We’re unpacking a critical issue affecting luxury and prestige brands operating in China’s discount-heavy e-commerce landscape. With platforms like Tmall and JD and emerging competitors like Douyin and Pinduoduo, brands are constantly pressured to use aggressive discounting strategies to boost sales and visibility. Jacques Roizen, managing director…

Chinese outbound travel is returning, which is great news for luxury brands. To many brands, overseas travel has always been a source of awareness, validation and purchase. How can brands take advantage of this opportunity? We speak to Subramania Bhatt, CEO of the China Trading Desk, a digital marketing and research firm targeting these travelers. …

What are China's technology opportunities for Chinese women? Are Chinese companies becoming more gender diverse, or are coveted STEM careers still largely avoided by Chinese women? We asked Dr. Susan Zhang about the state of Chinese women in tech. Dr. Zhang is a high-energy business executive and serial entrepreneur. Her journey has taken her to in…

Welcome to the world of Clienteling: it's a world where the brand manages the client relationship. It's an online/offline integration ecosystem that is alive in China, but the West has no equivalent. In the clienteling world, retail sales become online sales associates, and brands promote their products directly to the customer database, all possib…

What opportunities exist for Chinese brands post-Olympics? In this world of micro-targeting and community building, smaller brands can take advantage of sponsoring Chinese athletes who may not be as expensive as sports celebrities like Eileen Gu. Did the Paris Olympics help break China's overseas travel slump? Ali and Bryce take a China marketing t…

In 2023, over 1 million Chinese students went abroad to study, and this number is increasing as the job market sours back home. Today, we speak with Sydney-based Jimmy Lim, co-founder and Managing Director of AIG Education Group, about the Chinese overseas education phenomenon and why it shows no signs of slowing down. AI will come into play in the…

What's the new evolution of Chinese e-commerce, and why will it impact how Westerners shop? Ali and Bryce discuss China's new livestream e-commerce transformation. It has evolved from the days of the big livestreamers to hundreds of thousands of mini-livestreamers competing for attention with only several hundred viewers. This evolution is happenin…

Have you ever considered working for a local Chinese company? We thought we would ask 20-plus-year PR expert, ultra-marathon runner, and ethnic musicologist Harriet Gaywood, who previously worked at Chinese firm Blue Focus and recently was the VP of Public Relations at Huawei. How is it different from working at a foreign firm? What are the challen…

Episode 60! Yeah! To talk to beauty consumers on social media, beauty brands have to be adept at Chinese social media beauty slang. What's the difference between the #Boiled Water Look (白开水妆容) and #Rich Daughter Makeup (富家千金妆) )? Elisa Harca, Co-Founder and Asia CEO of Red Ant, and Ching Xie, Client Partner at Red Ant Asia, join us in unpacking the…

How do you bring a product idea to life in the area of the world that produces over 80% of the world's electronic consumer products? Meet Troublemakers' founder, Henk Werner. He's lived in Shenzhen for almost 12 years and guides many worldwide who might have a cool product idea but don't know how to make it a reality. Henk serves as their guide to …

According to this week's guest, automobile industry expert Bill Russo, this year's Autoshow China, held in Beijing, was a wake-up call to the global automobile industry. China has clearly leapfrogged the global auto industry, making products that aren't just transportation vehicles but literally smartphones on wheels. According to Russo, the global…

Welcome to the latest invasion; it's not TikTok but Shein & Temu! It's hard to imagine that 4 of the top 8 U.S. iPhone App Store apps are from China. While TikTok and Capcut make the list, the two big surprises are e-commerce juggernauts Temu and Shein. These companies operate unique, manufacturer-to-customer business models and do not manufacture …

How can brands take advantage of China's new transformation? We decided to invite our livestream episode guests, Chris Baker, founder of Totem, and Minne Wang, Senior Reporter with Campaign Asia, for an in-depth discussion on 5 of the 10 considerations in Totem Media's 2024 report. The report (with links below) is a must-read for anyone looking to …

Ali and Bryce welcome authors Bessie Lee and Peter Bomer of the book, "China Inside Out," which explores themes of innovation, entrepreneurship, and challenges through interviews with some of China's leading business minds. The interviews were taken from Bessie's popular podcast, Bei Wang Lu(贝望录). Bei Wang Lu showcases the thoughts and actions of l…

