Korea Quick Poll - Which is your primary media to access daily news?

From Korea - Here are the results of the quick poll we conducted on August 21st, 2010 about the way how people get information about daily issues.

Question: Which is your primary media to access daily news?
Total respondents: 6,041 

Results:                       

Internet                        - 4,296

TV                                 - 1,206

Newspaper                -     206

Friends and Family   -    126

Radio                           -    101

Other                            -      62

Free newspaper        -      47

Internet is now the most popular news platform in Korea based on our quick poll results. The overwhelming majority of Koreans (71%) use Internet to search out news because it is easier to access than from the televisions, radios or national print newspapers. You can check the article as soon as the news is uploaded. Getting news online allow consumers to assess and react to issues since most online news sites provide BBS or comment section under each news article. This makes reading news online more interesting. Further, online consumers also can share news link to their social networking sites, giving rooms for others for their opinions. Meanwhile, most portal sites in Korea such as Naver (http://www.naver.com) and Daum (http://www.daum.net) allow online users to set their main page and edit news lists based on their interests.

One-click generation has changed Koreans’ affiliation to news by becoming personalized and participatory.

Tweet

China Quick Poll - How many credit cards do you have?

From China - Here are the results of the quick poll we conducted on 28th, Aug 2010 about

the number of credit cards a Chinese consumer has.

Total respondents: 12,404 
Question: How many credit cards do you have?

The results are as follows.

None            31.5%                  

  1                27.1%

  2                20.2%

  3                11.5%

  4                 4.5%

  5                 1.8%

more than 5 3.4%

Based on the survey conducted, 68% of our respondents have at least one credit card as of August 28, 2010. This is due to the strong growth of Chinese consumer market and the needs for personal payment. On the other hand, more than 40% of our respondents have more than one credit card, which makes an intense competition between credit card issuers, China Merchant Bank and Bank of China. With this, we believe, credit card issuers should provide more value added services and maintain good communication to their credit card holders to increase brand loyalty and prevent them from switching to other credit card issuing banks.

Tweet

Japan Quick Poll - Have you ever used a coupon service ?

From Japan - Here is the result of the quick poll we conducted on August 21 - August 22, 2010 about the coupon service.

Total respondents: 109,421

Question: Have you ever used a coupon service ?

Answers:

Yes　 : 35.5%
No     : 48.1%
I don't know: 16.4%

Japan - Long before the online coupon war started, traditional printed coupon service was very popular as a way of providing a premium discounted prices to the customers of restaurants, fast food shops, hair salons, and so on. It is very common for household wives to check and collect coupons before they purchase something at a regular price.

After seeing the big success by Groupon, the pioneer of the online coupon auction service in the United States, the huge online movement hit Japan very quickly. As of April 2010, almost 60 coupon auction service sites already opened in Japan which intensify competition.

One of the leading Japanese Groupon-like sites, Q:pod, was bought by Groupon in August. On the same day, they bought a Russian site. It is reported that Groupon will refurbish the site as Groupon Japan.

Premium coupons from restaurants, hair salons, luxury hotels are the popular items.

China Quick Poll - Which type of pop music do you like?

From China - Here are the results of the quick poll we conducted on 21th, Aug 2010 about
which type of pop music Chinese consumers like.

Total respondents: 12,404
Question: Which type of pop music do you prefer?

The results are as follows:
                  
Taiwan/Hongkong pop 38.3%  
Mainland pop 36.3%
Western-style pop             12.7%
K-pop 4.1%
J-pop 3.0%
Other 5.5%

Results show that most Chinese consumers prefer Taiwan/Hongkong pop music, ranking at the top of the survey with 38.3%; however Mainland pop music not falling far behind with 36.3%.

These numbers manifest that mainland pop music can still go head to head with Taiwan/Hongkong pop music

while Korean and Japanese pop music are still a niche field for Chinese. However Korean pop music would be benefited from the Korean drama's impact in China as well.

Korea Quick Poll - When do you use SNS usually?

Here are the results of the quick poll we conducted on August 7, 2010 about when do Koreans usually use Social Networking Service (SNS).



Total respondents: 5,373

Question: When do you use SNS usually?

(c) SK communications.

Social Networking Service (SNS) by definition is an online service or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among individuals (www.wikipedia.org).

Based on the quick poll we conducted in Korea, 40% of the respondents use SNS from 9p.m to 12m.n. since they are at home and already far away from the hassle of work. They can freely communicate to their friends and post updates of what happened to them the whole day.

In Korea, even though Twitter and Facebook are getting famous, Cyworld (www.cyworld.com) is still the most popular social network service. Cyworld is founded by the SK Communications Inc., which provides an individual virtual space called “Minihompy” where people can manage their diary, photos, notes, and visitor wall just like the concept of Myspace (www.myspace.com). This service started to get popular about 5 years ago. Today, most Koreans have their “Minihompy” just like their homes in the web.

Like the other Social Networking sites, Cyword has their specific terms too. For example, ll-chon, which means your friends (www.facebook.com) or followers (www.twitter.com). Il-chon is a Korean term which means the degree of blood relationship in the family. Another term used by Cyworld is Akon(dotori) which means a currency system used to buy items like wallpaper and BGM to decorate their space. Those terms are now being used in daily conversation among Koreans who have accessed to this Social Networking Site.

Social Networking Service has been a part of the daily routine for most Koreans. At present, Cyworld.com catered the larger market share but Twitter and Facebook are starting to penetrate the Korean Market. Will Cyword.com be still on the spotlight after five years?