COVID-19 // China POV Vol.4

April 3rd 2020
HAVAS GROUP CHINA
Corona Virus Market Update

2
Content
1. COVID-19 situation update
2. Immediate consumption impact
3. Media consumption impact
4. Economic outlook
5. Outlook key categories
6. Media market implications
7. POV & recommendation

4Sources: Ipsos; Cosmose; GWI
Even when positive on the future, Chinese are still concerned.
Brands can be meaningful now,
helping overcome some barriers to enjoy daily life again
70%Plan to increase purchase
right after COVID-19
Mar 20th, 2020
59%Are optimistic about the
future of China’s economy
Mar 13th, 2020
84%Try to avoid crowed places
because of COVID-19
Mar 20th, 2020
55%Keep concerns about the
COVID-19 situation
Mar 20th, 2020

Chinese are discovering the new normality
5
• After two months prevention and control, China reported no new locally transmitted infections for some days in
row. Wuhan and Hubei other cities ease the lockdown. According to China's National Health Commission website,
most of people can even stop wearing masks if they’re at home or if they’re outdoors and in well-ventilated
spaces where there aren't a lot of people.
• Normality appears to be returning to China’s cities. The roads are gridlocked. Metro stations are more crowded
again with commuters. While with increasing imported cases, things are still a little stilted with office buildings,
shopping malls and other public places still requiring people to be registered and their temperatures recorded.
Several areas require people to show a “green” reading though a smartphone app called Health Code, through
WeChat or Alipay.
• More restaurants and even nightclubs are back open again, but don’t attract large audiences, with their face
masked mixologists and live streamers. Local authorities are still urging diners to change their chopstick habits and
stopping dipping them in communal dishes during the pandemic.
• Although most in China think that the worst is over, Chinese are worried about a second wave of COVID-19
infections due by imported cases and the spread of the virus oversea. China has closed its borders for foreigners,
and again closed indoor tourist attractions and cinemas that had recently reopened.
sources：China skinny

Chinese are discovering the new normality
6
Sources: China skinny; BCG
• Ctrip started selling travel packages and attraction tickets; tickets to 1,449 well-known tourist spots across
the country could be bought online while 40% of China’s top national tourist spots have reopened; Results
from a recent Ctrip online survey of nearly 15,000 netizens showed that 78% expressed willingness to travel
in the near future. Qunar stated online searches for China’s upcoming May 1 holiday soared 76% this week
compared to a week ago.
• Offline business is recovering, 80% of fashion & luxury shops reopen with shop traffic recovered 30%-40% at
weekends of mid March
• Xinjiang became the first province to start school again following no new cases of coronavirus infection for
34 days long. 15 provinces have announced the school reopen times. College entrance exam will be delayed
for one month.

January-February consumption recap: China’s retail consumption
plunged heavily to -20.5%
8
Retail onsumption YOY Growth Rate
Restaurants -43.1%
Jewelry -41.1%
Auto -37.0%
Furniture -33.5%
Apparel -30.9%
Cosmetics -14.1%
Food +9.7%
E-Commerce +3.0%
Key Category Consumption YOY Growth Rate
Sources: National Bureau of Statistics

Big purchases keep on being postponed, major categories for
daily pleasure are recovering
9
Phase Cancel or reduce Unchanged or limited Increase
Phase 2
Stabilization
Feb 9 -End of the outbreak
Phase 3
Post outbreak - Recovery
• Big purchases keep postponing: real
estates, furniture, cars, luxury products.
The expected reducing family income
make people spend more “restrained”
• Domestic travel show sign of recovery,
driven the upcoming Qingming holiday
and May 1 holiday, OTA platform live
streaming by CEO also helps
• Almost all international travel are canceled
• Big family purchase categories without
urgency: cars, furniture etc.
• Online entertainment
• Epidemic related products:
masks, household cleaning,
medicine grow stable
• Online education market keeps
growing
• Food market increased earlier
and now back to normal
• Online shopping; small electronic
• OOH activities are recovering
• Personal care products
• Major appliances,
consumer electronics,
liquor, etc.
• Luxury: overseas
buying high drecrease,
domestically to
compensate (when
stocks are available)
• Apparel
• Indulgence food & beverage
• Entertainment, especially OOH
activities like cinema, outdoor.
• Domestic travel
• Health related categories,
including healthy food, gym
• Small home renovations and
decorations
• Adult and kids education
• Insurance
Sources: desk research and social listening, multiple sources Havas Group

10
Some key developments during the
stabilization phase

With consumers’ optimistic sentiment towards epidemic,
the offline business shows a good first step to recover
11
People are lining up for
famous local snacks at
Shanghai Nanjing road, but
keeping 1m social distance
Sales achieved 11M RMB
on the first 5 hours of
Hangzhou tower reopen
92% of consumers express confidence
in China’s approach on the COVID-19:
Sources: Nielsen survey
Chinese
government's
appropriate
preventive
and control
measures
Chinese
government's
timely and
transparent
disclosure of
information.

