In China, the government plays an influential role in the development of media. All advertising content is censored, especially foreign entertainment as regulation are strict and always require a limited permit. However, Chinese viewers are increasingly eager to see entertainment from abroad, forcing entertainment leaders to import foreign shows in order to earn audience loyalty and high rating. In recent years, variety shows are thriving on Chinese screens and many brands have sponsored these shows so as to strengthen their brand’s image.

Branded content always walks a fine line between being effective and tasteless, and this line is defined by the how much branding the audience is willing to tolerate. In the West, branded content needs to be done subtly and naturally to avoid scrutiny from the audience. In China, the sky is the limit for brands. As a result of this, Chinese viewers have a thick filter for branding, making it more and more difficult for brands to communicate with consumers.

Another challenge considering, the cost of quality content partnerships is rapidly rising, making the financial risk much greater. Failing to make a logical connection between the brand message and content audience could be a catastrophic mistake.

Mizone: The Cube 2.0 had to be more integrated than ever before. This year, we quadrupled the number of episodes with unprecedented brand integration. The Cube stage was designed to match the Mizone bottle shape. The show had a slogan that the host & contestants would repeat, always acknowledging Mizone. Contestants would drink Mizone after the challenge while discussing their strategy. A Mizone ‘Fitness Meter’ quantified contestants’ efforts. Top celebrities participated on the show, speaking with contestants and promoting The Cube app, where users could engage with the show from home. We also had 68 roadshows in 25 key cities where people got a chance to complete the challenges from the show! These were recorded and posted to the website for participants to share with their friends online. All these buzz points drove our audience to our Mizone mini-site where people could watch videos, download the app and post their thoughts.

Our goal was to communicate the brand’s new position to as many of our consumers as possible, and the results were overwhelming!

-Mizone: The Cube was the number 1 game show in China in summer 2013

-101+ million TV views

-52% increase in sales vs same period of last year

While these numbers are humbling, REAL success comes when consumers go out of their way to engage with the brand!

-140 million page views on Mizone: The Cube mini-site.

-10+ million reactions on Weibo (China’s Facebook) for Mizone: The Cube.

-11 million in-app participation of our Mizone The Cube App

-7.3 million joined The Cube Tour

…and it doesn’t hurt to be cost effective in the process.

-494% campaign ROI