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Hoffman helps the social networking giant take its PR program to Greater China
Like the early stages of nearly all technology-based phenomena, social networking began with exploration and discovery, and now the land grab is at full tilt. Social networking exploded on the scene in 2002 with the creation of Friendster. Within a year, millions of young American adults had a new online obsession, entrepreneurs had a successful new online tool to replicate, and investors had a new “hot” category to fund. It didn’t take long for other startups to join the social networking party and attract new users by the tens of thousands … in the U.S. and Europe that is.
In 2007, Friendster, the company that started it all, was making significant strides, securing funding from top tech investment firms, recruiting new users at a rate of more than 20 million in one year, landing the title of 12th largest Web site on the planet, and quickly becoming the top Web property in Asia, a region only recently dubbed a hotbed for online social applications.
Today, Friendster is the No. 1 social network in Asia, with more than 35 million registered users. Traffic is heavily focused in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Recognizing Chinese as the second most popular language on the Internet, representing 16 percent of all Internet users or 184 million individuals, Friendster expanded its site to support Traditional and Simplified Chinese to reach these potential users in their own language, beating its top competitors to the market yet again.
The Hoffman Agency leveraged its global PR presence to launch Friendster in China, connecting them with key press in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China. Hoffman paired well-developed local news angles with strong media relations efforts to land meetings for Friendster’s CEO with top-tier regional and local media, including CNN Asia, Post Magazine, Ming Pao Daily, Sing Tao Daily, PC Market and e-zone. The team also organized a small group briefing with major local dailies in Taiwan.
Within a month’s time, Friendster received nearly 30 positive stories, including a full-page article in Ming Pao Daily, a top-tier daily, and a two-page article in the Post Magazine, a weekly magazine distributed by the South China Morning Post, the No. 1 English business newspaper.
Hoffman continues to support Friendster’s PR efforts in Asia, the U.S. and across the globe, working to bring Friendster’s success, innovation and leadership story to a global media audience.
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