cic automobile report teaser

Automobile Report Teaser

An IWOM Category Overview Report focused on Auto in China:

your guide to Automobile consumer insight and digital

intelligence from Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM)

Production: CIC Automobile Team

Time Period: 2008 Jul-Dec

Category Overview Report for Automobile Industry 2

ABOUT THIS REPORT: OVERVIEW

• CIC’s IWOM insightTM Category Report is a thorough introduction to the IWOM

around the Automobile Industry. The report is ideal for brands and marketers

who want to gain better insight into the influential Chinese Internet community

and/or who are looking into create IWOM based marketing campaigns. In

order to provide this level of insight, the report addresses the following

questions: how much talk is going on, what’s being said, who’s saying it,

where is it being said and what does that mean for brands.

• This IWOM insightTM Category Report gleans insight and digital intelligence

from various Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) sources and provides insight into

issues regarding reputation measurement, consumer research, new media

strategy and marketing inspiration.


ABOUT THIS REPORT: DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

• To complete this automobile category overview report, CIC tracked 441 models from 81

manufacturers during the 2nd half year 2008, collecting 38,878,889 BBS (online message

board) messages from top automobile BBS in China. All collected messages were then

categorized and mined according to a library of terms (including Internet slang) that represents

Automobile manufacturers, brands, products, and attributes.

• All obvious “spam” and troll messages called 灌水 (guan shui) were filtered out. Messages that

contained the correct characters yet referred to something other than the intended object were

also filtered out. For example, “大众” the Chinese name of Volkswagen, when referring to

“people,” and not the brand, was not counted.

• Models are classified utilizing categorization commonly used on top automobile sites: mini,

small, compact, middle, premium, SUV and MPV (large, luxury cars are included in premium

car category).

Category Overview Report for Automobile Industry

ABOUT THIS REPORT: RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The report provides a systematic understanding of the IWOM and internet community

around automobiles online. The research provides consumer intelligence for brands and

marketers in the industry looking to execute marketing communication programs and

analyze this consumer base.

This report aims to generate significant insights and information for companies interested

in the automobile industry and so will specifically focus on topics based around :

Marketing Research

Competitive Intelligence

Customer Relationship Management

Brand Equity Tracking And Reputation Management

Public Relationship And Crisis Management

Media Planning And Purchase

Campaign Ideation

4

Report Highlights:


• How many conversations are there about the automobile

industry?

• What are most discussed car models?

• What is the overall IWOM health of each manufacturers?

• How does automobile online crisis impact brand reputation?

• What are the most talked about attributes related to

automobiles?

• Where are these conversations taking place?

• What do these conversations mean for brands?


INDUSTRY BUZZ OVERVIEW The automobile industry maintained steady buzz volume throughout the 2nd half of 2008,

with over 6,000,000 posts from 450,000 conversations each month

Data Source: CIC Automobile Data Panel, including 10 hot and reprehensive automobile online communities

Data Base: Total industry posts, 2008 2nd half year=38,878,889 Total industry conversations, 2008 2nd half year=2,861,465

Conversation


MODEL BUZZ OVERVIEW: Ford Focus received the most buzz out of all 441 models with 427,740 posts in the 2nd

half of 2008


Data Base: Total models related posts=11,069,324


MANUFACTURER IWOM HEALTH: No noteworthy IWOM leaderThe competition between manufacturers appeared to be balanced; FAW-VW and SVW

had higher awareness while SGM and GZ Toyota enjoyed higher reputation


Data Base: Total manufacturers related posts=13,591,912

FAW-VW

CA Ford Mazda

SGM

DF Nissan

FAW-Toyota

Chery

GZ Toyota

DPCASVW

GZ Honda

NSR

BV

Re

pu

tatio

n (N

SR

)

Awareness: BV


CRISIS CASE STUDY: Consumer assaulted by Ford 4S retailer scandalCrisis related talk drove up CA Ford Mazda’s buzz

Summary

On December 13th 2008, in a Ford 4S store in Shanghai, a group of group-purchase consumers bargained with

the staff on the price of the car. After failing to agree on the price, the staff in the 4S shop engaged in a violent

fight with several customers.

Following the incident, netizens uploaded details about the fight including pictures and even videos, and spread

them online, leading to a sharp buzz volume increase for CA Ford Mazda. This incident had a negative impact on

the brand’s reputation for quality service.

Dec 13th

11/2 11/16 11/30 12/14 12/28


Data Base: Total posts of CA Ford Mazda, Nov-Dec 2008=291,639


CRISIS CASE STUDY: Consumer assaulted by Ford 4S retailer scandal Netizens expressed anger online

Summary

The scandal became a hot topic which spread to over 20 BBS communities and video sharing sites. Many

netizens criticized Ford and its customer service after watching the news. Based on netizen’s feedback, this

issue caused some consumers to change their minds about buying CAF cars, and some even boycotted the

brand.