Strong self indulgence needs in food & beverage is seen after
the long time of quarantine
12
402%
Take away orders
Since Mar 2nd when most people resume work, take
away orders significantly increased. Milk tea which is
considered as the origin of happy, increased 744% orders
Sources: Fuzhongzhelianmeng; iResearch
744%
Milk tea orders
Milk tea brands launch
5L big bucket to cater
to consumers’ needs
Hotpot restaurants
start to line up

Meanwhile, people are longing for more out of home activities,
keen to start domestic traveling
13
Sources: iResearch; Qunar
6%
5%
10%
7%
6%
9%
28%
20%
14%
21%
19%
17%
38%
12%
13%
11%
16%
17%
18%
11%
22%
28%
25%
31%
33%
25%
Beauty activities
Concert/ Exhibition
Gym/ Take a fitness group lesson
Massage/sauna/Bathe
Play basketball/football with friends
Outdoor activities(KTV/ Mahjong/Secret room)
Outdoor family activities
Outdoor exercises
Visit friends and relatives
Shopping
Travelling
Go to cinema
Hang out with friends
Suspended activities by epidemic The most desired top3 activities after the epidemic is over
Top activities desired by consumers
76% online search increase
for May 1 holidays compared to a
week ago according to Qunar
5000+ people visit
the west lake in one
day after quarantine

Online shopping further increased during the epidemic, expected
to be continued afterwards
14
40% of consumer have
increased their frequency of
buying online.
89% say they will be
more willing to buy online
once the epidemic is over
Chinese E-commerce remain strong despite the epidemic
Most brands seem to be overperforming compared to last year
Cosmetics and F&B sales remain strong, fashion slump
Sources: Nielsen survey; Cosmose
Overall more consumers are shopping for
the first time across platforms such as
third-party applications, brand websites
and community shopping via WeChat

Taobao launches the global first C2M centric platform
15
Taobao expects the C2M initiative will bring 10
billion new orders to factories across the country
over the next three years while transforming 1,000
manufacturers into “super factories” with output
exceeding 100 million yuan each and driving
productivity at 10 factory clusters in China to 10
billion yuan or more
Taobao has launched a new initiative to help drive the digital transformation of traditional factories in China using
its consumer-to-manufacturer (C2M) system
• Taobao initiate its first factory shopping festival
start from 3/29, consumers can buy products at
a wholesale price
• Taobao will provide precise targeting to support
business affected by epidemic
• The new platform will help Taobao to increase
penetration into low tier markets, competing
with Pinduoduo
Sources: South China Morning post

Acceleration of 020, extending to brand experiences
16
More luxury brands are
seeking online opportunities
1. Show customers they cared, sending messages
and offering flexibility around licensing
2. Accelerate the digital initiatives
• launch online training program in February:
Launch WeChat Mini Program to expand its
reach; Launch kid’s fitness program
• Partnership with Alibaba on content–
Youku and DingTalk
Offline industries accelerate digital
initiatives during these challenging times
Fitness brand Les Mills case
Improve omni channel to cover
more occasions
1. Deliver within 1 hour
with wide distribution
which can cover low tier
market
2. Connected Suning
xiaodian/Suning grocery
market/Carrefour APP
together
3. Upgrade APP/mini
program/social media
to open online purchase
by livestreaming and
promotion
4. Improve online finance
service, online
payment, tec.
Suning case
Source: desk research Havas Group

Riding on the trend of national collectivity: consumers appreciate
brands that contribute to society during this hard time
17
What brands are expected to do in advertising:
•Talk about how the brand is helpful in the new everyday life: 77%
•Inform about their efforts to face the situation: 75%
•Offer a reassuring tone: 70%
There are clear pitfalls to be avoided in advertising:
•Should not exploit coronavirus situation to promote the brand: 75%
•Should avoid humorous tones: 40%
What consumer expect brand to do in advertising during the epidemic:
Chinese oil giant Sinopec sell
groceries in a touch-free style
Chinese electronic giant Gree
announced to launch KN95 masks
and medical-grade masks
People can order
online, drive to the
gas station without
getting out of the
car. Staff put their
order into the trunk.
999 medicine crossover with
Ramen Talk launch warm
chicken soup ramen
What are Chinese brands doing?
Source: Kantar

18
Some outlooks for the post-outbreak
recovery phase

70% of consumers plan to increase spending after COVID-19,
but expected to be more selective in what they buy in long term
19
31.4%
68.6%
Will not increase Will increase
11.0%
12.6%
12.0%
64.4%
Will increase Will cut down
Will remain unchanged Will be more "restrained"
New trend in allocation of personal
disposable income after Covid-19
Will you increase consumer
spending in long term
Sources: Cosmose
In the short run, the “Buy” mentality is in
dominance as people need a release from the
limitation of epidemic.
In the long term, mature middle-class buyers
tend to be more selective in what they buy,
which lean towards items of better quality
and that can be used for a longer duration;
The younger group (Gen-Z), who are now a
major power in luxury buying, are more likely
to have a stronger post-epidemic attitude of
“enjoy while one can” and this may also show
up in their consumption behavior patterns.

In short term, out of home activities see a biggest increase,
but many categories show still less consumption than normal
20
28%
27%
38%
29%
25%
33%
35%
27%
19%
19%
18%
21%
64%
61%
36%
51%
58%
41%
37%
49%
65%
59%
61%
52%
8%
13%
26%
20%
16%
26%
29%
24%
16%
22%
22%
27%
3C product
Beauty/ skin care
Ourdoor dining
Colthing
Daily food/ tobacco and…
Cinema
Travel
Transportation
Insurance
Medical
Education
Fitness
spend less remain unchange spend more
category average 27% 53% 21%
Short term impact on categories after epidemic
-6%
+6%
+4%
+3%
-2%
-4%
-6%
-7%
-9%
-10%
-12%
-14%
-20%
Sources: iResearch
increase - reduce
In short term after epidemic, most categories
still consume less than normal level, but much
better than during epidemic (-6% vs. -52%).
Travel (29%), Fitness (27%), dining out (26%),
Cinema (26%) are the high potential categories
to enjoy a retaliatory consumption.
Consumer show stronger interests towards
Fitness (+6%), education (+4%), and healthcare
(+3%) than before epidemic.
vs. -52% (during epidemic)

