Will you be my “zui aide” sweetheart…on Christmas: why Christmas is a romantic holiday in China and what it means for marketing and communications
Love is in the air…the lighted streets are decked with couples unabashedly linking arms and eyes…ah, romance… [Insert sound of record scratching] Wait a minute! Aren’t we getting ahead of our holidays here? Valentine’s Day isn’t for another two months. Au contrair, zui aide. This isn’t Valentine’s Day I’m talking about…it’s Christmas…in China. Here’s what […]
Interview with Chip Coakley, chairman and CEO of PGL Global: the challenges involved with marketing in China and doing business in China
Jocelyn: Good morning, this is the Wu Way Update for December the first, and we’re having a conversation with Chip Coakley, who is the chairman and CEO of PGL Global, which is a firm that helps mid-size companies with their outsourcing as well as offshoring. And we’re talking this morning about the challenges involved with […]
Why Avon sells whitening cleansers in China: culture matters
You’ll find live frogs and turtles at Wal-Mart. “refreshing tea” toothpaste from Crest, and a whole line of whitening products from Avon…in China. Frogs and turtles may not be on your menu; heck, tea might not be the first thing that comes to mind as “refreshing”. But it’s another story for the Chinese — and […]
Like brother, like coworker: why you should encourage the hiring of friends and relatives in China
Here in my home country the US, nepotism is unanimously scorned upon. A workplace romance has almost as much notoreity among coworkers — if not more — than the local celeb gossip. Employers caught hiring their relatives risk expulsion from their jobs — or worse. Instead, we bow to the American ideal of workers garnering […]
China + automotive industry marketing…think brand competition
When it comes to China’s automotive industry marketing, one thing is for certain — it’s a branding nightmare out there. The Shanghai Daily doesn’t mince words about it, titling a recent article Car War Sparks Battle of Brands: “China’s car market continues to be driven by novelty, with a majority of potential buyers attracted to […]
AC Nielsen President/CEO claims Chinese are “brand sluts”
In an interview with the People’s Daily, Steve M. Schmidt, the President and CEO of AC Nielsen, claims that Chinese tend to be a little more fickle when it comes to their brands — or as Marian Salzman of the Economic Times might say, they are brand sluts. Schmidt states: Chinese consumers are very brand […]
Pay attention to your tech-savvy audience in China — or perish
Microsoft is getting sued…so is a search engine…in China. That’s right — China. These are not a couple of blips on the corporate radar in the litigious-happy Western World, but a show of discontent from a country that more than 25 years ago couldn’t have given a bowl of rice about what consumers thought. In […]
Independent travel is on the rise
National Day may be over…but travel is still going strong this month. Temperate weather from Beijing down to Hong Kong spurs those with the desire and means to hit the roads. But, to paraphrase a Bob Dylan lyric, travel habits they are a’ changing. These articles from the Xinhua news agency (Chinese) and Financial World […]