Looking for the hearts and souls of China's internet users - Sam Flemming

Sam Flemming

The purchase of CIC by WPP has put China's leading analytic firm of its vibrant social-media scene in the limelight. Founder and chairman Sam Flemming explains in AdAge the importance of his work. PepsiCo, Nike, Dell and L'Oreal belong to their customers.

AdAge:

"It's more than just eyeballs, it's also hearts and souls and feelings and people expressing themselves, engaging with each other and brands. So it provides a huge opportunity to engage consumers and get in front of them in very unique ways," Mr. Flemming said. 

The challenge in China is that the social-media landscape is highly fragmented. Facebook and Twitter are routinely blocked by the government, but Chinese internet users have a vast array of home-grown choices such as the Sina and Tencent microblog services, social-networking sites such as RenRen and highly popular online message boards. 

"It poses a real challenge for marketers, what to do and where to do it. And that's what we can help marketers better understand," Mr. Flemming said. 

Information provided by CIC can help brands gather market research in the form of millions of online comments, track the performance of a new campaign, help inspire better creative work, or understand which social-media sites are better for pinpointing target consumers, Mr. Flemming said.

More in AdChina.

Sam Flemming is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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Sam Flemming's CIC bought by WPP

Sam Flemming

CIC, the leading company in following the word-of-mouth at the internet in China, has been bought by Kantar Media, a WPP group, CIC owner Sam Flemming announces at his website.

From their announcement:

Kantar Media, the media research and insights division of Kantar, has expanded its social media offer in China with the acquisition of CIC, a leader in the Chinese Social media listening and  analysis industry. The deal will build on the company’s significant global presence and activities in media market research and insights with 5,000 staff across 60 markets, with CIC working along with the other leading Kantar Media partnerships in China including CSM and CTR. Kantar Media is a unit of Kantar, the consumer insight arm of WPP, the world’s largest communications services group. 

The acquisition comes in response to the growing client need for the real-time monitoring of consumer brand conversations in a market with over 70% of the 500 million Internet users on social media and with over 50,000 enterprises owning a microblog account. It gives Kantar Media a strong base in China and Asia Pacific for social media intelligence and insights as China this year became the world’s second largest advertising market.

 Founded in 2004 and with offices in Shanghai and Beijing, CIC coined the now standard Chinese industry term Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) and pioneered the concept of social business in China. With a team of over 60 social media consultants, innovative dashboards solutions and patent pending in technologies such as Chinese language text mining, CIC has led the industry in developing and applying social media intelligence and insights across its roster of blue-chip clients includes 5 brands out of the top 10 listed in Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, and is at the forefront of monetizing the social business industry in China.

Congratulations from the China Speakers Bureau for this success of Sam Flemming.

More at CIC's website Sam Flemming is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

Related articles

• How does Sina weibo fits into China's media landscape? - Sam Flemming (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• Recalls tarnished HP's image in China - Sam Flemming (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
• WPP's Media Innovation Group on Social Media Integration and Creative (beet.tv)