In long term, most categories will rebound to normal level.
Fitness/healthcare/edu/insurance expect to see a good momentum
21
9%
11%
9%
10%
6%
8%
9%
7%
5%
5%
6%
5%
87%
81%
86%
83%
86%
83%
78%
81%
82%
80%
76%
77%
4%
7%
6%
8%
7%
9%
12%
12%
13%
15%
18%
18%
3C product
Outdoor eating
Beauty/ skin care
Colthing
Daily food/ tobacco…
Cinema
Tourism
Transportation
Insurance
Education
Medical
Fitness
spend less remain unchange spend more
category average 8% 82% 11%
Long term impact on categories after epidemic
+3%
+13%
+12%
+10%
+7%
+5%
+3%
+1%
+1%
-2%
-3%
-4%
-5%
Sources: iResearch
increase - reduce
In long term after epidemic, most categories
will recover to normal level (short term vs. long
term = -6% vs. +3%)
Fitness (+13%), Healthcare (+12%), Education
(+10%), Insurance (+7%) would enjoy a good
growth after epidemic
Out of home activities which expect to see
retaliatory consumption will return to normal

Exercising more to stay healthy: fitness is enjoying a big growth
22
75% say they will spend more
on sports / fitness in the future
150% 134% 56%
Yoga mat Rowing machine Chest developer
Fitness equipment significantly increased in Feb (JD data)
Sources: Nielsen survey; JD

New eating habits: lunch boxes brought to work with healthy home
cooked meals, more veggies and proteins
23
80% would pay attention to
eating healthily even after the
epidemic is over
50% changed their ordinary diets substantially during the epidemic
Sources: Nielsen survey; JD
40% 37% 35% 33%
Vegetable Fresh fruit Eggs Dairy
After resume work, most people
bring lunch box with home
cooking food to office. Sales of
ecteronic heating lunch box on JD
increased 347%

Home economy gains steam: upgrading needs from equipment
to small renovations and decorations
Previous kitchen “highlight” become a must
Sources: Tmall; JD; Suning sales data
283% 140%
Sandwich machine Electronic hotpot Dish wash machine
Healthy need driven appliance
380% 91% 200%
Steam mop Sterilizing cabinet Degerming related
1500%
24

Video & gaming DAU and time spend has seen a moderate increase
compared to 2019, but decline slightly after resuming working
26
701 738
789 765
94.5
107.2
128.4
121
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Video Service Apps User Behavior
Average DAU scale Average use time
Unit:
Mil Unit:
mins
Source: iResearch
249
295
309 298
70.2 72.5
76.7 76.9
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Gaming Apps User Behavior
Average DAU Scale Average Use Time
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins

Daily active usage of OTV increased significantly, all the top 5
platforms gained more active users compared to 2019
27
365
401
464 451112.1 114.0
132.0
122.1
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
0
100
200
300
400
500
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Online Video User Behavior
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins
167
153
78
32
22
176
158
83
38
24
205
183
107
52
26
196
179
103
48
26
iQIYI Tencent Video Youku Mango TV Bilibili
2020 Top 5 Online Video Apps by DAU
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar avg.(till 22nd)
Unit:
Mil
Source: iResearch

Including further growth for Bilibili, as an emerging
video platform for young audiences
26 Mil
DAU
Ranking No.5
in Online Video apps by DAU
82 mins/day
Avg. use time per user
7.95 Mil
VIP
Source: iResearch, period: 2020/03/22; Bilibili 2019 Q3 financial report
28

Short video continues its steady growth on use time, while daily
active user level stays high
29
430
465
499
460
39.0
51.5
58.3 60.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Short Video User Behavior
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins
211
123
52 46
36
254
141
55 50
35
285
153
58 53
36
281
142
57 50
35
Douyin Kwai Watermelon Video Douyin Volcano
Edition
Baidu Haokan
Video
2020 Top 5 Short Video Apps by DAU Scale
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar avg.(till 22nd)Unit:
Mil
Source: iResearch

Kwai’s growth is driven by young users in lower tiers
142 Mil
DAU
Rank No.2
in Short Video apps by DAU
40 mins/day
15 Mil
UGC contents per day
Source: iResearch, Kwai
30

Social DAU and use time normalize to pre-CNY level. Resulting in a
positive trend in active usage vs. 2019 for WeChat, Weibo and Red
31
896
344
182
16 13
912
325
206
14 14
911
332
222
15 15
911
330
218
14 15
WeChat QQ Weibo Baidu Tieba LRB
2020 Top 5 Social Apps by DAU Scale
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar avg.(till 22nd)Unit:
Mil
1220 1241 1267 1249
92.5
97.4 99.9
94.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Social Networking User Behavior
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins
Source: iResearch

Influencer’s monetization decreased as campaigns got postponed,
but rising viewership/followers and high engagement
32
Content
From a content standpoint this is a boom period for many
influencers. Consumers are bored and eager to explore and
engage. Influencers experiencing the strongest growth
through:
Brand deals cancelled or postponed – many
until as late as May, expect to be back to
normal until June’s 618 shopping festival
Sources: Campaign China
With consumers confined to their homes,
commercial live-streaming has been booming.
One report found that 574 accounts on popular
video platforms Douyin and Kwai each gained
between 100,000 and 500,000 new followers
between 20 January and 2 February. Top
Taobao live-streamer Austin Li 10 February
drew more than 16 million viewers. Items were
selling out before he could even finish.
Fitness Cooking Comedy

Brand CEOs have become new influencers
33
During the epidemic, several brand CEOs are doing live streaming to sell products, including Ctrip co-founder
Jianzhang Liang, Intime CEO Xiaodong Chen, Lingqingxuan CEO Chunlai Sun, Suning Hailan Xu, etc. They try to
leverage their influence power and their knowledge to brands/products, to seek opportunities for brands
during this hard time. They all achieved a notable viewership and sales.
Ctrip co-founder Jianzhang Liang
live streaming in Sanya’s hotel,
achieved 10M hotel sales in 1 hour
Local cosmetic brand Linqingxuan CEO Chunlai Sun’s first
live streaming attract 60000+ viewers, sell 400K in 2
hours, which equals 2 months offline sales in tier 1 cities
Sources: Sina news

