China

It is nice to be back in Japan this week although I am here just for 3 days and off to Seoul. Went to this restaurant in Subuya, impressive design where the kitchen is raised and opened like a theater and the manager is the conductor. Although he looks more like a headmaster standing on a podium. I wish the chefs can come out and sing a tune or two once 30 minutes.

‘The age of ‘Indovation’ dawns’ - this headline from Financial Times caught my attention while I was sitting on a plane flying out of New Jersey. It is an interesting article about Armin Bruck, managing director of Siemens in India, trying to convince the board of the Siemens of the potential of Indian innovation. He gave them the keys to a Tata Nano to convey the “smell and feel” of a revolutionary mass market product and to persuade his company that it should improve its pipeline of local inventions aimed at Indian consumers.

By now, we all know that we live in a world in which word-of-mouth rules.  The recommendation of a friend or family member outweighs anything a brand may have to say for itself.  

This is a subject that Kim Walker, the Asia Pacific 50-plus business expert, knows a lot about. Kim has contributed a chapter, about the ageing of the countries in Asia Pacific, in particular China, to the new version of my book that is being translated in Chinese for publication at the end of this year.

I've had the good fortune to view the world through a Japanese lens over the past 10 days — specifically, the worlds of green business and clean technology, about which I've come to Japan to speak.

Looks like China is getting it when it comes to design.

In a recent interview on the local Chinese CCTV, Chen Dongliang, Director of the Beijing Industrial Design Center, has highlighted the tremendous economic value of Industrial Design to China’s economy.

China's design industry experts are calling for greater government support in order to help the their manufacturers raise the competitiveness with design innovation. Zhu Tao, president of China Industrial Design Association, said the Chinese economy suffered heavily from the global economic crisis, with factory closures and layoffs. "Without our own design, we won't have our own brands. Without our own brands, we won't be independent in the world. Being an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) is no way out," he said. China does have a design policy. Not even the US has one.

What’s the future of design in China? Or will China ever have a real design future? Do they ever need one at all? As part of our China strategy I’ve visited half-a-dozen of design firms in China last week and got a pretty good snapshot of the state of the industry while sharing my points of view on how design will evolve in China.

All good marketers should understand global demographics. I am sure it is not something that is taught but it should be.

Here is a factlet that everybody should know - by 2030 China will have a higher proportion of its population who are 60+ than the US.

by: Eliane Alhadeff

Maintaining good guanxi is essential in China because successful business depends on it. The concept of guanxi can be loosely translated as connection or relationship. Guanxi is a concept deeply rooted in Chinese culture, and therefore, understanding it requires an appreciation of Chinese society’s origins.

Serious Games to practice cultural awareness skills