Quote

这样的黑店！告诉所有去买车的朋友! What a terrible store! Let’s tell all the friends who want to buy a

car! link

第二辆车再也不订CAF的车！ I won’t buy a CAF car again link

BBS Video sharing site

http://www.xcar.com.cn/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=8836225

http://www.xcar.com.cn/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=8836225&extra=&showthread=&page=7


CRISIS CASE STUDY: Consumer assaulted by Ford 4S retailer scandal Crisis spread from online to offline

Summary & Finding

Netizens were so angered by the incident that even a few offline media sources, such as Oriental Morning

Post on Dec 17th, reported the issue.

This shows the power of IWOM and proves that the negative influence of online PR crises if it continues to

spread both online and off. Brands should look to catch these issues early and address consumers

concerns before the issue continues to amplify.

Quote

顶，支持暴光！！Support media exposure

link

上海这地方还敢这么无视消费者权益的，坚决曝光！Whoever dare to ignore

consumers’ right in Shanghai, should be

exposed on medial! link

Report on

Oriental

Morning Post

(东方早报)

\www.xcar.com.cn\bbs\viewthread.php?tid=8836225

\www.xcar.com.cn\bbs\viewthread.php?tid=8836225

http://www.dfdaily.com/






ATTRIBUTE BUZZ OVERVIEWAppearance and power system were the two attributes most discussed by consumers

Finding

Although buzz incidence diversified, the NSR of attributes in AreaⅠ and Area Ⅲ were overall about the average.

But the situation was different for AreaⅡ, which meant in this highly competitive market, manufacturer could

make itself stand out and become one of netizens’ favorite, if it could manage to enhance its reputation on price

and customer service.

BI

Space

Safety System

Maintenance

Drive Line System

Interior

External configuration

Customer Service

Power System

Appearance

Price

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Ⅲ

NSR


Data Base: Total attribute related posts, 2008 2nd half year= 3,270,394


COMMUNITY BUZZ OVERVIEWVertical communities were the major buzz powerhouse, and among the top 10

communities, over 80% posts were contributed by the top 2, Xcar and Autohome

Top 2 communities’

contribution

Data Source: CIC Automobile Data Panel, including 10 hot and

reprehensive automobile online communities

Data Base: Total posts of top 10 communities,

Dec. 2008=6,750,736

Rank Community Post Category Link

1 Xcar 3,465,043 Vertical click

2 Autohome 2,196,135 Vertical click

3 xxxx 391,625 Vertical click

4 xxxx 299,856 Portal click







Buzz contribution of top 20% auto communities,

Dec 2008

Top 10 auto communities, Dec 2008


COMMUNITY FEATURE ANALYSIS: Sample forum (Peugeot 307) social network analysis

黄沙舞满天

山羊胡子烟P

青青橄榄杨

东楼小五

随车飘动

Social network landscape

in Xcar 307 forum, Dec 2008

Summary

As one of the typical patterns, the

forum social network of 307 club

resembled to the atom structure:

• about 10 efluencers were

compared to the protons of the

nucleus, which pull a great deal of

netizens closely around

• other netizens scattered around

just like the electrons, casually

participated in several topics

Data Source: CIC Automobile Data Panel, including 10 hot and reprehensive

automobile online communities


NET CULTURE: Unique netizen language in ChinaNetizens created popular nicknames for specific car models and brands

Summary

Netizens had unique language and frequently used nicknames to refer models. For example, half of posts

mentioned Focus online were by its nickname or English name, and a search for "FKS" on Google will yield 8

out 10 results referring to Ford Focus, but none of the result has contextual text advertisements (i.e. AdWords)

or link to its official site.

My viewpoint on FKS

I’ve test drived 307 and FKS,

but still can’t decide

Comparison between Mazda 3

and FKS

Data Source: CIC Automobile Data Panel, including 10 hot and

reprehensive automobile online communities

Data base: sum of Focus related posts by nicknames=474,790

http://www.google.cn/search?source=igchina&hl=zh-CN&q=FKS

CIC Research Methodology


RESEARCH METHODOLOGYCIC buzz measurement process

Using customized tools to analyze buzz volume and content

Experienced analyst to dig out insights behind IWOM dynamics

Buzz findings Delivery on regular basis in flexible format

Expert construct product & driver categorization

Data mining by powerful natural language mining tools

Human quality assurance for data mining result

Identify relevant source of online conversation source

Using customized tools and industry term library collecting data

Filter out irrelevant and duplicate data and assess data quality

Data Analysis

Data Collection

Data Mining


IWOM RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: DATA COLLECTION

Automobile Report

Industry Analysis

CIC Auto Industry Practice

Fixed Research Data Panel

Automobile

related IWOM

Industry

Practice

DatabaseCIC Auto Data Panel

Collect average 6.5 million messages every

month from CIC selected and fixed BBS

forums related to Auto industry practice.

