships with social
networks real life and cyberspace.

Source: GMK & China Youthology – Chinese Youth Mediascape 2011


YOUTH
Have Diverse Interests


PART
TWO Motivation behind Youth Weibo Account

• Maintain and build personal network
• A good way for emotional relax
• Looking for information

'我每天回家第一件事都会看大家的评论，而且每评必回，而且，微博让
你什么话题都知道一些，如果出去的话，就都有的聊了，就都知道了。
I have reviewed and replied all comments from my friends, which is
helpful to have common topics with my friends.'
--80后北漂男
One male born after 80, worked in Beijing.

Follow idols and entertainment news
Think Weibo represents latest trend and fashion
'因为我追星嘛，看好多明星也使那个，然后就说能拉近一些距离，
然后就也注册了一个。'
I created my Weibo account because many stars did this and I
can follow them via Weibo.
--90后北京女孩儿
One post 90s Beijing Girl

Source: GroupM & Sinomonitor Weibo Research 2010


PART
TWO Music, Astrology and Zhai Are The Most Popular Topics for Youth
We analyze youth interests by looking at the tags they post to Weibo.

100% Sample tags on youth Sina Weibo
29.0%
75% 28.0%
14.9%
13.5%
12.6%
50% 11.1%
9.3%
8.5%
8.4%
6.3% 6.2%
Top favorite 25% 6.1%
6.1% 6.0% 3.7% 2.3% 2.1%
tags from 2.8% 2.3% 2.6%
1.6% 1.1%
Youth 0%

Unit: percentage of sample youth Only more than 1% tag is showed Source: 2,000 youth sample accounts on Sina Weibo, Jan-Jun,2011

Top Tags from All
Music Travel Movie Astrology Gourmet 80s 90s Zhai Fashion Student
Sina Weibo Users
Source: Sina official data


PART
TWO China’s Youth Don’t Just Listen to Music

A lot of music lovers put music on their Weibo tag. It’s interesting to find that netizens don’t just enjoy listen
to music but also like to sing the songs themselves.

15.7% - Love Music 7.9％ - Listening Music 0.3% - Music
Daren
Music, love music, music kong, Listening music
Music Daren
music lover

0.8% - Music types
3.7% - KTV Hip-hop: 0.3% 0.4% - Guitar
Singing, Mic king, European and American pop Guitar
Karaoke music:0.3%
rock and roll: 0.2%

Source: 2,000 youth sample account on Sina Weibo, Jan-Jun, 2011
% is the percentage of youth are using the tag


PART
TWO Weibo Helps Youth Broaden Their Musical Horizons

2.Foreign musicians are 3. Share-to-Weibo lets you show
1. The hottest songs are made
welcome on Weibo friends your musical flavor
accessible to youth via popular music
accounts . Listen music on Douban FM

Click share
button

'I am so happy. Emma
Watson opens her Sina
Weio. So does 2PM,
Tweet the music piece on Weibo
CNBLUE, Fitiland. I
believe Katy Perry, lady
gaga, IU, 2AM, Bigbang
'#HitFM Exclusive Premiere# Bruno Mars’ Weibo will come soon. 'I’m listening to Yuike Nishimura’s song
song named ‘It Will Rain’ for ' link Future on Douban FM '


PART
TWO Chinese Youth Create and Share Music and related events
Cover songs and original music is trendy
Weibo provides an open platform for young people to share their original songs and covers. American TV series Glee
cultivated millions cover song fans. Jason Chen’s cover songs also attract many Western pop music lovers.
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama Jason Chen’s homemade music
television series that airs on Fox in the U.S. It videos get hundreds of
focuses on a high school music club retweets on Sina Weibo. His
competing on the choir circuit, while its Sina account attracted
members deal with relationships, sexuality thousands of followers.
and social issues.
Glee wins Chinese youth hearts
270,272 tweets on Sina Weibo

Young people are more engaged with music festivals & events
Music lovers are sensitive to event information. With Weibo’s retweet function, more young people get involved and
share festival experience with photos, text and videos.

Music festival
participant tweeted
live music show to
Weibo.

Zebra music festival’s Weibo account has 8,865 fans,
including many verified accounts.


