1. WeChat Case Study
By Christopher Bolin & Max Tinch

2. WeChat (Chinese: 微信; pinyin: About this sound Wēixìn; literally: “micro-message”) is a Chinese social media (instant messaging, commerce and payment services) mobile application software developed by Tencent. It was first released in 2011, and by 2017 it was one of the largest standalone messaging apps by monthly active users, with over 980 million monthly active users (902 million daily active users). It has been called China‘s “App For Everything” (i.e., Super App) because of its many functions and platforms, and lauded as one of the world's most powerful apps. Video

3. Company History Now has more than 900 million monthly active users
Social media mobile application
Developed in 2011 by Tencent
Originally called Weixen
Was developed to disrupt telco barriers
Initial launched
Text messaging, photo sharing and voice clips
Within 14 months, amassed 100 million users
Now has more than 900 million monthly active users
By comparison, as of February 2017, WhatsApp has over 1.2 billion users globally.
Now has a wide variety of features
2016 net profit of $1.5 Billion

4. Industry Analysis Industry Concentration Social Media Payments Retail
Entertainment
Service
Live streaming
Gaming
Advertising
Competitors
Weibo
AliPay
340 million monthly active users
Alipay
54% market share

5. Company Analysis
Mission Statement - To enhance the quality of life through Internet services
Vision Statement - To be the most respected internet enterprise
Strength
Free
Unique value propositions
Innovative Features
High awareness
Massive User Base
Weakness
Security
Censorship
Competition
Opportunities
Continue global expansion
New Innovation
Increasing smartphone use
New services
Threat
Government regulations
Change in Consumer taste
Substitute products

6. WeChat is everything Internet
Business Model
WeChat is everything Internet
Multi-sided network
Freemium model for users
Revenue Sources
Gaming
Virtual stickers
Retail
Advertising
Payment services
Data

7. Chinese Government Regulations
Keyword Censorship
WeChat must adhere to the censorship in accordance with regulation from the Communist Party of China
Censorship of messages and posts if they contain certain keywords
Keywords are words associated with dissonance towards Communist Party
Group messages are more heavily censored than individual messages
URL Censorship
WeChat also censors searches made in their URL search engine
Websites censored include 41 of the top one million websites
Popular international sites such as Google, Youtube, and Facebook are censored
*Censorship only applies to accounts linked to mainland China, although glitches have affected international accounts at expense to WeChat’s reputation

8. Partnerships & Acquisitions
Heavily oriented towards gaming, as China is one of the world’s largest gaming markets
Acquired majority share of Clash of Clans creator Riot Games in 2011
Additional majority share acquisitions include Sanook (2016), China Music Corp (2016), and Supercell (2016)
Investment in companies offering popular apps such as Snap (12%, 2017) indicates that Tencent is focused on expanding their global market presence
Recent partnership with Nintendo in September of 2017 to make popular game “Honour of Kings” available on the Nintendo Switch console
Partnership gives Nintendo a door into China’s gaming market, and gives Tencent an opportunity to market their game overseas on Nintendo’s console

9. Marketing
Domestically, WeChat has been extremely successful in attracting users
Use of WeChat spread exponentially as WeChat became a widespread medium for people to network
International attempts to raise popularity have been relatively unsuccessful despite aggressive marketing techniques and even rebranding
Changed name from “Weixin” to WeChat to appeal to international users
Aggressive marketing campaigns using celebrities such as Lionel Messi to promote the app
Reputation for censorship has harmed the app’s international success

10. Conclusion
WeChat is currently one of the most popular social media platforms in the world
No sign of popularity slowing as Tencent recently surpassed Facebook as one of the top five valued companies at of $500 billion
WeChat has been dynamic in offering services, such as money transfer and personal QR codes, to users in order to keep place with international platforms
Strong relationship with the Chinese Government indicates continued domestic success
International success to be determined by WeChat’s ability to shake negative reputation of censorship
Tencent’s presence in the global software market is constantly expanding and the company will continue to be a key player in years to come