Mailman Case Study: Beijing Trip to Film with UFC Fighters for UFC Manila

By having a strong read on important digital and cultural trends in China, the team at Mailman Group is consistently able to create innovative marketing campaigns that drive brand value and produce record engagement in the digital space. Our project for the UFC and their upcoming fight in Manila perfectly encapsulates what we are about, from our forward thinking ways to the lengths we go to to deliver our clients actual tangible value.

As anyone in the industry would know, content with Chinese fighters is one of the most popular content themes that exist in the digital space, traditionally garnering high views and engagement.

Likewise, video content is extremely successful on all UFC official channels, a prime example being Anthony Pettis’ Signature Move video, which has reached nearly one million views on the Chinese video streaming network, Youku.

Sensing the opportunity, we wasted no time in putting together a script and video brief for a killer signature move video featuring two of the top Chinese MMA fighters, Li Jingliang and Yao Zhikui. Through our network, we were also able to liaise with China Top Team Gym, owned by Chinese UFC legend Zhang Tiequan, for exclusive use of the gym during filming. In fact, CTT Gym was so impressed by our work ethic and professionalism that they shared their praise on Weibo!

We conducted in-depth interviews with the Chinese fighters while capturing riveting high-quality video. Content from this video shoot is going to be used to build up excitement and catalyze the UFC’s Chinese fanbase leading up to UFC Manila on May 16th, which will feature four Chinese fighters, among others.

We also managed to align this trip to Beijing with Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson’s trip to China, which was organized by Blackzilian’s Gym. Anthony was conducting MMA training seminars throughout China in Chengdu and Beijing, so we made arrangements to interview him on his upcoming fight against Jon Jones and to record his masterclass that involved several famous MMA fighters, including Li Jingliang and Yao Zhikui. Undoubtedly, this footage will serve well to amp up all MMA fans in anticipation of UFC 187 on May 23rd.

The video shoot from Beijing is a perfect example of the strategic precision we take when putting together a marketing campaign. The team is looking forward to getting all the footage edited so that we can share with the fans. Keep an eye out for UFC video soon, and in the meantime check out some more pictures from the trip!