summary of 72&Sunny research project

72andsunny is a modern full-service design and advertising company with offices in LA and Amsterdam. Founded in 2004, they are dedicated to unleashing creativity across all platforms and solving tough business problems with massively integrated ideas. They work with clients defining culture today including Nike, Disscovery Channel, Quiksilver, The CW, G4 channel, and Bugaboo.
     Their main strength is they're run by very, very, very smart, experienced, fearless people who want to do crazy shit and make noise. 
     John Boiler: Creative Director/ Prior to co-founding, he was at Wieden and Kennedy for 11 years, including a 5 years stint as Executive Creative Director and Managing Partner of W+K/Amsterdam which he helped grow from 40 employees to 185.
     Glenn Cole: Creative Director/ Prior to co-founding, he was Creative Director at W+K/Amsterdam where he led the launch of the Audi A2 and all advertising for Nike's European business. He helped Nike grow from the #5 soccer brand in the world to #1 in 2002.
     Secondly, they're born digital. Everyone they hire has digital experience or wants to learn. It's the future. 
     Third, everyone is super nice. That goes a long way for morale, relationships with clients, and putting up with lots of 80-hour weeks.
     Their perceived strategy is to make work that's not boring. To do the kind of stuff they as human beings would find fun and interesting. If they are not enjoying it, then the public won't enjoy it either. And then they are screwed.
     I really like what they did for the Discovery Channel ("I  Love The World") and Nike Football ("Take it to The Next Level")

Five Mobile Trends for 2010 from adage

Advertising is not what it was ten years ago. The past decade has seen the advent of social computing and mobile technology, two forces that changed the game forever. What will the future hold? On our respective blogs, MobileBehavior and Organic, have been tracking developments in mobile that will affect advertising in 2010 and beyond. From point-of-sale to out-of-home, here are the top five ways we see the device formerly known as a phone changing the game this year.

1. Mobile will completely revolutionize the way local advertisers can connect with potential customers.

While online display advertising has been incredibly effective for many companies, it hasn't offered all that much value to small, independently owned businesses. For one, the web is good at scale, not so good at precision. It's difficult for mom-and-pops to reach the relatively small audiences that might reasonably be expected to patronize their stores.

A number of new location-based services are beginning to provide attractive alternatives for such small-scale advertisers. Foursquare, for one, allows small business to target offers based on a user's actual proximity to their location. These offers can deliver heightened relevance by appealing to a player's status, nearby friends, or demonstrated preferences. A similar service, Gowalla, has experimented with branded badges and actual prizes that users can win if they check in at a location. Google is also catering more to local businesses by making their Place pages more mobile-friendly. Advertisers can now create Place pages that are accessible through Google Maps, attach mobile coupons, and even include QR code stickers in their window that lead you to these pages.

These examples are really only scratching the surface of what's possible for local businesses through mobile. Expect to see more mom-and-pops jump on these platforms in 2010.

2. Growth in adoption of mobile shopping applications will continue to alter in-store consumer behavior, increasing the significance of mobile in point of sale decisions making.

There are a number of mobile applications and tools emerging that consumers can use to make their shopping trips more efficient, productive, and fun. First, there are mobile price comparison apps such as ShopSavvy, Red Laser, Amazon Mobile. These allow shoppers to compare prices at a given location against nearby competitors and online properties -- an incredibly powerful proposition. There are also crowdsourcing tools like Fashism and BazaarVoice's MobileVoice that help shoppers get outside opinions and feedback before purchasing. These types of apps are prime territory for marketers looking to inject a brand into a target audience's psyche at a critical juncture in their decision making process.

Then there are, of course, mobile coupons, which are finally getting some traction. Zavers, Yowza, mobiQpons and Cellfire are actively signing up small businesses, and it's only a matter of time before big box stores get on board. Add increased consumer adoption, POS redemption infrastructure and a social dynamic and the appeal to marketers will be greater than ever.

