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Digital Business General Life in China MBADMB

MBA DMB Shanghai | The 2016-2017 Class Blog – A Year In Review

At the end of September 2016, 15 students from EFAP & ESSCA schools made the move to Shanghai to study digital marketing within the China context (presentation of the Master’s degree in French). This blog was an exercise part of their curriculum, and after a couple weeks of adjustment to set-up the tool (powered by WordPress) and struggle with the Chinese firewalls, the real exercise started from January 2017. So, here is a quick review of what happened on this blog for the last 12 months.

What about the blogging exercise?

In a nutshell, our students have to produce a couple of articles on this blog to learn the basics of producing online content (text, images, videos, infographics, etc.). And possibly to also tell about their experience in China. When looking back at it, I think they achieved some pretty amazing results.

To assess the quality of their work, we set up a grade made of 2 specific marks:

  • one about quality of the article (is it intelligible, and well structured? does the article have good sources? the level of language used, and the timeliness of posting)
  • one about the quantitative success, just by checking the metrics on Google Analytics (GA).

However, this article is not about revealing the students’ grades, but to highlight some of their best work during the past year, using both of the mentioned criteria.

What have been the most read articles of this year?

#1 – Chinese e-commerce strategy: E-marketplace, Social e-commerce or own website?

Published by Stéphanie right after Chinese New Year vacations, this article received more than 1,000 pageviews from 828 unique viewers for the entire year 2017 to date. And it actually captures very well one of the main challenges many companies and brands are facing when entering the China market: how should they reach out to consumers and sell online in China?

This is definitely a 3-minute-and-8-second read worth of time (if I believe GA) to get to know better the Chinese digital environment. Other top articles by Stéphane include Luxury and Digital in China: E-commerce Precursors & The top 5 apps to download in China (co-written with Xavier).

#2 – Best places to eat in Shanghai

When a bunch of French students go abroad to study, they quickly create a list of their favorite restaurants! This article is really about that. And from a statistics point of view, it also generated a surge of traffic when it has been published on 22nd and 23rd of March.

The author, Géraldine, not only crafted a great article with many pictures and useful information. But she also made a solid promotion of it (562 of the 995 pageviews come from Facebook while 184 come from a search on Google). You can also check her other articles: WeChat: From the Messaging App to the Super AppAI Driven Marketing: The value of Chatbots for Businesses.

#3 –  Study in Shanghai: everything you need to know

With this article, Benjamin & Xavier tried a different type of content and they have decided to relate their experience of studying in China. They offered a couple of important tips and also, a nice selection of useful mobile applications for their daily life here.

Although they missed offering links to all these apps (“put some link, hit Cmd+K or Ctrl+K!!!”), this article has been very successful. And once again, Facebook played a great part to generate traffic to it (393 out of the 935 pageviews, 42%)

#4 – Music Experience in China: Tencent, unstoppable leader

An avid music listener, Xavier (him again) created an impressive article about the different music services existing in China. Not only listing them, he also went as far as created videos to demo some of these services and embedding them in the article (we actually struggled a bit to upload them on Chinese equivalents of YouTube).

In addition to that, he listed most of the references he used while writing the article and made a great at listing all these keywords for proper tag management within WordPress.

#5 – 6 Things to know about digital in China

Benjamin (him again too!), coined a great article about basic and important knowledge regarding the Chinese digital landscape. Short, straightforward and well-documented, this article provides a good jump start to any exploration of digital China. And I do hope some students will take the time this year to update and expand it.

#6 – How to get delivered food in China with Ele.me (饿了么)

In this perfect example of a long-tail article (look at the traffic below), Pierre has created a simple, down-to-earth guide to use ele.me, a very popular food delivery (外卖) mobile application used by millions here. Despite the rough English and funny layout, this article has certainly delivered the right information and been useful to many. Well done!

#7 – O2O, A Revolution Led by China

The term has been discussed for the last few years within the digital marketing circles of China, but actually never been really explained in details in English. And that’s why Charlie decided to take care of it in a well-written article, featuring different examples of what Online-to-Offline commerce is all about.

#8 – Les Gafa sont morts, vive les Gafabat !

Finally, since we’re a French business & communications partnership of schools, the last article of this top 8 ranking has been written in the language of Molière by Clara. The topic? The GAFABAT and a lengthy explanation of the meaning of this acronym (hint: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent). Clara also authored another worth-reading article about Chinese tourists around the world (ranked #11): Le Profil Du Touriste Chinois Et Comment Le Capter.

Other articles worth a read for this review

Although they are not listed in the top 8, some articles would deserve a special attention for various reasons.

