Tencent announced the launch of a new suite of advertising solutions and resources that enable U.S. marketers to directly engage Chinese consumers on Tencent platforms both in China and while they travel abroad, including on the company's popular social messaging app, WeChat. These new offerings and the establishment of a dedicated U.S.-based support team provide U.S. brands and agencies with unique and powerful ways to capture attention, drive brand preference and increase sales among Chinese consumers. Tencent's International Business Group (IBG) will further discuss its new solutions at Advertising Week 2017 in New York. 

 

Tencent IBG is now providing international brands a distinctive cross-platform, cross-border brand value proposition, including an easy, all-in-one advertising hub and an unmatched access to Chinese consumers. Its WeChat mobile app alone has 963 million monthly active users. Chinese individuals spend more than 55 percent of their mobile internet usage on Tencent platforms, which include WeChat/Weixin, QQ, Qzone, Tencent Video, and Tencent News.

 

"To engage Chinese consumers, it is important to reach them on their preferred communications platforms," said Poshu Yeung, Vice President of International Business at Tencent. "For the first time, we are making it possible for U.S. brands to directly reach this audience through sophisticated targeting, not only in China but also when they travel to the U.S."

 

Chinese tourists have tremendous spending power in the U.S., spending $35 billion in 2016 alone. According to the U.S. Travel Association, the average spending per trip of a Chinese traveler in the U.S. is higher than any other international traveler, and shopping is a key activity for Chinese outbound tourists.

 

"For U.S. advertisers, China presents a dynamic, lucrative and challenging opportunity. Brands have become more sophisticated about the needs and behavior of Chinese tourists. To make a sale outside China, they understand that they need to speak to their customers before they even plan their trips," continued Yeung.

 

Over the past few months, a few select U.S. brands were invited to use these new advertising solutions, including the largest mall operator in the United States, Simon Property Group, and popular women's fashion brand, Rebecca Minkoff.

 

"Tencent and WeChat's new travel targeting and advertising solutions provide us with an unprecedented opportunity to directly connect with Chinese travelers, both in China and when they visit the U.S.," said Kristen Esposito, Simon Property Group Vice President of Tourism and Marketing Alliances. "China is projected to be the largest overseas inbound travel market to the U.S. by 2021, so the potential for growth is truly extraordinary."

 

Tencent IBG and partners including Simon Property Group and Rebecca Minkoff will discuss how brands can better understand and reach Chinese consumers on September 26 at 3:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. EDT at Advertising Week in New York. The event will explore who these modern buyers are, what digital trends influence their lives, and how they make purchase decisions, in China and in the United States. Anyone interested in marketing in China or to Chinese tourists is encouraged to attend.