All of the above will provide inroads for more effective CRM, specifically, loyalty programs. Consumers checking their phone just before they buy something will create opportunity to deliver more effective personalized messaging derived from prior purchase decisions.

3. Brands and agencies will continue to build branded apps, but will also have more attractive display media options, thanks to Google.

In 2009, we saw a number of brands scramble to check mobile off their lists by creating apps. But now that the marketplace is crowded, many will take a step back and look at media-buying options instead. Google recognizes this; it's why they recently acquired AdMob, i.e., to get a corner on all that in-app content. Google will also build up their network of native app content by making development and deployment of ad-supported apps on their Android platform much easier than it currently is on the iPhone. This is all with the aim of more effectively extending it's AdSense platform to mobile.

Yes, you may say that consumers are obviously keen on micropayments for mobile content. They did, after all, spend $6.2 billion on apps this year, according to Gartner. But consumers are even more fond of free, and in 2010 one way Google will challenge the iPhone is by creating a competitive alternative business model for developers. And where good apps are, consumers go and dollars follow.

Most major carriers and handset manufacturers have multiple Android devices slated for 2010 launch dates, so expect Android's user-base to catch up to the iPhone's by the end of 2010. The web-based Android app store is a hurdle to the experience and doesn't come close to the experience of the iTunes' desktop app. If Google can fix this, then developers may start putting Android first on their product roadmaps.

4. Advertising's outdoor real estate is fast becoming another connected channel capable of delivering high-fidelity digital experiences as unique, varied and measurable as more well-established mediums.

Outdoor advertising has traditionally been very difficult to measure. People move past signs through various modes of conveyance at varying rates of speed making it difficult to know who actually notices a given media unit. Add line of sight and dwell time, and the problem is further compounded.

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) signage is changing all this, and mobile is becoming the key to true measurement and engagement. Using their handsets, once-passive viewers can actually interact with an ad now. For example, Toyota released an iPhone app that let users to draw on the Thompson-Reuters screen in Times Square. Nike's "Chalkbot" allowed cycling fans to have a robot stencil messages of support for Tour de France riders on the pavement via SMS or Twitter. Vans' "Be Here" allowed its users to submit video, photo, or text messages from any of the brand's online properties to be displayed on a digital billboard in Times Square.

In all of the previous examples, mobile served as the glue or connective tissue between outdoor and the web. Indeed, the real potential of DOOH is to blend the digital with the physical world in public spaces. It will also eventually allow advertisers to customize once-mass ads to specific individuals based on data that their phone can reveal about them.

5. Consumers have new power to express their opinions through social technologies from anywhere, anytime. Smart marketers will do all they can to encourage and act on this real-time feedback.

While the crowds may not always be wise, they sure are vocal, and mobile devices are their microphones. In unprecedented numbers, consumers are using mobile-enabled publishing platforms, mainly Twitter, to instantly share their thoughts about products, services and brands.

The best companies have started closing this loop by listening to and acting on consumer's feedback. Some are even creating dedicated apps and services to collect it. Taxihack is a service for commenting live on NYC taxi drivers. SeeClickFix and CitySourced both give users mobile applications for reporting things like potholes and graffiti while out on the town. AT&T recently used a similar tactic with an iPhone app, Mark the Spot, which crowdsources areas of weak reception.

Much of the power seen in these mobile applications is through context attached to consumer feedback. Universal Theatres relies on a SMS response system to test out trailers and gauge audience response during screenings. This in the moment feedback makes for a much more accurate representation of viewers true opinions.

Whether brands carve out a dedicated mobile channel or simply rely on Twitter customer service, we'll see more embracing the feedback loop. The challenge going forward will be an internal one, setting up efficient systems to make sure consumer feedback can be acted on and implemented once it's heard.

from adage Li Ning Has Sporting Chance at Becoming a Global Brand

Li Ning, a sportswear brand most consumers around the world have never heard of, is a leading contender to become China's first truly global brand.


