In the last IWOM watch issue, we discussed how the Chinese net world, with a thriving “spoofing” culture, is primed for an “ElfYourself” type campaign.

In this issue, we see with the Zhui Ke (追客)” culture that there are passionate netizens who are always seeking to be the first to solve mysteries, identify problems, or simply find the latest “cool” thing. Such a culture would seem to provide the right foundation for “immersive gaming,” or "alternative reality gaming," a type of promotion that can be used to launch new products, movies, and music which is gaining steam in the west. Wired Magazine defines such games as “narratives,” which “unfold in fragments, in all sorts of media, from Web sites to phone calls to live events, and the audience pieces together the story from shards of information.” Nine Inch Nails, a popular rock band, recently used this to great success as profiled in this same Wired article.

Before “copying and pasting” marketing concepts from the west, it is important to understand if they are really a good fit for China. Tracking IWOM is one good way to do this.

Sample Quote

上网第一件事，迫不及待地进入小说原创网站，看看“追”的连载小说有没有更新；有时候晚上睡不着，总觉得少做了一件事，原来是忘记下载最新一集美剧（美国连续剧）了。这就是典型的网络“追客”生活，他们上网的主要目的就是“追”。 (Link)
The first thing when they [Chasing Ke fans] when they get on the internet is to check the update of “chased” novel via exploring the novel sites. Sometimes they can’t sleep and feel they haven’t done something like forgetting to download a latest American TV series. This is the typical life of Chasing Ke, their main purpose is to ‘chase’.

Summary

Zhui Ke (追客 or Chasing Fan) is a new member of the Ke family, together with previously introduced Shai Ke and Shi Ke. They are a group of netizens who enjoy chasing hot online information such as online novel, online TV series, or other new thing because of interests or curiosity.

CIC View

The Zhui Ke like the thrill of achievement of getting something difficult to find and doing it before others. Such Chasing Mode (passion and desire) can be leveraged by brands by coming up with some potential chasing elements. This “chase element” is the core concept of “immersive games” which have been used to launch TV shows, movies and products in recent years, and suggests China’s market is ripe for such activities.

Below is a screen shot of the index for the full IWOM watch report

(click image to enlarge)

Other CIC IWOM Watch related posts that may be of interest:

-CIC Watch Half-Year Review released (download the full report)
-CIC watch: "You" - Time's Person of the Year - also lives in China (download the full report)