'Appy New Year: Taking Chinese tradition to the mobile masses with a digital red envelope

SY Lau, the first Chinese company executive to be named Cannes Lions Media Person of the Year, was awarded for his vision and leadership in transforming Tencent Online, reports PRWeb.

Little wonder his name keeps making headlines as when Lau gave context to the situation right now in China, he showed they're working at breakneck speed to take digital technology to places it has never been before.

Many ask him about Tencent's key to success, to which Lau's response is that they truly understand the power of the mobile phone.

So much so that nine out of ten internet users in China are hooked on mobile. This was most evident to the Tencent team when they introduced the digital red envelope. To any person in China or of Chinese heritage, this is a well-known Chinese New Year tradition that has been carried out for ages, with the physical envelope usually containing money.

By bringing this to mobile phones, Tencent shared the tradition by distributing 1.1 billion red envelopes when they first introduced it.

So, while the red envelope will always be a goodwill gesture, the delivery mechanism has changed drastically thanks to technology - so much so that a 'red envelope app war' developed with fellow Chinese ecommerce group Alibaba, but Tencent walked away victorious:

Tencent beats Alibaba in 'red envelope' app war http://t.co/1iwhtdsa60 via @FT #china #retail #ecommerce #cny #alibaba

- James Rogers (@jacr82) February 28, 2015

There is even a national government strategy in the country to spend $6.4bn on Internet Plus, which will provide connectivity for all.

But it's not all digital, as Tencent believes strongly that there has to be a human face behind technology/development and that ultimately, it must improve people lives.

Certainly seems the sky's the limit if that human interface remains in the background of the digital development, as under Lau's leadership, Tencent Online Media Group has evolved from a single internet portal into a highly integrated media matrix with a pre-eminent position in China.