China Mobile, China’s largest telecom corporation, has appointed Chinese creative agency Qumin to promote its CMLink sim card to overseas Chinese consumers in the UK.
In China, the state owned brand runs largely functional, corporate ads that are mass targeted at the general public. Qumin aims to soften this engrained ‘corporate’ image, especially among Chinese overseas students and, in turn, to strengthen China Mobile’s presence in the UK.
Qumin’s chief executive, Arnold Ma, said: “We are very excited to create something innovative for China Mobile, unlike anything they’ve ever done before. We are pleased that they trust our ability to produce content that resonates with the Chinese consumer of today. It is a big thing for any well-established corporate to branch out internationally and not simply transfer the business model that has always worked, but to make changes for a new market.”
The brief is a challenging one: aside from revamping their brand, China Mobile must be able to compete with a multitude of UK providers, including Giff Gaff and Lebara, who have been hugely successful at targeting overseas Chinese consumers with international package deals. Qumin’s bi-cultural (based in London and Shanghai, with a Chinese CEO) team and has deep local understanding of both the UK market on the one hand, and China Mobile as a Chinese brand on the other hand.
Qumin has developed a video campaign for the Chinese platforms Weibo and WeChat to promote the young and fresh image of China Mobile. Each video tells a story which highlights a benefit of the CMLink sim card, such as linking UK and Chinese numbers, calling Chinese numbers for free, and free roaming in China. China Mobile is positioned as the go-to product that links UK digital life with friends and family in China.
Qumin also works with clients including Harrods, Manchester United, Heathrow and Sony.