Cheese Report July 2021

Featured Report

• Striving for Survival! Travel Agencies Try New Business Models

Market Watch

• In Korea, You Don’t Have to Explain TikTok to Your Grandma
• Netflix Joins E-Tailing for IP Merchandise Revenue as Subscription Growth Stalls
• “It’s Good that I’m Home” — YouTubers Unite in Anti-Epidemic Efforts
• Are Selfie Apps Obsolete? Anti-Selfie App Poparazzi Is the New Favorite in Social Media
• Goodbye, Food Additives! Burger King’s Food Fight

Tourism Industry Update

• Taiwan Outbound Departure Statistics for May 2021
• Inbound Visitor Statistics for May 2021
• DGBAS Latest Economic Indicators for May 2021
• US Vaccine Tourism is the New Normal; Travelers Get Free Vaccination at the Airport
• To Survive, Travel Agencies Covertly Promote Solo Trips to the US for Vaccines
• EU Lifts Travel Restrictions for Taiwanese Residents
• Hotels Join the Anti-Epidemic Battle by Offering Discounts to Medical Professionals

Media News

• 2020 DMA Report: Digital Ads Growth Falls Below Double-Digit for the First Time; Marketing Budget Affected by the Pandemic
• Is Podcast Easy Money? Twelve Charts on Podcasts’ Real Worth
• Targeted Marketing Through LINE Without Cookies — Five Tips for Customer Loyalty
• IG and YouTube in the Fight! Short-Form Video Marketing Trends and Tips for 2021

Case Study

• Kobayashi Optical Q2 Campaign

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Market Watch

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In Korea, You Don’t Have to Explain TikTok to Your Grandma

SEOUL — In 2017 Kim Yura shot a video during a vacation she took to the Australian city of Cairns and later posted it on a YouTube channel. It became a mild sensation — there are 1.3 million views — and has made something of a celebrity of its co-star, Park Mak-rye, 74, who is Ms. Kim’s grandmother. Their channel, Korean Grandma, currently has 1.31 million subscribers.

And although Ms. Park may be one of the better-known examples, she is not alone as an older person claiming a share of the spotlight in South Korea, where a “greynaissance” is helping reshape the culture. Koreans aged 50 and older are becoming key consumers and makers in the country’s economy, including the fashion and beauty industries.

^{Source: New York Times
Full article_……}

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Netflix Joins E-Tailing for IP Merchandise Revenue as Subscription Growth Stalls

Netflix has announced the opening of its own online store, Netflix Shop, in the United States. The store will be selling merchandise related to various popular movies and TV series such as “Stranger Things,” taking the first step into e-tailing.

Netflix Shop sells a wide range of products from hoodies, necklaces, clocks, to toys. It collaborates with many designers and clothing companies. Many of the products are limited-edition items. The online store is expected to open in the United States this week and will gradually go live in various countries in the next few months.

^{Source: Business Next, New York Times, Reuters, CNBC
Full article at_……}

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“It’s Good that I’m Home” — YouTubers Unite in Anti-Epidemic Efforts

RD, a YouTuber who has over a million subscribers, has joined efforts with Zhiqi77, a current affairs commentator YouTuber. They started the “It’s Good that I’m Home” project and collaborated with Google to provide platform assistance. They hope to use their influence as Internet celebrities, their creative content, and their specialization to upload videos for this project to promote correct information on epidemic prevention and encourage their audience to stay at home. According to Jesse Chen, the founder of the Facebook community “Community Bowl,” within a week of launching the project, the number of posts quickly exceeded 3,000 across all social media platform public accounts (including forums). There were more than 15 million views on YouTube alone.

^{Source: KOL Radar
Full article_……}

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Are Selfie Apps Obsolete? Anti-Selfie App Poparazzi Is the New Favorite in Social Media

With the surge of social media, everyone can take brilliant and beautiful photos to attract other people’s attention on the Internet. However, as time goes by, people are gradually getting tired of this overly processed and inauthentic veneer of life. As a result, a large number of anti-selfie apps have surfaced recently, including Poparazzi, NewNew, and BeReal. Poparazzi has surpassed TikTok and YouTube to become the most downloaded app in Apple’s App Store.

