The campaign, which is set to run for four months, uses the upcoming Olympics to promote a range of specially recorded songs from M-Zone endorsers such as Jay Chou, Will Pam and S.H.E.
The ‘Olympic Songs’ product range will also be supported by a series of M-Zone concerts this summer, featuring the various pop stars. M-Zone customers can subscribe to the suite of songs by paying Rmb 10 (US$1.30) per month.
The ‘Olympic Songs’ product range will also be supported by a series of M-Zone concerts this summer, featuring the various pop stars. M-Zone customers can subscribe to the suite of songs by paying Rmb 10 (US$1.30) per month.
The drive marks a greater level of interactivity for M-Zone, which has - in the past - relied on street dancing competitions to generate awareness among university students. “The key insight is that the target audience is eager for self expression - they used to have no influence in society and now want their opinions to matter,” said Raymond Tao. This insight is reflected in M-Zone’s tagline ‘In my territory, listen to me’”.
The new campaign finetunes this insight by tying it to the Olympics. Honing in on the phrase “Jia you” - literally “add oil” and a common chant at Chinese sporting events - M-Zone customers are encouraged to take an active part in cheering on the athletes. An interactive campaign online is supported by TVCs and competitions that will culminate in the concerts and, for the top winners, Olympic tickets.
“With the ‘Jia you’ Campaign, we’re carrying on with the long-term positioning that young people are in charge, the idea that these are ‘my games and I contribute’ as everyone gets into the spirit of the games,” said Tao. “Since the target audience spends a lot of time online, it’s really important that we can own that space. This campaign is our first truly interactive campaign for M-Zone, and we’re hoping it will help feed on to the newly created micro-site.”
M-Zone, which together with the premium brand Go Tone and the mass market Easy Own makes up China Mobile’s consumer-facing brands, is the dominant market player in China’s 2G mobile phone market for it’s target audience. According to a source, it has three times the subscription rate of only direct competitor, China Unicom. M-Zone growth in recent years has been particularly strong, increasing from 1.5 million subscribers in 2003 to 80 million in 2007.
