i see what you mean

Happy Christmas!

2007-12-25T05:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas to all my readers! Here are some Christmas thoughts from Beijing, on behalf of my new company, Honest Films.

It's all about Angola

2007-12-07T02:46:00.001-08:00

Poster for the China-Africa Summit, Beijing, 2006

Last year I was around in Beijing when the China-Africa summit was on. The summit was deliberately orchestrated to prove China's commitment to the African nations. China is dealing with regimes the West boycotts on political and humanitarian grounds. As these regimes have few other rich nations to trade with left, China has stepped in to buy their natural resources at bargain rates. Angola is one of those countries and is now China's main supplier of oil, having overtaken Saudi Arabia. But China is also involved in the political and economic life of these countries, training future African government ministers in Beijing alongside future Communist Party cadres and Chinese companies building new 5 star leisure complexes for the elite across the continent.
China's involvement is realigning world politics but we hear very little about it in the West. This Radio 4 programme highlights some of the political, social as well as economic ramifications of China's relationship with Africa.
You can listen to the programme here.

hugs in China

2007-12-05T02:27:00.001-08:00

Free hugs in China

Free hugs in Amsterdam

I think it's clear what exactly this campaign is about but in case you want to know more check out the Free Hugs website here.

Today's lesson:

1) everyone is suspicious of wierdos on busy streets
2) there's soft hearted exceptions to everything
3) web 2.0 includes China

it was once sunny

2007-07-24T14:17:00.001-07:00

Qingdao, Northern China

To remind myself that at one point this summer it was sunny I'm posting some pictures of the beach at Qingdao from May. Some classic Chinese seaside sights here;

no sunbathing instead there's umbrellas and full clothing
(women prefer pale skin to tanned)
only men in the sea
and no one's actually swimming, mostly there's only degrees of paddling

And you are never far from a bike, even at sea. Above, bike-pedaloes.

But don't despair if you're planning a global ad campaign about beaches - some things at the seaside are the same all over the world, like kitschy shell-based ornaments:

the internet gets Chinese girls pregnant

2007-07-10T05:00:00.001-07:00

The QQ logo, a popular internet chat brand in China.

According to the operators of a pregnancy helpline in Shanghai nearly half of the teenage girls who call them met their partners on the internet. Full story here, from the China Daily. An indication of the net's popularity as a place to find dates for Chinese youth and more evidence of the generation gap - youth sexual activity is out pacing the government's and parents' ability or willingness to deal with the previously taboo subject of sex.

shared joys

2007-06-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Child's ride, Qingdao, China

Child's ride, Great Yarmouth, UK

A small thing but one shared by many - the joy of a badly spray-painted, slightly sinister, mechanical ride.

Japan and Korea as centres of influence

2007-06-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

Levels of mobile phone strap use. From the always interesting Jan Chipchase. His presentation 'where's the phone?' can be found in full here.

Mobile phone straps can range from the utilitarian, plain cord to hang the phone from wrist or neck, to the decorative ( see below, souvenir mobile phone decorative straps from Nikko, Japan)

Why are mobile straps so popular in Pacific Asia? (Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore aren't included in the study here but you'll also see plenty of phone straps in those countries as well). It's probably reflecting a relatively low crime rate, the extent phones are used as a status/fashion symbol and the Asian love of the minature or cute. But this chart is also an indication of centres of cool - phone straps appeared first in Japan and Korea, and have spread (as with other fashions, music and TV shows) to other Sino-Pacific Asian countries. Phone straps as a tracer for cultural influence, eh?

China not as ancient or kung-fuish as you may expect from films

2007-05-24T04:59:00.000-07:00

The comrades at Danwei have translated an article in a local film magazine interviewing westerners about their attiutudes to Chinese films. It's quite amusing, though I'm not sure how statistically robust it is.
My favourite bit:

"After coming to China, what do you think the greatest difference is between China in the movies and China in reality?
1. There are modern buildings all over and cars cover the streets - the real China is modern: 23%
2. It's not a bunch of fighting all the time - you never see people who know kung-fu or who can fly: 18%
3. Beijing's nightlife is really colorful: 16%
4. Practically everything in Chinese movies isn't the real China: 13%
5. Ideas about sex have opened up; there are lots of fashionably-dressed women on the streets: 11%
6. No feeling of being constrained by lots of rules: 9%
7. Gangsters are over-romanticized in the movies: 7%
8. There is too much environmental pollution, completely different from in the movies: 4%
9. The environment is beautiful and people live well-off lives, completely different from in the movies: 2%
10. Nothing much is different: 2%"

summed up by one respondent:

"One person said that life in modern China is not as interesting as life in ancient China. Nor is it as polite, as well-off, as romantic, or as thoughtful. And no one knows kung-fu."

Learning: not everything in the movies is real. And no one can fly. Not even in China.

suits you

2007-05-10T00:14:00.000-07:00

Mao jacket sculpture, from a Beijing art Gallery, 2006

A great article here about the symbolism of Chinese Communist dress forms, illustrating the early Communist party's grasp on the importance of a clear brand experience. (Thank you ilike and Owen for this).

More historical costuming here, details from Xiao Hui Wang's My last Hundred Years , a photographic and multimedia work at last year's Shanghai Biennale. Changing Chinese female roles including students, army officers, barefoot doctors moving to teeny boppers and general modernity:

the pro-piracy case

2007-04-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

A cover of a Chinese pirate copy of The Piano, hinting at a flirty, contemporary plot strand I must have missed in the original.

Danwei covers an interesting story; the US TV show 'Prison Break' is only available on pirated DVDs in China but it's been such a hit a Chinese company has paid Fox US $1.2 million for the rights to make an online Chinese language film version. (Xinhua's note on this here .).

The thing to remember here is that 'Prison Break' isn't going any where near mainstream Chinese media in its original form. A little-guy-against-the-big-corrupt-system story does not sit well with the Chinese censors (as discussed in the Danwei report) and this new Chinese version has to reinterpret the story into a corporate setting to make it acceptable. This sort of censorship is a big barrier to foreign cultural imports, even if the material is innocuous the clearance process can be painstakingly slow, and god help anything with more 'difficult' themes. This means even mainstream shows like Prison Break only have a future in pirated channels (off and online) for the foreseeable future. In these circumstances piracy in China, or at least 'cultural' piracy of films, TV, music and literature provide a valuable channel for ideas and creativity that otherwise wouldn't be allowed. Plus, as this illustrates, it needn't mean that money can't come back to the producers, just that it will take a more inventive and flexible approach to revenue. This cultural piracy can also create demand for mechadise and equities that are out on the market legally; how many of the Chinese mainlanders visiting Hong Kong's Disneyland were inspired to go after years of watching pirated Disney discs?

Not China, but Chinas

2007-04-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

Taxi, Inner Mongolia, with dual Chinese/Mongolian language signage

Playing on local loyalties is a highly successful tactic for local Chinese brands, but are they the only ones who can do this? These's so much strategic and creative opportunity in moving away from the big, uniform notion of China with its often East-coast defined values. Why not embrace the multiplicity of this market and do something more complicated but far more interesting that engages with the differences in values and lifestyles across the country? There's been a lot of mutterings in the planning/creative world about the problems of the 'Big Idea' and how 'small' or 'rich ideas' are now more relevant. Perhaps it's time for more international brands to view China not as a Big Idea but as a Rich Idea?

like mother, like daughter?

2007-04-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Fashion brand Comptoir des Cotonniers has run a 'mothers and daughters' theme ad campaign for ten years:

Casting real shoppers from their stores, the campaign illustrates how small the generation gap is in these days of 'kidults', extended adolescence and parents-as-peers. In China the situation is markedly different. The generations are separated by enormous differences in values, experiences and priorities. Below are a couple of photos from a Chinese artist's study of teenagers and their parents, although extreme they aren't unrepresentative:

You certainly don't get the impression these parent/child teams would be fighting over who gets to wear the ironically distressed boho blouse.

And it's not just about the key generations not being able to relate. The generation gap is also defined on far more incremental levels in China with 30 year olds despairing of 25 year olds, 24 year olds thinking 19 year olds have a completely different mindset, 19 year olds who just don't get 16 year olds etc - it's a case of often big gaps between small age differences, versus the west's small differences despite big gaps in years. These micro-cohorts are an symptom of the speed of change in the country since the '80s.

And when your older cousin doesn't understand you what hope is there for Mum and Dad?

compare and contrast

2007-04-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

Williamsburg, NY

ChaoYang, Beijing

One bought as an economic compromise, one as a hipster statement...?

me

2007-04-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

Nearly four months ago I was tagged by Rob Campbell, scourge of the mundane. I am now beholden to reveal 5 things about myself that you, gentle reader didn't know about me. I've been so tardy I'm now doing this as penance really, to publicially acknowledge I fail in two key blogging areas; prompt posting and community spirit. Sorry Rob, I'm a crap blogger, but with all apologies, this is the reply that has been sitting in my drafts section since last year:

My fascination with Asia started with trips to London's China Town, and in particular the Chinese Opera masks sold there as souvenirs. I think I was the only 7 year old in my town with a decent collection of major Chinese Opera characters' masks. Sadly this didn't win me the social aclaim I might have hoped for.

