8 KEY TRENDS FOR WECHAT IN 2017

MATTHEW BRENNAN

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MATTHEW BRENNAN

CO-FOUNDER OF CHINA CHANNEL

MATTHEW IS A REGULAR KEY NOTE SPEAKER ON THE TOPIC OF WECHAT AND CHINA’S MOBILE

ECOSYSTEM. HE WORKS PRIMARILY WITH INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES HELPING TO FORM AND

IMPLEMENT THEIR WECHAT PLATFORM STRATEGY THROUGH TRAINING, WORKSHOPS, COACHING.

MATTHEW IS A FLUENT MANDARIN SPEAKER AND HOLDS 13+ YEARS ON THE GROUND

ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE IN CHINA. HIS COMPANY ORGANIZES CHINA’S LARGEST WECHAT

MARKETING CONFERENCE SERIES FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES.

EMAIL: MATTBRENNAN@CHINACHANNEL.CO

LINKEDIN: HTTPS://CN.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/MATTHEW-BRENNAN

THIS PRESENTATION IS ADAPTED FROM A KEYNOTE SPEECH DELIVERED AT CHINA CONNECT

CONFERENCE IN PARIS ON MARCH 2ND 2017 BY

???

IS WECHAT STILL COOL? I HEARD EVERYONE IN CHINA IS USING WEIBO AGAIN.

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINACHANNEL.CO

THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE SILLY THINGS WE

CAN EXPECT MEDIA TO START SAYING ABOUT

WECHAT IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON.

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“一切以用户价值为依归，用户价值是第一位的”

“EVERYTHING IS WITH USER VALUE IN

MIND. THE VALUE TO THE USER IS THE

FIRST PRIORITY.”

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINACHANNEL.CO

IN THE SAME WAY THAT AMAZON IS RELIGIOUS

ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. TENCENT IS

RELIGIOUS ABOUT THEIR USER EXPERIENCE.

USER NUMBERS

& ENGAGMENT

HITTING THE BAMBOO CEILING?

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WeChat Open Class PRO Edition Dec 2016 Guangzhou

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MOST INTERESTING STATISTIC FROM

WECHAT’S LAST DATA REPORT WAS…

“ONLY 1% OF WECHAT USERS ARE

ABOVE THE AGE OF 55.”

STEPHEN WANG

WECHAT TEAM: DIRECTOR USER GROWTH

AND ENGAGEMENT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

DOESN’T EVERYONE IN CHINA USE WECHAT?

CHINACHANNEL.CO

PREVIOUSLY CHCH SURVEYED

100’S OF PEOPLE IN RURAL

TOWNS IN CENTRAL CHINA

ABOUT HOW THEY USE WECHAT.

MOST SENIORS WE SPOKE TO USED

PHONES THAT COULDN’T RUN WECHAT.

590 618 630 649 668 688 710

460

500530

557594 620

656

235

355

438

500

600

697

806

H1 2013 H2 2013 H1 2014 H2 2014 H1 2015 H2 2015 H1 2016

CHINA INTERNET USERS

CHINA MOBILE INTERNET USERS

WECHAT USERS

Data: China Internet

Network Information

Center (CNNIC)CHINA INTERNET USERS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Data Source: Tencent

CHINACHANNEL.CO

LINE MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS. THE FUTURE OF WECHAT?

Data Source: LINE Corp

140

120

180

160

220

200

CHINACHANNEL.CO

LINE DOMINATES

MESSAGING IN JAPAN

Graphic Source: ARK Invest (2017 Jan)

CHINACHANNEL.CO

PRETTY MUCH

EVERYTHING

THAT’S GOING UP

ON THIS CHART IS

OWNED BY

FACEBOOK…

CHINA TOP 10 APPS JAN 2017MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS (MILLIONS)

*Data: Analysys.cn

(mainland China users only)