^{Source: Future Commerce
Full article_……}

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Goodbye, Food Additives! Burger King’s Food Fight

Remember the moldy Whopper that Burger King used to prove that their burgers are free of artificial preservatives? They released an advertisement recently to reemphasize that their burgers use natural ingredients.

^{Source: Brain
Full article_……}

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Tourism Industry Updates

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Taiwan Outbound Departure Statistics for May 2021

1. Taiwanese went abroad 24,495 times in May 2021, up 39.09%from the 17,611 outbound trips taken in the same month in 2020
   
2. The top destination for outbound travelers in May 2021 was Mainland China, followed by the United States, Macao, Japan, and Hong Kong, in that order. COVID-19 continues to impact travel. The destination with the largest year-on-year growth was Macao, at 1089.22%.

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Inbound Visitor Statistics for May 2021

• In May 2021, Taiwan had 10,719 inbound visitors, up 229.82% from the same month last year.

^{Source: Monthly Report, Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications}

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DGBAS Latest Economic Indicators for May 2021

1. Compared with the same month last year, industrial production increased by 16.51%. Manufacturing increased by 17.28%, mining by 4.52%, electricity and fuel by 8.61%, and water by negative 4.68%.
   
2. Compared with the previous month, export orders in May were NT$52.29 billion, a decrease of NT$2.64 billion or 4.8%. The decrease is 3.8% after seasonal adjustment.

^{Source: DGBAS Leading Indicators}

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US Vaccine Tourism is the New Normal; Travelers Get Free Vaccination at the Airport

The United States has plenty of vaccines, and stimulating tourism with vaccines has become the “new normal.” Los Angeles Airport has recently opened a free vaccination area, attracting many foreign travelers to get vaccinated while still having luggage in their hands. However, some experts believe that vaccines should be prioritized to be given to those who need them the most, rather than those who have the means to travel across borders.

^{資料來源：中央通訊社
閱讀全文_……}

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To Survive, Travel Agencies Covertly Promote Solo Trips to the US for Vaccines

Taiwan’s lack of vaccines has sparked a surge in trips to the United States for vaccines. However, the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications prohibits travel agencies from organizing overseas group tours. Consequently, the agencies have switched their strategy to arrange “air + hotel” bundled solo trips. Although most businesses do not specify the vaccination on the product page, some of them do include the vaccine brand on the name of the itinerary or note the driving distance between the hotel and the pharmacies or stores where free vaccines are available. These travel products cost at least NT$90,000. Adding the out-of-pocket expenses while in the United States, the traveler would need to prepare roughly NT$150,000 in advance.

^{Source : Apple Online
Full article_……}

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EU Lifts Travel Restrictions for Taiwanese Residents

The EU officially announced that Taiwan will be included in its safe travel list. EU members will gradually lift entry restrictions on non-essential travel from Taiwan starting today. In other words, Europe is now open for tourism for travelers from Taiwan. However, it is up to each country to decide the policies on COVID-19 negative certificate upon entry.

^{Source: Central News Agency
Full article_……}

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Hotels Join the Anti-Epidemic Battle by Offering Discounts to Medical Professionals

The pandemic continues to devastate communities, and medical professionals have been working extra hard. In late May, the Tourism Bureau asked the local governments to coordinate the hospitality businesses in their jurisdictions to offer medical personnel lodging discounts. This initiative was positively received and supported by both the governments and the businesses. As of June 11, a total of 172 lodging businesses in 13 counties/cities (Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Changhua, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung) have responded by offering special accommodation discounts to medical professionals.

