For all its global success, the Internet sector can be remarkably insular, focusing far too heavily on Silicon Valley. But there is a whole world out there–most of which doesn’t speak English. CMO.com reveals eight of the largest Internet companies in the Asia-Pacific region and the opportunities they offer for marketers.

1. Asia’s Eight Digital Dragons And Their
Masters Of Marketing
Meet APAC’s Internet giants and the marketing
minds behind them
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Alibaba
Established in 1998 by chairman Jack Ma and 17 others,
Alibaba is arguably the world’s largest e-commerce business.
Alibaba is the complete package in that it’s both a huge
supply-chain enabler and a retail facilitator. Unlike Amazon, to
which it is often compared, Alibaba’s shareholders enjoy
robust profitability, with a market capitalization of more than
$US200 billion. What’s more, as its recent IPO and plans to
spin off its payments arm to compete with the likes of PayPal
attest, Alibaba’s aspirations don’t stop at the Chinese border.
Of note, Ma is the driving force behind Singles Day, a relatively
new annual celebration that encourages the unattached to
shop. Alibaba has turned this event into the world’s biggest
online shopping day, easily eclipsing Valentine’s Day or
Mother’s Day.

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Tencent
The other Chinese behemoth, Tencent, valued at $US200 billion,
has made investments in social networks, Web portals, e-
commerce, communications, and advertising, making it one of
the world’s 10 biggest Internet companies.
Founded by chairman and CEO Pony Ma and then-CTO Tony
Zhang in 1998, the company is not shy of a fight. The mobile-first
company—whose marketing is predominantly lead by CIO
Daniel Xu and COO Mark Ren—squares up against Amazon,
eBay, and Alibaba in retail, and against Google in advertising.
With WeChat, Tencent has kept Facebook at bay in its local social
networking and messaging market.
Like Alibaba, Tencent has also hopped into financial services
feet-first, having been granted a banking license by Chinese.
Tencent’s ability to develop applications and services with the
consumer perpetually in mind is a lesson for other businesses
looking to operate successfully in a fragmented sector.

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Baidu
Founded in 2000 and chaired by Robin Li, Chinese search
giant Baidu is valued at about $US75 billion. By keeping
Google from extending its reach into China (home of the
world’s second biggest economy), Baidu is a fierce challenger
to Google’s aim of global dominance.
The search juggernaut recently delivered its latest (unaudited)
results, claiming revenue of $US2 billion and profits of just
under $US350 million for the quarter. CFO Jennifer Li, who is
also in charge of marketing and communications, has
overseen much of this success.
Like Google, Baidu is managing the mobile diaspora and has
just announced that it now generates more than half of its
revenue from mobile platforms.

5. Described by The New York Times as China’s biggest
direct sales retailer, JD.com is a huge e-commerce player.
CMO Ye Lan played a role in implementing a direct sales
platform, providing partnering businesses with a
competitive edge.
JD.com presents marketers in the region with a platform
to distribute goods via a same-day or next-day delivery
service. Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo recently
partnered with JD.com by opening a flagship store on its
marketplace platform–facilitating rapid and convenient
delivery of goods to customers.
JD.com received a rousing welcome when it listed on the
Nasdaq a initial market cap. It is valued at almost $US50
billion today.
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JD.com

6. This South Korean company was founded in 1999. Now the
country’s leading search engine, Naver has become the
cornerstone of all local digital marketing campaigns.
With its dominance in Korean-language search well
established, the company has diversified into other digital
platforms, including its popular Line messenger service. This
acquisition proved prescient: The app has amassed more
than 600 million customers and is now one of the top
messaging apps in Southeast Asia.
Next stop, according to company communications, is for
Naver to list Line on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
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Naver

7. Social networking and gaming giant Daum Kakao is an
influential channel for digital marketing in South Korea
and other parts of Asia, second only to Naver in terms of
Web traffic. Formed from the 2014 merger of Daum
Communications and Kakao, the company is now valued
at close to $US6 billion.
Daum Kakao has also diversified through the acquisition
of leading South Korean messaging service Kakao Talk.
The app has 140 million users, is available in 15
languages, and is used by 93% of South Korea’s
smartphone owners.
CMO Hang Soo Cho has played a key role in marketing
Kakao Talk throughout Southeast Asia, expanding
through strategic partnerships into Malaysia, the
Philippines, and Indonesia.
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Daum Kakao

8. Valued at more than $US5 billion, the international real-
estate advertising business, listed on the Australian
Securities Exchange, is majority-owned by News Corp.
One of the pioneers of Australia’s dot-com sector,
realestate.com.au helped kick-start the mass migration of
print advertising to online. It now provides real-estate
advertising services in six countries, including France,
Germany, and China, and is using its solid revenue to
expand into new data service offerings.
Realestate.com.au is Australia’s most successful Internet
play so far, with fertile ground for expansion. Chief product
officer Henry Ruiz has been instrumental in driving the
company’s success online and in mobile.
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Realestate.com.au

9. E-commerce outfit Flipkart is India’s biggest online
retailer in a marketplace analysts estimate to be worth
$US8.7 billion.
Flipkart has been very clear about its mobile-only
strategy since recently acquiring New Delhi-based
mobile engagement and marketing automation
company Appiterate. Flipkart will integrate Appiterate
into its mobile app in a bid to achieve accurate targeting
of users based on their activity on the site.
Flipkart doesn’t intend to go public for at least three
years.
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Flipkart

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What’s next?
This is just the beginning. Strong economic growth, a rapidly growing middle class, and a
highly educated population mean the Asia-Pacific region is poised to produce more
digital-marketing superstars.
Waiting in the wings in India are brands such as Big Basket, the country's largest online
food and grocery business, and mobile and classifieds portal Quikr. China’s Web portal
NetEase, discount retailer Vipshop, and Internet security company Qihoo 360 are already
reaching valuations north of $US5 billion.
The next digital giant is just as likely to emerge from Nanjing or Mumbai as it is from
Silicon Valley.
See related infographic: “2015 CMO's Guide To The Social Landscape”