767

580

355

283244 241 233 231 220 215

CHINACHANNEL.CO

SOURCE: WECHAT TEAM

TYPICAL DAILY SCHEDULE FOR AN ENGAGED WECHAT USER

CHINACHANNEL.CO

TIME SPENT ON MOBILE IN CHINA

Data Source: QuestMobile, TrustData and Hillhouse Estimates

45%35%

10%

EVERYTHING

ELSE

10%

TENCENT OTHER

TENCENT OWNS 55%

OF ALL TIME ON

MOBILE IN CHINA

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Data Source: QuestMobile

TOTAL TIME SPENT ON MOBILE IN CHINAVS. TIME SPENT ON WECHAT

1,000

26.5%

TOTAL MOBILE TIME SPENT

WECHAT TIME AS % OF ALL TIME ON MOBILE IN CHINA

26.7%29.4%

31.5% 31.9%

36.3% 35.5%34.5% 34.1% 35.2%

33.7% 32.8% 35.2%

SEPT 15

OCT 15

NOV 15

DEC 15

JAN 16

FEB 16

MAR16

APR 16

MAY16

JUNE 16

JUL 16

AUG 16

SEPT 16

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

BILLION

MINUTES

TIME SPENT IN WECHAT

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

CHINACHANNEL.CO

BOTTOM LINE

• USER NUMBERS WILL TOP OUT

• EXPECT WIDE NEGATIVE MEDIA

COVERAGE

• SENIORS ARE KEY (ONLY) AVENUE

FOR GROWTH

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHAT PAID

ADVERTISING OPTIONS

FACEBOOK ADS FOR CHINA?

CHINACHANNEL.CO

VALUE ADDED

SERVICESONLINE

ADVERTISING

OTHERS: PRIMARILY

PAYMENTS & CLOUD

69%

19%

12%

TENCENT 2016 Q3 EARNINGS REPORT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF NEWSFEED AD IMPRESSIONS PER DAY

PLATFORM Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016

WECHAT

MOMENTS0.2 0.3 0.4

FACEBOOK

GLOBAL8.8 9.3 10.6

FACEBOOK

US & CANADA20.6 23.2 25.6

FACEBOOK

ASIA9.0 9.2 12.4

Data Source: Daiwai Capital Markets

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“THE NUMBER OF ADVERTISERS (USING

WECHAT MOMENTS ADS) INCREASED

OVER 100% IN THE LAST QUARTER.”

JAMES MITCHELL

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER,

SENIOR EXECUTIVE VP, TENCENT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

NEW FORMATS

MOMENTS ADS:

FULL SCREEN

& INTERACTIVE

CHINACHANNEL.CO

AD > MEMBER CARDS > COUPONS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“GIFTING FEATURE WILL GRADUALLY

BE OPENED TO OTHER QUALIFIED

RETAILERS IN THE FUTURE”

- WECHAT TEAM

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MOMENTS LOCAL ADS

LAUNCHED NOV ‘16

FIXED PRICE PPM (PAY PER 1,000 IMPRESSIONS)

STARTING FROM 300 RMB (42 EURO)

UP TO 10 DAY CAMPAIGN

4,400 BUSINESS DISTRICTS IN 81 CITIES

AREA PPM

SHANGHAI / BEIJING 150 RMB (21 EURO)

LARGE CITIES (22 IN TOTAL) 100 RMB (14 EURO)

ALL OTHER DISTRICTS 50 RMB (7 EURO)

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MOMENTS ADS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

2016: WECHAT BANNED

INCENTIVIZED SHARING

2017: H5 CAMPAIGNS

ARE DEAD NOW RIGHT?

CHINACHANNEL.CO

STORY TELLING &

CREATIVE MUCH

MORE IMPORTANT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

"THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: WRITE GREAT

CONTENT, CAPTIVATING STORIES, AND

DON'T FOCUS ON SHOVING YOUR

PRODUCTS DOWN THE USERS' THROAT."