Thibaud came up with an idea to tell the stories of major Chinese digital/tech entrepreneurs in China. So, if you ever wonder who are Jack Ma, Robin Li or Ma Huateng, click on their name. And if you want to know more about who founded companies like Xiaomi (Lei Jun), LENS Technology (Zhou Qunfei), AAC Technologies (Pan Zhengmin), or DJI (Frank Wang), here is your chance! Kudos to Thibaud for this wealth of information! (NB: articles are written in French, feel free to use Google Translate, the only Google service available in China by the way!)

Another interesting series of articles came from the other Xavier, about a topic that he already knew would become newsworthy: the BitcoinAn introduction to Bitcoin and the history behind it (ranked #10 of the most read article of this blog) & The rise of the Bitcoin and its situation in China are 2 articles rich in information and extremely well sourced.

In the hot news category, the WeChat Mini App (微信小程序) has been certainly one. If Clara was explaining what it would be about in French (WeChat: l’arrivée des mini-programmes), Julie-Anne gave a comprehensive and excellent overview what they are few months after their official launch (WeChat: an essential overview of Mini Programs)

One of the major events of the year 2016 was the opening of the Shanghai Disneyland. Mathieu related the experience of his visit with his fellow classmates here: Disneyland Shanghaï : Un parc à la pointe de la technologie (in French). 

Since their digital strategy could be considered as a good benchmark for many foreign brands entering China, you will certainly hear a lot about Starbucks during the coming month of this blog. But before that, take the time to read Étienne & Xavier’s article about their app: We tried Starbucks innovative social gifting through WeChat.

Another necessary introduction about Chinese digital landscape is the role played by Alibaba as one of the main forces to embrace an all-things-digital approach. This introduction can be found in Arnaud’s article here (in French and with a pretty rare photograph of Jack Ma): Alibaba, la nouvelle vitrine mondiale qui fait trembler Amazon.

Victoria’s Secret recently made the headlines of the Chinese media, holding its first fashion show in the city. Well, 10 months ago Élodie covered their opening of their first store in China: Victoria’s Secret first lingerie store in China.

Last but not least, this year has been full of different events during which our students have participated and often covered on Twitter using the #MBADMB hashtag. One of the most important conferences was definitely the China Chat Conference (official website). Lauranne & Charlie co-authored a solid review of it here: Highlights from China Chat Conference 2017.

 Some key points to create great articles

A review would not be a good one if we wouldn’t be able to take a step back, and have some basic analysis of what has been done so far. Between all these articles, I have somehow identified few common points. Points that I want to capture and pass along to the next class (and anyone willing to create some good online content):

  • A good topic, discussed by the major media or not even covered yet, is a usually fundamental prerequisite (and China has plenty of them). An approach from a different angle, a bridge to cross-cultural and language barriers, can also be a solid base for a good article.
  • Use of rich & interactive media to improve the article: videos, GIFs, pictures, infographics, links are the main ways to enrich an article. There are much more that can be tried such as social media integration, text formatting, live streaming to name a few.
  • Create useful content: life in a foreign country is not always easy. Sharing good tips and favorite places, creating how-to guides, providing step-by-step instructions is usually a great way to turn information into something useful and practical.
  • English or French: the analytics are showing that articles written in the English language have been far more popular on this blog. However French is equally important. As this blog is an exercise overall, we encourage students to experiment and find their voice in the language of their choice.
  • Quality writing (spelling, grammar, careful choice of words): in 2017, we are rather lucky to have great tools available such as Microsoft Word, Grammarly (for English writing), BonPatron or Scribens (for French writing), or even a smart usage of the quotes “” on Google can help a lot to correct major mistakes, polish a text and make its reading enjoyable for anyone.

In conclusion, I want to thank personally all these students with I have learned a lot throughout this year. To Arnaud, Benjamin, Charlie, Clara, Élodie, Étienne, Géraldine, Julie-Anne, Lauranne, Mathieu, Pierre, Stéphanie, Thibaud and Xavier & Xavier, thanks a lot and I wish you only the best in your future endeavors! 

What’s next?

Next year (actually next week), from January 2nd, 16 students of the ’17-’18 promotion will start the exercise. China is continuing its digitalization (or digitization?) and I hope we can continue to cover parts of it in this blog.

After this review, we are passing the baton to Alexandre, Alice, Benjamin, Eléa, Eyal, Florence, Germain, Jade-Loune, Ludovica, Margot, Marie, Marie-Victoire, Paul, Sarah and Thibault & Thibaut. I am confident they will all create some great stuff on this blog.

