Thoughtful Media Appoints CRM Veteran Jay Wang to Lead China Market Expansion

Prior to TMG, Jay served as China managing director of BI Worldwide, a Minneapolisbased
global CRM and event company. He has successfully grown the business with global leading brands like Jaguar, Land Rover, Cadillac, Volvo, Porsche, L'Oréal, JiaHua, China Mobile, Bank of Communication, Louis Vuitton, Samsung, and Sony.

During his tenure at BI Worldwide, he grew the business from Shanghai to Beijing, Singapore, Sydney, and Seoul.

Jay’s broad marketing experience has provided him with a deep understanding of the complex requirements and ever-changing landscape of evolution of top brands throughout the regions. Prior to BI, held senior leadership roles with companies like Accenture and Goldman Sachs. In the past 15 years, he has worked in e-CRM, branded entertainment, events, digital, supply chains, CMS, and e-commerce serving over a dozen industries.

Combined, his unique experiences and long-term successful track record of growing customers’ business rapidly throughout the regions gives Jay a unique perspective on how to make top brands successful throughout the region.

The move comes as the company, which also operates the popular marketing and media online affairs program "Thoughtful China,” unveils a new division called TMG Originals.

TMG Originals will recruit, train and oversee a new wave of content creators on the heels of unprecedented global growth of a trend once known as user-generated content (UGC), which is producing loyal audiences rivaling the reach of many TV and cable programs in territories around the world. Initial creators are being sourced from among thousands of online KOLs with large loyal followings on Weibo and Weixin.

"This form of content is delivering some of the most loyal audiences everywhere that YouTube holds a presence,” said Thoughtful's Global CEO Jak Severson. "While YouTube can't be seen in China, platforms here are now seeing that revenue-sharing with content makers of all varieties is unlocking and unleashing a valuable new form of media with regularly returning viewers. This content does an impressive job channeling awareness for brands. We are excited that Jay will be leading our initiative to deliver strong results for advertisers doing business in China."

TMG Originals, which has already begun partnering with many player platforms and BBS sites across China, launched the first of 20 new digital channels last month in categories aimed at fashion, relationships and comedy. Through its own revenuesharing agreements with original content makers, the company expects to create a network of 20,000 channels by the end of 2016, producing billions of monthly views.

YouTube, the leading global video player platform, has more than 500,000 content makers around the world, earning money through its advertiser-based revenue-sharing system and sharing 55% of revenues with its content partners. China, by comparison, has in excess of 500 million digital consumers being serviced by only a handful of similar content providers.

"Thoughtful's approach appealed to me instantly as a means of offering brands seeking better ways to reach its customers", said Mr. Wang. "Media is a commodity in every territory around the world. But when media produces results as good as what I'm seeing from Thoughtful, that's a commodity I want to take to market. If history around the world is any indicator of what's in store for Chinese brands, it’s going to be an exhilarating experience."

Mr. Wang’s appointment is effective immediately, and he will remain based in Shanghai.