THOMAS GRAZIANI

COFOUNDER, WALKTHECHAT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

BOTTOM LINE

• EXPECT BETTER TARGETING AND

MORE FORMAT OPTIONS

• MORE SME FRIENDLY OPTIONS

• FOLLOW DEVELOPMENTS CLOSELY,

FIRST MOVERS ON NEW FORMATS

USUALLY HAVE BIG ADVANTAGE

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHAT PAY

THE 1ST UNIMAGINABLE TREND

CHINACHANNEL.CO

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

CHINA

USA

3RD PARTY MOBILE PAYMENTS ($TN)

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Data Source: Forrester Research (US), iResearch (China)

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHAT USERS MAKING E-COMMERCE

PURCHASES THROUGH WECHAT

15%

31%

2015 2016 Data: McKinsey’s 2016

China Digital Consumer

Survey ReportCHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINA 3RD PARTY

MOBILE PAYMENTS

MARKET 2014

Data Source: iResearch Q3 2014

10.0%

82.6%

4.4%

TENPAY

3% OTHERS

ALIPAY

LAKALA

CHINACHANNEL.CO

2015…

Data Source: iResearch Inc. Q3 2015

19.2%

69.9%

8.7%

LAKALA

2.2%

TENPAY

OTHERS

ALIPAY

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Data Source: Analysys Ltd. Q3 2016

38.1%50.4%

8.1%

LAKALA

3.3%

TENPAY

OTHERS

ALIPAY

2016…

CHINACHANNEL.CO

2017?

COULD THIS BE THE YEAR WECHAT PAY DRAWS

EVEN IN MARKET SHARE WITH ALIPAY?

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHAT PAY REVENUE IS REPORTED UNDER

‘OTHER REVENUE’ IN TENCENT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

LUCKY MONEY IS FIRST LAUNCHED

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

MIL

LIO

NS

CN

Y

CHINACHANNEL.CO

LUCKY MONEY WAS THE KEY…

THE PEARL HARBOR ATTACK

“IT WAS REALLY IMPRESSIVE! THIS YEAR’S

PEARL HARBOR ATTACK WAS INDEED

BEAUTIFULLY PLANNED AND EXECUTED.”

JACK MA

CHAIRMAN OF ALIBABA GROUP

(DESCRIBING LUCKY MONEY)

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHAT: A SOCIAL APP THAT HAS SUCCESSFULLY

TRANSITIONED INTO A PAYMENTS PLATFORM.

ALIPAY: A PAYMENTS PLATFORM THAT IS TRYING

DESPERATELY TO BECOME A SOCIAL APP.

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINACHANNEL.CO

FRIEND’S CIRCLE VR RED PACKETS RIGHT HERE

ALIPAY KEEPS ROLLING OUT NEW SOCIAL FEATURES…

???

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Data Source: 36Kr Q1 2017

0%

22%

67%

11%

PAYMENT

METHODS IN

CONVENIENCE

STORES: BEIJING

ZHONGGUANCUN

CASH

UNION PAY

CREDIT+DEBIT

CARDS

APPLE PAY

ALIPAY +

WECHAT

PAY QR

CODE

PAYMENTS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Data Source: 36Kr Q1 2017

67%

17%

16%

SOLID

UNDERSTANDING

ONLY CASHIER

UNDERSTANDS NO

COMPREHENSION

BEIJING

ZHONGGUANCUN

CONVENIENCE

STORE STAFF

UNDERSTANDING OF

APPLE PAY

CHINACHANNEL.CO

BOTTOM LINE

• 2017 MAY SEE WECHAT PAY PULL

EVEN WITH ALIPAY

• ALIPAY WILL CONTINUE TO TRY

AND REALISE THEIR DREAM OF

UNLOCKING SOCIAL

• APPLE PAY… ERRR, NO.

CHINACHANNEL.CO

INTERNATIONAL

STRATEGY

TARGETING CHINESE TOURISTS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Image Credit: CCTV2

EVERY DOT ON THESE PICTURES IS AN ACTIVE WECHAT USER.

WECHAT TEAM’S STRATEGY IN EUROPE IS NOT FOCUSED ON GETTING USERS.