34
6 6
17
31
9.0 10.0
31.6
51.6
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 DingTalk User Behavior
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins
0.93
1.21
57.46
61.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-0.10
0.10
0.30
0.50
0.70
0.90
1.10
1.30
1.50
2020 Feb 2020 Mar avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Tencent Meeting User Behavior
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins
Compared with 2020 Jan, DingTalk:
• average DAU scale has quintupled
• average use time also saw a quintuple increase
Compared to 2020 Feb figure, Tencent Meeting :
• average DAU scale has increased 1.7 times in Mar
Source: iResearch, period: 2019.01.01-2020.03.22
Among office efficiency apps, DingTalk and Tencent Meeting
continue their strong growth momentum

DingTalk growth is driven by male audiences in lower tiers
31 Mil
DAU
Rank No. 1
in Office apps by DAU
52 mins/day
10 Mil
Companies’ choice
Source: iResearch
35

Navigation apps usage rebounds as people return to work,
while travel apps usage remains low
36
171 175
150
162
18.7 18.3
12.7
19.7
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
20.0
0
50
100
150
200
250
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Travel & Navigation Apps User Behavior
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins
81
44
8 8 6 4 1
81
43
7 5 6 3 1
74
35
5 4 4 3 1
83
39
5 5 4 3 1
AutoNavi Baidu Map Ctrip Qunar 12306 Fliggy LY.com
2020 Top 2 Navigation & Top 5 Tourism Service Apps
by DAU Scale
Unit:
Mil
Source: iResearch

Out of health concern, the DAU of food delivery apps is lower than
2019 avg. but shows an increasing trend with more time consumption
37
22.8 23.0
21.3 22.2
14.0
12.8
11.5
16.8
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Food Delivery and Menu User Behavior
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins
12.0
2.7
1.7
1.0 0.9
12.6
2.8
1.8
1.0 0.8
11.4
2.5
1.7
1.2
0.9
11.7
2.8
1.9
1.2
0.8
Dianping Ele.me Meituan Xiachufang Douguo Food
2020 Top 5 Fresh Food E-commerce Apps
by DAU Scale
Unit:
Mil
Source: iResearch, period: 2019.01.01-2020.03.22

2020 TV ratings show a natural decline as consumers resume work
6.9
9.5
7.7
7.2
10.2
7.9
6.5
9.2
7.1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Jan Feb Mar（3.1-3.14）
Tier1 Tier2 Others
Mar VS Feb
Tier1：-19%
Tier2：-23%
Others：-23%
38
Source: Infosys, Target:P18-45, Period:2020/01/01 – 2020/3/14, Timeslot: All Day Tier1 including（BJ、SH、GZ、 SZ）,Tier2 including almost Provincial capital
After resuming office work, rating in March saw a clear
downward trend
Reach of TV has Decline significantly, especially in
Tier1&2 cities
77.8
83.6
70.1
79.8
86.7
69.4
84.1
87.7
72.9
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
Jan Feb Mar（3.1-3.14）
Tier1 Tier2 Others

While some prime time ratings still maintain at higher level
39
Source: Infosys, Market: 57 Markets, Target:P18-45, Period:2020/1/01 – 2020/3/14, Timeslot: 1800-2300
1/21-11/27 1/28-2/2 2/3-2/8 2/9-2/15 2/16-2/22 2/23-2/29 3/1-3/7 3/8-3/14
Hunan STV 1.49 1.56 1.55 1.69 1.88 1.99 1.78 1.59
Jiangsu STV 1.31 1.39 1.29 1.65 1.35 1.49 1.90 2.12
Dragon TV 1.21 1.48 1.46 1.69 1.57 1.76 1.80 1.86
Zhejiang STV 0.67 1.13 1.10 1.23 1.55 1.37 1.89 1.80
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
Dragon TV
<安家> 2/21-3/14
ave. rating:1.75
Hunan STV
<下一站幸福 1/26-2/18
ave. rating:1.88
Hunan STV
<完美关系> 2/18-3/14
ave. rating:1.92
Zhejiang STV
<我在北京等你> 2/23-3/14
ave. rating:1.77
Jiangsu STV
<我在北京等你> 2/23-3/14
ave. rating:1.90

40
During the COVID-19 outbreak, CCTV and PSTV released dozens
of related news programs and reports
During the spread of coronavirus disease period, mainstream TV channels aired live COVID-19 related reports and
scientific knowledge programs, raising public awareness of the disease and prevention instructions.
Top 5 satellite TV channels and top 4 online video platforms have decided new prime time series lists.
Overall, satellite TV channels and online video platforms are pursuing cost efficiency. Satellite TV channels purchased
backlog TV series and online video platforms increased copyright exchange to control spending.
Source: CSM Media Research Ver8.0 Update on 28th Feb

41
Cinema venues closed again, after more than 500 had reopened
• Over 500 movie theatres reopened in China have been ordered to close again after trading began to resume. On
27th Mar evening, China Film Administration issued a notice ordering all venues to shut down, just one day after
it was announced that Shanghai was set to reopen more than 200 theaters over the weekend.
• "This second closure will not be a one- or two-week issue. They are going to be even more cautious when they
attempt to reopen again — and this will set us back a long time.“ said an executive at a major exhibition
company.
Source: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_6729750

42
OOH: community & office media are the first choices for
outdoor advertising
• Drugs, health products, disinfectants and other related
products have increased their exposure, mainly through
community media and office building media.
• Community and office building media are diverse and
numerous, many clients adopted creative formats and
hot topics to draw people’s attention.