PART
TWO Astrology is A Key Feature of Youth’s Personal Identity

Chinese youth are familiar with astrology and use it to analyze personality. Here are four key occasions they talk
about astrology:

1 Self-introduction 2 Analyze friends’ characters
'片儿V: love travelling, walking,
photography, making friends, pay
attention to emotion, and an Aries
girl who is good at logical thinking
and astrology analysis.'

'Let’s talk about 12 signs in Leo’s eye.
Aries: I like them, but they’re choleric
Taurus: not familiar, stubbornness?' link

3 Forecast unpredictable situations 4 Facing difficulties

Is it not suitable for
Sagittarius to shopping
online this month? link

'Is any Libra job hunting? How are you? I’m so desperate.
Wish an offer please.' link


PART
TWO Zhai: A Relaxing Moment away from It All

Zhai means people don’t want to go out, but rather stay at home the whole day. It has become mainstream amongst
Chinese youth. Netizens view it as a kind of relaxing lifestyle.
At the weekend or while on vocation, youth like to sit on sofa or bed, watch TV, play online games, surf the internet and
eat snacks. This is about find a relaxing moment away from your social life.

Most common online platform for Zhai

Online shopping:
Online chatting:

Social network:

Online video:
Relaxed and Elegant Relaxed and Causal Online games:


PART
TWO Movies: China’s Youth are Conditioned to Switch between Online and Offline

Online Purchase Offline Movie Watching Online Commentary Reading & Criticizing


PART
TWO Fashion: Youth Are on the Edge of Fashion Trends
Weibo

Blog

Shai Fashion
Youth are more fashion conscious than older generations; appearance
is a good way to showcase your personality and identify.
Community
China’s youth love to follow street snapshots and share posts and
tweets on Weibo.

'Shai' is a core element of China’s net culture. Youth Shai and share
various of images of products, portraits, mix and match styles and
street snapshot.


PART
TWO Taobao Stores Provide Convenient Fashion Education and Practice
How does Taobao fit young fashionistas’ needs?

Cheaper : Youth can try more clothes on a budget. Purchase Guides: Make shopping on Taobao
more effective.
Meilishuo and Mogujie
'最近得了一种病，每次去商场买衣服，脑内
are 2 sites that classify
就会自动跳出淘宝页面，默默问自己这要是 '
在淘宝买得便宜多少啊~~~先试试款式回头去 Taobao’s products and
淘宝买吧~~我的天啊~~~有没有人和我一样？ are ranked by
''Link consumers, made
'Recently, when I’m shopping in the mall, I will purchase more easier.
think it must be cheaper if I buy these clothes on '转发是为了保存连接' Link
Taobao. Then I decide to go buy it from Taobao. I retweeted to keep Taobao URL more visible.
Does anyone face the same situation as me?'

Diverse Products and Innovative Styles Purchase via overseas buyer provide cheaper
Allows young people to create unique styles. and more reliable products.
'上网买东西有个好处，就是通常买到的 '是正品的很满意皮质很好外观高档很喜欢我
东西，都是比较特别的。比如衣服，上老婆也说很满意谢谢卖家准备在买一个回来送
网买，穿出去，通常找不到第二个一样给我们领导' Link
的' link It is real ly a product with good leather and a
'It is good to buy special stuff online. For high quality look. I like it very much . My wife is
example, it is handy to find others who satisfied with it as well. Thanks to the seller . I’m
wear the same clothes as me. ' going to buy another one to send to my boss.


PART
TWO Gourmet: Youth Don’t Hide Their Passion for Food

One tenth of youth claim to be a budding gourmet. Some of them
Gourmet/美食
even call themselves '吃货/Chi Huo', who is someone who easily gets
8.3% out of control when it comes to gourmet.

Eat/吃
1%

Foodie/吃货
0.7%

Gourmet Kong/
美食控 0.7%

Love Gourmet/ Base: 2,000 youth sample, Jan - Jun, 2011
Percentage is referring to the percentage of
爱美食 0.4% youth using this keyword in personal tag.


