Background - We are a mixed western and Chinese team that operate as the UK’s only Chinese marketing agency running both online and offline engagement campaigns for brands such as Vertu, Coach, Aspinal of London, Capco. Our agency campaigns include Research, Chinese PR, Social and Digital Media and Events for maximum consumer engagement.  

We also own the UK’s no.1 and only accredited (BPA) Chinese consumer lifestyle magazine, Mint Edition - producing content for Chinese consumers resident in and visiting the UK. With a verified readership of over 70,000 per quarter and distributed on key airline routes such as Virgin Atlantic, Cathay Pacific, Swiss Air, China Eastern, Emirates and hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental, The Dorchester, The Savoy and the Corrinthia, as well as through a digital app on all major mobile devices.

The Opportunity - Europe and America lack an omnichannel media platform for the increasing numbers of affluent international Chinese travellers and consumers. Affluent and HNW free independent Chinese travellers arrive in the UK, Europe and US in increasing numbers as either educational tourists or traditional tourists. However, no media brand has established itself as the market leader for engaging with this demographic. Existing platforms are limited to English only publications and Chinese publications that are simply translated from English. All of which fails to address the specific needs and preferences of Mainland Chinese travellers. As these free independent traveller groups grow to surpass the group traveller, they are becoming more fragmented for marketeers. Aggregating this consumer onto a single multiplatform media brand will simplify and maximize both paid for brand engagement and paid for consumer products.

Key Points 

• Chinese language media platforms such a Vogue and Marie Claire are only successful in China with little to no crossover in the West. They are also still seen as foreign media platforms.
• Western platforms are only successful in the west and to westerners, although a number are testing infrequent Chinese language supplements (Independent and FT)

Our Plan To Grasp The Opportunity - To create the fist omnichannel platform for the internationally mobile Chinese traveller/consumer by leveraging the success and market reputation of the Mint Edition brand as the no.1 media platform for the Chinese travelling outside of China. Starting in the UK and Europe, with further international expansion opportunities, and further product developent aimed at maximising B2C revenue.

Market Scope Headlines - China outbound travellers spent a total amount of $128.7 billion during their trips overseas in 2013, an increase of 26.8% YoY according to the WTCF report. 98.19 millon person trips were undertaken with 33% of these trips to Europe (23%) and America (10%) for the primary purpose of shopping (44%) of travellers surveyed).