INSTEAD THEY WISH TO PROMOTE WECHAT AS A PAYMENTS AND MARKETING

SOLUTION FOR BUSINESSES TO REACH CHINESE CONSUMERS.

GREAT NEWS

FOR EUROPE

20K EURO MARKETING BUDGET COMMITMENT

300 DOLLAR ANNUAL RENEWAL

6 WEEKS PROCESS

OPEN TO ALL EUROPEAN BUSINESSES (EXCLUDING ‘SENSITIVE CATEGORIES’ MEDIA, POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS)

CHINACHANNEL.CO

EUROPEAN BUSINESSES ARE NOW FREE TO OPEN

CHINA VISIBLE OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS FOR CHINA MARKETING

CHINACHANNEL.CO

EXAMPLE

THIS ACCOUNT IS VISIBLE IN CHINA!

CHINACHANNEL.CO

AND OWNERSHIP OF OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS CAN NOW BE TRANSFERRED.

YOU ARE NO LONGER MARRIED TO YOUR CHINA AGENCY!

ACCOUNT MIGRATION

EXPECT ANOTHER IMPORTANT CHANGE SOON…

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHAT PAY SIGNS STARTING TO

POP UP GLOBALLY WHEREVER

THERE ARE CHINESE TOURISTS

Picture: 7Eleven Bangkok

TENPAY (WECHAT PAY + QQ WALLET) TEAM IN TALKS WITH STRIPE

JANUARY 2017

CHINACHANNEL.CO

BOTTOM LINE

• OPTIONS AND TARGETING FOR

NON-CHINESE BUSINESSES WILL

GET MUCH BETTER

• EXPECT PLENTY OF WECHAT PAY

DEALS WITH OTHER GLOBBAL

PAYMENT SERVICES

CHINACHANNEL.CO

COMPETITION

MORE NOISE?

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“WECHAT USED TO BE AN EASY WAY TO ACQUIRE

USERS. IT’S NOW MUCH HARDER. THEY ARE

OVERLOADED WITH GREAT CONTENT AND SPAM.

WECHAT IS MATURING.”

WILLIAM BAO BEAN

CHINACCELERATOR MD, PARTNER @ SOSV

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Data Source: iiMedia Research 2016 APP &

WeChat Public Number Market Research Report

NUMBER OF WECHAT OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS2013 THRU 2017 (FORECAST)

14.1

12

8.26.8

1.4

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017E

16

12

8

4

0

20.3%46.2%

17.3%

376.4%

ACCOUNTS (MILLIONS) RATE OF CHANGE

CHINACHANNEL.CO

AVERAGE VIEWS ON WECHAT

SUBSCRIPTION ACCOUNTS FELL

FROM 12% IN EARLY 2016

TO ROUGHLY 5% IN JAN 2017

Source: WeiHudongCHINACHANNEL.CO

KEEPING FOLLOWERS ENGAGED IS TOUGH

Data Source: iiMedia Research

2016 APP & WeChat Public Number

Market Research Report

60%

10%

OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS THAT MANAGE TO

CONTINUE REGULARLY UPDATING

OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS THAT FOLLOWERS CONTINUE TO PAY

ATTENTION TO

IRREGULAR UPDATING

CONTENT THAT FAILS TO STAND OUT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

REASONS FOR UNFOLLOWING WECHAT OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS

ACCOUNTS ARE ALL THE SAME

LOW AMOUNT OF CONTENT SENT

LOW FREQUENCY OF UPDATING CONTENT

CONTENT JUST ISN’T RELEVANT

OTHER REASONS

50.1%

65.2%

57.9%

43.8%

25.4%

Data Source: iiMedia Research 2016 APP & WeChat Public Number Market Research Report

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“A NEW FOLLOWER ON WECHAT IS 100X MORE

VALUABLE THAN ON WEIBO. FOOTBALL CLUBS

SHOULD USE WECHAT AS THEIR CRM PLATFORM

FOR CHINA.”