I ran a club night in San Francisco, years and years ago. I've just found one of our old flyers.

I can't ride a bike or drive a car. I'm fairly good at walking and hailing cabs though.

I have a bit of a fixation with the Japanese miniature food sets. They are sold in toy and department stores and I always buy a couple when I'm in Japan. This is a picture of a tonkasu meal, just the size of a box of matches. I am fascinated by this. Endlessly.

And finally, I've recently left my job to start my own company up. I will be droning on about this more.

I'm now sure you would have preferred this to have remained in the drafts folders, but there you go...

Sounds familiar? Change as loss

2007-04-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

"As the manufacturing districts vanished, shrines full of exotic mechandise were erected at their heart: the shopping centres ... were consolations offered for our obliterated function and ruined our sense of purpose. At the same time, the streets where we lived were no longer full of neighbours, relatives, workmates, friends but thugs, vandals, ... The people we had called Auntie or Uncle were transformed, little by little, into strangers... The lesson that people cannot be trusted, but that money and what it will buy will never fail you, tends to prise apart the most precious and tender of human bondings and associations, undermines ancient consolations of kindred and friendship. Is it by accident that we discover our aloneness in the healing presence of the inexhaustible plenitude of a buy-in culture?"

This is an except from Jeremy Seabrook's essay 'An English Exile'. He's talking about his home town Northampton and its transformation in the 1970s when the local factories were shut down and the old housing demolished and replaced by new high-density housing blocks. Although this is about a very different time and place it still feels close to the experience of many in China today as state-run factories close and old communities are moved on to make space for the new urban reality. As a China blogger puts it, "We filled our lives, but we lost our souls" (chinese version here) and this is also a theme for Haolun Shu's 'Nostalgia' ( as mentioned before)

Picture: Shanghai

Competition overload

2007-04-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

KFC and McDonalds in Guangdong are under fire for paying part-time employees below minimum wage rates (about 50 US cents an hour, minimum wage being 1 US dollar an hour and no, a dollar doesn't go that far in urban China). As commentators point out here, this is hardly unusual in China;

"the deepest reason [for low pay] is china has much population.if you complain that the pay is very low,the boss will tell you that you can go to other places ,there are a lot of people waiting want to do the job. today finding a job is not very easy,you do not have many chioces,you have to face the reality"

From rural migrants to university graduates, it's the sheer volume of job-hunters which is causing the most problems. With all the opportunities China is now offering there still aren't enough to go round. This is not lost on the government. There's a lot of talk about building a 'harmonious society' and it's not a quaint turn of phrase, its a genuine realisation that the government are facing a huge social crisis if disparity in opportunity, competition for jobs and lack of security continue to grow.

Happy New Year!

2007-02-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Golden Pig year to you! Above, London's Oxford Street embraces Chinese New Year, another sign of the pull of China today, if you needed one. More on the capital getting all excited about CNY here .

nostalgia across continents

2007-02-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

'Nostalgia' by Shanghaiese documentary maker Haolun Shu will be showing this coming week in Shanghai and London. It's a portrait of Shu's family home in one of Shanghai's old lanes just before its demolition. He returned to record life in the lane and to recall how it used to be. As he tries to capture what is being lost he also questions whether people are really enamoured with progress and what these changes are actually offering. It's a great film and a very touching insight into the changing nature of Shanghai, Chinese family life and community. If I remember correctly the Chinese name for documentary actually translates as 'Home Sickness' which I think is rather poignant - just what do you feel about your home town when your past there is obliterated?

Shanghai: MoCA Shanghai, 7PM, February 7th (Wed), English subtitles, it's free but you will need to book in advance: education@mocashanghai.org or call 63279900-124. Haolun Shu will be there for a discussion session after the screening.

London: Monday (5th), Odeon Panton Street at 6.30pm.

30% wrong, 70% right

2007-01-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

This is one of Shanghai's few surviving neighbourhood Mao murals, probably from the 60s, found, with the irony China seems to specialise in, on a wall just behind one of the city's upmarket shopping areas.

The official line on Mao is that he was 30% wrong and 70% right. For an expanded overview of his career, including how a young Mao was inspired by a dream of individualism and more surprisingly female emanicipation, have a look at this Wilson Quarterly article .

fierce gods for fierce matters

2007-01-11T14:17:00.000-08:00

A ceremonial mask in a Lamastry, Hohot, Inner mongolia.

Quite unnerving, but nothing in comparision to a couple of the gods, or the 'wrathful deities' as they are known;

I think this is Death but he could also be another version of the Protector of the Dharma, Mahakala:

I'm not really up on my buddhist gods but apparantly these wrathful deities are often just aspects of the compassionate dieties, there to represent their righteous anger at wrong-doing or a threat to the teachings. Hindism also has wrathful deities, such as Kali who is, on her milder days, the Divine Mother:

Makes me wonder if we need to channel the wrathful side of brands more? Maybe we could do with some more righteous anger from brands? There's plenty to be incensed about. And if so how would the angry and empowered brand, venturing out on behalf of all sentient beings, act and manifest itself?
Skulls hanging off the logo could be optional.

boozy climbing?

2007-01-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

what's better than rock climbing? rock climbing with a beer!

changing landscapes

2007-01-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Back in the 1980s father and son team Xu XiXian and Xu JianRong would travel around Shanghai on the weekends taking photographs of the landscape. They have been recently revisiting those places and taking photographs to create a 'before and after' portrait of the city, collected together in their book 'Changing Shanghai'. It's a fascinating exercise as the 'economic miracle' of China is largely illustrated with skyscrapers and malls but these photographs illustrate a more subtle spectrum of change, from the radical:

to less orchestrated, more individual and piecemeal changes:

and changes that somehow preserve the past, and yet lose its spirit:

and that sometimes change is degeneration:

It's good to remember that there is this spectrum of change because there is a corresponding spectrum of experiences, one that encompasses loss and exclusion as well gain and inclusion.

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T06:17:00.000-08:00

As I trawl through the reviews of the year here in the UK I wish someone could have done something like this . The Chinese South Metropolis Weekly is featuring a spoof review of 2006 in homage to the wave of internet political and film spoofs China saw this year. Seems to be offering more bite and social commentary than the UK media's rather flacid efforts.

Anyway, happy reading and a happy, prosperous New Year!

japanese Christmas greetings

2006-12-30T01:44:00.000-08:00

A Japanese Christmas card, seamlessly blending Western and Eastern traditions by sticking a load of traditional Japanese artifacts in a Christmas tree.

more Christmas thoughts

2006-12-28T01:54:00.000-08:00

Just to direct you to another's blogger's thoughts on the subject here. I don't agree on several points here, the first being the choice of wilfully dumb picture (what are we to gather from that?) and also that adoption of Christmas trimmings = cultural collapse. As one commenter points out Christmas is another opportunity to boost the economy so its bound to be welcomed. It's also, I think, seen as welcoming and enjoying other cultures and a chance to join in what is seen as an international festival (note the only Chinese commentator's statement: "Just as the slogan of Beijing Olympic Games "one world, one dream". We need cooperate, and also we need to share"). I would also question the positioning of the Chinese Spring festival as such a wholesome affair - I hear plenty of people complaining about the stress, expense, boredom, bad TV and family rows it brings and of course, as a gifting season its the time to ingratiate and bribe.
Having said all that, the article does make the valid point that Christmas in China is adding to the debate about Chinese cultural identity today and its an interesting point about Christmas dictating the manufacturing seasons of China - though how different is that from many other manufacturing dominated country?

Happy Christmas!

2006-12-25T00:30:00.000-08:00

And what could be more festive than a Starbucks in Beijing? (There's been some impressive Christmas displays in Beijing and Shanghai but this is the only picture to have survived a technical hitch involving my camera). One mall in Beijing summed the celebration up perfectly as "Christmas Shopping Festival" and as such its increasingly adopted by trendy and/or western-style restaurants and shops. But its not just another reason to go shopping for everyone, an estimated 90 million Chinese Christians might be celebrating Christmas today. An interesting conference report from the Ethic and Public Policy Centre talks about Christianity in China and the impact Christianity could have on China. This article is also interesting as there's parallels between the CCP's attitude to faiths and many other things in China - as one interviewee puts it "China doesn't have many freedoms but there is a lot of tolerance". Also interesting as we hear a lot about China's openess to economic opportunity and material lifestyle trends but little about the increasing interest in spirituality or new value systems.

But its Christmas and I'm really not thinking more on all that, I'm got a heavy eating schedule to stay up with today.
Merry Christmas!

2006-12-20T03:24:00.000-08:00

Winter means pelt sellers from the North West coming into the cities to hawk their wares on the streets, presenting incongrous symbol of the life that exists outside the sophisticated urban centres. And for any of you PETA supporters, no, there's no qualms about fur here.

first, we take Shanghai then Manhattan

2006-12-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

This is the Shanghai guerrilla store created by design collective Adfunture and da>space.

Apparently New York and London are in their sights next.