Li Ning has sponsorship deals with four NBA players, including Shaquille O'Neal.
Thanks to the company's impressive 2009 growth in sales, market share and marketing, Li Ning Co. is Ad Age China's first Marketer of the Year. The company was founded by Li Ning, China's greatest Olympic athlete, and opened its first U.S. store this month.
"We've come back strong," said Beijing-based Fang ShihWei, Li Ning's chief marketing officer for China.

During the first half of 2009, Li Ning's revenue grew 32.4% to $593.4 million over the same period the previous year, according to interim results released in August 2009.

Li Ning, a Beijing-based company founded in 1990, is a smart marketer. It has caught up to -- and possibly surpassed -- Adidas, the longtime No. 2 sportswear brand in China.

Now it's closing the gap with market leader Nike at home while working hard to expand overseas.

"Li Ning has taken amazing strides as a local marketer. They are one of the few that truly believe in brand-building, and their business results are really unbelievable, amazing year-on-year growth," said Greg Paull, a principal at R3, a Beijing-based consultancy that tracks the performance of brands in China.

Never heard of Li Ning?


Li Ning ads often feature international athletes like Ethiopian runner Ambesse Tolossa, who promoted a line of lightweight running shoes called ZhuFeng ('Chasing the wind') in 2007.
Viewers of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing saw the company's namesake and founder, a national hero who won three gold medals at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, light the torch that kicked off the games. (Inside China, marketers called his lap toward the torch a brilliant ambush, as Adidas, not Li Ning, was an official Olympic sponsor.)
That moment of glory also kicked off Li Ning's ambitious five-year plan to become both China's No. 1 sportswear marketer and a global brand by 2013.

"It's a young company, energetic, eager to learn and willing to make changes," said Chen WeiWei, Shanghai-based chairman-CEO of Leo Burnett Group Shanghai, Li Ning's main ad agency.

Concept store in Portland
Li Ning is even making bold moves on Nike's home turf. In early January 2010, Li Ning put a stake in the ground in the U.S. with a concept store in Portland, Ore., less than a mile from Niketown. Two weeks later, Adidas shuttered a Portland store three blocks away.

Two years ago, Li Ning opened a high-tech design center in Portland to tap into that city's sportswear expertise.

"We have 26 employees in Nike's backyard," Mr. Fang said with a hearty laugh. "The innovation center keeps up with trends and helps us stay connected to the outside world. We rotate our staff between Beijing and Portland."

Last year, Li Ning opened its first store outside Greater China in Singapore. It also has a store in Hong Kong specializing in badminton equipment.

The company also has distribution in a few other markets including Spain, the Netherlands, Malaysia and Vietnam, and plans to launch this year in Norway.


Li Ning is catching up to rivals Adidas and Nike.
A brand to watch
Li Ning has surprised China's sportswear industry with six years of solid growth selling sports footwear, apparel and accessories, competing against global giants Nike and Adidas with their war chests of marketing dollars and expertise in China.
"Li Ning is the Chinese brand to watch," said P.T. Black, a partner at Omnicom-owned Jigsaw, a youth marketing consultancy in Shanghai. "They have done a damned good job picking up the slack when Nike and Adidas pulled back [in 2009]."

Unsurprisingly, ad spending in China's athletic apparel category dropped in 2009 from an all-time high during the 2008 Olympic year.

Nike and Adidas slashed spending by 75% and 65%, respectively, said Jed Meyer, Nielsen's managing director, media services, Greater China in Shanghai. "By comparison, Li Ning cut spending less, only 37% [to $37.6 million]."

Li Ning has taken on two of the world's best marketers and prospered. Tracking data suggests Li Ning controlled 14.2% of China's sportswear market at the end of 2009, trailing Nike's 16.7% share, but slightly ahead of Adidas' 13.9%.