PART
TWO Gourmet: Foodie Type Varies, Spectator Took a Big Part of Foodies
Spectators are active in eating like a gourmet as
long as they get the relevant information.
有木有人今天6点左右会经过金陵东路啊？我想次江边城外巫山烤
Spectator 鱼，但是预定已经排到11月14号了=_=!!!!!. Who will pass by east
Majority of foodies are Jin Lin road? I wish to eat roast fish but its reservation is full til
spectators. 14th November. link

They are active in trying
recommended food and leaving Explorers are happy to seek out different
comments. gourmet foods.
@不二家先生来漳州吃小吃呀，我又发现了好多好吃的！
@不二家先生, please come Zhangzhou to eat snack. I just
found a lot of new, tasty snacks. link
Explorer
Fewer in number than spectators.
They like to taste the foods which
aren’t well known. Practitioners like to make gourmet cuisine
themselves and share it with friends.
Practitioner 大早上吃着自己做的月饼，开心，原来月饼也不是很难做的...
The fewest number
of real gourmet. I felt so happy to eat moon cake made by myself. Happy to find
out making moon cake is not that tough. link


PART
TWO The Foodie’s Digital Map Collects Abundant Gourmet Information

Social media platforms for three type of foodie

Practitioner Explorer and Spectator
– Happy to share new experiences on their – Dare to try new food and happy to
personal blog and Weibo recommend tasty food & good restaurants.

– Exchange DIY experience with others via – Accustomed to searching for good
Douban activity. restaurants using the foodie map.
Blog Weibo Customer Review

Douban
Weibo Activity

Douban Group Group Purchase Site


PART
TWO Sports: Basketball, Football and Badminton Have Been Tagged Most by Youth

Basketball
篮球 2.4%
NBA 1.5%

Football
足球
1.5%

Badminton
羽毛球
0.7%

Fitness
健身 0.4%

Base: 2,000 youth sample, Jan- Jun, 2011
Swimming Percentage is referring to the percentage of
游泳 0.4% youth using this keyword in personal tag.


PART
TWO Sports News Sites and Weibo are Key News Channels;
BBS is More of a Communication Platform
Seek Information – interviews, Deeper discussion and Match Reporting – text, picture and
match reports and rumors communication live reporting
Sports New Site –
Sports New Site Sina, Vertical BBS
text reporting
Netease, Sohu and so Hoopchina, Goalhi ，
on.. Portal Sports BBS… … Sina, Netease, Sohu and
so on..

Tactics Analysis: match preview and review
Weibo – instant text
– Live reporting: text and picture reporting
Weibo Sina, Netease, Sohu and
– Debate: which athlete / team is better?
Sina, Netease, Sohu and so on..
– For some niche sport categories, BBS
so on.. also plays an information channel, as not
much is covered by mainstream media.

Vertical BBS -
Hoopchina, Goalhi ，
Blog Portal Sports BBS… …
For niche category, blog
is more important.
Live Stream
Influential blogs take the responsibility Zhibo8, PPS, Web live
to collect and report industry news reporting page and so
on..


PART
TWO Travel: Backpacking is Gathering Increased Support from China’s Youth

Leisure Travel 8.5% of youth express their love of travel. They
desire to see more of the world and travelling has
become youth’s favorite means of learning more.

Leisure travel: A relaxed work/study break at a
beach resort or leisure city.

Backpack travel: A cheaper, unconstrained and
more challenging way to travel. Travelers research
Backpack Travel the destination, book hostels and air tickets by
themselves.

Nowadays, more and more youth are willing to
have a backpacking travel experience.



PART
TWO Photography: Record Life and Seek Skills

To record daily life, a digital camera and high quality phone camera are a necessity for China’s youth.

Young people take photos of
small moments in their lives,
like food, clothes and friends.

Amateur photographers pursue skills and equipment; a DSLR camera is a must for them.
Different to causal photographers, amateur photographers look for skills and high quality images, gathering with
friends for real-world practice at weekends and holidays.

Youth are pursuing high quality photos and
are ready to invest money in equipment.

Joke about DSLR :
'玩单反穷三代'/ Play DSLR, three generations
poor


PART
TWO Photography is A Daily Ritual for China’s Youth

There are 1,684,844 tweets around 'take a Youth are accustomed to take pictures record
picture/随手拍' culture on Sina Weibo in the daily life.
first half year of 2011 .