Happy New Year 2018 to all of our readers! And stay tuned for more articles! 😊

Categories
China Digital Business Events FrenchTech General Shanghai Tech News

CES Asia 2017 Report

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Occasionally in this blog, we welcome guest bloggers on topics related to our focus: digital technologies, digital marketing & business in the China context.
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As the CES Asia 2017 was held on June 7-9 in Shanghai, I am pleased to share the report prepared by Audrey, Laura, Marianne, Antoine, David, Kevin & Marc-Olivier, all the students from FSA ULaval from Québec (Canada) and attending the ESSCA Summer Program in Shanghai.

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This report was created as a part of an online writing class and is published in partnership with La French Tech Shanghai association which kindly provided us tickets for this event. It portrays the main highlights, some products we believe are outdated and some « coming soon » technologies that were presented during the Consumer Electronic Show (CES ASIA 2017). The following innovations are discussed: Drones, 8K televisions, 3D Printing, Autonomous Cars, Augmented Reality (AR) as well as Virtual Reality (VR), wearables and smart homes.

cescopie-de-ces

 

You can save this report as a PDF file, simply by clicking the following link:  CES Asia 2017 Report – FSA ULaval – SSP (PDF – 3,36 MB)

To find the websites of the products and services described in the infographics, you can check their links below:

 

LinkedIn logoLast but not least, if you want to get in touch with us, feel free to click on our names thereafter, linking to our LinkedIn profiles: Laura Boutet, Marianne MathieuAudrey Faucher-GenestDavid GosselinMarc-Olivier HouleAntoine Bradette et Kevin Fleury-Filteau.

Categories
Apps China Digital Business eCommerce Hardware Life in China

Pollution en Chine, une bataille qui se déroule aussi sur le terrain digital

C’est un moment craint par de nombreuses personnes vivant ici : l’arrivée de l’hiver et des basses températures, alimentée par l’anticyclone de Sibérie (Pékin ne se situe qu’à 1500 kilomètres du lac Baïkal), et coïncidant avec le redémarrage officiel des centrales de chauffage au charbon. Cette pollution des centrales à charbon s’ajoute à la pollution plus classique, essentiellement d’origine industrielle et automobile. Ainsi chaque année, la Chine, ayant encore peu d’énergies “propres”, se trouve fort dépourvue quand la bise fut venue (sic).

Pic de pollution, circulation alternée, gratuité des transports en commun et du stationnement, mesures de précautions, l’actualité atmosphérique de ces derniers à Paris nous rappelle des problèmes qui font déjà le quotidien des métropoles chinoises et asiatiques depuis plusieurs années malheureusement. Et à Shanghai, la pollution hivernale sévit déjà depuis plusieurs semaines.

Dans les lignes qui suivent, nous vous proposons de faire un petit tour d’horizon de l’histoire récente, des outils, services et pratiques digitales locales à ce sujet.

Categories
BAT Digital Business eCommerce GAFABAT

Tmall et sa campagne pour le 11 novembre 2016

Tmall 11.11 - 2016Si vous vous promenez dans les rues et les stations de métro de Shanghai ces dernières semaines, il y a de fortes chances que vous aperceviez la dernière campagne de Tmall, l’un des plus importants acteurs de l’ecommerce chinois (et satellite de la galaxie Alibaba). Et ce, en préparation de l’un des événements majeurs de l’année: la fête du double 11, ou 11.11, 双十一 / shuāng shíyī en chinois, Singles’ Day en anglais, ou encore fête des célibataires en français.

À l’origine une obscure célébration universitaire du célibat, les acteurs de l’ecommerce chinois se sont approprié la date (Alibaba allant jusqu’à déposer le terme “双十一 / shuāng shíyī”) depuis les 4 ou 5 dernières années, afin d’organiser un festival de bonnes affaires qui a pris des proportions gigantesques, voire surréalistes par la taille des rabais proposés.

Si la journée du 11 novembre représente donc l’apogée de ce festival, il débute et se prolonge tout le long du mois de novembre, et les différents acteurs rivalisent d’inventivité puisqu’Alibaba leur interdit d’utiliser le terme “双十一 / shuāng shíyī”.Chaque année, cet événement représente donc le pic de l’activité d’ecommerce en Chine, et il est de tradition que chacun publiera très rapidement les chiffres astronomiques des transactions réalisées pendant cette période. Pour rappel, en 2015 Alibaba avait réalisé 91,2 milliards de yuans de ventes sur son site, soit près de 13,3 milliards d’euros, en progression de 60% par rapport à l’année précédente. Le système de paiement d’Alibaba, Alipay, avait quant à lui comptabilisé plus de 700 millions de transactions, dont 70% réalisées via des smartphones.

