For 20 years, China was about speed and scale, but it seems now that era has ended for many agencies and companies. Sales are dropping; budgets are being cut. Project pitching is now weekly for many agencies as brands focus solely on performance marketing. How should China businesses adjust for times that may not go as quickly as before? This week we speak to Mark Wang, Senior Consultant at Grace Blue, focusing on executive talent in marketing and communications in China. Mark previously led...

Ali and Bryce were expats in Shanghai; what's it like for two Chinese senior global marketing executives living in New York? Today's podcast interviews Gary Chu and Mark Jiang from the Estee Lauder Companies, based in New York. ELC includes brands such as Estee Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer, and Tom Ford Beauty. Gary was VP for the Online business from 2014 to 2020 and was responsible for leading the company's dominance in China e-commerce across 12 flagship stores. Mark was previously VP...

We're talking rock and roll with Dr. Andrew Field, Associate Professor of Chinese History at Duke Kunshan University. Andrew is the recent author of "Rocking China", a book that traces the rise and spread of indie rock from the rock capital of Beijing to Shanghai and to other places in China. Through interviews with key players, Dr. Field explores the meanings of rock music in China society and many obstacles to developing indie rock in the country.

What does it take for brands in China to transform their businesses to be digital-ready? We asked Wiredcraft CEO and Co-founder Ronan Berder to provide his insights into what companies need to evolve their businesses. Ronan has been instrumental in driving digital innovation and transformation for such brands as Starbucks, Nike, and Hilton and provides us with stories and strategies behind China's digital revolution. 1. What is digital transformation? How can you work with these major...

Why was China a no-show at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity this year? Is it the quality of the work, or is it because China is no longer interested in participating on the global stage? We talk to 2 people who have just come back from Cannes Lions, and they give us their unique perspective. Our guests today are Robert Sawatzky, Asia Editor Director at Campaign Asia, a part of Haymarket Media. Robert's work has been showcased across various platforms, from CNN to Campaign UK,...

Stéphane Wilmet, a highly accomplished executive in the consumer beauty industry, joins our show today. With over 30 years of experience, Wilmet has held prominent positions in the United States and China. Notably, he served as the Chief Consumer Officer at L'Oréal China, overseeing consumer strategic branding, insights, foresight, and M&A activities, playing a crucial role in shaping the company's brand strategies and understanding the Chinese market. During the pandemic, Wilmet...

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Chris Reitermann, the Co-Chief Executive of Ogilvy Asia and CEO of Greater China, about the role of AI in the advertising business in China. With an impressive 28-year career at Ogilvy, Chris has been instrumental in the successful rise of advertising in China. Ogilvy China is one of the largest and most respected agencies in the country, and it was awarded Integrated Marketing Agency of the Year by Campaign Asia in 2022. So, what does Chris have...

Joanna Hitchins is the recent author of "Chinafy: How China is Leading In Innovation and How the Rest of the World Can Catch Up," now available on Amazon & Kinokuniya. In the book, Joanna explores 9 key catalysts that all businesses can effectively "Chinafy" their business. Joanna has over 25 years of experience leading B2B and B2C businesses globally, with over 20 years of experience in China. In addition to her many agency roles, Joanna spent over 9 years at Unilever, rising to a...

Can Tik Tok market to specific consumer occasions, encouraging trial and purchase? Meet JJ Wang, Senior Business Leader at WPP agency VMLY&R, based in Shanghai. She's the recent author of an interesting whitepaper about occasion marketing, co-authored with Douyin/Tik Tok. JJ has been in the industry for about 10 years and believes in building brand culture, even in digital times. For Myers Briggs fans, JJ is an ESFJ. 1. What's Occasion Marketing, and how is it different from Mass...

Recreational camping used to be a niche in China, but now it's become a bit of a rage. The China outdoor market reached $60 billion in 2018 and is expected to hit $100 billion by 2025. By all estimates, around 100 million Chinese go camping every year, which is a small number relevant to the population, but that's a higher number than the 40 million Americans who go camping! What's causing the sudden rise in interest for camping? To discuss this, we have industry veteran Matthew Jung,...

Welcome to Season 2! Today we are talking about creativity in the marketing and advertising industry, and we’re honored to have one of China’s most award-winning Creative Directors, Andrew Lok, on today’s show. He started his career in Singapore as a journalist for UPI, but decided it was more fun to create news than report it, so he joined the advertising industry. After stints raising the creative rankings of Ogilvy China, based in Guangzhou and Beijing, he moved to Shanghai, where he...

Meet Annie Su, she's a full-time marketing executive and part-time foodie. Originally from Taiwan, most of her career has been in advertising agencies before recently joining the client side. She spent the prime of her career with Ogilvy, first in Taipei, then Beijing, and finally, Shanghai. Annie is also the author of 2 books, 1. 日尝时光：下班陪你进厨房 2. 当冰箱：只剩下乌鱼子, books about food, stories, culture, and the human experience. You learn why Annie has had a successful career in the fine art of...