Check out the adfunture website and the Da>space website for more on this and other projects. One of my favourite pieces on sale are some Nike trainers tagged with Chinese philosophical sayings by Changsa graffiti artists PEN crew and displayed with a suggestion that the buyer can then sell the unique pieces on eBay for a profit. Illustrating traditional Chinese culture/Western form clash, street fashion, post-modern sensibilities and Shanghai business acumen all in one go.

hospital marketing

2006-12-11T23:30:00.000-08:00

Hospital advertising in China is big business. This ad, for the 'Ease Mail [Male] Hospital of BaoDing' emphasises their good practice standards. The cartoons illustrate the hospital' 3 key rules; doctors won't exaggerate symptoms, will pay close attention to patients and the most telling point, the staff won't demand bribes.

things that can happen to your brand in China 1

2006-12-07T02:04:00.000-08:00

Now, I might be going out on a limb here but I don't think Mont Blanc are officially in the coach seatcover market.This is not only IP infringement, this is a brand being teleported into another entirely different product universe. But it's also not just Western brands suffering, local stars are also a target: a local business man has applied to use Yao Ming's name for a new brand of sanitary towels and Aidai, a local female singer, has found she is now also a brand of condoms.

Oh, and yes, I can now post pictures again so the paranoia can subside for the moment.

hmmm

2006-12-05T00:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of posts, for some reason I can't upload photos to Blogger , a stumbling point for my photo-driven blog as I'm sure you can imagine. Now this may be due just to Blogger's new upgrade but I can't help thinking its China's Internet Nanny at it again. The Government has only just unblocked Blogger and Google, Google Images and Gmail have all been playing up recently -usually an indication that The Powers That Be are trying out new Internet censorship toys. Most probably it is the site's upgrade but the fact I'm even considering government interference as a routine possibility is a symptom of blogging in China (I promise, I'm not prone to conspiracy theories by nature).

Ho hum, I'll keep trying, so please bear with me.

research snacks

2006-11-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

Snacks laid out for a research group, lower tier China.

Classic Chinese focus group fare usually includes dry crackers, fruit, sweet preserved plums and dried meat snacks. No booze and crisps or sandwiches as might be expected for UK groups. Indian and Thai research houses sometimes provide a full buffet style meal before the groups (sometimes this also constitutes part of the respondents' payment).
Local variation in focus group food is one of my favourite things on the international research circuit; its an unintentional illustration of varying attitudes to hospitality as well as local food tastes.

weighed down

2006-11-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

Shanghai schoolgirls wait for a bus.

Something I've just noticed recently; school bags designed like wheelie suitcases. Do students now need more help carrying the growing number of textbooks home perhaps? A sign of increasing educational pressure?

some techno with that waterfall perhaps?

2006-11-24T07:59:00.000-08:00

This is a loud speaker in Shanghai's People's Park.

Is nature better natural? A debatable point in China where loud speakers blare out music in parks, nature reserves and scenic landmarks. Added value? Or noise pollution? Unspoilt nature or just boring countryside in need of livening up? All a matter of perspective...

overly optimistic positioning

2006-11-16T22:03:00.000-08:00

Hotel Breakfast buffet, Bao Ding, Hebei province

Bao Ding is famous for its donkey meat served in between bun-like pancakes. This is an attempt by my hotel to give the specialty a more western positioning but when does a hamburger analogy stop being useful? Perhaps when the meat patty is made out of donkey?

Ah, food, one of the greatest cultural dividers of them all.

serious fun

2006-11-11T20:49:00.000-08:00

Children being taught rollerhockey in a Shanghai park. Another example of China in transition - kit and tuition available but no formal space for it - this is just on a strip of pavement in the park just down from the elderly playing cards and the practising tai-chi masters. Entrepreneurial spirit meets with traditional notions of public spaces and sport.

post summit Beijing

2006-11-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

The China-African Summit decorations are now deflated and the lanterns are looking a little knocked around by the wind but there's shiny new promises from the Chinese Government; increase in China-Africa trade, training African professionals, canceling more debts, China-Africa development fund of 5 Billion US, 3bln US dollar in preferential loans, a conference centre for the the African Union and doubling current to assistance to Africa. China is also to establish trade/economic cooperation zones in Africa.

But at the moment what does this mean to Chinese or Africans? From what I can see Beijingers seemed to be more concerned with the details of the traffic restriction over the conference days than anything else. And Africans? My only insight comes from Kenya's The East African and an article that touches on some of the on-ground realities for Chinese African business relationships, which suggests what life in the Special Economic Zones may be like...

"[China's] companies' prices for contracts are cheap because they pay their workers a pittance. The majority are Chinese, crammed into dormitories and sometimes paid less money than local companies pay casual labourers. Also, they don't mix with the community. As one Ugandan complained, they don't chase local women, so don't pay 'in-law levies'. "They take all the money back to China," he whined. Because they tend to import so many Chinese workers, they employ fewer local people than Western companies, the fact that they have a smaller wage differential between them and the 'native' hires notwithstanding.
Chinese companies, used to an environment riddled with corruption back home, are also known to have paid bribes in several instances, including to an African president who took a huge cut for a stadium contract. African Big Men, therefore, could continue to line their pockets with proceeds from trade with China. The masses of the people are unlikely to benefit."

(Full article here)

chanting the crab

2006-11-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

Autumn means hairy crab is here again. A delicacy of the crab world it's much in demand but many unscrupulous crab breeders pass off non-hairy crabs as the real thing.
Anti fake hairy crab measures include special licenses and tagging but each year there's a new warnings about fakes.

Today's lesson: nothing is safe from piracy.

(Hairy crab food article here in all its gory detail).

shopping in Inner Mongolia

2006-11-01T03:07:00.000-08:00

Was up in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia recently. While I was there I popped into one of the city's malls and saw some interesting fashion ad casting.
First off, the choice of brand spokesmen for the men's wear brands:

I would guess that these are local heroes (not at all implying that its not their dashing good looks getting them these gigs, of course).
Either way, an interesting take on the masculine ideal:

Also Grandsire - what a great name eh?

On the other extreme, the female mannequins were all uber-Aryan types. Row after row of them in fact, all standing outside the shops in the mall, like something out of Doctor Who:

I'm sure that China, as with most things, is the world's biggest producer of shop mannequins but I have yet to see one Asian or even Asianish style shop dummy. I'm sure this isn't a source of fierce racial debate in China but it must be re-enforcing the link between the west and fashion on some level...

Which leads me to Exhibit C.
First off, a classic copy-cat brand strategy, the sound alike:

How many Inner Mongolians recognise the difference between Gucci and Cuuci on a linguistic or product basis? But hey, its a Western model, must be kosher right?

friendship, peace, cooperation and development

2006-10-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

Beijing is hosting the third ministerial meeting of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in a couple of days time. The streets are already being decorated with pictures of Sahara sunsets and Chinese lanterns (a rather strange juxtaposition).

Beijing road decorated for summit

A jetta (also a popular car model in Africa) parked next to one of the billboards welcoming the African summit attendees

I don't think I've seen so much effort for one summit, perhaps reflecting that this time China is entertaining in the role of patron.

China's involvement in Africa is relatively recent but they are now investing heavily into the continent which they see as a key future market for Chinese products, a chance to build valuable voting partnerships in the UN and a source of bargain priced resources (especially from African regimes the West won't deal with - Mugabe doesn't consider China a 'very special friend' for nothing).

While the West is still looking at China as the economic opportunity, China is building up the African continent with infrastructure, anti-corruption campaigns and training future African leaders alongside future Chinese government cadres - simultaneously contributing to economic development while also ensuring Chinese businesses have the best possible operating conditions.

People's Daily Online article about the Summit here.

electronic tickets are go

2006-10-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

China is now issuing electronic tickets for domestic flights. I traveled with one last week and had a bit of an issue at the security gate when I handed over just my boarding pass and passport instead of the usual passport, boarding pass and ticket;

Security officer: ticket please
Me: I have an electronic ticket
Security officer: I need your ticket
Me: Yes, but it's an electronic ticket (showing email print out of flight details)
Security officer: but where's your ticket?
Security officer's colleague shouting across from the next desk: It's an electronic ticket!
Security officer motions to another colleague, "She doesn't have a ticket"
Me: I have an electronic ticket!
Colleague calls over supervisor,
Me: It's an electronic ticket!
Supervisor grunts and motions me through.

Now, wouldn't you expect an airport security officer to know about electronic tickets? It was all ok in the end as at least I knew I was in the right but what if I wasn't used to air travel procedures? Or wasn't used to electronic tickets? How confusing would that all be? I could perhaps be wondering if the travel agent or the airline had ripped me off somehow... how would I know whose word to take on this?

Illustrates in a small way how even sensible improvements can cause disruption, doubt and distrust - you just can't bank on everyone, even those whose should, to know what's going on. Now apply that to implementing a rebranding, a new look for packaging or a new service procedure and imagine the fun that could be - people thinking sellers are trying to pass off fakes, sales people not sure of the new system, misinformation abounding. Fun all round. Changes are inevitable as the systems and standards here improve but change shouldn't be undertaken lightly.

order, order

2006-10-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

China is in flux when it comes to behaviour, some people think its ok to drive down the middle of the road, others know different. Some people will be queuing while others will completely ignore the queue, genuinely unaware of what the protocol is. There's yet to be an established standard of behaviour.