The Li Ning brand, sold in the company's 7,000 stores in China, accounts for the bulk of the company's sales.

Products are priced slightly below western brands, but created with western design expertise and marketed with endorsements from sports celebrities like the NBA's Baron Davis and Shaquille O'Neal.


One of the latest athletes to partner with Li Ning is Russian pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva.
The company's portfolio includes other brands appealing to affluent urban trendsetters in Shanghai and middle-class teens in rural cities, where incomes remain low.
Li Ning formed a 20-year alliance with Italian sportswear company Lotto Sport in August 2008, giving the Chinese company exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and sell Lotto products in the mainland.

A Li Ning mass-market sportswear clothing and accessories brand called Z-do sells in supermarkets and hypermarkets such as Walmart.

Li Ning hired Interpublic's McCann Erickson, Beijing, to oversee creative for Lotto in China. WPP's Bates Asia network handles advertising for Li Ning overseas. Media planning and buying is done by Publicis-owned Starcom Mediavest.

The company's business "has more than doubled in two years. Key for them has been world-class marketing, above and below the line," Mr. Paull said.

Brand revamp in late 2010
While Li Ning's market share has increased in China, the company is concerned about future growth. A new look for the brand and retail stores will be unveiled later this year.


Fang ShihWei is Li Ning's chief marketing officer for China.
"The young generation is still talking about Nike. They think Li Ning is not a brand that belongs to them, it's for their parents. That's not something we like to see," Mr. Fang said. "We want to rejuvenate this brand to give it a fresh look for all consumers."
In the last two years, Li Ning has hired a new senior management team, mostly young, bright, energetic executives in their 30s trained by western agencies or advertisers in China and overseas. Even Li Ning's CEO, Zhang Zhiyong, is just 41.

Mr. Fang, for example, is a Taiwan native who worked at Leo Burnett, Taipei. Abel Wu, who took over as general manager of the Lotto brand in China two years ago, joined Li Ning in 2004. Before that, he spent nine years at Procter & Gamble Co. overseeing brands like Pampers, Crest, Olay, Whisper and Zest for China's largest advertiser.

Unusually for a Chinese company, Li Ning also employs a handful of foreigners from countries like the U.S., Germany and Singapore at its corporate headquarters, a stylish, sprawling campus of low-rise buildings connected by pathways that resemble a running track.

Overseas sales
While updating its image at home, Li Ning is pushing to get its products into overseas markets.

"Our biggest challenge is convincing major distributors because of our newcomer status. When we approach them, they all have major questions for us: How will you build your brand in our market? What marketing resources will you put in this market?" Mr. Fang said.

In new markets, Li Ning sponsors local athletes and teams, and builds events around sports like badminton, table tennis and basketball.

That strategy works in Asia and could succeed in Asian communities in the West, where table tennis and badminton are popular. But it may be a tough sell to American and European consumers.

Logo and slogan
Li Ning has two other problems in the West. To many foreign consumers, its logo looks very similar to Nike's Swoosh.

The Chinese company says its logo was designed in a contest in 1990, and is meant to resemble both the letter "L" and a patriotic red flag.


Li Ning's logo -- too close to the Nike Swoosh?
Also, Li Ning's slogan "Anything is possible" is very similar to Adidas' tagline, "Impossible is nothing." (The Chinese company is often accused of copying, but Li Ning's tagline was created first.)
As Li Ning makes bigger moves overseas, it will have to deal with these issues to build a brand from the ground up.

"Figuring out how to differentiate ourselves from our competition keeps me awake at night," Mr. Fang admitted. And that's not just Nike and Adidas, but also other Chinese brands like Anta that also are expanding quickly.

"This market is overloaded with competition, and it's too expensive," he said. "There's a lot of pressure."

news update

BEIJING — China said on Thursday that its economy rose by 10.7 percent in fourth quarter compared with a year ago, as the country continued to surge forward even as many other nations are still trying to punch through the global recession. That was up from a revised growth rate of 9.1 percent in the third quarter.