DAVID HORNBY, MAILMAN GROUP

SPORTS BUSINESS DIRECTOR

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Data Source: Network Public Opinion

Report, Tencent Index & CSSN

WECHAT OFFICIAL ACCOUNTSPOSTING TIMES: 9AM & 5PM PEAKS

START WORK 9AM

OFF WORK 5PM

THE STATE OF WECHAT REPORT

WECHAT MOST ACTIVE TIMESFOR FORWARDING & SHARING

Data Source: Network Public Opinion Report, Tencent Index & CSSN

8AM - MIDDAY 8 – 10 PM

THE STATE OF WECHAT REPORT

BOTTOM LINE

• COMPETITION FOR PAGE VIEWS

WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS

WECHAT MATURES

• A CORE VALUE OF WECHAT FOR

BRANDS IS CRM & PERSONALIZED

COMMUNICATION CHANNEL

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MINI PROGRAMS

THE TROUGH OF DISILLUSIONMENT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MOST MARKETERS CURRENTLY ARE

UNABLE TO SEE VALUE IN MINI PROGRAMS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM IS THAT

OFFICIAL ACCOUNT’S BIGGEST VALUE

ARE AS A BROADCAST CHANNEL.”

DAN GROVER

FORMER WECHAT TEAM, NOW FACEBOOK MESSENGER

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MARKETERS IN CHINA TREAT WECHAT LIKE EMAIL.

YOUR WECHAT TIMELINE IS YOUR EMAIL INBOX FOR CHINA.

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“ACTUALLY WECHAT IS EMAIL. IT’S A

SHORT FAST EMAIL, BUT BECAUSE IT’S

SO FAST YOU DON’T THINK IT’S EMAIL.”

PONY MA

CEO AND FOUNDER OF TENCENT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

BUT MINI PROGRAMS CAN’T BE USED THIS WAY

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MOBIKE POINTS TO THE FUTURE OF

HOW MINI PROGRAMS CAN ADD VALUE

TO OFFLINE BUSINESSES

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHAT QR CODE SCANNER +

MINI PROGRAM SIGNIFICANTLY

REDUCES FRICTION FOR FIRST

TIME USEMOBIKE MINI

PROGRAM

MOBIKE APP

“THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED NEW

USERS FROM MOBIKE’S WECHAT MINI

PROGRAM ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME

AS DIRECTLY FROM THEIR APP.”

PONY MA

CEO AND FOUNDER OF TENCENT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST EVENT OF 2016 IN MOBILE?

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“POKEMON GO, IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE APP ECONOMY, IF NOT JUST IN 2016, THEN IN THE ENTIRE LIFECYCLE OF THE APP ECONOMY. THE IMPACT OF IT WAS HUGE!”

SAMEER SINGH, INDUSTRY ANALYSIS DIRECTOR APP ANNIE

CHINACHANNEL.CO

ALIPAY AUGMENTED REALITY LUCKY MONEY FEATURE

QQ AUGMENTED REALITY LUCKY MONEY FEATURE

BAIDU MAPS AUGMENTED REALITY CAMPAIGN

CHINACHANNEL.CO

Data: App AnnieCHINACHANNEL.CO

USUALLY MOBILE IS A ZERO SUM GAME

POKEMON GO WAS DIFFERENT

AVERAGE HRS CHINESE SPEND PER MONTH USING MOBILE APPS

Data: QuestMobile (Oct 2016)

75.1

95.0

ALL CHINESE

MOBILE USERS

POST 90’S

GENERATION

= 2.42 HRS

PER DAY

= 3.06 HRS

PER DAY

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHAT IS USED TO SCAN QR CODES

MORE THAN 80 MILLION TIMES PER DAY

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“THE ENTRY POINT FOR DESKTOP

INTERNET IS THE SEARCH BAR, THE

ENTRY POINT FOR THE MOBILE

INTERNET IS THE QR CODE.”

