World Cup Fever Goes Digital and Mobile in China

World Cup Fever Goes Digital and Mobile in China

June 09, 2006

Online mPulse Survey by MindShare and Pulse Group Tracks Asian World Cup fever

    SINGAPORE, June 9 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- A recent
online 5-country survey revealed China is set to catch a
strong dose of World Cup fever, with 95% of respondents
preparing to follow the tournament, of which 32% plan to
track results on their mobile phones.  On average Chinese
fans plan to watch over 11 nights of matches on television,
and 84% plan to visit sports websites for World Cup news. 
The games will also be followed closely in Singapore (84%),
Malaysia (82%), Australia (63%) and Thailand (59%).

    World Cup goes digital in Asia

    Since World Cup 2002, penetration of digital media,
including the internet and mobile phones, has increased
substantially across the region, and fans intend to use
both to track the matches.  More than half of the
respondents are likely to visit websites to follow their
teams.  Official World Cup websites were cited as the most
likely destinations in Singapore (67%), Malaysia (71%),
Thailand (46%) and Australia (57%), but Chinese fans are
most likely to head to other sport websites (84%). 

    A surprising number of Asian fans are preparing for
'World Cup information on the go' using their mobile
phones, ranging from 32% in China, to 14% in Singapore and
Malaysia, 10% in Australia and 7% in Thailand. 

    "The only thing Asians are more passionate about
than the World Cup is their mobile phone, so it's not
surprising to see so many fans starting to track their
teams in real-time, on-the-go," said James Chadwick,
MindShare Asia-Pacific Insights Director.  "It's just
another reminder that we need to think beyond traditional
marketing and media."
 
    You'll never walk alone in Asia

    Although their teams may not have qualified this time,
fans across Asia have picked favourite teams to support. 
Many Chinese will be supporting the hosts Germany,
Singaporeans favour England, and many Thais will be
adopting underdogs Australia.  Australian fans of course
will be firmly behind their team, which has reached the
World Cup finals for the first time in 32 years, and 80% of
Australians fans will be cheering for the Socceroos.

    For more information, please contact:

     Mr. Jamie Lord - Marketing & Business Development
Director MindShare
     Tel:   [phone]
     Fax:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]  

     Mr. Kym Wong - CMO Pulse Group
     Tel:   [phone]     
     Fax:   [phone] 
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  MindShare; Pulse Group