CIC Releases First Comprehensive Study of Chinese Sports Internet Word of Mouth

 

Tuning into Sports IWOM, 2007 Q4

May 13, 2008

 

SUMMARY

 

In the first study of Chinese Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) around sports, Shanghai, China based IWOM research and consulting firm CIC utilized patent-pending technology to analyze 4,311,758 messages from mainland China online message boards (BBS) from the 4th quarter of 2007. The study shows that Nike led the discussion among 14 tracked sports brands with over 42 % share of voice while Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets were the most discussed athlete and sports team with 7.7% and 13% share of voice, respectively. Basketball and football dominated the sports category buzz. The report also discusses the important influence of online fan clubs, interactive campaigns, forum administrators, and E-zines in shaping the discussion about sports, teams, athletes, and sports brands.

 

STUDY BACKGROUND

 

This study, a systematic online sports industry analysis, is based on 4,311,758 BBS (online message board) messages from mainland China related to sports written by 296,017 unique user names for the period of October 1 to December 31, 2007. Utilizing patent-pending text mining technology, the study covers 14 sports brands, 598 basketball and football athletes and 187 basketball and football teams. Previous IWOM white papers on the healthcare, auto, mobile phone and notebook computer sectors are available here.

 

KEY FINDINGS

 

• Nike led Q4 buzz among the 14 tracked brands with over 42% share of voice. New product and campaign launches had a noticeable impact on buzz volume for several brands including Nike, Adidas and Reebok. For example, the launch of Nike's new basketball sneakers and the launch of Adidas' and Reebok's campaigns in Q4 drove the high buzz volumes around these three brands.
• Basketball and football dominate the sports category buzz. Yao Ming and Houston Rockets topped the basketball player and team buzz, with 7.7% and 13% share of voice respectively. Football star Kaka and football team AC Milan occupied the top positions for football players and teams.
• Compared to those on larger portals or sports vertical communities, online fan club community members are over 2 times more active in creating content. Administrators of these fan clubs are not only among the most active content creators, but also possess rich knowledge of the forum discussions and utilize a number of tactics to influence others' messages.
• Sports net culture is filled with a number of unique elements and serves as both media and communication platforms. E-zines (e-magazines) are created and/or supported by brands, websites and fans, rivaling traditional magazines in terms of content and overall quality. "Group reporting" of live matches on BBS is similar to recent development of Twitter "sports groups" (i.e. "Twitter Super Bowl") in the West (though predates Twitter by many years). Cartoon blogs are finding new ways to communicate and represent fans' passion and love of sports.
• Click here to download this report directly.

 

INSIGHTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO SAM FLEMMING, CEO/FOUNDER OF CIC

 

(Click here for Sam Flemming's profile)

 

• The systematic analysis of over 4 million BBS sports related postings demonstrates not only the popularity and passion of netizens toward sports and sports-related culture and brands, but also serves as a window to consumer and youth culture that can provide insight for more effective marketing communications.
• Chinese net culture is extremely developed, if not more developed than the West and other markets. For example, the recent development of Twitter groups in the United States to "group" watch events like the Super Bowl and Boston Red Sox games are predated by group reporting of NBA games and football games on Chinese BBS.
• The recent launch of "Nike iD" in China is an example of how a product can "ride the wave" of consumer net culture. Chinese "sneaker heads" and other fans of sneakers have long posted pictures of their DIY (do it yourself) personalization of sports shoes. Brands can learn from their consumers and leverage the learning with more effective product design, campaign development and campaign targeting.

 

Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 86-21-5237 3860/61/62/63 ext.877 to arrange an interview for additional quotes, or for more information on the study.

 

 

ABOUT CIC

 

CIC is the leading Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) research and consulting firm in China. Established in 2004 in Shanghai, CIC is the first IWOM research and consulting firm in China and has pioneered and significantly contributed to the growth of the IWOM industry in China.

 

CIC helps its clients "make sense of the buzz" found on Chinese blogs, BBS, and other IWOM platforms using proprietary and patent pending data harvesting and text mining technology developed for the unique Chinese social media landscape and language. Based on systematic analysis of the buzz, our analysts provide insights with sensitivity towards market research, marketing and campaign strategy, PR and crisis management, R&D, competitive intelligence, and marketing effectiveness measurement to a list of Fortune 500 clients in China and around the world. CIC also has strong partnerships with leading international PR, advertising and digital media firms.

 

For more information, please visit www.cicdata.com (CIC website), www.seeisee.com (CIC company blog in Chinese) and www.seeisee.com/sam (CEO's company blog in English).