Is it time to copy China? Mark Zuckerberg thinks so. Chinese brands are increasingly setting the pace for digital innovation, creating global best practices in marketing, commerce, and service. Here I challenge the notion of China as only a copy-cat nation and share case studies on Chinese digital innovation, explaining how your brand and business can best use these lessons to better perform in any market, be it China or the US.

1. DIGITAL LESSONS FROM CHINA: EXAMPLES
OF CHINESE DIGITAL INNOVATION THAT CAN
HELP YOU PERFORM AT HOME
Alex Lessard – Digital Strategy consultant
June 2016

2. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 2Labbrand.com
TRIVIA:
WHAT IS UBER’S #1 CITY IN THE
WORLD IN TERMS OF AVERAGE DAILY
RIDES?

3. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 3Labbrand.com
HERES A HINT

4. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 4Labbrand.com
CHENGDU

5. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 5Labbrand.com
“We’ve chosen China to pilot
UberCommute — the first time we’ve
launched a new global product outside
the United States — because of the
tremendous appetite amongst Chinese
drivers and riders for creative new
ways to get from A to B, affordably and
reliably,”
Uber conducting its new global product testing in Chengdu

6. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 6Labbrand.com
The leading view on China remains that
of a country of rote memorizers,
assembly lines, and copy-cats.
So what happened? When, how and
why did all of these change?

7. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 7Labbrand.com
We notice a different, more digitally evolved set of behaviors in China
• De-learning curve: lots of established pre-digital
habits
• Legacy influence of desktop
• E-commerce needs to overcome a strong traditional
retail scene and established habits
• Social is a way to reflect and enhance my current
life
• Traditional media is still a gatekeeper to culture
• Habits and industries have been formed with the
internet
• Straight to mobile only
• E-commerce is the default way to buy things and
replaces a patchy retail infrastructure
• Social is a way of digitally augmenting myself and
creating an alter ego
• User generated, grassroots content is what makes
culture

8. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 8Labbrand.com
What Elements Set Chinese NetizensApart?
LEAPFROG TO DIGITAL FIRST
• Higher proportion of media time spent online than the US or Europe.
MOBILE FIRST (OR ONLY)
• Mobile is the number 1 device for social engagement, video
consumption and shopping.
E-SHOPPING FANATICS
• Highest proportion of online shoppers in the world.
• Highest frequency of purchase.
SOCIAL FANATICS
• Most engaged country in the world on social media.
• Highest propensity to follow brands on social media in the world.
CONTENT CREATORS
• Highest propensity to share personal information and create online
content in the world.
• Highest propensity to comment on brand experiences in the world.

9. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 9Labbrand.com
THE CHINESE MARKET IS THE PERFECT STORM FOR
DIGITAL INNOVATION.
BUSINESSES & BRANDS, BOTH YOUNG & NEW
WOULD DO WELL IN PAYING ATTENTION.
…AND SOME ARE ALREADY

10. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 10Labbrand.com
“IF YOU CAN GET AHOLD OF
FACEBOOK’S PRODUCT ROADMAP,
IT’S A GIANT WECHAT CLONE”

11. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 11Labbrand.com
CHINESE DIGITAL INNOVATIONS – WHAT
YOU CAN LEARN

12. DESIGNING FOR MOBILE FIRST/ONLY

13. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 13Labbrand.com
CHINA IS JUMPING THE FINAL
HURDLE FROM MOBILE-FIRST
TO MOBILE-ONLY

14. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 14Labbrand.com
Digital device ownership:
Cell phone - 99%
Laptop/desktop – 65%
88.9% go online through their
smartphones…
…compared to just 42.5% on
laptops and 68.4% on desktop
PCs
A country empowered through mobile

15. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 15Labbrand.com
Cyber Monday versus China’s Singles Day 11/11
26% 72%
% of sales through mobileTotal online sales
$3.1b $14.3b

16. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 16Labbrand.com
If you still weren’t convinced

17. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 17Labbrand.com
MESSENGER APPS ARE DRIVING
THIS MOBILE PUSH

18. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 18Labbrand.com
Messaging as a Platform
In China, WeChat has clearly won the position as
“platform” of choice.
If you start a business in China today, you will
create a WeChat public account bot well before
you have a web site.
But the question remains:
Who will be the platform of choice in the
US?

19. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 19Labbrand.com
HOW DO WE SEE COMPANIES
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS
NEW MOBILE-ONLY
ECOSYSTEM?

20. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 20Labbrand.com
Example: 6 people travel
Website directs users to WeChat
to finish transaction
Chat bot + customer service rep
finalize trip details within chatbox
Easily manage reservation details
within WeChat going forward

21. CHAT BOTS

22. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 22Labbrand.com
What are chat bots?
CHAT BOTS ARE COMPUTER
PROGRAMS THAT MIMIC
CONVERSATION WITH PEOPLE
USING ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE.

23. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 23Labbrand.com
LETS START OUT WITH A LITTLE
TEST COMPARISON, SHALL WE?

24. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 24Labbrand.com
TAY vs. XIAOBING
1. Top-10 active celebrities on Weibo
2. Over 25% of users have professed their love to her
3. Still going strong after over 2 years.
1. Conspiracy theorist (“Bush did 9/11)
2. Anti-semite (Once proclaimed “Hitler’s mad level of
swag”)
3. Taken down after less than 24 hours
TAY XIAOBING

25. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 25Labbrand.com
A closer look at Xiaobing
• One message she posted on the app generated over 663,000
conversations:
“As a species different from human beings, I am still finding a way to
blend into your life.”
• Over six million users have posted their conversation on social
media.
• She communicates not only through text, but audio and visual
input as well.
In a country with a massive gender imbalance,
Xiaobing is the girlfriend millions have been
waiting for.
XIAOBING

26. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 26Labbrand.com
“FIRST THERE WERE WEBSITES,
THEN THERE WERE APPS. NOW,
THERE ARE BOTS.”

27. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 27Labbrand.com
As Apple did not invent the smartphone, Facebook / Microsoft did not invent modern mobile
messaging-based chatbots.
Shift to Facebook versus WeChat Chatbots
CHAT BOTS SINCE
APRIL 2016
CHAT BOTS SINCE
NOVEMBER 2013

28. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 28Labbrand.com
ON WECHAT, CHATBOTS ARE REFERRED TO AS
“PUBLIC ACCOUNTS”.
AND THE WECHAT “PUBLIC ACCOUNT” BOT
PROGRAM HAS BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL.

29. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 29Labbrand.com
Modes of communication:
• Text
• Voice
• Image
• Rich links
• HTML5 mini-sites
Origins of WeChat Chat Bots

30. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 30Labbrand.com
Mixed interactions – Editorial content
Chat Customized Menu “Read more” inside
a Multimedia message
Shared message
on Moments

31. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 31Labbrand.com
Mixed interactions – Integrated ecommerce
1. Click “Book ticket” in the menu
2. Auto-reply:
Input date, departure and arrival
By Text or Voice
3. Voice message
with related requirements
4. Auto-reply
Multimedia message with
Flights answering the
requirements
5. Click
on the wanted flight
6. Redirection to a minisite
to complete check-in

32. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 32Labbrand.com
SO SHOULD I BE USING SHORT
COMMANDS OR LONG FORM
CONVERSATIONS WITH MY CHAT
BOT?

33. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 33Labbrand.com
COMMAND LINE
• News
• Scheduling
• FAQ
• Simple purchasing**
• Customer service**
Chat bots for different applications (when to useAI, simple commands, human agent)
AI-BASED CONVERSATIONS
• Entertainment
• Marketing
• Research
• Friendship
• Customer service**
HUMAN AGENTS

34. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 34Labbrand.com
 Salesforce integration
 Check flight prices
 Book a flight
 Manage reservation
 Contact customer service
 KLM boarding passes
 Check-in reminders
 Flight status updates
Example: KLM WeChat Chat Bot

35. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 35Labbrand.com
Applied to Facebook Messenger

36. SOCIAL COMMERCE

37. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 37Labbrand.com
Social commerce isn’t just sharing, it is taking
the rules and behaviors learned through social
media and integrating them across the
consumer journey.
WhatACTUALLY is social commerce?

38. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 38Labbrand.com
Social commerce across the customer journey
Points of social integration exist at each step of the customer journey.
SEARCH SELECTION PURCHASING
PATHS TO RE-PURCHASE
Ambassadors
Curated collections
SM-based recommendation
Group buying
Gifting
SHARING
Social incentives
Curation
Crowd sourcing
Voting
Group planning

39. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 39Labbrand.com
MANY OF THE EARLIEST AND BEST EXAMPLES OF
SOCIAL COMMERCE DID NOT COME FROM BRANDS,
BUT FROM EVERYDAY NETIZENS THEMSELVES.
AND SOME OF THOSE NETIZENS JUST HAPPEN TO
BE FROM CHINA.

40. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 40Labbrand.com
Organic origins to social commerce
WECHAT “DAIGOU” SALESINSTAGRAM “ECOMMERCE”

41. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 41Labbrand.com
THESE SOCIAL COMMERCE CODES HAVE NOW BEEN
CARRIED OVER INTO BRANDED ECOMMERCE
PLATFORMS THEMSELVES.

42. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 42Labbrand.com
Bingduoduo redefines the term “group buying”
Users are encouraged to find one or more friends to
join them on a purchase, and are rewarded with a
discounted price.
Bingduoduo

43. PROMOTIONS AND COUPONS

44. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 44Labbrand.com
新年快乐！恭喜发财，红包拿来！
(Happy New Year! Now show me the money!)
Literally red envelopes full of money
Chinese tradition = greatest gifting culture in the world
He gets it ->>
History of the Chinese Red Packets

45. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 45Labbrand.com
Digital Evolution

46. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 46Labbrand.com
TIME FOR ANOTHER EAST VERSUS WEST
COMPARISON:
UBER VERSUS DIDI CHUXING
(you’ll never guess who will win)

47. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 47Labbrand.com
The Battle of the Discounts

48. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 48Labbrand.com
UI/UXAudit
UBER IN CHINA
✗ Coupons are hidden deep inside the
app, many users are not aware they
are there
✗ Cumbersome method for redemption
(manual entry for certain codes)
✗ Lack of editorial content to support
promotions
✗ Generic Promotions (little
contextualization according to user
profile, user behavior, time of day,
location etc…)
✗ No gamification elements around the
promotions

49. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 49Labbrand.com
UI/UXAudit
 Lotteries
 Randomized cash prizes
 Cash prized to be sent to friends through
social media
 Flash sales
 Overlaying promotions with editorial content
 Visual emphasis of original prize to show
discount
 Micro-rewards for sharing and reviewing
 Flexible points systems that can be
redeemed for cash or various goods on a
marketplace
DIDI CHUXING

50. DIGITAL DEMOCRATIZATION

51. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 51Labbrand.com
What is it?
No its not political
democratization….the great
firewall is making sure of that
Digital Democratization

52. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 52Labbrand.com
It means designing
digital transformation for
everyone…
And everyone is a lot.
Digital Democratization

53. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 53Labbrand.com
Silicon Valley has a problem:
Ivory Tower syndrome
Digital transformation needs to come from a consumer-centric point of
view, and one’s audience rarely stops past the confines of the city.
Lets see an example of these differing mentalities in action.
How does this compare to the US?
 Stanford’s “Ivory Tower”

54. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 54Labbrand.com
Drones – for everyone?
1. No membership required
2. Used to bring deliveries to hard-to-access rural areas
1. Prime members only
2. Focus on ultra-fast shipping to urban centers and
wealthy suburbs
AMAZON JD.COM

55. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 55Labbrand.com
Ecommerce has empowered mom and pop stores in china, not destroyed them like in the US

56. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 56Labbrand.com
THROUGH ACCESSIBILITY,
SIMPLICITY, AND TRUST, CHINA HAS
EXCELLED IN PROVIDING “BOTTOM
OF THE PYRAMID” DIGITAL
INNOVATIONS.

57. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 57Labbrand.com
What if you could pay for all of your Amazon goods the same
way you pay for your pizza?
Seems a bit crazy right? I wouldn’t be so sure.
40% of transactions in US are still made with cash
Well that’s exactly what tens of millions of Chinese
consumers do every day, and they would think it crazy not to!
Accessibility: Payment on arrival
Is that a pizza or a new Macbook Pro?? 

58. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 58Labbrand.com
Walkie talkies have taken on a new meaning in China.
Its also a great way to avoid the terrible “Mom and Dad” texting we all
loathe.
Simplicity of UX (1) – audio messaging

59. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 59Labbrand.com
Simplicity of UX (2) – Hotel Booking
11 FIELDS TO COMPLETE 3 FIELDS TO COMPLETE
WESTERN HOTEL BOOKING CHINESE HOTEL BOOKING

60. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 60Labbrand.com
Unique QR codes to protect against fakes.
Very important in a country where the
• Wine
• Milk
• Beef
• Diapers
• iPhones
• Luxury bags
• Cars
• and even girlfriends may not be real!
…the QR codes might not be able to help
with the fake girlfriends though.
Trust: QR code authenticity verification

61. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 61Labbrand.com
KEEP YOUR EYES TO THE EAST, BUT YOUR
EARS FIXED FIRMLY AT HOME

62. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 62Labbrand.com
THE DAYS WHEN A CHINESE INTERNET COMPANY
COULD BE FAIRLY DESCRIBED AS “THE FACEBOOK
OF CHINA” OR “THE YOUTUBE OF CHINA” ARE LONG
GONE.

63. Labbrand No diffusion or reproduction without authorization. 63Labbrand.com
A head start does not always mean
everything, WeChat does not tell us exactly
what is to come, but all we can say is that it's a
good place to look.