WECHAT FOUNDER, ALLEN ZHANG

MAY 2012

CHINACHANNEL.COCHINACHANNEL.CO

CONNECTING EVERYTHING & EVERYONE

BOTTOM LINE

• OFFLINE SCENARIOS

• FEW CASES OF PROVIDING A TRUE

VALUE ADD TO BRANDS YET

• WATCH FOR NEW FEATURES AND

APIS TO OPEN UP

CHINACHANNEL.CO

NEW FEATURES

VIDEO + LIVESTREAM!?

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“WECHAT TEAM MAINTAIN A VERY

RESTRAINED ATTITUDE WHEN DOING

THINGS.”

TONY ZHANG

COFOUNDER & FORMER CTO OF TENCENT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

WECHATOFFICIAL

PARTNERSECOSYSTEM

CHINACHANNEL.CO

EXAMPLE 1

VIDEO NOW PLAYS

DIRECT WITHIN

WECHAT.

(AS OF LATE 2016)

EXAMPLE 2

MP3 MUSIC PLAYS

DIRECT WITHIN

WECHAT.

CHINACHANNEL.CO

EXAMPLE 3

PICTURE EDITING

DIRECT WITHIN

WECHAT.

(AS OF DEC 2016)

EXAMPLE 4

VIDEO EDITING

DIRECT WITHIN

WECHAT.

(AS OF DEC 2016)

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“THE MOBILE SHORT VIDEO SECTOR SAW EXPLOSIVE

GROWTH IN 2016.”

TRACEY XIANG

CHINA TECH INDUSTRY ANALYST

LIVE STREAM

SHORT VIDEO

E-COMMERCE

FEATURE PLATFORM OWNED BY

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINACHANNEL.CO Chart: TechInAsia

WEIBO, THE CHINESE TWITTER, IS BIGGER THAN TWITTER?!

“SOONER OR LATER WE’LL SEE CHANGES THAT

WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR PUBLISHERS TO POST

VIDEO DIRECT TO A PERSON’S (NEWS) FEED. THIS

WILL BE A GAME CHANGER FOR BRANDS IN TERMS

OF THE CREATIVE OPPORTUNITY.”

JEREMY WEBB

NATIONAL DIRECTOR, SOCIAL@OGILVY CHINA

CHINACHANNEL.CO

RUMORS: WECHAT LIVE STREAM?

ARGUMENT FOR: THE BUSINESS MODEL IS FANTASTIC

ARGUMENT AGAINST: MISMATCH WITH WECHAT

PRODUCT VALUES

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CORE SEARCH FRIEND’S NEWS FEED SEARCH

GROUP CHATSEARCH BY DATE

SOCIALLY RANKED ARTICLE SEARCH

CHINACHANNEL.CO

IMPROVEMENTS TO WECHAT SEARCH IN 2016

CHINACHANNEL.CO

SEARCH RESULTS FROM OUTSIDE WECHAT NOW APPEARING

BOTTOM LINE

• SHORT VIDEO – PROBABLY YES

• LIVESTREAM – PROBABLY NO

• BETTER SEARCH – YES

CHINACHANNEL.CO

THE 2ND

UNIMAGINABLE TREND

CHINA’S PAYING FOR

KNOWLEDGE?!

CHINACHANNEL.CO

TENCENT GLOBAL

PARTNERS CONFERENCE

“THE MOBILE MARKET IS SATURATED. WHEN ALL THE

PRODUCTS ARE MATURE AND ALL SIMILAR, CONTENT IS

THE WAY TO DIFFERENTIATE. THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE,

THE VALUE OF CONTENT IS NOW INCREASING RAPIDLY IN

THE INDUSTRY.”

