The interview with Rupert McPetrie coincided with his one-year anniversary as CEO of Competing Media Greater China. On January 25, he was just promoted to CEO of Competitive Media Asia Pacific. For more than a year, Rupert often needs to travel a lot of places, most of the time still in Shanghai, sometimes to beijing and Guangzhou offices, in addition to many regional work also need his office in Hong Kong, for busy trips, many times because of business trips in isolation, but Rupert is very optimistic.
The year was a fruitful one for Rupert, who summed up the past year with the word Exhilarating.
"While the word may be difficult to translate accurately, I want to use it to sum it up. The year was 'very exciting', our team achieved impressive results and growth, and in the process of managing the business in Hong Kong and Taiwan, there are also many exciting new discoveries, and it is very exciting that the entire Greater China market can have more synergies and grow together. ”
Of course, what makes Rupert most excited is the market environment, especially the continuous revitalization of the domestic market, and the continuous launch of their own solutions by various platforms, which also promotes the continuous learning and development of media agencies such as Jingli Media, and always leads the market frontier dynamics. "Nothing is stagnant, everything is moving forward. In 2021, Jingli Media launched a new brand positioning, that is, Seeing the Bigger Picture (looking at the big picture), and we have also invested in many new areas and introduced a lot of new talents, just to help customers solve fundamental problems. Because solving customer needs, to build on our broader and deeper understanding of business, we need to help customers unlock business growth with a 'big picture' perspective. ”
In different markets, we see different media ecology and consumer trends, and many customers often ask us what the differences between different markets are. I hope that best practices in different regions will complement each other, and our consumer insights, understanding of business and briefs, and evaluation of different media platforms and channels will help our customers grow on a larger scale.
More and more customers are asking for more and more about media agencies, but more about business growth, which is a trend that Rupert feels, "The changes in the Chinese market are accelerating, so more and more companies are exploring market insights in their adjacent areas." Whether it's from consumer insights, industry trends, competitors, businesses, and more, they want to understand a variety of factors that might help them spot growth. ”
01
Think big
At the beginning of 2021, Jingli Media launched a new brand proposition "Look at the Big Picture", which includes two key words, namely System (systematization) and Relevancy (relevance).
"Systematization" has always been the thinking concept advocated by Jingli Media, that is, through the systematic series of front and back links, the layout from content, CRM, e-commerce, one-party and multi-party data integration and other capabilities, form a benign interaction within the system, and promote customer growth.
For example, Competitive Media's Creative Systems includes a whole new set of data-driven creative products, including 1. 2. Addressable Creative, which integrates directable ideas with directable media to greatly improve the overall performance of media communication; Creative Analytics, a new tool that uses artificial intelligence to distinguish between effective and ineffective advertising delivery, and learn from successful cases, helps customers effectively judge the effectiveness of content and further enhance the brand's communication plan.
"Relevance" refers to the relevance of culture and content. When designing communication content for customers, it is necessary to pay attention to the relevance of culture, the relevance of individuals and the relevance of the platform, which is a very important concept to cope with the current complex and changeable customer needs and media environment.
"Systematization is about breadth and width, correlation is about thickness. Focusing on the overall situation requires us to have a big picture view, not only need to introduce more new talents, but also need to have a more overall understanding of the customer's business, not only pay attention to the media, but also pay attention to the results of the business. "Our capabilities in insights, data and content over the years have laid the foundation for this new brand proposition, and our strengths in technology and talent can help brands find their next growth opportunities in China while improving efficiency and effectiveness." ”
Rupert cites Marsdorf's "pleasure first" case. "In China, we see the awakening of women's power as a major trend, so we are honored to be able to help push women to pursue 'pleasure first' and pursue what they truly love."
This brand marketing breaks the traditional communication method of the brand, mainly through the data analysis of the new generation of consumer behavior, to create a comprehensive brand experience across different platforms. The advertising film "Goodbye, Ferris Wheel" premiered live through the Tmall platform, and consumers can see the exclusive insights of Zhou Dongyu and the crew on the film while watching the film; they can also directly purchase the limited edition Dove donut-shaped chocolate that appears in the film. The day of the premiere is also the official launch of Dove Tmall Super Brand Day. Consumers can watch the premiere of the brand's big movie in the "mobile cinema", bringing a new viewing experience to a new generation of consumers.
"This case study is a great example of the convergence between content and media, creating an industry-leading consumer experience that delivers a comprehensive and enjoyable film and brand experience for millions of Chinese audiences through smart media data, technology and insights." Rupert commented.
02
Synergy
Expanding his responsibilities to the Asia-Pacific region, Rupert not only traveled in different cities, but also became familiar with the characteristics of different regions, "In different markets, we see different media ecology and consumer trends, and many customers often ask us what the differences between different markets are." I hope that best practices in different regions will complement each other, and our consumer insights, understanding of business and briefs, and evaluation of different media platforms and channels will help our customers grow on a larger scale. ”
In his time at the helm of multi-regional operations, Rupert breaks down geographical boundaries and encourages employees to support customer businesses in other regions and carry out specific practices, "Although the epidemic has now restricted people's travel, having employees in different regions collaborate online and across regions can not only expand best practices, but also allow employees everywhere to accumulate work experience in other regions or markets, which is also beneficial to their personal growth." ”
At the moment, Greater China is the world's most exciting media market, and a big factor is that platforms have been rapidly launching new ways to play, allowing consumers to access content and participate in content interaction. "For us, understanding consumers better is still fundamental."
In addition to collaborating with GroupM's powerful research and insight resources, Jingli's insight team will conduct research on subdivided topics according to the tone and needs of customers they serve, and release corresponding white papers.
For example, the White Paper on China's Night Economy provides insight into consumer behavior, brand action, and growth opportunities in the "nighttime" economy. The White Paper "Playing with the New Future of Media" reveals that Chinese consumers love to find interesting things. As "play" has an increasingly significant impact on consumer decision-making in all aspects of everyday life, its definition has long since gone beyond "fun and play." This white paper looks at how brands are emerging in different forms in different industries and develops three important models for brand-to-consumer connections. The survey revealed macro trends and consumer motivations for play, and ultimately suggested five strategic approaches to improving the consumer buying experience.
Looking ahead to the new year, Rupert is confident in the dynamism and opportunities of the Greater China and even Asia Pacific markets, and balanced marketing delivery (quality and effectiveness) remains an important topic for marketers to consider. "Both performance marketing and long-term brand building activities will have a real impact on the client's business. After the epidemic, many customers are re-evaluating the investment ratio of brand and performance marketing, and we hope to provide customers with more insights and a more holistic perspective. ”
At the end of the interview, Rupert shared his own leisure style, "Although I am busy at work, I still insist on exercising and relaxing every week, and my favorite is riding in Shanghai, first, because the roads in Shanghai are very flat and comfortable to ride, and secondly, in my opinion, this is an interesting way to explore the city, and I can find a lot of interesting things and get a different experience in cycling." ”
Smart and easy-going, that's the impression Rupert makes, and of course his big picture.