Japan is probably the absolute opposite, everything is prescribed and explained. No ambiguity is allowed and definition and instructions rule.

Wondering where to stop to allow vehicles to pass? Well, just look for the sign. Wondering where to stand when queuing for a public pay phone? Look for the sign (no photo for that, sorry, but in case you're wondering its about a meter back at a 45 degree angle away from the platform edge).

There's nothing left to chance:

No need to worry about where to stand when waiting for your train, your carriage door will be marked out for you.

And wondering what to do if a woman next to you is being sexually harassed? Follow the instructions on the anti-sexual harassment poster. Well, I assume they are explaining how to intervene (though it also does look like it's explaining how to join in). Either way, there's a guide for everything so there need never be any ambiguity, doubt or confusion.

How does this sort of prescription affect people? If you introduce a new category or product into this market for the first time perhaps your first task is not just selling benefits or affinity but also removing ambiguity about usage and occasion?

blocked again

2006-10-27T02:04:00.000-07:00

Once again I find myself on the wrong side of the Chinese censors. Blogspot has been blocked again in China, so if I look for my blog or any other on blogspot I get the above message. It's only been a matter of months since the site was unblocked but these things tend to fluctuate as the Chinese government often uses a let-out-the-reigns-pull-in-the reigns approach to new liberties whether civil or economic. Blogger obviously failed its trial period. As it happens fairly soon after Blogger became accessible a Chinese professor alerted Chinese netizens to an excretable blog written by an expat teacher about his sexual conquests of female Chinese students from his English class, sparking a web-wide hunt. As this was a Blogger blog I personally wonder if this is connected with Blogger's return to web pariah status.

But obviously, you can still post on blogger, you just can't read the blogs themselves- a strange sort of compromise you often find here, a sort of third way that suits the ultimate agenda (no reading) while giving concessions (you can still blog, just not to a Chinese audience).

China? Oh yes, I was in prison there for a while

2006-10-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Just back from seeing Sidney Rittenberg, author of The man who stayed behind, speak at the Bookworm Cafe in Beijing. Mr Rittenberg was posted to China with the US Army towards the end of WW2 and fell in love with the language, people and country. He stayed on after his honorable discharge from the Army to work as a translator for the Communist press and even for Mao himself, then moving to famine relief work in the North West of the country. That is, until Joseph Stalin personally wrote to Mao naming him as the leader of an international spy ring based in China. 6 years in solitary confinement followed, with Mr Rittenberg continuing to protest his innocence. Released eventually after Stalin's death he stayed on in China resuming his charity work. He met and married a local Chinese girl and became involved in the Cultural revolution or rather 'The Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution' ("Nothing to do with the proletariat, actually anti-cultural rather than cultural but it was Great"). His involvement landed him back in prison and back in solitary for another ten years, separated from his wife and children with no access to the outside world. Eventually with the demise of the 'Gang of Four' he was released and reunited with his wife and family (who had refused to disown him as many family members had had to during those years). A couple of years later he moved back to the US to consult on China for government and business. It's quite some story, and one even more amazing when told with a wry repartee that sat somewhere between Bob Hope and Noel Coward "They [his interrogators] would accuse me of being this international spy ringleader, I'd point out I only an insignificant American, not at all the big shot. They would tell me there was no need to be modest". Also quite something to hear about first hand about Mao, "compassionate and caring but then also extremely cruel", and the evils of the engineered class-struggles of the past. Listening to him, it did all seem a world away - the expats that constituted the audience tonight were largely young western language students with a canny eye on the market and foreign company executives. I wondered how many of the audience would stay on for another revolution and risk prison for China? (Myself included here, I hasten to add). Another sign that China now represents economic not ideological frontiers.

Mr Rittenberg is now working on a new book, a self-help guide based his philosophical training and his own mental techniques developed to help him survive in solitary. Apparently inspired by the number of times he is asked about this in the US. Now there must be a zeitgeist point to made about Americans feeling like they're in solitary confinement, or a need for more mental toughness today or existential angst or some such but you figure it out, it's late and I'm off to bed.

reversing the view 2

2006-10-21T23:15:00.000-07:00

Now and again I try to share some views of the West from a Chinese perspective in an attempt to balance things out here. This one comes thanks to the Library of Unwritten books, a UK project where anyone can submit an idea for a book they would like to publish. This one is written by Ming-He Yang who proposes a book about 'Real British Life' for Chinese readers who are interested in learning about life in the West. In this book she would explain some cultural differences based on her own experience of moving from China to England in the late 80s. Here she covers the key topics of tea, pubs and historical homes;

"I didn't even know what a bar was til a colleague said "Oh we will go out for a drink". I found it very strange. The pub is like a teahouse in China. ... people sitting around talking..."

"And afternoon tea! When you are first invited to go to an English family they say 'Come to our home for afternoon tea. But oh! It's so heavy! It's not only tea."

"Chinese like modern houses very, very much but here they keep the original. If it is one hundred, two hundred years old, people are proud of it, but the Chinese are not. They like everything new and modern."

Pretty good benchmarks for cultural segmentation to be honest, alcoholic/non-alcoholic key social space, tea consumption and old/new home preference. I can feel a plannerish Venn Diagram coming on...

anything national left?

2006-10-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

Internet horribly slow today and I can't even link so instead here's edited highlights from a New Weekly article, via Danwei.org, questioning the reality of China's so-called national characteristics. Particularly interesting as Chinese identity is often presented as unwavering and monolithic ...

National Day, National Pastime, National Flavor...
by Xiao Feng / New Weekly

National Day: National Day has become a travel holiday. The solemn national consciousness of the past has been replaced by joyful consumerism. Using the long holiday for travel or shopping is the main theme of the day. If parades and putting up banners were patriotic in the past, then active consumption is patriotism today.

National Cuisine: The cuisine that Chinese culture has marketed to the world is how to eat differently. People have suggested setting up an International Eating Committee. "When you've sung your part, I take the stage" is what food is like today; no one can speak for a "National Cuisine." If you really want to find one, then perhaps hotpot is one national dish. But children and youth might rather suggest to you McDonald's or KFC.

National Medicine: National medicine, or zhong yao, is not the medicine of China, but rather the medicine of the mean. Essentially, illness is anything taken to excess. "Halls of national medicine" have started up chain stores. The resistance of Chinese medicine to standardization has caused it to be spurned by the international pharmaceutical world, and it has become a mark of wandering outsider doctors. Today, old Chinese doctors plaster ads throughout every street and alley advertising special sex cures.

National Performance: In the past it was the Spring Festival Evening Show, when 900 million of the billion citizens were watching. Now, the Show has dropped to a program for peasants (and our peasant brothers don't necessarily watch). When the three Super Girls PKed, they snatched up a majority of Chinese eyeballs.

National Flavor: Chinese flavor is not hanging up a few strings of hot peppers in the doorway; it's not the four treasures of the studio; it's not the four great inventions - none of these. The core of Chinese flavor is not readily expressed by these dead ideas. "What it is" is hard to say. I only know that cultural heritage isn't a day's work; it should be one generation teaching the next through example rather than preaching. If the previous generation themselves didn't amount to much, then what attraction is there to Chinese flavor?

Density 2: Japan

2006-10-15T07:17:00.000-07:00

Talked before about density as a characteristic of Asian cities, previously using Hong Kong as an example. Though this post's title might sound like some dodgy straight-to-DVD Asian-ish action film it's just me trying to prove my point again, this time using Tokyo.
While Hong Kong's density is a sort of jostling crowdedness, Tokyo's density is a sort of concentration of maximum content into the smallest possible space. This applies particularly to people and information;

view of Shibuya district

destination guides at a station

map of Tokyo's railway lines and their stations

Dense travel structure even. Unbelievable amount of stations in Tokyo, tightly packed destinations.

Advertising is particularly compacted too. More information the better when you have the trapped attention of the concentrated (though perhaps not concentrating) Tokyo commuter, it would seem.

What effect does this concentration of content have on people? Perhaps sets up an expectation and reliance on it but also necessitates a relief from it? Japan is the home to Zen after all...

back from hols

2006-10-10T01:33:00.000-07:00

Back from Japan and catching up with work so just a wee post of a vending machine and one of those lost-in-translation-celebrity-ad-only-for-Japan for you here. This one featuring Tommy Lee Jones advertising a Japanese coffee brand called 'Boss'. I can't help but feel he's a dubious advocate for coffee - he looks like needs one but also as if he may have had one too many already. Or maybe he's just a good boss? And Boss, what a great name for a coffee eh? Masculine, work-orientated and aspirational all in one go, a brand name to make those 6am commutes on the Yamanote line seem worthwhile.

off on hols

2006-09-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

How do you boost an economy? By creating new longer holidays so people can go off an spend without the distractions of work. Well, that's what Chinese government did when they instituted the 'Golden Week' holidays of Chinese New Year, May Day and National Day and it's working - these week-long national holidays mean significant sales peaks for many categories. And I'm not complaining either. I'm off for this National Day holiday 'Golden Week' so I won't be posting for a while but back soon, promise.

getting fitter

2006-09-28T07:39:00.001-07:00

The pre-Olympics fitness drive is on. A signpost here from Shanghai's new sports facility.

