Will the Real “Super Voice Girls” Winner Please Stand up

By staff reporter LUO YUANJUN

This year, young people all around China got hooked on the “Super Girls,” a “American Idol” type pop star contest produced by Hunan Satellite TV, Mengniu Group and Tianyu Media. The Hunan Satellite Television show reportedly gathered higher ratings than the national favorite, CCTV’s annual Spring Festival Gala.

All Born Equal

One reason for the show’s success was its freedom of participation. All women were eligible to compete, regardless of birthplace, looks or talent. All participants began on an equal footing. Viewers voted their favorites through the mobile phone short message services. The contestant that received the least votes and the one voted by the judging panel then went on to the nail-biting PK – Player Kill a pop term among China’s online gaming community where one singer got voted off in each show. The show’s appeal was boosted by the interactive and decisive role that the audience played in the outcome. The glitzy “Super Girls” thus captured the hearts of Chinese all over the nation, particularly the young teenage girls. But whose pockets were resultantly lined with gold?

Money Spinning Hunan Satellite TV

The three finalists’ images are on all sorts of ommodities.

Short Message Services (SMS) have in recent years joined the club of TV money-spinners that traditionally included program sponsorship and advertising. With their “Super Girls” show, Hunan Satellite TV managed to integrate all three sources, and made a mint in the process. Sun Xianhong is vice-president of the Mengniu Group, the show’s major sponsors. He says that the dairy product company poured RMB 14 million (US $1.73 million) into the “Super Girls” and in return, got its name tagged to the program and free 15-second-long commercials. Despite Hunan Satellite TV’s reluctance to disclose their commercial income, five-second commercial slots for the Grand Finale were reportedly sold for RMB 48,000, 10-second commercial slots for RMB 79,500 and 15-second commercial slots for RMB 112,000. That means ad time for the local station was slightly more expensive than CCTV1’s highest March quotation of RMB 110,000 for its 15-second commercial slots. A senior producer at Hunan Satellite says that the station pocketed RMB two to three million in advertising during each show.

Another big earner, and perhaps the main reason behind the show’s popularity, was the SMS. In its first season, in 2004, “Super Girls” notched up revenue from SMS votes of RMB 13 million. This year’s total is expected to exceed that figure. But Hunan Satellite TV’s biggest winner has been neither the commercial slots, nor SMS voting, but the “Super Girls” brand itself.

Mengniu Group: Successful Integrated Marketing

Hundreds of thousands of Mengniu sour yogurt packages with the “Super Girls” logo splashed across them can be seen in shopping baskets all around the country. With its integrated marketing strategy, the dairy product company has dramatically upgraded Mengniu’s brand name and helped to boost its sales. Its commercial rivals are both envious and amazed at Mengniu’s recent success.

Contestants in the grand finale of the Super Voice Girls 2005.

According to marketing information company ACNielsen, in 2004 Mengniu captured a 22 percent share of China’s liquid milk market, and it has now decided to turn to the yogurt market. Its sponsorship of the “Super Girls” has proven a smash hit in all senses. Mengniu targets 12-24-year-old girls with its sour yogurts, and runs a series of ads that feature last year’s third-placed runner-up Zhang Hanyun. When Zhang belts out songs such as “As Sweet and as Sour as I,” consumers lap up her lovely lyrics as well as her sponsor’s products. The ad has appeared on CCTV as well as other local satellite channels. Mengniu’s other “Super Girls” promotions included a chance to win tickets to the competition finals, by purchasing its summer-camp six-pack. Vice president Sun Xianhong of Mengniu Group said the company expects to sell some two billion bags of sour yogurts with the “2005 Mengniu Sour Yogurt Super Girls” logo.

Tianyu Media: Netting the Name

“We own the ‘Super Girls’ brand name,” exclaimed Wang Peng, chairman of Tianyu Media. “TV revenue is not Tianyu’s major focus. We are going to create generation after generation of superstars, built on the ‘Super Girls’ brand name.

So far, however, the media company has fallen short of its goals. After 2004’s “Super Girls,” Tianyu Media signed a record deal with the champion contestant, An Youqi, but the album was a flop. This year it is Zhang Hanyun that is stealing all the headlines that should probably be reserved for the champion. Drawing from last year’s lesson, Tianyu hedged their bets and signed contracts with all top ten finishers.

Seizing the chances created by the nationwide Super Girls mania, Tianyu Media has plans to get started with Super Boys and Super Children to pocket even more profits.

Similar shows in the United States usually generate about 40 percent of their income from commercials, while the remaining 60 percent comes from extended marketing activities. That’s why it’s vital to focus on merchandising, now that the show itself has come to an end. We can expect to see shop shelves stuffed with Super Girls records, books, and toys, and related concerts. TV serials and movies are also in the pipeline. Experts have calculated that the “Super Girls” brand alone is worth at least RMB 100 million.