^{Source: Tourism Bureau, MOTC
Full article_……}

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Media News

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2020 DMA Report: Digital Ads Growth Falls Below Double-Digit for the First Time; Marketing Budget Affected by the Pandemic

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Is Podcast Easy Money? Twelve Charts on Podcasts’ Real Worth

In 2021, Taiwan’s podcast market has grown amid the pandemic. CommonWealth Magazine, in cooperation with KKBOX and Eastern Online, published the results of the 2021 Survey of “Listening Economy.” The survey included three major groups (1,000 consumers, 131 podcasters, and 107 companies) to gain a deep understanding of the podcast ecosystem that is burgeoning in Taiwan.

The podcast audience has grown substantially in Taiwan. The study surveyed 1,000 people aged 20 to 59 to investigate their podcast listening habits and usage behaviors. In May, the listening rate reached 20%, meaning, one out of every five people in Taiwan listens to podcasts. The proportion of people who have not listened but will do so in the future was over 30%.

^{Source: CommonWealth Magazine
Full article_……}

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Targeted Marketing Through LINE Without Cookies — Five Tips for Customer Loyalty

It has been a year and a half since LINE 2.0 was launched. With the demise of third-party cookies, platforms with first-party data have become more valuable to brands. As Taiwan now has 21 million LINE users and 1.59 million official LINE accounts, what should LINE do in marketing to help brands stand out?

When are consumers willing to add official LINE accounts? It usually happens when they develop a rudimentary knowledge about the brand; then, due to a certain motivation, they decide to friend the account. According to the 5As model by Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, the use of LINE is more conducive to the brand’s communication in the last four stages (appeal, ask, act, and advocate) rather than the first stage (aware).

^{Source: Business Next
Full article_……}

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IG and YouTube in the Fight! Short-Form Video Marketing Trends and Tips for 2021

Video content has always had its place in digital marketing, and it will become increasingly important. According to the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report for 2020, digital video advertising accounted for 18.7% of the overall digital advertising revenue, generating US$26.2 billion and making a year-over-year growth of 20%. The growth is expected to continue.

In addition, since the launch of TikTok in 2017, the short-form video has quickly become immensely popular, forming an unstoppable trend among Generation Z. In response, social media leaders such as Instagram and YouTube added short video functions in 2020 to grab a slice of the market.

^{Source: Brain
Full article_……}

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Case Study

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Kobayashi Optical Q2 Campaign

Background
Kobayashi Optical, a well-known domestic eyewear chain, has been in business for 40 years. Last year, Kobayashi invited Golden Bell Award winner actor Wu Kang-Ren as the brand endorsement celebrity for the whole year. Keeping to the original mantra, “We’re better because we care,” it launched the 40th-anniversary ad campaign. In 2021, Kobayashi once again cooperated with Wu Kang-Ren to launch a new season of advertising, hoping to continue last year’s momentum and create another wave of sales.

Kobayashi’s current slogan is, “Over 500 professionals across Taiwan certified by the Examination Yuan are here to serve you.” It reinforces the brand image of Kobayashi training professionals continuously, creating shopping environments for the consumers’ peace of mind and satisfaction, and providing higher quality services.

This time, it outdid itself by successfully tapping into the ever-changing charm and acting skills of the endorsing celebrity to create eye-catching and memorable television and graphic advertisements.

Campaign Highlight
How to communicate the idea of “professionalism” to consumers?

“Choose me because I am more professional,” “It’s smart to choose me because I have the newest technology.” Rather than trying to convince the audience with arguments, it is better to give them a good impression by telling an interesting story through the charisma of the endorsement celebrity.

Where is happiness?
How wonderful would it be if there is a place where people can see happiness?

[Welcome to Kobayashi Research Institute of Happiness]

“Seeing Happiness” — 60-Second Television Commercial

“Seeing Happiness” — 30-Second Television Commercial

“Kobayashi Optical & Wu Kang-Ren: Seeing Happiness” Behind-the-Scenes Footage

“Kobayashi Optical, Our Professionalism Makes You See Happiness” KV

Multifocal Lenses Campaign POSM

Armani Exchange Frame Promotion POSM

Armani Exchange Product Photoshoot