And there's so much fitness going on, its spilling out onto the pavements outside the complex. Below is a badminton game in progress.

It's common to see impromptu pavement badminton games but when its right outside a purpose built million dollar sports complex it does seem to suggest the facility is only one of many possible venues rather than the definitive. And a reminder that the purpose built isn't always the answer to everything, sometimes the relaxed, expedient or informal is just fine.

adventure

2006-09-27T02:58:00.000-07:00

A recently published Chinese guide book to Tibet:

I love the treasure map styling. Don't get me wrong, stumbling off a flight you need your neat and up-to-date list of local hotels from a guide book too but I really like how this design approach makes you feel you are on an adventure.

Also an illustration of (if you excuse the expression) the wanderlust of Chinese youth and increasing curiousity about their own country.

hard-wired superstition

2006-09-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

Street shrine in Hong Kong

Interesting article in the Timesonline about superstitious belief arguing that superstitious belief is a by-product of the intuitive thinking that gave us an evolutionary edge. I'm sure there's also something connected to this concerning brands and how we relate to them but I've got the 'flu today and I'm too feeble to do more than wave limply towards it.

labour margarine

2006-09-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

Labour margarine from Singapore. An old style brand identity that would help illiterate customers identify and ask for it easily (I know that would help me as I'm illiterate). Just a great identity, fits perfectly with the world of industrial catering, so much better than some namby-pamby sunflowers.

how d'ya like them apples?

2006-09-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite things about Beijing airport are the smiling apples that sit on the security check desks in the domestic terminal:

I asked an officer why they were there and she replied "For the smile". Of course. I don't know why this need 'for a smile' came about but I'm guessing that the brief was to make an official area seem less formal and more welcoming. If I'd had that brief I'm not sure my answer would have involved drawing smiling faces on apples, but that's my lack of imagination for you.

reincarnation for objects

2006-09-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

A chair is recycled as outdoor seating, its back dismantled and wedged into a gap in the wall. It's common to see this sort of adaption or re-assembly here in China.

This chair now has provided seating in two different formats, albeit unintentionally. That could be quite a selling point but how much do manufacturers really think about reassembly or adaptability for their products when developing them? Why isn't that something we think about more? Would we be less inclined to discard things so quickly if we have more opportunity to modify and create something new for ourselves after we tire of the original form?

sort of safe

2006-09-13T01:46:00.000-07:00

This moped rider in Beijing demonstrates that safety is often more notional than concrete. He's wearing a construction hard-hat for protection but I'm not sure it would even stay on his head in an accident, let alone anything else (another favourite is to wear a horse-riding hat). As most Chinese moped riders don't wear any protective clothing it's definitely engaging with the idea of safety, and perhaps makes him feel protected, but not much else beyond that. Paradoxically he is also carrying a load rather haphazardly balanced in front of him, which I'm guessing isn't safe for him or fellow road users. A reminder that safety is a deceptive concept as it seems a nice, universal, absolute quality but it's actually an extremely subjective area.

And yes, he did manage to pull away before that bus flattened him.

book of wisdom

2006-09-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

A Thought for the Day from Bu Hua's Book of Wisdom, a series of lessons from the ancient Chinese fable 'Journey to the West'.

Good advice for planners?

Bu Hua is also a Flash animation trail blazer and you can see more of her work here.

maximising space

2006-09-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Small apartments obviously restrict possessions and human occupants alike but residents find ways to maximise space. Grills on windows are designed to provide security but also offer extra storage and space for more recreational purposes:

airing the pet rabbit and cat (not a combination I would try but it seems to work ok here)

and creating a garden.

relaxing in strange places

2006-09-07T02:14:00.000-07:00

Saw this gentleman lying on his bike and reading in Shanghai this last weekend. As it's a gallery/art space area I was a little undecided whether this was studied loucheness or just genuine way to relax, after all, sleeping on your bike is not unusual:

This sort of alternative use for a bike is often through force of circumstance; long hours, chance to rest away from crowded home, passing time while waiting for instructions etc (though here it's more a case of how do you nap and look after your delivery?). But it means that objects have to take on multiple functions for some people. Here a bike becomes a microcosm offering a way to earn, transport, relaxation and right now, safe storage. Russell Davies was talking about how his car was almost real estate as it offered his family extra storage and how utility vehicles such as the Scion are popular as they offer extra living capacity, well, its would seem its already being pioneered here China. Perhaps we are too quick to see 'financially constrained' lifestyles and behaviour as a diametrically opposed to the affluent one? We may have more in common with all sorts of people who are trying to reconcile small crowded homes, long working hours, fewer personal spaces etc than we may have thought. If so, then we have something to learn from people who are used to coping with less by making what they have, do more.

tough jobs

2006-09-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Beijing, today, 8.55am

As tough jobs go, I think sweeping up dust in the middle of a main road during rush-hour would be up there. But there's also something metaphorical about this solitary, determined, against-the-odds attempt at restoring the environment, especially when considering the impact development is having on the city and on China as a whole.

40 winks 2

2006-09-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Previously I've mentioned opportunistic napping as seen on Chinese streets. The workplace is also a popular place to catch some sleep, another illustration of the blur between public spaces and private uses. This gentleman is napping in a florist shop (just in case you thought it was an Elton John style front room). I've regularly found myself tip toe-ing round small shops here in China not wanting to wake napping assistants with undue clattering of hangers or stock but I've also noticed offices are also good napping spots. This work and home blur is often down to the fourteen hour days and 6-7 day weeks worked in China, especially in retail. When so much time spent at work there's bound to be some sort of leisure/work time blurring, if only to fill dead time between customers. This leisure time 'creep' can extend to DVD/TV watching, making dinner on a portable stove, hair washing/styling (a restaurant staff fave), washing clothes and, as seen in my local bakery, skipping with a skipping rope in between the bread and cakes aisles. It's interesting that in the west this sort of workplace informality is the preserve of the hip and 'laid-back' creative industry while China has been pioneering it all these years as a standard workplace approach. If you are in a skate-board-down-the-corridors-table-football-and-coffee-lounge type office I recommend you push it further to include hair-cutting, washing clothes, cooking and napping at your desk to see just how laid-back things really are. Of course, long hours aren't the only reason for this, another key reason is that workplaces often offer things that are lacking at home; hot water, space, internet or DVD access and free (to the user) electricity.

pjamas repositioned

2006-09-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

A lady in Shanghai off down the shops in her pyjamas (lunchtime).

Pyjamas are popular streetwear this time of year as a loose fitting and cool daytime option. Harks back to traditional costume in many ways but basically just offers a cheap track/leisure suit style comfort. It's one of my favourite things about summer here, you can see people walking dogs, shopping, riding bikes all in their pyjamas. It's all slightly surreal. Once it starts to get cooler the warmer, fleecy PJs will come out but at the moment both men and women are favouring the light cotton, white and blue classic style pyjamas.

It's a great bit of brand stretch, and also an illustration of how the same thing can be consistantly found across markets while also taking on entirely new forms of meaning and use.

washed away 2

2006-09-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

Previously I'd posted this picture of a row of houses which had been scheduled for demolition. The developers were good for their word. How the same street looked last weekend:

I've recently heard several people talking about coming back home to see their childhood home before its knocked down. It seems to be an increasingly common rite of passage for 30 somethings and older. What if your childhood neighborhood was flatten for up-market apartments and offices? Would you have a rush of exhilaration? Anger? Or a sense of loss? Or maybe release? Perhaps a conflicting mixture of all? Most of the people discussing this just seem resigned, possible space for sentimentality obliterated along with the old homes in Progressive Redeveloping China.

Shanghai's Biennale and the alternative 'Satellite' exhibition starts next week, the theme to the show is urbanisation so more on this soon but here is a previous post about art and urbanisation in the meantime.

punk restaurant

2006-09-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't usually associate a punk spirit attitude and a hotpot restaurant but someone in Shnaghai has. The 'Slow food studio' is a hot bed of attitude:

and sex:

not even the Lonely Planet escapes

strangely Chinese thing to do really, as The Young People here are more likely to be found in cafes and restaurants than bars and pubs a yoof restaurant seems completely appropriate. Also interesting to see a brand here with its own 'tone of voice' with clear values that differentiate rather than replicate.

