The Brief

When China’s leading social network site for university students, Xiaonei (meaning ON CAMPUS, changed its name to Renren.com (meaning EVERYONE) in order to expand its market, we were briefed to attract young professionals aged 25-35 that had yet to register on the site. To accomplish this, we tapped into the most powerful unmet need—the desire to re-connect with lost friends and family.

Creative Execution

In China, Renren.com is the only social network site that requires people to register with their real name, so we knew only we could promise to reconnect people. The campaign also featured real people that had been re-united, further supporting Renren.com's positioning of 'Real people connecting with real people.'

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

The response campaign began with virals seeded on popular sites heavily visited by our target. The virals reminded our target of the people they had lost touch with. TV and print also reached people where they lived and worked. All media drove people to our campaign site where they could register and share stories about the people they wanted to reconnect with. The campaign aimed to increase monthly subscribers from 2 million/month to 4 million/month.

Results

During the campaign period, more than 20 million new people registered on RENREN.COM, and awareness of RENREN.COM increased from 30% to 89% while brand preference increased 70%. Most importantly, monthly registrations increased to 6.7 million/month, +167.5% more than expected.