BCG Greater China

Media project

While the media sector is still relatively closed in China, many incumbents are concerned about share erosion as competition intensifies. Recently, one of China's leading press groups approached BCG for help.

We initially focused on understanding the group’s business model and economics, mapping the competitive landscape, segmenting advertisers and consumers, and diagnosing the group’s core capabilities and processes. Next, we developed recommendations in four areas: the core business, other titles, organization and capabilities, and long-term strategic direction.

In 3 months, working closely with our clients, we reviewed the group's portfolio, diagnosed key problems with its flagship paper, and assessed the competitiveness of its newest title.

Click on the image to read some more personal perspectives on the project.

Working with this state-owned media company was one of the most fulfilling projects in my career at BCG so far.

My main responsibilities were analyzing the group’s financial condition, evaluating the performance of each sub-title and, most importantly, drawing conclusions and insights from the figures. This involved close contact with the local client team and gaining a thorough understanding of the client’s business – all in a limited time span. I will always remember this project as a vivid example of how we manage to ‘instantly’ ride up the learning curve, earn the trust of our clients and help them transform their businesses.

This was one of the most interesting projects I've worked on. I managed a team of four consultants and worked closely with the client’s senior managers. While the first part of the case was critical in establishing the fact base that underpinned our recommendations, it was in the second phase that we really created impact for our client.

What made this project so exciting? It demonstrated what BCG does best. Working closely with our client and listening carefully to its customers, we created value by linking customer needs with our client's offerings. We performed rigorous analysis to generate insights and provided tailored, actionable recommendations. And we had the passion to make things happen – some of our recommendations were implemented before the project was completed.