BTW, the food though isn't meant to be up to much but what do you want? Revolution comes first.

manga fun in Shanghai

2006-09-01T01:44:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, in Shanghai's People's Park, after I past the parents advertising their children I bumped into some Chinese cosplayers:

A Japanese import, cosplay is now cropping up all over the world. The kids here are going for the ol' manga look here while the cosplayers below are straying into Goth Lolita territory, a look that filtered down from Japan a while ago;

Although its an extremely niche activity (especially in 35+ degree heat) it is an illustration that China is part of the ebb and flow of world trends and influences. Chinese cosplayers also post films of themselves on toudou.com (the Chinese youtube) so wait for it, that means that screen media is taken offline as cosplay then ends up back online as user created content to be shared with other cosplayers and manga fans. Very web 2.0, sweetie.

blue sky thinking

2006-08-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of mornings ago I opened my curtains to see Beijing in all its glory, including surrounding hills:

It's an unusual sight as mostly I see something like this:

Now this second photo was taken on a warm summer day and the lack of visibility is down to pollution rather than bad weather. Increased car traffic, coal burning, construction and mongolian sand storms all add up to create this. Beijingers in a recent survey put pollution as one of 3 top gripes about the city but it's actually been improving, at least officially. Back in 1998 there were only 100 'blue sky days', last year there were 234 blue sky days. The target for 2006 is 238 though we are lagging behind having only managed 107 so far. And where do brands come into this? Well, how does this sort of environment effect people's sense of well-being and how can brands answer this through product, communications, corporate citizenship and their own manufacturing processes? Considering the government's 11th 5 year plan's focus on the environment, brands also have more opportunities now to work alongside or complement government initiatives. And in a John-Grant-cultural-branding sort of way is there ground for brands to bridge the tension between this environmental cost versus the economic progress which is creating it? Research suggests that around 50% of Chinese consumers would be prepared to pay for more environmentally friendly products, and two-thirds of smog-bound Beijingers.

future technology

2006-08-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

Chinese notepad manfacturer Gambol promises their notebooks are "made with future technology, for tomorrow's outstanding achievers". I love a brand that isn't afraid of reaching for the stars. Also a great example of the aspirational pull of technology in Asia, reaching even into the realms of spiral-bound notepads.

romance, chinese parent style

2006-08-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

While I'm happy to admit my dating life has had its ups and downs at least I can say that my parents never had to go down a park and hunt for dates for me. Or at least not with my knowledge. Others cannot say the same, as Sunday in Shanghai means parents meet in the city's main park go looking for potential marriage partners for their children. The parents come armed with hand-written ads (as seen above) which rather tellingly, focus on the key facts about their child: age, height/weight, education, profession and salary. No GSOH, or other personal ad frippery here. Other parents cruise them, discussing details and flashing often rather stern graduation photos of their offspring. This photo was taken at the end of the afternoon so its looking rather quiet but its usually packed, creating a definate 'market day' feel. These parents are taking matter into their own hands as long working hours keep their children from meeting potential partners. The solution seems to lie somewhere between free market economy trading, hot-or-not.com and traditional matchmaking.

start-up anarchy

2006-08-27T23:42:00.000-07:00

In China's boom economy you get a whole new type of entrepreneurship developing. This is a spam text message advertising, as you may be able to guess, an MBA/DBA program. Text spamming is rife in China and offers range from the usual phone company, restaurant, shop etc promotional offers, to more unusuals ones such as services of assassins. Yes, SMS spam for 'private detectives' offering a range of services ranging from intimidation to assassinations have been widely reported (my colleague even received one such SMS the other week).

This is a good example of the anarchy of market development here. Chinese consumers have all sorts of experiences now on offer; in Guangzhou there’s a bathroom themed restaurant with diners seated on toilet seats, serving food resembling excrement. Others include a company farming butterflies to be released at wedding ceremonies, a restaurant specialising in rat-meat cuisine, speed dating get-togethers for asexuals looking for a celibate marriage and a bar where you can insult and attack the staff to relieve stress. This may all be at odds with the idea of developing markets as conservative in tastes, or restricted in options. While that's often true if you look for a standard repertoire of facilities, services and behaviour, what you can find in its place is more fragmented and anarchic development. This is being fueled by a generation of entrepreneurs unfettered by traditional business planning ideas about sustainibility, acceptability and sometimes, morality. The sheer population size of China helps this enormously too - when your local market is around 5-20 million people there'll be a good chance you can find a critical mass to help even niche ideas take off.

the joy of detail

2006-08-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about Japan is the attention to detail you see there. This is one example, a series of miniature convenience shop items sold in a collectable series.

This is the contents of the one I bought:

The biggest of these items is only about half the size of a stick of gum. It's brilliant, all individual pieces and painstakingly detailed. Look at the detail on those faux Pringles! Each collection of goods is themed, this one is 'Let's have a party' though I'm not sure anyone would be flocking to a gathering with cans of 'Cocktail Party' on offer. Other themes include 'Necessities you forget to buy' (umbrellas, light bulb, thank you cards) and 'coming home at midnight' (corn dog, tea drink, instant noodles, i.e. drunk munchies). It's a cultural educational tool in its own right, a miniature look inside Japanese convenience store life. These are aimed at young doll house owning demographic but are popular with adults as well. I have to say, though there is no good reason for me to buy a box of tiny junk food, I find it really pleasing.

It's also a reminder for me that while the temptation is to upscale (package sizes, campaigns, media, ideas, statements etc) little things can make a big impression when they are unexpected, or demand scrutiny, drawing you in with detail.

intermediate product 2

2006-08-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before how intermediate products plug gaps between basic products and more advanced, expensive options by offering an affordable compromise. Here is another example from China: the electric bicycle.

The electric bike sits half way between a push-bike and a motorcycle, it's battery powered but you can also still peddle. Some even are styled to look more like motorcycles, with cosmetic casings that mimic motorbikes with 'go faster' colours.

This is also a cycle for two - kitted out with a cushion at the back so a passenger can ride side-saddle in comfort (or at least more comfortable than sitting on the plain metal supports which is the case for most). When did someone last give you a lift to the office on the back of their bicycle? Or offer to drop you off at a meeting as they are cycling in that direction? It's still a standard form of commuting for many in China. This also illustrates how personal use items in the west are often shared in China; bicycles are used to give lifts, mobile phones can be jointly owned between friends, family members or colleagues and scooters are regularly overloaded to act as the equivalent of a family car or company van.

more public/private blur

2006-08-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

I've noted before that the often seen opportunistic napping in China illustrates the blur between private and public space here. Wash day also illustrates how public spaces host domestic life. Drying washing is a common sight, often found on improvised pavement washing lines:

but really any supporting structure will do, such as trees,

or even a pedestrian crossing push-button:

Another illustration of what you can't do in the house, you do where you can. But also illustrates a certain trust, it would be quite easy to help yourself to a free pair of socks/jeans/curtains etc but people feel safe enough that no one will.

reappropriated services

2006-08-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

In China you often find that services and products are reinterpreted by users to suit new or unanswered needs. For example, pawnshops are a hit with students as safe storage service for valuable items during university holidays. They are also pawning items like digital cameras for cash to tide them over until they can find holiday work, redeeming the products later. Others like to shop at pawnshops as they offer bargain-priced good quality second hand products, especially for electronic goods (pawnshops being more stringent in their quality checks than the usual second hand stores).

Cartoon above from the China Daily.
(Note, even the women interviewed by the paper were shopping for tech goods in the cartoon its the girl who's thinking of baubles and trinkets - some good ol' fashioned sexism there).

notebook technology

2006-08-20T03:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing is too small for an aspirational spin; here is a paper notebook that references a PDA in its packaging:

well, they both have pen-input, right? and at least the paper version won't crash.

meat on coat hangers

2006-08-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

Common to see meat, and occasionally fish, hanging up outside older-style housing. Indicative of a modern lack of refrigeration but also an echo of older ways to keep food preserved - 'wind-drying'. Having said that, 'wind-drying' may not be the right term when suspended over busy, polluted city roads. Maybe 'smoked' would be more appropriate.

airport distractions

2006-08-17T01:18:00.000-07:00

Beijing Airport bookshop offering Communist Party history and a George Bush biography - though note the display's eye-line hierarchy, Dubya's at the bottom right. Putin fans will also find lots of reading options.

But look who was browsing the political and military history section:

Teenagers! Not your typical western Yuff behaviour. There's English teenagers who don't know the dates of the World Wars, here in China we have teenagers with a good grasp of Maoist and Tang dynasty military tactics and thorough knowledge of The Long March. Of course there's a lot of force-fed history through schools and university but there's also PC games and innumerable historical TV shows that also help keep interest and cultural relevancy high. But its also motivated by national pride, young people here have a strong and uncomplicated sense of national pride that may be surprising to many Westerners.

whimsy with a whiff of insight

2006-08-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

Some of my favourite headlines from today's China Daily:

Man jailed for porcelain pilfering

Man bikes around city with coats on, says no to chill out

Soybean grows out of boy's ear

Frankly, I'm doing this just because I found them amusing but in an attempt to draw out some insight:

1) porcelain is worth pilfering

2) although the Chinese tend to painted as one homogeneous conformist mass there are eccentrics, just like other nations

3) the difference in the Chinese diet leads to children sticking locally specific foodstuffs in their ears

opening hours

2006-08-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hong Kong

One thing common to China and other Asian countries is late opening. In Europe you rarely find shops open past 6 or 7pm. In Asia its business as usual til 9 or 10pm.

Thought for the day: how does this affect the shopper's mindset?
How does shopping after dinner on a Tuesday night differ from a Saturday morning tour of the shops?

heavenly brands

2006-08-15T01:45:00.000-07:00

This is a shrine to the Jade Emperor in Stanley, Hong Kong. On the offering table there were the usual incense and food offerings - including Fox's Glacier Fruits.

(Glacier Fruits are a perfect choice as they offer the traditional altar gifts of fruit and sweets but combined in one handy, long lasting format).