Encore Performance: (Recorded, Feb 8, 2022) - Our #1 most downloaded episode from Season 1! What's the future of influencer marketing in China? To insights expert Julien Lapka, successful brands focus on influencer groups rather than KOL powerhouses such as Austin Li. It comes down to uncovering unique insights not often found in databases. Julien is the founder of Inner Chapter, an agency that turns insights into commercial IP. Julien is also co-owner of Revolving Door, a speakeasy...

Season 1's Final Episode welcomes our #1 most downloaded guest, insights expert, and Founder of Inner Chapter, Julien Lapka. Julien gazes into his crystal ball and gives us some "healthy" predictions for 2023. And despite the recent opening of Zero Covid, Julien remains optimistic for 2023. 1. Why is 2022 his best year of business so far. 2. Moving from brand to product-based marketing 3. Reaching difficult target groups, especially the +55-year-olds, 2022's most sought-after...

We've spent much time talking about China's e-commerce boom, but what about traditional trade? 9 out of 10 purchase decisions in China are aided by a trip to the store. Today we're talking about traditional trade and big retail trends, and we're honored to have Jason Yu, Managing Director for Greater China at Kantar Worldpanel. You'll quickly learn why Jason is the undisputed expert on China retail.

Has China’s obsession with achieving sales targets sacrificed long-term brand growth, or does it matter anymore? Now with another Single's Day shopping event behind us, we look at the state of brand building in a market dominated by e-commerce sales campaigns. We're talking to Dhiren Amin, currently CMO at NTUC Income, based in Singapore. H was previously Asia CMO for Kraft-Heinz, based in Shanghai. Dhiren is one of the most active CMOs in the effectiveness awards space and is a big...

Can Chinese brands get a voice abroad? Today we are talking to Jim Fields. He's a social media influencer on YouTube and BiliBili with tens of thousands of followers - and he recently founded an influencer management platform for Chinese brands going outbound called relay.club, which has just finished a round of angel fundraising.

What's new with the sports fashion industry in China? Now at $45 billion US annually, it continues to expand and grow. Everyone is getting into the game, including luxury brands. Gucci, Prada, and LV are all getting into street fashion to attract younger targets. And with the strength of local brands, will market leaders Nike and Adidas weather the storm? We are talking to Gavin Lum, who's spent the last 14 years in China working for leading agencies and brands, all dedicated to the...

Is China still a great place to study? Despite the geopolitical differences, some institutions are keeping the spirit of positive collaboration between China and America alive, and one of them is NYU. We spoke to NYU Shanghai's Vice Chancellor, Jeffrey Lehman, about the globalization of education. Why, despite Covid restrictions, should students consider China a place to study?

Tom Hui Young talks about his real passion, the metaverse, and how it will change how we live, shop, work, and interact with products. Tom is a molecular biologist, but his true passion lives in the human experience in a virtual world. If you thought the metaverse was about geeky Mark Zuckerberg avatars and bulky Oculus glasses, this is the episode for you! Tom is an innovator, software architect, data scientist, futurist, runner, and entrepreneur. He holds a Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy...

OUR 25th EPISODE! Meet Bill Russo, Founder and CEO of Shanghai-based Automobility. Bill founded a strategy and investment advisory firm that helps its clients build and profit from the future of mobility. In this episode, Bill provides a bleak outlook for the foreign automobile manufacturers in China who have missed the opportunity to re-think mobility as something more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and fundamentally more profitable than the current model, which relies purely on...

What's the state of the workspace in Shanghai these days? What are the latest trends in work environments what's the role of technology? Will China go with the rest of the world and adapt the hybrid working model? Meet ex-Naked Hub/ex-WeWork China executive Dominic Penaloza to answer these questions. Dominic is a serial entrepreneur and has lived in Shanghai for 16 years. He was previously the founder of the professional social platform, You Shi, before moving into a role as Chief...

Meet Victoria Glanz, a 12-year expert in bringing foreign brands to China and successfully launching them in e-commerce. Until recently, she led international expansion for Baozun, China's leading e-commerce service provider, launching its offices in Paris. She is launching a new company called Sesame that helps brands sell better online, taking her experience from China. You'll quickly discover there isn't much about China e-commerce that Victoria doesn't know. 1. I never chose...

We sat down with former Asia-Pacific CEO of Ogilvy PR, Scott Kronick, who is indisputably the father of modern PR in China. Scott lived in China for 29 years and is easily one of the longest serving agency leaders, foreigner or Chinese, in the China ad business. What's it going to take for Chinese brands to go abroad? This is the question we asked Scott, who's been behind the effort to take many successful and large-scale brands outside of China. China used to be about cheap goods, but...

We are talking about making documentary films in China with 2-time Oscar-winning, 4 time nominated Academy Award documentary film director, Malcolm Clarke. We are also joined by Han Yi, a Golden Horse-winning producer of documentary films. Malcolm is originally from the UK while Yi is from Chengdu, but both are currently living in Shanghai. Malcolm and Yi reside at Artefact Entertainment, and have collaborated on a number of recent films, including "Better Angels"; the mini-series, "A Long...