FIXED FORUM

Empowered by CIC self-

developed patent BBS

message Spider/Robot


Structured Brand/Product Analysis

Our experts construct detailed customized productbuzz categorization based on natural online discussion using powerful language mining tools to measure the quantity of buzz and brand mentions.

Note: the tree showed here is a small part of the tree structure, which for example.

Diversified Attribute Analysis

According to naturally occurring online discussion and the scope of the interests, we also look into the attributes and aspects of the online buzz and the associations with product related talk.

Sample Product Tree Sample Driver Tree

IWOM RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: DATA ANALYSISProduct Buzz evaluation, to identify which product is being discussed

Category Overview Report for Automobile Industry

• : SVW ’s Cross POLO has unique appearance, my wife really likes it.

: URL - http://tieba.baidu.com/XXXXXX.html

: Netizen I

Buzz Content

Buzz Source

Brand Buzz

Volume

Poster

Product Buzz

Volume

Driver Buzz

Volume

Sentiment Buzz

Volume

21

IWOM RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: DATA MININGCIC’s powerful Natural Language Mining Tools helps identify the link between all buzz

keywords in Chinese, rather than simply calculating buzz keyword mentions

Automatically search specified categories using multiple related keywords via different search

engine across a broad spectrum of BBS and blogs.

http://tieba.baidu.com/XXXXXX.html

How do I learn more?


FULL CONTENT FOR AUTOMOBILE CATEGORY OVERVIEW REPORT (1)

Introduction of Category Overview- Report Description: A comprehensive overview of the Mainland China Automobile IWOM environment which includes “how

much Automobile talk, what’s being said, who’s talking, where they are talking, what does it all mean and what brand/agency

should do”.

- Data Coverage: 38,878,889 BBS (online message board) messages generated by 2,861,465 conversations on parenting

communities during 2nd half year 2008.

Part I: China IWOM Introduction- The Power of The Internet Community: key statistics, perspectives, and case studies that demonstrate how Internet Word of

Mouth (IWOM) is redefining the brand/consumer relationship in China- IWOM as Strategic Intelligence: selected cases for “Brand Reputation Management”, “Consumer Insight from Product Talk”,

“New Media Intelligence” and “Marketing Ideation”

Part II: Brand Reputation Management- IWOM Health Analysis For Brand Reputation Management

Industry Buzz Overview

Manufacturer Buzz Overview

Model Buzz Overview

Model Weekly Buzz Trend By 4 Classes

- Automobile Brand Personality Analysis From IWOM

- Automobile IWOM Crisis Case Study


FULL CONTENT FOR AUTOMOBILE CATEGORY OVERVIEW REPORT (2)

Part III: Consumer Insight from Product Talk-IWOM Dynamics of Automobile Product Discussion

Key Drivers of Automobile Online Discussion

Multiple Indexes to Track Online Discussion Drivers

Product Attributes Talk of Main Brands

Provide Consumer Insight From Automobile IWOM

-Brand Attributes Landscape (BAL) Analysis

-New Product Launch Feedback Analysis

Part IV: New Media Intelligence-The Popular BBS For Automobile Talk

Main BBS Sites For Automobile Talk

Multiple Way To Measure Online Communities’ Dynamics

Efluencer Study

-IWOM Landscape Of Automobile

Part V: Marketing Ideation-Hot Topics And Net Culture

Hot Keywords Around Automobile Talk

Hot Topics Of Automobile Communication

Net Languages Round Automobile Talk

Digital Culture Of Automobile Online Discussion

-Case studies For Marketing Ideation


HOW CIC CAN HELP ON SOCIAL MARKETING IN CHINA

Market evaluation: evaluate the IWOM performance of Automobile brands and other

various brands (buzz volume and sentiment)

Competitive intelligence: understand how key competitors’ performance and

marketing activities in social media

Consumer insight: find out netizens’ needs and feedback on various Automobile

products

PR management: understand netizens’ feedback on potential/ current crisis and enable

the brand learn quickly with the help of CIC experience on crisis management

Media buy: tell the brands where it could launch its social media advertisement

Online campaign tracking and evaluation

Contact us:

Production: CIC Automobile Team

Time Period: 2008 Jul-Dec

CIC Contact: Ellen([email protected])

mailto:[email protected]

Thank YouOUR BLOGS:

www.seeisee.com (Chinese)

www.seeisee.com/sam (English)

OUR WEBSITE:

www.cicdata.com

www.iwommaster.com

CONTACT US:

[email protected]

This report is copyrighted material owned by CIC. Any improper use of

this document or its content will be considered a violation of CIC IP

copyright and CIC has the right to take legal action.

本研究报告归CIC公司版权所有。任何对本研究报告或报告中任何内容的不当使用都将被视为对CIC知识产权的侵犯，CIC有权诉诸于法律。

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