43
Outdoor also plays an active role in celebrating COVID-19 heros
Outdoor, especially digital outdoor, has played a very active role
in spreading real-time COVID-19 related information, public
service advertisement and celebrating heros around the globe.
In UK, local digital outdoor media companies such as Ocean
Outdoor, JCDecaux and Clear Channel have launched NHS (UK
National Medical Service System) version of the epidemic
prevention advertisements to pay tribute to medical staff and to
remind people of relevant precautions.
More than 50 Shanghai info WeChat Accounts payed tribute to
Shanghai heroes as they are heading back Shanghai. At the same
time, the same poster was released at 77 core shopping malls
and displayed on outdoor landmark screens in Shanghai.

China GDP growth is estimated by multiple sources to fall to 1%,
as the global outbreak intensifies
45
“The impact on China’s economy of the Covid-
19 outbreak is set to be much deeper than
that of SARS. Assuming that the virus does not
flare up again, we expect China’s real GDP
growth to stand at only 1% in 2020, compared
with an estimated 6.1% in 2019. The
slowdown will be concentrated in the first
quarter of the year and will still be felt in the
second quarter. Growth will recover in the
second half of the year when China typically
produces most of its GDP.”
--- EIU
Real GDP growth (% in 2020) Real GDP growth (% in 2020) Previous forecast (before outbreak)
Australia -0.4 2
Brazil -5.5 2.4
Canada -1.3 1.8
China 1 5.9
France -5 1
Germany -6.8 0.9
India (2020/21 fiscal year) 2.1 6
Indonesia 1 5.1
Italy -7 0.4
Japan -1.5 0.4
South Korea -1.8 2.2
Mexico -5.4 1.1
Russia -2 1.6
Saudi Arabia -5 1
South Africa -3 1.4
UK -5 1.1
US -2.8 1.7
Global (market exchange rates) -2.2 2.3
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit, March 26
Disclaimer: Based on figures of the The Economist Intelligence, 26
other sources show similar projections.
As reference, to be revised based on current global outbreak situation

Though a reduced family income is expected, Chinese are optimistic
in country’s economy recovery
46
Sources: iResearch; McKinsey
Chinese say that the
COVID-19 didn’t affect
their job much
80%
2%
39%
59%
Increase
Maintain
Reduce
Expectation for this year family income
Mar 3rd, 2020 Mar 22nd, 2020

Government spending stimulation have started, even to the
level of giving out coupons
47Sources: Sina finance
• Consumption has been the top 1 driver for China’s economy for 6 years in a row, which contributes 57.8% to
total GDP in 2019.
• President Xi chaired a meeting focusing on China stabilizing economic and social development. The meeting
underscored "unleashing consumption” that had been suppressed by the outbreak and strengthening new
and upgraded consumption to compensate the lost consumption on goods and services during the outbreak.
• Local government are trying best to drive consumption:
Suggest 4.5 days work day
per week so people have
more time to consume and
travel
Until Mar 27th, about 26
provinces give out 4.3 billion
RMB consumption coupon
(including restaurant, shopping
mall, library, car purchase, etc.)
and travel coupon
Estimate to have 20% additional
consumption increase

At the same time 6 government regulations have been announced
to drive then domestic economy in the long term
48
Published by National Development and Reform Commission on 3/13/2020
1. Optimize the supply side of domestic market
- Improve the competitive power of local products & service, further develop on local brands (new category, better quality, new
brand), cut the tariff
2. Upgrade culture & tourism consumption
- Enrich culture & tourism product, improve inbound tourism and environment, innovate in culture & tourism’s advertising and
promotion
3. Develop urban & rural integrated consumption network
- Create consumption center, optimize the distribution of business network, improve logistics development
4. Speed up in developing intelligence consumption ecosystem
- Speed up 5G development, encourage in developing intelligence shop/city/commercial area, encourage integration of online and
offline, push forward green consumption
5. Continue to uplift people’s consumption power
- Stabilize and increase people’s welfare
6. Create safe consumption environment
- Improve market order supervision and consumer rights protection, strengthen credit system development
Sources: China National Development and Reform Commission

With COVID-19 turning into a global pandemic, China's overseas
travel will usher to a low point
Hong Kong and
Macao prohibit entry
of non Chinese
nationality
Domestic
epidemic
situation
improves and
scenic spots
open
EU closed border for
30 days
US
border
closure
Overseas
Chinese
Returned Australia and
New Zealand
close border
No entry to
African
countries
No entry to
Russia
The global epidemic situation is tense, and many countries have closed their borders. International flight and hotel business will
be affected in the short term. Domestic situation is improving and domestic tourism is expected to recover
China
temporarily
closes its
borders to
foreign
nationals
Source: Xinhua News Agency 51

So willingness to travel domestically significantly increases from May,
driven by the May 1 holiday, while mainly safely using the car
52
4%
8%
16%
15%
15%
15%
8%
14%
2%3%
Mar:4%
Apr:8%
May:16%
June:15%
July:15%
August:15%
September:8%
October:14%
November:2%
December:3%
People’s willingness to travel in 2020 after end of COVID-19
41%
29%
16%
14%
Car:41%
Railway:29%
Bus:16%
Plane:14%
Mode of transport
Top 10 destinations inside China
1. Yunnan 2. Hainan 3. Shanghai 4. Tibet 5. Beijing
6. Sichuan 7. Guangdong 8. Zhejiang 9. Chongqing 10. Xinjiang
Source: Dragon Trail Research 2020

China temporarily closed its borders to all foreign nationals
53Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