1. Take a picture to save a child beggar/随手拍解吃饭时旁边桌的一个老外用蹩脚的中文问我「你们的手机是都
救被拐儿童. 30,210 Sina tweets from 1st Jan to 有检测有毒物质的功能么？」我听了一头雾水，我说「没有
30th Jun 2011. 啊。」他不好意思的说「我看你们很多人都在吃饭前拿手机对
着食物拍照，我还以为……」
2. Take a picture to introduce unmarried youth/
'In a restaurant, a foreigner at a nearby dinner table asked me if
随手拍解救大龄女青年. 147,896 Sina tweets our mobile phone had the function to test the food for toxins. I am
from 1st Jan to 30th Jun 2011. lost and tell him there isn’t this function. He feels embarrassed and
says, 'I see many of you are taking pictures of the food before
eating, so I am thinking….' link


PART
TWO Fu/腐 : Youth Have An Open Mind about Homosexuality
Background of 'Fu' Culture :
Fu, also called 'Boys' Love' or BL, originates in Japan (referred to as Yaoi fandom in Japanese culture) and is a genre of
male/male romance narratives aimed at a female audience.
Nowadays, Chinese youth are much more open to talk about homosexuality and in some cases will even introduce
themselves as a 'Fu girl' (腐女).

Hot contents and accounts about Fu on Weibo Communities on Douban Popular movies, books, comics
and games about Fu


PART
TWO Chinese Youth Also Show More Diverse and Unique Interests

Here are more Douban based examples of the
kind of topics that attract China’s youth:

 1,043 netizens are in a painting group.

 2,605 netizens like to plant moss.

 1,992 netizens like listening to stories

 2,406 neitzens enjoy running at night.


PART
TWO What Are Youth Looking for?

Individual Vs. Social Life: unsatisfied with mediocrity, desire of sense of belonging

Clear Community Structure and Responsibility: willing to scarify

Cool to be a Geek: pursue perfection

Embrace Challenges: Self-Breakthrough

Welcome New Concepts: challenge traditions


PART
TWO Individual Vs. Social Life

Youth want to stand out as an individual but must balance this individualism with a need to belong, a desire
to be part of a community and have fun with friends.

Individual
Zhai: value time alone, relaxing
Fashion: keen to differentiate their style
Photography: dedicated to the pursuit of
individual achievement

Social
Music: KTV to have fun with friends
Astrology: discuss personality and social interrelationship
Gourmet: shared culinary experience
Sports: team centered activity for competitors and spectators


PART
TWO Clear Community Structure and Responsibility

Willing to Volunteer and to Be A Organized, Structured Communities
Community Contributors Interest groups have a clear, often hierarchical,
organizational structure. Youth are active participants,
Chinese youth are enthusiastic and dedicated seeking responsibility and keen to be core members of
contributors to the community. the community.
For example, those who are especially analytical
For instance, young netizens volunteer astrological or academic are eager to act as experts within
translations to Douban groups. TVXQ fans would the community.
like to be volunteers to assist community activity. Others, who derive satisfaction from
organizational tasks, will adopt a facilitating,
coordinating role within the community.

TVXQ fans help fans club to organize activity link Different groups in 'Feeling TVXQ' fan club link


PART
TWO Cool to Be A Geek

To stand out from the crowd, China’s youth are highly driven, often dedicate themselves to one particular
interest to the point of obsession and becoming an expert in that domain.

Jason Chen who is famous for WanRong is a gourmet lover, she
covering popular European and becomes a gourmet editor
Cover song Daren American pop music on Sina Weibo. Gourmet Expert eventually. Currently, she has more
He does very well in covering popular than 20 thousand of followers in Sina
Chinese song 'fairy tale/童话' to Weibo . link
English version. link


PART
TWO Embrace Challenges

Youth enjoy competition and relish a challenge. They chiefly seek out this competitive opportunity with
sports and challenge their own limits by hiking or backpacking.

Sport: Opportunity for good natured competition Travel: Challenge yourself and your independence


PART
TWO Welcome New Concepts Over Clichés

Fu/腐 is not easily accepted by older generations but Chinese youth have welcomed this Japanese
concept. This indicates a willingness turn away from old customs and create modern sensibilities.


