Leading automakers like Ford, Maruti Sazuki, and BMW are leveraging social media in India as they seek to find new ways to connect with consumers.

Ford’s roll out of its Fiesta and Figo cars in India made considerable use of this channel, drawing on customer research which found that offline and online word of mouth was a key purchase driver.

Maruti Suzuki redesigned one of its models, the Swift hatchback, based on customer comments on sites like Facebook, Orkut, and Twitter, such as criticisms about its “plasticky” interior. Social media now takes 8% of the firm’s advertising and marketing spend – standing at Rs200 crore ($39m) annually. This total should reach 16% by the end of the fiscal year. “Compared to advanced markets like the UK, we as a country are still not very digitized, but the direction is very clear,” said Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager, Maruti.

Hyundai, the Korean automaker, also dedicates 8% of its communications expenditure to social channels, a figure which has grown from 2–3% just three years ago. “We have a lot of young customers and most are hooked to social media in some way or the other,” Arvind Saxena, director, sales and marketing, Hyundai, said.

At the Auto Expo 2012, BMW gave visitors a digital card linked to their Facebook account. Visitors could then use this card to log in to Facebook via iPad devices made available at BMW’s stand, and post updates and photos from the event. “It’s a very cost-effective tool,” said Christian Saffer, director, marketing, BMW India. “It’s much cheaper than placing an advertisement in a newspaper.”

Source: Warc

getchee Analysis

Word of mouth, social networks and marketing, and the mobility of the consumers aren’t anything new. It’s the speed of engagement that’s really changing owing to factors like increased smartphone usage. As the digitization evolution increases and forces a shift towards social marketing from brands, the key will be in understanding real-time or ‘dynamic’ data modeled with ‘static’ data such as demographics and POIs.

Global consumption of beer is continuing to rise, with demand in emerging markets driving the amount that was guzzled down around the world in 2010 to a new record.

The research arm of major Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings Co. estimated last month that 182.69 million kilolitres of beer were consumed during the year, the most recent for which it was able to provide statistics.

The research indicated that the amount of beer that was drunk in Europe, North America, and Oceania was lower than in the previous year, which it blamed on the economic downturn following the economic crisis.

That decline was more than offset, however, by increased consumption in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Of all the regions, Asia remained the biggest beer-consuming area over the year, accounting for 61.41 million kilolitres of the total, an increase of an impressive 5.3 percent. Asia accounted for 33.6 percent of global consumption and was followed by Europe with 27.7 percent and Latin America with 16.2 percent.

Broken down by country, China remained the largest individual consumer of beer for the eighth consecutive year. Chinese put away 44.68 million kilolitres of ale over the year, an increase of 5.9 percent and reflecting the nation’s increased wealth and burgeoning middle class.

getchee Analysis

That’s a lot of beer! Where’s it all being consumed? Probably from everywhere. Bars and restaurants, enjoyed at home after snagging up some nice purchases from the supermarket or convenience store, and don’t forget about KTV. This is definitely good news for food retailers since beer goes good with well…just about everything. Locating areas of high beer consumption can give you some insight as to where certain foods and products might sell well.

This growth can also continue to fuel consumption of other alcoholic beverages as the market matures and consumers seek variety, particularly with higher-end products such as whiskey and non-beverage items. Be sure to look into these product correlations to spot trends with this middle class that seems to just keep growing. Cheers!

A run-of the-mill mid-market Cantonese restaurant on Yanping Road quietly turned off their lights and took their sign off the hook. Within a few days, a massive banner was wallpapered across the old storefront, urging citizens to prepare to feast on a Double-Double and Animal-Style fries. This statement vexed and inflamed burger-lovers across the city (Animal-Style is supposed to be a secret!) as well as created a commotion on Dianping.

Although In-N-Out established a surprise ‘market-test’ event at Sasha’s in Shanghai several weeks ago, the whole premise was created as a shot across the bow to would-be upstarts such as CaliBurger. All legal issues between CaliBurger and In-N-Out appear to have been settled. One of the resultant changes is that CaliBurger will tentatively re-name its products (the Double-Double is now the CaliDouble).

Three CaliBurger investors, Roy Newman, John Miller, and David Sun were in town to scope out Shanghai and add finishing touches to the concept. David Sun, COO and Director of Caterlex (parent company of CaliBurger Asia), chose Shanghai over Beijing, as it is “more expat-oriented and cosmopolitan”. As part of their expansion drive, CaliBurger is banking on HaiGui burger aficionados to convert skeptic locals into “HanBao” believers. In 2012, CaliBurger aims to open 3-4 more stores in Shanghai.

Once city location was set, the team drilled down and spent several months determining the best location for their first store. Yanping Road was CaliBurger’s “optimal” location due to the large percentage of expats living in the area. In addition, Yanping Road has strong F&B potential as Kush, Sushi Abuse, D’Vino, Downstairs, Aura, I Love Shanghai, and soon to be opened Villa du Chocolate are all within a block and a half radius.

getchee Analysis

If you don’t build it, someone else will. Although In-N-Out didn’t have plans to expand in Asia, they could have. Now it looks like burger-lovers will have to enjoy In-N-Out’s style vicariously through CaliBurger. Maybe this is just a smart move by In-N-Out to test the market and then swoop in via CaliBurger’s coattails.

At this point, you might be thinking that this is just another one of those typical China copycat stories. Make note that CaliBurger and many other clones in China aren’t the works of the locals. This is just an eye-opener to show you that anyone could potentially imitate your idea or brand if you don’t take measures to protect it. Fortunately, China is really becoming keen on wanting ‘the real deal’, especially when it comes to retail apparel and merchandise. We’ll see if this trend eats it way into the retail food industries.

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Anti-radiation clothing, one of the must-haves for pregnant women in China, could be doing more harm than good, scientists have warned.

Such products came on to the market in the late 1990s and have now grown so dominant most mothers-to-be believe they are essential. They are convinced the garments are “effective” in blocking electromagnetic waves from the multiple electronic devices around them, especially from computers.

According to the research, pregnant women can absorb some radiation around them and reflect most of it back, but when wearing the protective garment, radiation can become trapped inside.

However, in contrast to these findings, many maternity clothing producers claim their products are able to block 99.99 percent of radiation waves from electronic devices.

Chinese scientists and professionals are still split in their acceptance of the value of anti-radiation maternity clothes. While some believe the garments to be effective, others consider the claims a “big lie” woven by manufacturers to build the market.

“By my understanding, it’s not necessary to wear it. But since my mom believed in its function and insisted, I still wore it through my pregnancy days in the office,” the mother of a one-year-old told Shanghai Daily.

getchee Analysis

Whether or not the anti-radiation garments are harmful has yet to see the truth. However, it’s true that many pregnant women and mothers in China are very cautious when it comes to protecting their future generations. Safety is definitely a key factor for retailers and FMCGers to consider when marketing their products.

Another point to take notice of is the fact that many of these mothers are around electronic devices like smartphones, computer tablets, and e-readers at home and in the office. On top of the growing numbers of working-class mothers and their niche clothing, it’s not doubt that electronics market is still booming in China too.