54
COVID-19 global spread continues impacting tourism related areas
AIRPORTS/AIRLINES
Many indoor scenic spots and entertainment
venues in China have announced that they
have temporarily closed again following the
suspension of work at cinemas, amid the
epidemic control and prevention.
Shanghai: skyscrapers such as Shanghai Tower
and Oriental Pearl Tower, will close again
starting 30th Mar after reopening for 19 days.
Entertainment venues such as KTV and
internet cafes have also been suspended in
many places of China outside Shanghai.
Domestic outdoor scenic spots have seeing an
opportunity. Bookings for railway and tourist
attraction tickets, (most of them within the
same province), more than doubled in the week
ended March 23 from a week earlier, according
to China Top OTA Fliggy. Meanwhile, hotel
bookings jumped by 30% from a month ago.
High-end hotel packages, theme parks for
families, and nature tours were most popular
among travel products.
INDOOR ENTERTAINMENT
The Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) is
limiting the number of international flights
coming in and out of China in order to curtail
the rise of imported coronavirus (COVID-19)
cases in the country.
From 29th Mar, Chinese airlines are only
allowed to maintain one route to any specific
country with no more than one flight per week
each, while foreign airlines are only allowed to
maintain one route to China with no more than
one weekly flight.
OUTDOOR ATTRACTIONS
Source: CAAC, CGTN, yicaiglobal

Tourist attractions around the world go digital, offering virtual tours
Great Wall of China
An attraction visited by millions of tourists in
person every year, the Louvre Museum has
also created a selection of virtual tours based
on its permanent collections.
Japan National Tourism Organization has created
a 360-degree virtual reality video that lets you
explore Tokyo in a 3 minute tour.
Louvre, Paris
One of China’s most famous tourist attractions
has temporarily closed all tours. Offers virtual
tour to explore its beauty remotely.
Tokyo
https://www.thechinaguide.com/destination/great-wall-of-
china
https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR_Y7vj66PU&featur
e=emb_title
Some examples
55

Chinas tourism industry takes various methods to keep the sector
grounded
Seeding through online tour
• Many Museums and scenic spots offer virtual
tour: such as the Palace Museum, Shaanxi
History Museum, etc.
• People can watch live-streaming to
experience the attractions online with a host.
Using live-stream to drive direct sales
• The cooperation between some live
streamers and famous tourism brands, such
as Atlantis and Marriott, has brought about
tens of millions of yuan of transactions.
56Source: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-03-07/Tourism-live-streaming-on-rise-in-China--OFeh5V73VK/index.html

Russian Hermitage Museum
opened its Tmall store
2018 20192016
EC platforms become more and more
popular for merchandising sales
National Museum of
China
Following the success of many local museums
selling souvenirs, posters and branded
merchandise
The British Museum
Shaanxi History
Museum

Fresh Food e-commerce platforms growth rate has slowed down,
but remains on a much higher level compared to 2019
59
2.65
3.59 3.60 3.64
6.7
5.0
5.5
6.0
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
2019 avg. 2020 Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar
avg.(till 22nd)
2020 Fresh Food E-commerce User Behavior
Unit:
Mil
Unit:
mins 0.89
0.63
0.51
0.31
0.24
0.93
0.66
0.59
0.39
0.22
0.88
0.67
0.59
0.43
0.25
0.91
0.63 0.59
0.46
0.28
Dmall Miss Fresh JD Daojia Hema Yonghui Life
2020 Top 5 Fresh Food E-commerce Apps by DAU Scale
Unit:
Mil
Source: iResearch

China’s retailers are launching CSR initiatives
• Hema, the top online fresh food retailer, initiated a
shared employee program that temporarily hires laid-off
workers from restaurants.
• Hema gain access to a ready pool of staff, while
restaurants no longer had to worry about the fate of
their employees in the short term.
• Medical staff have garnered a lot of attention during the
virus outbreak. Their brave and selfless action has earned
respect from communities the world over. Companies can
help consumers express their gratitude to medical staff.
• Papa John’s, a popular pizza chain in China, has offered
the "buy one get one free" program to medical staff, with
an enclosed "thank you" note.
60Source: https://cj.sina.com.cn/articles/view/5617041192/14ecd3f2802000vi6j; https://www.weibo.com/papachina?from=feed&loc=at&nick=棒约翰PapaJohns
Hema is temporarily employing
displaced foodservice workers
Papa John’s offers heavily discounted
meal deal for medical staff

Brands like Pepsi leverage Big Data to
optimize targeting in digital
Passion points of
Post-80s-and-90s
Ali Big Data
95% Netizen Coverage
Inclusion
Belonging
Cultural Identity
Passion points of TA
Abundant Interest Tags
Group Tags（Choose 3）
2 Age
34 Region
31 Dialects
2 Genders30 Taste
4 VO
Mechanism
Creative H5
Inclusive Micro-FilmTag inclusion
Campaign Summary
Key Takeaways
Pepsi delivers multi-culture of modern China and the
hometown memory of each individual to involve people
in joining the Chinese New Year campaign via Creative H5.
• Creative H5: Big Data + Multi Entry + Rewarding
The mechanism of H5 combine passion points of TA
and Ali big data, which means consumers can choose
group tags to customize their hometown memory.
• Multi-entrance on Ali system: Consumers can take
the entry of H5 by opening apps or clicking on Taobao
banner or AR scanning or searching the key
word ”Qiongding(穹顶)” which means center in
Chinese.
• Taobao virtual coins as reward, to stimulate
consumer to engage and share H5, the first
commercialization of virtual coins, which may have
further implications in the future.
• In 2019 Chinese New Year Festival, Pepsi upgrade
Annual Campaign - Take the Happy Home by combining
passion points of the young with Ali big data in the
form of Inclusive Memory of Home thematic H5.
• And this campaign attracted 30 mil participants, 3.1 mil
inclusive memory, 9.9 mil virtual billing of Taobao,
2500 sets of gift packages and entitled gold award of
ROI, Top Digital and so on.
61
Source: Ali and Media Data

The Chinese luxury market is estimated to keep a decrease in
2020, even after recovering from April with most stores reopened
63
80%
luxury & fashion stores have reopened by Apr 1st
30%-40%
shop traffic recovered until mid Mar at weekends
40%-50%
During lock down: 75%-85% decrease
Rebound quickly: after 6-8 weeks after
ease lock down, 40-50% decrease
Limited impact from epidemic, estimate to
have only 5%-10% decrease at end of 2020
Disclaimer: As
reference, to be
revised based on
global outbreak
and supply chain
effect
China luxury market growth rate estimation by month 2020
Source: BCG, April 1st., 2020