Over the whole year, the Chinese gross domestic product grew 8.7 percent, surpassing the 8 percent growth-rate benchmark that Chinese leaders assert is necessary to maintain social stability. If China keeps up that growth rate, it will very likely replace Japan as the world’s second-largest economy by the end of this year.

The National Bureau of Statistics also announced on Thursday that industrial production in December increased by 18.5 percent and retail sales rose by 17.5 percent. The December consumer price index grew by 1.9 percent and producer price index by 1.7 percent. The numbers were generally in line with earlier predictions.

Chinese officials are clearly worried about inflation and bubbles, especially in real estate, but the latest economic statistics will no doubt drive the triumphant tone of recent official pronouncements on the Chinese economy.

Much of that commentary has emphasized the contrast between China’s relatively successful weathering of the global recession and the severe downturn that still afflicts Western economies, including the United States.

A front-page signed editorial on Jan. 5 in the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, praised the party for its far-sighted economic policies and lauded the Chinese economic model.

“When the financial crisis forced the neoliberal economic system into a dead end, the shortcomings of the capitalist system were exposed for all to see,” the editorial said. “But a China that was pushed to a crossroads proved its ‘national capabilities’ in taking on a crisis by answering with the advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.”

Economic numbers released on Thursday also showed China’s export industry was still responsible for much of its growth. Some Chinese economists have said China must restructure its economy so that it begins to rely more on domestic consumption and less on exports, which are greatly affected by the overall health of the world economy.

Chinese officials remain concerned about inflation, excessive bank lending and loan defaults. In recent weeks, they have acted on several fronts to address those issues.

On Jan. 7, the central bank raised a key interest rate, the first time it had done so in nearly five months. Five days later, regulators ordered state-owned banks to set aside a larger share of their deposits as reserves against failed loans. Investors and analysts had not expected such a move until the second quarter of this year.

On Wednesday, Bank of China ordered its credit officials to halt any new renminbi loans in an attempt to curb overheated fast lending growth in the first few weeks of this month.

Economists said China would move to further tighten bank lending to confront inflationary fears and swelling asset bubbles.

“The first half of 2010 is likely to be characterized by gradual policy tightening, chiefly through administrative measures,” Jing Ulrich, director of the China equities and commodities division of J. P. Morgan in Hong Kong, wrote in a report on Thursday. “Concerns about capital inflows and the health of the export sector will limit the scope for interest rate tightening, but we do expect to see a moderation in new bank loans and the use of reserve requirements to manage the volume of money supply.”

Other countries, especially the United States, have also said the artificially low value of the renminbi gives China an unfair advantage in exports, and governments will most likely press China much harder this year to strengthen its currency.

more and more agencies set up their shop in China

88888888888 bye~ google

Search engine marketing shop Reprise Media, a unit of IPG's Mediabrands, is going global.

Effective today, Reprise, whose clients include Microsoft, Home Depot and Hyundai, is opening its first overseas offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid and Sydney.

Throughout the coming year, additional offices will be opened in markets including Italy, the Netherlands, Chile, Columbia, China, Denmark, Japan, India, South Korea, Poland, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Portugal.


I have to say Chinese people's money is easy to earn. They trust brands more than anything. Even they know about CK jeans, DKNY,Nike's price in China is times 2 the price they sell in America. However, the hard thing for America agency is to understand Chinese people first and to make Chinese people accept them later. GOOD LUCK!

blog again

I am not good at writing in english, but I can read. I am good at writing in chinese, but you can not read at all.

Quote of this week:

Don’t be distracted by anything. The work is what counts. There are a lot of things that can get in your way, that take up your time and your emotional and intellectual energy; none of them account for anything. They mean nothing. The only thing, in the final analysis, at this stage of the game, that really counts, is the work. The work is everything.

-Tom McElligott

I read this quote from a friend's blog