In Asia, brands' influence doesn't just stop in this world. In Singapore during the Hungry Ghost festival people leave food out for the wandering ghosts to 'eat'. It's usually traditional things like rice flour cakes but one shop I regularly passed would leave out a McDonalds Fillet o' Fish. Coca-Cola and various beer brands would also make an appearance. In Japan it's traditional to leave out the deceased's favourite indulgences on the grave so its not unusual to see OneCup sake and various brands of cigarettes sitting out in cemeteries. In Chinese funerals its also common to burn 'grave goods' - replicas of goods the deceased may want in the afterlife and I've seen grave replicas of BMWs and Nokia phones. Gives a new meaning to 'lifecycle' marketing [rimshot SFX]. But I do find those blurs between the sacred and the mundane interesting as it gives a homely feel to proceedings, a sense of proximity and familiarity both to the rituals and those being remembered. Also another example, if needed, of how brands have permeated modern Asian life and after-life.

i can read my own blog now

2006-08-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Although able to post I haven't actually been able to read my own blog as Blogger has been a barred site in China. A couple of days ago Blogger was unblocked so today, for the first time, I can see my blog without having to use a foreign proxy server. I presume this is a reflection of Google's renewed relations with Beijing but these things can change, last time blogger was available it only lasted two months. Typepad has been available for a while but wordpress and many other western blog sites seem still to be blocked. China has many home-grown blog sites that are flourishing so the thing to remember here is that blogger's (re)appearance is more significant to ex-pats than the Chinese blogsphere majority who are busy uploading pictures of their weekend and bitching about celebrities, understandably oblivious to the see-sawing fates of western blog sites. Of course, blogs and censorship is a big topic and I'll be chipping away at it later here, promise, but now I need to go and prepare for the deluge as China en masse rushes to view this.

point of view

2006-08-14T02:17:00.000-07:00

Flying back from the UK yesterday I passed through Heathrow Airport in full security lock-down. As I was boarding I passed a series ads from the HSBC's 'point of view' campaign, and one in particular struck me:

"Wouldn't the world be a dull place if everyone shared the same opinion?"

Considering recent events, both in the UK and the Middle East, that point seemed more debatable than usual (not to mention rather ironic).
It also occurred to me what a western presumption that was. In consensus or 'middle way' driven Asian cultures the societal ideal is that everyone shares the same view.

fake made good

2006-08-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

This is 'salty water', a Chinese carbonated soft drink made with salt, sugar, lemon and carbonated water. Orginally it began as a sort of fake Coca-Cola, or at least a cheap local version of the expensive western fizzy drinks exported to Shanghai in the 30s and 40s for the foreign community there. It is now a product in its own right with several brands producing it. Interesting how a fake gained its own ground - how many of today's alternatives and fakes will make it in their own right?

green tea rules

2006-08-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

A nice cup of green tea, green tea biscuit and green tea chocolate chip cookies from Japan.
Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry may be the heavy hitting sweet flavours of the West but green tea (along with red bean) rules in the East. Green tea is also a popular ice-cream flavour, especially with Chinese women, not only because of its 'cooling', light taste but because green tea is commonly believed to aid slimming. Now, I'm no nutritional expert but I would question if this is still the case once its mixed with loads of milk, fat and sugar.

chinglish technology

2006-08-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is an ad for an electronic English/Chinese dictionary. They are very popular here but I have a personal suspicion of the things as I think they are the main cause of Chinglish (as previously discussed here Chinglish is the mutant language created when English is mashed up with Chinese syntax or inaccurately translated).

These electronic dictionaries and the common Chinese/English translation pc software mean anyone can translate easily with full technological confidence. Of course, translation is never that straightforward and the results are often rather bizarre as the software can be overly literal or offer some very idiosyncratic word choices; I've looked at research reports fed through this language technology and had to wonder whether a health brand's ability to 'prolong mortality' is a good or bad thing and question whether so many consumers are really buying a product for their 'concubines'. I often point out discrepancies to the translators and frequently am overruled, my protests that 'weald' does not mean guerilla marketing or the English call wasabi 'wasabi', not 'mustard' are ignored because the software says that is what it should be. What can i do? Technology's shiny newness just exudes authority. I, on the other hand, am just a foreigner with an obviously poor grip on her native language.

i spot a national metanarrative

2006-08-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Recently I was in Xian, home to the tomb of Emperor Qin (also known as Shi Huangdi), the first Emperor who unified China. While the tomb is most famous for its terracotta soldiers the Emperor was also buried with a whole range of other figures and belongings, including figurines of the ethnic minorities who live in the outlying regions of China. These were included in the tomb to illustrate the extent of his domain and the variety of peoples he had unified (and would rule again in the afterlife). Two thousand years later minority figures are still appearing as part of the iconography of the wide reaching united Chinese nation, employed in diverse materials such as revolutionary communist artwork and a even recent Wrigley's brand ad:

In this ad they are used to illustrate that all sorts of people, all across China love a bit of western chewing gum. (Does this make China's ethnic minorities the oldest advertising property ever?) This is also a small illustration of the immense continuity in Chinese culture. Confucianism, Taoism and traditional medicine are all part of this same continuity and it creates a sense of innate heritage and wisdom that the Chinese understandably see as a unique national strength.

mummy can i have a cricket?

2006-08-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

This man is selling crickets in bamboo wicker cages on a Shanghai street. Crickets have been a popular summertime pet since ancient times. They are kept in homes and shops for their therapeutic chirping, a sort of seasonal cheap variation on the caged song bird. The crickets will be hung up in their wicker homes or be decanted into tiny bird-cage style casings. I think this goes into the 'ways in which China is different' pile. Also an example of the sort of traditional home industry that many people still rely on, even in developed Shanghai.

weigh your books

2006-08-04T03:40:00.000-07:00

Sign in Xian, advertising books sold by weight, offering the equivalent to a kilo for about a dollar. Something Borders may like to think about.

have a good look

2006-08-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite things about China is being able to have a good gawp. It’s quite ok to stop and watch something of interest in the street, as demonstrated here. In this example the car in the foreground has bumped into a taxi and the traffic cop has just arrived to sort things out. As you see, the crowd is intently watching the action. This was in the middle of the rush-hour and people made a point of stopping and coming over so they could get a good view of the proceedings. There was very little drama and a few minutes later the issue had been settled and everybody dispersed on their various ways. Sometimes the watchers become arbiters, weighing in on one side or the other, but often there’s no audience participation, it's just about satisfying curiousity.

I think this is a good indication of how social boundaries, privacy and communal space are often different. We all like a gawp really but whether its socially permissible in our culture is another matter. I think you could probably divide most cultures up into staring and non-staring cultures; India and China are on the have-a-good-look side for example, UK and Japan on the want-to-look-but-can't side...

grey area

2006-08-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Walking through Beijing airport the other day I noticed there were two Shanghai Tang shops within only a few metres of each other:

Except one of them wasn't Shanghai Tang at all. The first picture is actually their old store which has been taken over by a new tenant that happens to be selling very similar Shanghai Tangesque products. This is a good example of the degrees of fake-ness you get in China. Officially they aren't doing anything wrong as the original branding is covered up, and they aren't calling themselves something like 'Shanghai Fang' but its certainly implying similarity every other way; their product and clothing display style are highly suggestive of Shanghai Tang, especially when framed by the original Shanghai Tang shop fittings. It's operating in a branding grey area.

To make matters worse the real store has updated its look so, for a moment there, I thought it was the copy as the 'grey' store had registered as the real Shanghai Tang because it looked more familiar. This might not be a life-or-death issue for Shanghai Tang here in Beijing airport but imagine you are a leading brand who is trying to update its image in the Chinese mass market. Aggressive local competitors unconstrained by IP protection are ready to steal your old and more familiar image to sell their own product and while your brand is in the limbo of establishing a new look they may even manage to position you as the fake.

the 5 friendlies rock

2006-07-31T01:26:00.000-07:00

I know its old but the 5 Friendlies - the Olympic mascots for the 2008 Olympics - have a lot to tell us about why China suceeds. They are commercial genius, what sells better than an olympic mascot? 5 Olympic mascots! They offer more choice (come on you have to like at least one!) and 5 times the cost to collect the whole set! Plus they illustrate true conceptual flexibility - snaps to the design agency for grouping a fish, bird, panda, antelope and um, fire together. And then naming them so when combined they spell 'Beijing Huanying Ni' (Beijing welcomes you). If it was tied up any neater I think I don't think you could actually take it all in. If you a look at the official site you can also note how they draw on ancient Chinese art forms as well. I can just imagine the brief-by-committee;

Mascot for Olympics must feature:
- chinese wildlife
- traditional Chinese culture
- seem welcoming
- active
- friendly
- Must also be modern
- look good in soft toy form
- and include the Olympic symbols; the 5 rings and the Olympic flame.

And someone managed it. It makes my head spin. True Olympic Stuff.

The 5 friendlies are also used to represent the various sports, so we're treated to:

fire on a bike!

and something else you rarely see, a panda with a gun. A friendly panda with a gun at that.

more burn-out and the same cartoon

2006-07-31T00:37:00.000-07:00

An internet survey from a local Chinese HR company (ChinaHRD) revealed recently that out of the 4,000 people surveyed 70% were suffering 'slight' symptoms of executive stress 'burnout', and 13% suffered from serious burnout.
China Daily published similar figures recently claiming about a fifth of executives were suffering severely from stress. Health officials have also explained that the long term effects of stress means that the life expectancy of the Chinese executive is now around 53 years, a considerable drop from ten years ago. It may not all be down to just job stress though, other health commentators blame poor eating habits, large unhealthy business banquets complete with heavy drinking and late night client-bonding karaoke sessions.