RHEA LIU – ANALYST AT TENCENT

CHINACHANNEL.CO

75.65%

51.73%

34.23%

20.70%

6.91%

0.76%

WILLING TO PAY FOR

QUALITY CONTENT

QUALITY CONTENT

PROVIDERS DESERVE PAYMENT

WILLING TO PAY IF ONLINE

LEARNING IS USEFUL

ONLINE EDUCATION IS

SUPPOSED TO BE NONPROFIT

MORE WILLING TO PAY

FOR OFFLINE COURSES

WILLING TO LEARN BUT

NOT NECESSARY TO PAY

ATTITUDES TO PAYING FOR ONLINE LEARNING

Data Source: Netease, Guokr, Jan 2017

CHINACHANNEL.CO

“WAIT FOR WECHAT PAY

TO READ FEATURE (TO

ARRIVE).”

CHINACHANNEL.CO

PONY MA

CEO AND FOUNDER OF TENCENT

DRIVING FACTORS

CHINESE CONSUMERS NOW HAVE HIGHER INCOME

(TIME > MONEY)

UBIQUITOUS MOBILE PAYMENTS & MICRO-PAYMENTS

HUGE POPULATION: THINGS SCALE EASIER / NICHE

COMMUNITIES BECOME INTERESTING

CULTURE THAT PLACES VERY HIGH VALUE IN EDUCATION

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CASE STUDIES

DIFFERENT REVENUE MODELS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

VOLUTARY DONATIONS

(TIP JAR FEATURE)

• USERS REWARD HIGH QUALITY

CONTENT CREATORS

• INDIVIDUAL PAYMENTS FROM 1

TO 200 RMB

• USUALLY ONLY SUBSTANTIAL

FOR LARGE KEY OPINION

LEADERS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

PAID Q&A: FENDA

(ONE MINUTE ANSWER)

• QUORA WITH AUDIO

• MOBILE MICROPAYMENTS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

5,000 PEOPLE PAY 1 RMB TO LISTEN

PLATFORM TAKES 10% CUT

CELEBRITY ANSWERING RECEIVES 45%

QUESTION ASKER RECEIVES 45%

INITIAL COST TO ASK THE QUESTION

QUESTION ASKER’S PROFIT

5,000 RMB

-500 RMB

2,500 RMB

2,500 RMB

-500 RMB

2,000 RMB

CHINACHANNEL.CO

BUSINESS MODELMAKE MONEY ASKING QUESTIONS TO CELEBRITIES

SUBSCRIPTION: OPEN LANGUAGE

• PODCAST AUDIO CONTENT

• EXERCISES, VOCABULARY,

GRAMMAR EXPLANATIONS TO

MATCH

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MATCHING SERVICE: YOLI

• UBER FOR LEARNING ENGLISH

• SHORT 15 MIN CLASSES

• LEVERAGE WECHAT GROUPS

CHINACHANNEL.CO

GATED COMMUNITY

JASON NG 阿禅

• PRIVATE GROUP APP 小密圈• 200 RMB ENTRY (28 EUROS)

• LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINA IS CHANGING…

CHINACHANNEL.CO

CHINACHANNEL.CO

MATTHEW BRENNAN

CO-FOUNDER OF CHINA CHANNEL

MATTHEW IS A REGULAR KEY NOTE SPEAKER ON THE TOPIC OF WECHAT AND CHINA’S MOBILE

ECOSYSTEM. HE WORKS PRIMARILY WITH INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES HELPING TO FORM AND

IMPLEMENT THEIR WECHAT PLATFORM STRATEGY THROUGH TRAINING, WORKSHOPS, COACHING.

MATTHEW IS A FLUENT MANDARIN SPEAKER AND HOLDS 13+ YEARS ON THE GROUND

ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE IN CHINA. HIS COMPANY ORGANIZES CHINA’S LARGEST WECHAT

MARKETING CONFERENCE SERIES FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES.

EMAIL: MATTBRENNAN@CHINACHANNEL.CO

LINKEDIN: HTTPS://CN.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/MATTHEW-BRENNAN

THIS PRESENTATION IS ADAPTED FROM A KEYNOTE SPEECH DELIVERED AT CHINA CONNECT

CONFERENCE IN PARIS ON MARCH 2ND 2017.

8 KEY TRENDS FOR WECHAT IN 2017

MATTHEW BRENNAN

CHINACHANNEL.CO