Et cette année, pour bien préparer ce festival, Tmall a préparé une campagne impressionnante de par son ampleur. En reprenant son célèbre logo à la tête de chat aplatie (qui proviendrait du billet de 100 CNY par ailleurs), l’exercice créatif a consisté à adapter les éléments graphiques de 47 marques parmi les plus célèbres auprès des consommateurs chinois et de les adapter dans ce fameux logo. Les résultats sont tantôt surprenants, tantôt franchement réussis (Moleskine, Maserati, Under Armour, Herborist).

Ci-dessous la vidéo officielle de la publicité Tmall en Chine sur le site de vidéo chinois Youku:PGlmcmFtZSBoZWlnaHQ9NDk4IHdpZHRoPTUxMCBzcmM9J2h0dHA6Ly9wbGF5ZXIueW91a3UuY29tL2VtYmVkL1hNVGMyTWpNeE16UTRNQT09JyBmcmFtZWJvcmRlcj0wICdhbGxvd2Z1bGxzY3JlZW4nPjwvaWZyYW1lPg==Lorsque l’on connaît l’appréhension des marques sur l’utilisation de leurs logos et autres éléments graphiques, pour qu’elles aient autorisé et encouragé pareille campagne, cela en dit long sur les espérances placées dans cette période cruciale de vente !

Nous vous donnons rendez-vous dans les prochaines semaines pour analyser les retombées de l’édition 2016 de cette fête des célibataires !

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Uncategorized

Le MBA DMB à la soirée de labellisation du French Tech Hub de Shanghai (26 octobre 2016)

EDIT (26/10/2016) avec les comptes officiels pour suivre l’événement sur les réseaux sociaux.

Affiche soirée du 26 octobre 2016 de labellisationLe 13 octobre dernier, Manuel Valls le Premier Ministre et Axelle Lemaire ont annoncé les 10 nouveaux French Tech Hubs qui rejoignent le réseau mondial préexistant : Berlin, Dubaï Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Milan, Pékin, Shenzhen, Taiwan, Vietnam, portant à 22 le nombre total de communautés French Tech structurées à l’international.

Ainsi, le hub de Shanghai qui existe depuis plusieurs mois déjà, intègre officiellement ce réseau. Et à l’occasion de la visite d’une délégation d’une quarantaine de chefs d’entreprises français à l’initiative du MEDEF (conduit par son président Pierre Gattaz) et du Comité France Chine (représenté par son vice-président André Chieng), la French Tech Community de Shanghai, ses Ambassadeurs et ses partenaires organise un grand évènement de networking le mercredi 26 octobre 2016 à 19h00 à la Résidence du Consulat Général de France à Shanghai.

Cette soirée de lancement sera également l’occasion de récompenser le lauréat du prix de l’Entreprenariat du Club France décerné par Campus France.

Pour cela, les étudiants de notre master à Shanghai mettent en place un dispositif spécial pour couvrir l’événement en direct, via Twitter, Facebook et Periscope et vous feront vivre cet événement comme si vous étiez à Shanghai.

Pour plus d’informations, consultez l’article officiel sur le compte WeChat, et nous vous invitons à suivre l’événement en direct sur les réseaux sociaux:

À ce soir !

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Uncategorized

Blog du MBA DMB Shanghai, jour 1

Chers lecteurs, bienvenue sur le blog du MBA Digital Marketing Business de Shanghai !

Pour cette année inaugurale de la formation en Chine, avec les étudiants de l’EFAP (en partenariat avec l’ESSCA et le HUB Institute) nous allons de tenter de couvrir ce qui fait l’originalité des pratiques numériques et du marketing digital dans ce pays et cette région du monde. Et en qualité de rédacteur en chef, je suis ravi de pouvoir participer à cette aventure à laquelle j’essaierai de contribuer au maximum.

Aux sujets étudiés ici en Chine par nos rédacteurs que nous traiterons de manière approfondie (Digital Business, Analytics, E-Commerce, Webdesign, et tant d’autres), nous essaierons également d’y ajouter d’autres articles abordant les expériences de nos étudiants tout au long de leur parcours ici, et de la riche dimension culturelle chinoise, dont l’influence est considérable sur les usages du numérique sur place, et bien au delà des frontières du pays.

Nous envisageons également ce blog comme une plateforme d’échange, ainsi n’hésitez pas à commenter nos articles et prendre contact directement avec nous pour discuter, débattre, nous envoyer ou rectifier des informations ou bien même, nous proposer des idées de sujets à approfondir pour en rédiger nos découvertes.

Notez donc bien l’adresse URL de notre blog, et enregistrez la dans vos favoris:
>>> www.refonteshg.mystagingwebsite.com <<<

Une fois encore, bienvenue sur notre blog et à très bientôt !