The White Horse Group Cultural Roots and Company Mission
‘Journey to the West' - one of China's four great classic novels - published in the 16th century, tells the tales of a legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, and his mission to reach the ‘Western Regions'(today's central Asia and India) and obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras). After decades of struggle and surviving lethal dangers as tests by the gods, he eventually succeeds in bringing the sacred texts back to the middle kingdom, sharing Buddhist wisdom to flourish China in the centuries to come.
Among his crusade of the three disciple and protectors, the Monkey King, the Pig and the Sha Monk, also stood a brave dragon prince, incarnated in the form of a pure white steed acting as master monk ride. On their journey home, this white horse rose to the duty of carrying the Buddhism bible scripts step-by-step from India back to China.
Just like the story of how Buddhism grew roots in the land of China while absorbing local cultural influences, and perfect itself over decades for the benefit of the Chinese people, White Horse Group as one of the earliest local marketing companies believes its mission is similar only in different times. Starting from day one of advertising business, to becoming China‘s first media group to launch IPO overseas, the White Horse Group has worked hard to fulfill its promise of bringing the world to China, and staging China's unique cultures to the world. We see our work as forging different people, cultures, ideas and values together for the better of the world, just like the iconic white horse of Master Xuanzang, whose life's work and struggle has already influenced China and the world forever.
Founded in Guangzhou in 1986, White Horse Advertisement Agency became the leading private-owned 4A Advertising company in China for the next two decades. Having serviced 7600+ brands by 6000+ clients from 23 industries in total, and produced close to a thousand television commercial productions on film for over 300 clients, White Horse was behind the rise of China's many most well-known brands, such as Apollo, Jianlibao, Hongtashan, China Unicom, etc. Being the first Chinese native agency in history to win the CLIO Awards – the Oscars for design and advertising, White Horse Advertising Agency was recognized as the talent house of China's advertising industry, hence the company's annual brand outlook book White Horse Advertisement Views became the unofficial industry white book for Chinese advertising talents.
Ranked as one of the top three creative agencies nationwide and the market leader in Southern China, White Horse Advertising earned invitation by the Guangdong State Government and Guangzhou City Government to direct and produce “The Publicity Film for Guangzhou's Bid for the 2010 Asian Games” in 2002, when the city announced it's run for the next Asian Games. In 2004, White Horse Advertising proudly presented the film that seized Guangzhou's win as the host city of the 2010 Asian Games. Up to this day, this film remains an important name card for Guangzhou, and has displayed the unique charisma of this great city to billions of viewers from around the globe.
Since 1996, White Horse Group has been investing in outdoors media in major cities throughout China. 1998, White Horse formed partnership with global media giant Clear Media. In December 2001, White Horse Outdoors Media launched IPO in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange（Ref. HK100）. In October 2021, with support from the group's internet industry strategic partners, White Horse Group China finalized the privatization of White Horse Outdoors Media and delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Ever since, White Horse Outdoors Media has been committed in reinvesting into modern digital forms of outdoor media driven by internet data.
Headquartered in Guangzhou, the White Horse outdoors media network has 2000+ employees located in 23 first, second and third-tier city branches throughout China. The outdoor media team manage over 65000+ bus shelter billboards, which generate around 1.9 Billion RMB revenue per annum. White Horse Outdoors Media has around 80% market share in China's ‘Big-four' cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and is commonly recognized as the market leading in the cities of operation.
In 2006, White Horse Group founded the Golf Channel of China. The Golf Channel is the sole national television channel broadcasting 24-hour professional golf content. Contents include live broadcasts of international golf tournaments, news, tutorial, documentary, golf travel and lifestyle. The Golf Channel team operates with full TV production capability and is home to some of China's top professional golf commentators, journalists, editors and camera crew.
March 2021, the Golf Channel signed a 10-year exclusive internet broadcasting rights of Mainland China for the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, the major tournaments, the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup, Tiger Woods Tutorial, the KLPGA Tour and the Asian Tour, etc. The Golf Channel smartphone App and smart television Apk/OTT has over 220k+ downloads, 140k+ subscribed users and 45k daily active users using the app 60+ mins per day. The Golf Channel App has achieved its first-year goal of capturing majority of China's 300k hardcore golfers, and now looking to expand its reach to the 1 million weekly active golfers in its second year, through Golf Channel social media and running the operations of PGA Tour official Chinese website. The Golf Channel also operates and holds IP to some of China's most iconic amateur golf tournaments, such as the Natural Golf Tournament, the Irons Man Tournament and the Irons Tour.
White Horse Group is a diverse company that is involved in more than multi different industries in China and overseas. Apart from the previous core businesses introduced, other main subsidiary businesses include –
White Horse Property Development Ltd - Property development
White Horse Medical Equipment Ltd - Medical equipment sales distribution
White Horse Jewelry Ltd – Jade sourcing, design sales and distribution
White Horse YinXiangPai Ltd - Art, Design, Advertisement & Print
White Horse Old Party Squad Foods Ltd - Restaurant Chain
Etc.