YOUTH
Digital Footprint


PART
THREE Youth Spend More Time Online, Less On Traditional Media

Time Spent on Media / per day (2010 vs. 2009)

2%

4% 3%

4% 4%
Source: CTR-CNRS, P15-31, all markets, 2010 vs. 2009
Sample: 2010: 26,693 people; 2009: 22,635 people


PART
THREE Digital Pastimes of China’s Youth

SNS, Online Video and Education

Online shopping, E-booking
and Blogging Online gaming

Post 80s Post 90s

Source: CTR-CNRS Nov.2010 – Apr.2011, P15-31, all markets


PART
THREE Youth’s Digital Footprint
Social Platforms of Digital Youth:
The Internet is not only an information
Weibo: celebrities, family and friends, netizens with shared center, but also a platform for youth to
interests. express their personality and
communicate with others.
Celebrities
– Blogs, Weibos and SNS sites allow
youth act as an individual in the
Family and Shared digital world.
real-world interest
friends groups
– BBS is more like an interest group for
in-depth communication and
understanding in specific domain.
SNS: family and BBS: netizens with the same interests,
real-world friends celebrities.

Family and
friends in Interest
Celebrities
reality groups


PART
THREE Communication Center Playground
SNS: Kaixin notes can be synced
up with Weibo account.
LBS: check-in record is
updated to Weibo .
Blog: Blog article can be recommended
to friends via Weibo.

Since Weibo is more closely linked
Weibo to daily life, facilitated by the easy
browsing and updating of
information, youth use Weibo as an
internet hub and like to forward
other sites’ content via Weibo.

BBS site: have Weibo account to
talk with youth. Meanwhile,
youth would like to follow friends
who know from BBS. News site: have their Weibo
account, youth can easily get
Video Site: Youth are happy to share news from Weibo.
interesting video with friends by
forwarding video from video site to
Weibo.


PART
THREE Mobiles Bridge Digital Life and Real Life

'Finger life' (mobile) plays an important role in bridging young people’s online and offline existence. Mobile surfing and
social media synchronicity blur distinctions between real-world and digital events, activities, communities and friends.

'in 40 minutes’ class,
15 minutes is spend
on Weibo'

DQ store
check-in
information is
simultaneously
Digital Life Real Life to Weibo.

Finger Life


PART
THREE Youth Mobile Usage

Post 80s
34% accessed the Internet via mobile last year
49 mins - average time spent on mobile Internet a day

Post 90s
39% accessed the Internet via mobile last year
57 mins - average time spent on mobile Internet a day

Source: CTR-CNRS Nov.2010 – Apr.2011, P15-31, all markets


PART
THREE More Than 30% of Youth’s Sina Tweets Posted Via Mobile

Only 54.50% of youth tweets are generated on Weibo.com; more than 30% of Sina
Weibo’s youth tweet via mobile phone. The 90’s generation engage more heavily
via mobile than their 80’s counterparts.
90’s generation

37.28% of 90’s generation’s
Sina tweets come from
mobile phones

80’s generation

32.17% of 80’s generation’s
Sina tweets come from
mobile phones.



PART
THREE Mobile Applications Do Battle On Sina Weibo

Aside from Weibo.com, the UC browser, Sina mobile app and the iPhone app are the most popular means of
tweeting. There is an obvious difference of iPhone share between the 80’s and 90’s generation. However,
considering most of the 90’s generation are students, there are many potential opportunities out there.

80’s generation 90’s generation

Weibo.com 57.91% Weibo.com 53.10%
iPhone Mobile Client 11.61% UC Browser 9.44%
Mobile Version of Weibo.com 4.50% S60 Mobile Client 7.47%
UC Browser 4.48% Mobile Version of Weibo.com 7.44%
S60 Mobile Client 4.43% iPhone Mobile Client 5.71%
Android Mobile Client 3.28% Android Mobile Client 2.40%
Kjava Moblie Client 1.69% Kjava Moblie Client 2.23%
Weibo.iPhone 1.15% Weibo Air 0.91%
IPad Moblie Client 0.84% Weibo.iPhone 0.70%
Weibo Air 0.73% Sina Blog 0.54%

PART
THREE Check-In Habits Leave Youth’s Offline Footprint Online

The 80’s generation prefers JiePang, while the 90’s generation
not only like JiePang but also Digu.
80’s generation
'兄弟，继续。@后来滴偶阿八兴奋地玩签到，记录我们的生活，哈哈'
Dude, come on! @后来滴偶 A Ba check-ins exist to record our lives! Haha.'
From 哆哆啦啦梦 JiePang 0.45%
Digu 0.08%
VLD.sina(微领地) 0.05%

