South China Morning Post launches digital products for U.S. market

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) is a leading media company in Asia. The SCMP had plans to expand into the U.S. with two digital products/news brands designed specifically for the American market: ABACUS, a mobile news site covering the China tech industry, and INKSTONE, a website and mobile app covering China news. The success of the program has earned first place in the “Digital Product or Service Launch” category of PR Daily’s 2019 Digital Marketing & Social Media Awards.

Strategies included positioning the editorial teams from the two properties as China insiders with distinguished journalistic credentials and authoritative perspectives on the Chinese tech industry and U.S.-China relations; using current China-related headlines and cultural touchstones (like Chinese New Year) to demonstrate the relevance of these new products; selectively harnessing SCMP’s relationship with Alibaba to enhance campaign resources; and aligning new products with reputable U.S. institutions and influencers.

To activate these strategies, SCMP arranged an opening bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange with a video prepared for social media and news media use. Meetup groups were prepared between editors and key opinion leaders. Chinese New Year boxes were distributed to tech influencers for on-camera unboxing videos. The team partnered with Chinese American YouTubers the Fung Brothers to collaborate on Inkstone brand video and content. A paid advertising campaign was also launched.

The effort resulted in 171.4 million media impressions and 461 pickups by media outlets, including Bloomberg, Fox Business and Marketwatch. The website drew 207,762 new visitors during the launch period, and social media impressions and clicks for both brands were impressive.

Congratulations to Telly Wong, Evan Stainsby and Ryosuke Hoshiyama.