ad:tech Beijing 2009 opened in Beijing International Convention Center on November 17. During the event, R3 President Greg Paull said that Chinese companies have been quite innovative in using new media marketing, and that traditional enterprises are using social media to expand their advertising and marketing channels.
According to Greg Paull, many companies including Mengniu, Yili and Coca Cola have started investing in Chinese social media strategies.
He noted that, the Internet industry underwent significant changes during the past year, and that one year is quite a long time when you consider the speed of the Internet's development, so it is natural that ad:tech's focus this year be social media.
Although foreign investors reduced their investments in Chinese companies due to the financial crisis, local Chinese companies have developed rapidly and increased their own investments in the local Internet industry.
According to Greg Paull, foreign Internet companies targeting China should not hope for quick success and should analyze Chinese users' habits in addition to paying attention to its large netizen population.
He observed a positive phenomenon: BBS forums are quite open in China, and they carry many discussions on brands and companies. Through BBSs, companies can understand their consumers a lot better.