90’s generation

JiePang 0.31%
Digu 0.15%
VLD.sina(微领地) 0.02%



PART
THREE Youth Share Videos Via Weibo

80’s generation
'I’ve watched this video many times. I just forward it from Tudou to
share with you. Enjoy it! 'My Fair Princess'. link

Youku share 0.34%
Tudou Share 0.10%

90’s generation

Youku Share 0.18%
Tudou Share 0.10%



YOUTH
Celebrities
Definition


PART
FOUR The Content Captivating China’s Youth

There are 2 kinds of Weibo accounts that young people follow most:
1. Celebrities: pop singers, actors, film directors, writers, models, designers etc
2. Grassroots accounts: black humour, funny stories, latest fashion news, tech reports etc

Celebrities
Grassroots Accounts

Thin Joke Collection Weibo Joke Ranking
Followers: 7,199,779 Followers: 5,616,439
Dee Yao Chen
Followers: 13,920,752 Followers: 14,888,619
Dee and Yao Chen are 2 Weibo queens. Millions of netizens follow these joke accounts.
Above data is updated till Dec.1st, 2011

PART
FOUR Grassroots Can Compete with Celebrities

Compared with the top 10 accounts on Sina Weibo, youth are more inclined to follow grassroots accounts.
Most youth follow the 'Black Joke Selection / 冷笑话精选'.

Top following accounts among youth Top accounts on Sina Weibo by followers’ number

rank name % of youth Rank Name Followers
1 Black Joke Selection 30.60% 1 Yao Chen 11,286,687
2 Dee 29.90% 2 Dee 10,170,807
3 Yao Chen 29.85% 3 Cai Kangyong 8,967,704
4 Cai Kangyong 29.10% 4 Xie Na 8,849,961
5 He Jiong 25.80% 5 Yang Mi 8,645,658
6 Xie Na 25.40% 6 He Jiong 8,567,476
7 Yang Mi 23.15% 7 Zhao Wei 8,546,624
8 Weibo Joke Ranking 22.85% 8 Li Bingbing 8,109,742
9 Headline News 20.55% 9 Chen Kun 7,698,323
10 Splendid Quotation 19.95% 10 Huang Jianxiang 7,376,216



PART
FOUR Most Popular Celebrities among China’s Youth
We identified the top 48 celebrity Weibo accounts followed by young people and found that there
were 8 key categories that attracted youth.
1. Controversial Topics (18):
Edison Chen, Angelababy, Xu Xiyuan, DEE, Yao Chen, Guo Jingming, Zhou Libo, Le Jia, Li Xiaolu, Huang Xiaoming and etc.

2. Variety Shows(13):
DEE, Cai Kangyong, Blackie, He Jiong, Xie Na, Fan Weiqi, Le Jia and etc.

3. Pop Singers(12):
Eason Chen, Jolin Cai, Hebe Tian, Show Luo , Eva , Fan Weiqi , SunYanzi , Wang Fei , Liu Ruoyin and etc.

