INTERNET MEDIA: Renren.com aims for brand awareness with major ad blitz

<p>Community website Renren.com is sprinting ahead to build brand </p><p>awareness among Chinese markets across the Asia-Pacific region. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The initial advertising blitz - worth about US$3 million - is </p><p>rolling out in the form of TVCs, print and outdoor in China, Taiwan, </p><p>Hong Kong and Singapore. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The campaign, produced by Leo Burnett, is aimed at communicating the </p><p>benefits and features of the site, including the homepage builder and </p><p>the chatroom, to Renren.com's target market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Renren.com VP of marketing and advertising sales Richard Robinson said </p><p>there is now an increasing sense of urgency among dot-com companies to </p><p>build faster. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We are now in a sprint and it'll be interesting to see who crosses the </p><p>finishing line and who falls by the wayside. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It's do or die because many dot-com companies are building brand </p><p>awareness in a matter of only a few months. Any longer than that and </p><p>you'd be in danger of being overtaken by a rival and missing the boat </p><p>altogether," he told MEDIA. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The current campaign winds up at the end of February and it will be </p><p>followed very quickly with a second wave of advertising to highlight new </p><p>benefits and features. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Robinson said that Renren.com's users typically use nicknames, such </p><p>as Astro, Superman, Magician, to identify themselves online. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"What they are doing is becoming someone else. The result is that the </p><p>TVC and print executions employs a fantasy concept," he added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The ads have as their main visuals an astronaut, a rock star, a </p><p>white-haired ghost and a pig figure from Chinese mythology. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The main focus of the campaign is on China and Taiwan: which has been </p><p>allocated 45 per cent and 30 per cent of the advertising budget </p><p>respectively, with the remainder earmarked for Hong Kong and </p><p>Singapore. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>TVCs, print and outdoor ads have been produced for China and Taiwan, and </p><p>for Hong Kong and Singapore, the campaigns consist of print and </p><p>outdoor. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>There is also a call to action message embedded in the ads: "Go to the </p><p>Renren.com website for a chance to win a Philips mobile telephone". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Robinson said a heavy focus is being placed on China because the </p><p>numbers of Internet users in the country are expected to be among the </p><p>fastest rising of any country. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, he said that outdoor ads - on buses and TV walls at </p><p>high-traffic areas such as in shopping malls - have proven to be the </p><p>most-effective. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"When people register onto Renren.com we ask about how they heard about </p><p>us and most ticked outdoor ads," said Mr Robinson. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>