Eitherway, there's more white collar workers realising that success is coming with a questionably high price. Sound familiar?

some surprisingly consistant brands

2006-07-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in the hairdresser's. It's an entirely local team (who only speak Chinese) but, prompted by the appearance of a copy of the Chinese edition of Ok! magazine we got talking about celebrities. Turns out they thought the same of the western celebrities as I did;

Catherine Zeta Jones - huge drop in weight after having her children, old unattractive husband
David Beckham - inspired footballer with disturbingly thin wife
Jordan - oversized fake bosom and blind child

These celebrities appear to have a level of global brand consistency most international brands would kill for, no doubt thanks to their easily understood product offerings.

I also wanted to mention this as it just proves that some things are the same the world over; subject matter of hairdresser conversations, celebrity gossip, attention around interesting plastic surgery choices, etc. I also want to make the point that while I like to talk about what makes China different there’s also plenty to cover about how life is similar too. There's a tendency to deliberately present China as the 'Mysterious East’ and it’s neither helpful nor accurate. I'm hoping to use this blog to chart areas where China is unique but also where people share similar issues and concerns.

So more updates on Jordan to come.

Ah, and if this has set your curiousity on fire about Asian celebrities and gossip mags, here's something that might interest.

original packaging 2

2006-07-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

I have always loved Tiger Balm's packaging but over the weekend in Hong Kong I have to say that Po Sum may have taken its place in my affections:

Traditional Chinese ointment packaging usually includes a portrait of founder, Po Sum is no exception:

Even though the founder was Nosferatu...

Actually that's a cheap shot as I do like his photo as he looks so jolly - the founder photos are usually a little somber, and closer to a funeral headstone or stele photo rather than one that makes you feel like you are in good medicinal hands.

And look at the accompanying product information sheet, a work of art.

and finally the actual bottle.

But there are quite a number of 'heritage' ointment brands and just look at the on-shelf effect...

Makes you look forward to pulling a muscle.

This 'White flower ointment' is looking quite plain in comparision but the whole box is only the size of a postage stamp. And its embossed, which is a really nice touch.

I love how much effort has gone into these designs (not forgetting a whole heap of compulsory auspicious symbols; chubby babies, dragons, tigers, imperial colours et al). They are packaging time-warps. But they still manage to convey credibility in spite of breaking every pharmaceutical/medicinal rule of today's category packaging. What could you call this? The 'Ancient Wisdom' design route? Either way I think there is some sort of intristic connection between the intricacy of the design and the packaging and the intricacy of the product itself here that can still be appreciated today.

density

2006-07-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

One thing I always associate with Asian cities is density. Density of people, sights, buildings, activity, shops, advertising - all sorts of density. And each city has its own particular type of density. For me, this is Hong Kong's:

even extra dense characters;

Thought of the day: How does this particular sort of density affect people and brands?

malls are wonderful

2006-07-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Malls are now a familiar part of the western cityscape but in developing Asia they are still a new feature. This newness creates shopping tourism, people coming to malls just to look around, not necessarily to buy. After traveling through lower tier China for a couple of weeks and then stopping at a mall in Shanghai I realised that it was more than just about novelty, malls offer a whole of heap of attractions;

They are pristine. After you're used to buying from shops where everything comes with a fine layer of dust and dirt malls are sparkling temples of cleanliness. The mechandise is perfect too, no stains or tears or faults, a big change from most lower tier/lower end shops where you have to do your own quality checking before you buy.

They are ordered; the products are displayed neatly and clearly, unlike the crowded and bundled stores you usually see. They also all have clear and fixed prices which, though out of reach for many, have an authoritative and definite quality to them versus the shifting and shifty pricing of the average street shop.

They are an education. There’s row after row of interior design ideas, latest fashions, new brands, electronic goods to look at, new food, pop music, young trendy assistants, it’s one big product demo for advanced living.

They are comfortable they are well-lit (unlike many homes, shops and streets which are poorly lit), they are air conditioned too – which is bliss when its 35 degrees outside and there’s no air con at home. Then you also have as a bonus that soporific swimming pool sort of noise distortion, a relief from the chaos outside.

It's easy to overlook malls when the sort of things they offer are commonplace and even seem banal but after a little deprivation you begin to appreciate their qualities and their attraction, enough to make it a destination that doesn't even have to involve actual shopping.

update: "AC Nielsen conducted an on-line survey involving about 22,000 Internet users from 42 markets around the globe, 74% of whom admitted that shopping was a hobby to them, and they would like to go shopping even when they had nothing to buy. That is to say that many people today choose window-shopping to kill time. 99% of the responders from Singapore even said that was what they went shopping for. 75% of shoppers on Chinese Mainland and 20% of the Indians picked buying clothes as their favorite pastime.
The survey, which also covered the question how often the responders went shopping, found that 7 Asian markets were on the top-10 list. The top-3 were Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, where people went shopping twice a week on average.
However, people from the Western countries are not so fond of shopping as Asians. Only 68% of Americans said they would like to go window-shopping, while most Europeans hated window-shopping". (source: China Daily, July 28th)

Answers I owe James, Lex and Cheek

2006-07-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

sorry James, you've got me ruminating and my fabulous answer is coming soon, promise.

Lex, please get in touch - I replied in the 'comments' to you but have just realised it didn't appear. To your question about being an illiterate planner at work - well it depends on how international your agency and prospective clients are, the more local they are, the more Chinese language based they, their data, meetings and presentations are. That's very hard and you have to just really step back and become a facilitator rather than a producer. If your clients are international then the operating language tends to be English and most resources and meetings will be English. Of course, what's harder then is keeping up with pop culture and following trends and opinion. I hope I'm proving that you can still be current without understanding written Chinese but its definitely harder work, no more quick media ethnographies to give you a feel for the audience at least!

And Cheek2001, loyalty programs can work in China but I can't think of any smashing case studies right now, I'll chew on it. I don't think the Chinese consumers' reaction to loyalty programs is hugely different than it is in west but the one big thing you do have to think about is logistics which can be nightmarish here. If its a small scale and local affair that makes things easier but as general rule keep mechanics as simple and analogue as possible, the rewards useful and make sure they are quickly won. People are also understandably wary of scams and underhanded manufacturers so be careful not to be intrusive and do stress your credibility. Of course scale, category and audience will all have a big influence so please do email if you want to disclose a little more I'll try to be more specific. Also, my agency has a sister agency who are BTL marketing wizards here, if you need a local partner or would be interested in talking to them just let me know.

uneven parenting

2006-07-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

Interesting interview in the China Daily the with the principle of a boarding school (as pictured above). She sums up the Chinese parenting style neatly;

"Chinese parents always compare their own children's shortcomings with others' achievements, so they are never satisfied with them. They spoil their children in as much as they try to provide them with a comfortable life but when it comes to study they want to be strict. What really needs to change is the parent's attitudes toward education."

Chinese parents are often conflicted about their behaviour as they know they are inconsistent and unfair to the child but can't help still pressurising and hectoring them to compete with their peers. They then over compensate for this pressure with presents, food and indulgence. It's a topic of debate but peer pressure is strong and with so many families having only one child to succeed for the family it doesn't look like its going to improve for many children soon

40 winks

2006-07-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

Begging? Homeless? Distressed? No, they are just having a quick nap.
opportunistic napping is a common thing to see in China and while we may all like a nap how often do you choose to nap at the side of a road? This is a great illustration of the blur between private and public spaces in China. In part this is due to how crowded and communal Chinese homes often are. When space or peace isn't offered at home life tends to spill out into public spaces. Want some time with your boyfriend or girlfriend? Find a park. Want a nap? Help yourself to a pavement before work starts. Want to practice your trumpet playing or Chinese opera singing? Go down to the street. Private, demarcated space is a luxury that comes with a certain standard of living, if below that you do what you gotta do wherever you can find the space to do it.

flexible rules

2006-07-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry no picture for this one but here's an interesting regulation, as seen in a Hong Kong taxi:

"As a general rule there maybe an extra charge for baggage."

So will I be charged or not for my baggage?

Vagueness is an official skill in China. Chinese Government rulings, regulations and guidelines are all couched in this sort of language. It provides built-in flexibility because you never know when you are going to have to make an exception or change your mind about something. Ambiguity allows for case-by-case assessment, the attitude being that there are too many possible variations to cover in one defined rule so it's better to stay flexible and decide what's best to do when you need to.

Of course, the taxi rule is just some fine print no one pays attention to but it is rather different when this is the case for company law and civil legislation. How do you think it would change your behaviour if you're not sure what you can and can't do or you know your well-being rests on the interpretation of that day's adjudicator?

a useful cartoon

2006-07-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

Two themes in China today; ambitious career minded youth and increasingly burnt out white collar workers. As illustrated here by a cartoon from the China Daily .