To succeed in China has been to succeed in doing things outside of social, but with social in mind. 2. New interconnectivity between social and ecommerce More ecommerce promotions and exclusive products are built specifically with campaigns in mind. Brands such as Ray-Ban and Bulgari have created products specifically for launch via Chinese apps: Nice, a photo-sharing platform like Instagram, and Meipai, a social/video platform akin to Vine. 3. Co-development, with consumers, of products using online communities Chinese marketers have been skilled in listening to the online conversation. In some cases, entire communities are engaged online to develop new iterations of products. Consider Xiaomi. The smartphone maker, claimed by some to be one of the fastest growing tech companies ever, owes its success partly to its online communities that provide feedback and suggestions to the operating system, which is updated weekly. 4. Is radio coming back to life? China consumes more podcasts per person than any other country. Twelve per cent of Chinese smartphone users claim to consume podcasts, compared with 5 per cent in the US and 4 per cent in the UK. Its music consumption is also growing faster. Marketers in China have been quick to respond to this, leading to a revival in the audio ad – a sleepy backwater for many years in Western advertising. 5. Bringing internet culture to the mass market China’s internet culture spills into mainstream culture faster than in Western countries, and Chinese advertisers have been quick to exploit this. FatCat pet toys, a series of colourful, inexpensive (less than $2 apiece), plush toys for cats and dog, are available on Alibaba’s AliExpress ecommerce site only to those who opt in to chat about the products. In other words, social media is the key that unlocks the privilege to buy the product. The mere act of engaging with others via a social platform is viewed as an inducement to buy a product. Mobile Africa If China provides the first-era model of digital velocity, I think Equatorial Africa will