4. Fashion(9):
Edison Chen, Eason Chen, Gill, Cai Zhuoyan, Jolin Cai, Show Luo ,Angelababy, Blackie, Eva

5. Idols(7):
Yang Mi, Feng Shaofeng , An Yixun, Hu Ge, Han Gen , Lin Zhiying , Zhu Zhixiao

6. Arts & Literature(4):
Zhang Xiaoxian, Liu Ruoyin, Hebe Tian, Wan Fei

7. Light-hearted looks at life(3):
Fang Datong, Hebe Tian, Wang Luodan

8. Film(4):
Feng Xiaogang, Li Bingbing, Chen Kun, Liu RuoYin


PART
FOUR A closer look at four types of celebrity:
Celebrity Crossover Chain 'Headliners', 'Varity Show Stars', 'Fashionistas'
and 'Pop Stars' attract a lot of attention from
youth audiences. Netizens who follow the same
Controversial Topics type of celebrity form a circle and many are in a
lot of different circles.
(18)
Xu Xiyuan, Yao Chen, Guo
Jingming, Zhou Libo, Le Jia, Li Naturally, there are also those celebrities that
Xiaolu, Huang Xiaoming and etc. Idols occupy more than one circle too. Close
(7) relationships between different celebrities create
Dee Yang Mi, Feng a circular chain, which can help brands to spread
Edison, Shaofeng , An Yixun, information more quickly and gain exposure to
Angelabagy Hu Ge, Han Gen , Lin an even wider audience.
Variety Shows
Zhiying , Zhu Zhixiao
(13)
Cai Kangyong, He Jiong, XieBlackie
Show Luo
Na, Fan Weiqi, Le Jia and etc. Fashion Jolin Cai
(9) Light-hearted
Cai Zhuoyan
Fang Datong looks
Gill
Hebe Tian (3)
Eason Chen
Wang Luodan
Eva Fang Weiqi, Sun Yanzi
Liu Ruoyin Hebe Tian
Pop Singer Wang Fei
Film Liu Ruoyin (12) Hebe Tian Arts &
(4): Literature
Feng Xiaogang, (4):
LI Bingbing, Zhang Xiaoxian
Chen Kun


PART
FOUR Celebrity Crossover Chain Phenomenon

Celebrity Chain
Use power and reach of crossover celebrities to influence audience on a larger scale.

Love Life Charity Project

A charity project established in 2010 by famous Taiwanese singer Fan Weiqi and host
Blackie, dedicated to helping disadvantaged and chronically ill children.
1. The spread center is Fan Fan and Blackie
2. Invited 26 Taiwanese celebrities; entertainment, music, drama, sports and fashion
3. The Life project generated a lot of attention. PV: 1,298,878

Brand Implication

 Use 1 or 2 efluencers to engage a certain circle’s audience
 Efluencers in more than 2 circles can impact their total audience at relatively low cost.
 The more efluencers involved with a certain campaign at the same time, the bigger buzz
volume can be generated in a short time.


PART
FOUR Young Stars’ Fans Are More Active in Talking about Celebrities

Top Celebrities by Youth Generated Buzz Volume
Tweet Poster

Wu Yi 7,546
223
Cheng Xiang 3,708
195
BiBi Zhou 2,860
355
Zhang Jie 2,585 Young celebrity Wu Yi (the second runner of
282 Hunan TV singing competition in 2010)generates
Li YuChun 2,509 more buzz amongst fewer poster who are
486
2,441 extremely active. For instance, Luo Xiaotian a
Han Geng 336 fan of Wu Yi, 32% of his Sina tweets are with
2,135 reference to Wu Yi.
Eason Chen 972 49%
Jay Zhou 2,135 In contrast, Eason Chen and Jay Zhou have
1,052 53% relatively low buzz volume but with many more
Jang Keun Suk 2,092
191 posters - 50% of the sample youth accounts.
Yang Mi 2,038
788


PART
FOUR Artists’ Influence over Youth
On the list of most discussed celebrities by youth, singers came from singing competitions took the first five
seats, followed by Korean pop star, pop singer, movie actor and soap opera idols.

Top 10 Celebrities by Youth Generated Buzz Volume

Singers from Singing Singers from singing
Wu Yi Cheng Xiang BiBi Zhou Zhang Jie Li Yuchun
Competitions competitions took top 5
seats

Korean Pop Star Han Geng Jang Keun Suk

Pop Singer/Movie Actor Eason Chen Jay Zhou

Soap Opera Idols Jang Keun Suk Yang Mi
Unit: tweet

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000

Note: at the beginning, Han Geng was famous as a member of Korean group Super Junior. Source: 2,000 youth sample account on Sina Weibo, Jan-Jun, 2011
Jang Keun Suk is a Korean soap opera idol.


CIC_GroupM Knowledge Collaborative White Paper - < Chinas Young Consumers in the Age of Social Media >

CIC_GroupM Knowledge Collaborative White Paper - < Chinas Young Consumers in the Age of Social Media >

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to CIC_GroupM Knowledge Collaborative White Paper - < Chinas Young Consumers in the Age of Social Media >

Similar to CIC_GroupM Knowledge Collaborative White Paper - < Chinas Young Consumers in the Age of Social Media > (20)

More from Kantar Media CIC

More from Kantar Media CIC (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)