Further digitalization through streaming and AR to compensate
life events
Luxury and fashion brands will need to ramp up online
operations in response to a hard-hit physical retail sector, as
COVID-19 accelerates deeper shifts characterized by the
now-digital Shanghai Fashion Week (SHFW).
SHFW has teamed up with Alibaba’s online marketplace
Tmall to broadcast its entire roster of runway shows online
from March 24th to 30th on Taobao Live, Alibaba’s
livestreaming channel, making it the first fashion week
event to go fully digital.
Broadcasting shows is not the first time. This time, however,
viewers can purchase items online while watching and
making comments on shows in real-time. What’s more,
many of the catwalks took place with green-screens behind
the models to boost VFX.
“We have integrated some of Alibaba’s most advanced
technologies to bring a new and elevated experience to
consumers,” explained Mike Hu, general manager of Tmall
Fashion and FMCG.
Shanghai Fashion week via streaming
and with AR
64Source: https://www.warc.cn/newsandopinion/news/luxurywitnessesitsowndigitisationwithshanghaifashionweekabellwether/43430?utm_source=daily-email-free-
link&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-email-apac-prospects-20200330; http://sh.sina.com.cn/news/m/2020-03-20/detail-iimxyqwa1968487.shtml

Campaign Summary
As well by CHANEL for their
2020/21 AW fashion show
Key Takeaways
Result
• Campaign Period: 2020.3.2-2020.3.3
• Est. Budget: 3.0Mil.
• Market: Nationwide
• Key Platform:
• Chanel launched real-time live stream of fashion show in
China for the first time.
• Leverage Tencent Video(3/3) & Weibo(3/2-3/3) to promote
the fashion show during this special situation caused by
COVID-19.
• Invited many celebrities and influencers and used the fans
tool & fans top to enhance awareness. Continuous resource
launch to drive more traffic to live stream.
Paid Social Mobile APP
• Official Weibo Performance:
Repost: Over 331,000
Comments: Over 3,172
Like: Over 415,000
Views: 15,110,000
• Tencent Video Performance:
Views: 3,164,964
Source: Media Data
65

Key Takeaways
• Cartier launched new products, Juste un Clou
series and Guirlande de Cartier series, on Tmall
Super Brand Day.
• One month in advance, Cartier started to warm
up on its Weibo by cooperating with various top
celebrities with strong characteristics (stylish,
cool, young, talented).
Cartier teamed up with young
celebrities for Tmall Super Brand Day
66
Campaign Summary
1.13
Campaign Warm-Up 1.14 1.15 1.16 2.10
Jackson Wang 王嘉尔
Brand Ambassador
Meiqi Meng孟美岐 Vin Zhou 周震南 Sean Xiao 肖战
• It is common nowadays to see jewelry brands
working with top-tier celebrities to target young
consumers with strong purchasing power.
• Followers of the celebrities are very active on
social media and with high willingness to
interact, that is sharing, liking, and commenting.
• Cooperation is not limited to brand
ambassadors only . There are brand’s friend 品
牌挚友, brand’s ambassador 品牌大使，
brand’s spokesperson 品牌代言人，and other
titles for different levels of cooperation in China.
• Each Weibo post, corresponding to one celebrity,
obtains 1 mil+ shares, 100k+ comments, and
500k+ likes.
Super Brand Day
“Guirlande De Cartier Bag”
“Juste Un Clou Bracelet”
Source: Cartier Weibo owned channel

Auto assembly lines are restarting in China
• Japan's big three, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota,
have resumed operations in China.
• Volkswagen have resumed production in
most of its plants in the country.
• BMW, Mercedes-Benz (Daimler AG), Jaguar
Land Rover and Volvo have all been in the
process of rolling out cars from their
Chinese lines.
• PSA Group has resumed operations.
• Ford have restarted, they are almost at
100% capacity.
• Fiat Chrysler has also reported that 90
percent of their dealerships and 95 percent
of their staff are back in the workforce.
• Tesla is back on track as well.
Source: https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/china-s-auto-industry-is-starting-to-bounce-back.html 68

Car Sales declined by 79% in February
Unit:000’
• China's automotive industries suffered historic drops in activity in February as the government locked down cities and restricted
travel to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
• Car sales in China collapsed 79% compared to a year ago, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile
Manufacturers on 17th Mar. It was the biggest ever monthly decline, according to Reuters. Only 310,000 vehicles were sold.
• Sales of new energy vehicles, which include electric or plug-in hybrid cars, plummeted 75% to 12,908, even though the
government has been pushing hard for the adoption of such cars.
China Association Of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) 69
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Y2018 2,809 1,718 2,656 2,319 2,288 2,274 1,889 2,103 2,394 2,380 2,548 2,661
Y2019 2,367 1,482 2,520 1,980 1,913 2,056 1,808 1,958 2,271 2,284 2,457 2,658
Y2020 1,927 310
-
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
Monthly car sales in China

Some of auto service and travel APPs provide free sterilization
service for car owners
70
JD Auto provides free and high-end O3
sterilization services for taxis and
special vehicle owners of Dida,
ensuring the return-to-work and travel
safety for passengers since 9th Mar. in
over 2,000 stores.
Auto service brands provide free in-car sterilization for any
customer who provided personal information on their official
website. (From late Feb. to mid Mar.)
Source: JD&TUHU official news

