From Click to Customers: Chinese Social Media for European SMEs in China

Jacob Cooke is the Co-Founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, a leading e-commerce and technology consultancy that drives growth for global brands in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

As CEO, Jacob is the driving force behind WPIC’s world-class data tools, e-commerce services, and artificial intelligence technology. Under his leadership, the firm has built out an expansive solution set covering data analytics, e-commerce activations and store management, brand strategy, creative campaigns, merchandising, warehousing, 3PL integrations, and more.

Jacob has lived in Beijing since 2003 and is a regular contributor to Bloomberg on e-commerce, retail, and technology trends in China. He is a member of the MIT Sloan School of Management and holds an Advanced Certificate in Engineering from MIT’s Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

Kevin Ma is a Managing Director based in Beijing. He has over a decade of experience in corporate communications, government & public affairs as well as financial communications. Kevin has provided government and government-affiliated stakeholder advocacy strategy, stakeholder and perspective mapping, policy intelligence, engagement narratives and messaging development, and government official meeting support services for clients in financial services, energy, healthcare, TMT and other sectors.

Prior to joining FGS Global, Kevin worked on similar mandates with other communications consultancies including FTI Consulting, Kreab and Edelman. He has played a pivotal role for representing the Hydrogen Council, a Europe-based global hydrogen industry alliance, to discuss with Tsinghua University and EV100 to organize the alliance’s first ever high-level forum in China. He also advised the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock before and after the company got its fund management and wealth management licenses in China for the geopolitical factors influencing its business operations.

His earlier working experience includes government and media engagement responsibilities for China’s central government owned Shenhua Group and China Coal Group. He also contributed in the organisation of Beijing’s first Olympic Games in 2008.

Kevin graduated from the University of Melbourne with Master of Marketing degree and Xi’an International Studies University with a bachelor’s degree in English with International Relations as a minor.

Anqi (Elysia) Guo is a strategy consultant-turned-entrepreneur with a strong track record in digital marketing and cross-border business development. After four years at Accenture London advising FTSE 100 companies, she founded Alpha Approach, a career consultancy turned AI-powered platform that helps young professionals launch global careers.

Alongside her consultancy work, Elysia is also a digital content creator with over 150,000 followers on China’s leading lifestyle and career platform 小红书 (RED). Her authentic, insights-driven content has attracted a loyal audience and international brand collaborations ranging from L’Oréal to Bosch.

She’s uniquely positioned at the intersection of business strategy and digital culture — and has successfully leveraged her social media presence to build customer acquisition funnels, test product-market fit, and drive brand visibility for Alpha Approach. Her work offers practical insights for European brands seeking to understand the Chinese consumer landscape and build locally resonant digital strategies. 

Thomas Derksen is a German entrepreneur, bestselling author, and content creator with over 10 million followers across social media. He is widely recognised as one of the most influential Western voices on China, offering deep insights into the country’s culture, society, and rapidly evolving digital economy.

As an expert on China-Europe relations and a leading Asia business commentator, Thomas regularly shares his perspectives on Chinese society, commerce, and cross-cultural understanding through newsletters, podcast episodes, and articles across various platforms.