GITI launched online livestreaming to train national dealers
71Source: GITI official website
During the COVID-19 outbreak in China,
GITI is seeking more channels to engage
with consumers and to support dealers.
During 27th – 29th Feb 2020, GITI invited
three professionals who have concrete
experiences in store managing and
retailing, to do livestreaming. They gave
some professional advices and supported
dealers under this stress environment.
Results:
• Average 10,000+ people online
watching per episode.
• Sold 100,000+ tires, 30 Mil RMB

Total media-spend growth slow-down projected to 8% in 2020,
growth comes from digital
73Source: eMarketer, March 2020, billions, by media

Recommendation on
overall marcom strategy
75
1. Focus on products/services out of your portfolio or
brand experiences that can overcome some barriers to
enjoy daily life again:
• Bring a small scale enjoyment to daily life:
indulgence food & beverage, OOH activities,
domestic travel, home decoration, family
enjoyment etc.
• Overcome barriers of concern, like healthy living
and financial security.
• In all cases don’t relate your message to the
epidemic. We see this is not appreciated,
consumers are still a bit depressed and careful.
They think brands should not take advantage of
that. So back to business as usual means back to
core meaningful brand message as usual.
75

Recommendation on overall marcom strategy:
76
2. Timely and constantly update your roadmap to recoup your business. According to the effects
and latest's prediction for your category:
• Consumption is expected to rebound quickest for those categories that cater enjoying daily
life, following a supply chain that has not internationally been effected.
• China has today a well developed retail, e-commerce and logistics industry which enables to
rebound quickly.
• A large group of consumers still has good spending power and saved extra money over the
last 2 months.
• At the same time groups of consumers, especially SME related consumers who are hit the
hardest now and by the following slow down, will see heavily decreasing spending power.
• Additionally the government implements policies to boost domestic consumption.
3. Continue to keep brand exposure during the stabilization period which is still going on:
• It is important to maintain consumers brain position of your brand.
• Higher media inflation is expected in the post-Corona period and shortage of inventories,
especially in H2.

Recommendation on overall marcom strategy
77
3. Focus on the post-Coronavirus period, try to preempt with pressure on branding and pursue more
tactical campaigns in the post period:
• Many (international) brands will quickly focus on China, especially now the virus is heavily
effecting other key markets. China stays the growth driver for many businesses like lifestyle,
luxury, tourism and automotive.
• Some product launches have be postponed or soft launched, they will see launch campaign
shortly.
• Many brands will do promotions to recoup sales loss.
4. There are more opportunities now than before in China to resonate on collective benefits:
• We see that national pride is accelerating in its upward trend based on how China has
controlled the situation, resonance in your messaging keeps being appreciated, especially by
younger audiences.
• Support local economy, domestic production and more fragile communities, like small
manufacturers and farmers.

Recommendation on media strategy
78
Additional notes:
It is estimated that TV, online video, short video, news app’s usage and stickiness will greatly increase. So far, the Chinese national and top media have opened “Fight Against Coronavirus” column to rolling update
the real-time epidemic status from Jan 20,2020. Which almost fully catch the Chinese audience’s attention.
Phase Digital TV Outdoor
Phase 2
Stabilization
Feb 9 -End of the outbreak
Focus on digital media as it will remain their primary
source of consumption and less time will be devoted
to entertainment than in the beginning.
OTV, social and news content will occupy most
consumers' time
As consumers return to work, daytime
ratings will decline and evening prime-
time ratings will hold up
Drop in spending. Focus outdoor
media concentrated commuting
routes, residential Media / lift Media
and in BCDs
Phase 3
Post outbreak - Recovery
Gradually return to normal. Higher inflation rates
expected for platforms popular during the outbreak.
Return to the original usage pattern Gradually return to normal
1. Tailor your media strategies speedily for the stabilization stage in which we are now, and for the
post outbreak stage soon to come:
2. Keep using new digital opportunities and formats that have risen during the outbreak, they have been
proven more meaningful media to consumers now.
3. Lock premium resources for the post outbreak period. Create some bandwidth and leeway beyond
standard formats and requirements to reserve and book premium resources.
4. Look for opportunity buys in media types that have been highly effected: OOH, transport media and
cinema.

MOBILE
DATA STRATEGY
VIDEO & AUDIO
NATIONAL/LOCAL
PUBLISHING
NATIONAL/LOCAL
OUTDOOR
SPONSORSHIPS
SPORTS
MARKETING
BRANDED
CONTENT
EXPERIENTIAL
MARKETING
SOCIAL MEDIA
CREATIVE
STRATEGY
CRM
SEARCH
INNOVATION
GEO-LOCATION
PERFORMANCE
MEDIA
MUSIC
GAMING
ENTERTAINMENT INTEGRATIONS
COVID-19 challenges and
opportunities need a
multiple expertise and a
fully integrated approach
with speed to market.
Within Havas Village we
can efficiently mobilize the
team you need.
79
E-COMMERCE

Including dedicated health specialists from Havas Health & You
30+ MEDICAL EXPERTS
20+ STRATEGY PLANNERS
120+ DEDICATED STAFF
70+ in Shanghai
40+ in Beijing
Digital & Data
Association
programs/
campaigns
Medical PR &
Events
MedicalPatient
education
Creative &
Production
Strategic
Planning
Key clients
Scope
Structure
80

SHANGHAI
11/F Novel Building
887 Huaihai Zhong Road
Shanghai 200020
+86 21 3397 8666
GUANGZHOU
Room 07, 16/F CTF Finance Centre,
No 6 Zhujiang Road East, Tianhe District
Guangzhou 510130
+86 20 3877 3282
BEIJING
1006, 10th Floor, China Youth Plaza,
19 Dongsanhuan North Road,
Chaoyang District,
Beijing 100020
+86 10 5923 2791

COVID-19 // China POV Vol.4

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (16)

Similar to COVID-19 // China POV Vol.4

Similar to COVID-19 // China POV Vol.4 (20)

More from Havas

More from Havas (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

COVID-19 // China POV Vol.4