Where is China heading in 2024? Ali and Bryce decided to do a quick recap of our livestream event last week to highlight a couple of the major trends that stood out for us. You can watch the livestream event by clicking below OR download the entire report yourself. Check out the link below. 1. What surprised you? How will advertisers react based on…

China ad fraud has been in the headlines recently, and we wanted to have a show about it. As expected, getting someone on the show to discuss this sensitive topic has been impossible. But we finally found one: Dr. Augustine Fou. He is the Founder of Fou Analytics and a leading expert in the field, boasting a profound understanding of digital market…

What are the big marketing, advertising, and technology trends facing China in 2024? Ali and Bryce scoured the internet so you don't have to, uncovering 3 trends we think everyone should be paying attention to. What are the "meh" trends - the ones we have seen before, ones without context or thought, or ones simply that won't happen at all? We call…

Will AI become a hindrance or a revolution to Chinese media? Mindshare China CEO Ben Condit says bring it on! Condit sees AI as the answer to much of the overcomplexity in China's tech platforms, some of which require over 11 stops to book a single piece of media. Ben gives us an insider perspective of why Mindshare China is constantly recognized a…

Has performance marketing signaled the end of traditional marketing in China? Traditional marketing focuses more on slowly building brand awareness, creating a slow burn, and driving an emotional connection with consumers. On the other hand, performance marketing is more about results in the quest to drive sales and leads. Thanks to digital platfor…

What does starting a successful brand from ZERO in the Middle Kingdom take? We spoke to Alex Acker and Kristian Li, co-founders of Jing A Beer. Based in Beijing, Jing-A now has ten tap rooms in the capital, with one in Shenzhen. Jing-A is also available in Singapore. Jing-A describes itself as a brewery that is in constant motion. Started by Kris a…

Welcome to Season 3 of ShanghaiZhan! We thought for this season, we would try something a bit different. In addition to our popular interviews, Ali and I will cover pressing issues ourselves in a series called Agree or Disagree. Will live stream commerce become a hit outside of China? Livestreaming is projected to hit $65 billion in the U.S., repre…

This episode focuses on the elements behind Chinese design, its unique characteristics, and how it's shaping global design ethos. Please welcome Danny Du, whose work in Shanghai, particularly with the Geely Design Global and now at BASF's Creation Center as APAC design lead, has marked him as a leader, bringing Chinese design aesthetics to the worl…

We're talking about the Chinese hotel and travel industry today and are joined by Hugh Xu, a veteran in the travel and hospitality sectors with over 20 years of experience. Hugh has held critical roles in several Fortune 500 companies. Most recently, he served as the General Manager of Sales & Marketing at Sunmei Hotel Group, overseeing over 500 pr…

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 a weekly thing 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? Th…

Ali and Bryce were expats in Shanghai; what's it like for two Chinese senior global marketing executives working and 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 Onli…

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 other places in China. Through interviews with key players, Dr. Field explores the…

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 prov…

Why was China almost 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 returned from Cannes Lions, and they give us their unique perspectives. Today's guests are Robert Sawatzky, Asia Ed…

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 both the United States and China. Notably, he served as the Chief Consumer Officer at L'Oréal China, where he oversaw consumer strategic branding, insights, foresight, and M…

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 country's large…

Joanna Hutchins is the 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, wi…

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…

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 millio…

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 adv…

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…

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 …

Season 1's Final Episode welcomes back 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 gives suggestions for marketing during the tough times. And despite the recent opening of Zero Covid, Julien remains optimistic for …

We've spent a lot of time in the past 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'…

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 pre…

Can Chinese brands get a voice abroad? Today we are talking to Jim Fields. He's a social media influencer on YouTube and Bili Bili 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. 1. What is Relay…

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…

Is China still a great place to study? Despite our differences, some institutions keep 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…

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…

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 mobi…

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 i…

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 he…

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 …

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…

Our 20th Episode! Today we meet Mia Liu, she's a famous influencer and fashion blogger, or, as they say in China, Key Opinion Leader (KOL). With over 3 million fans on Weibo, Mia creates engaging content for big global brands including, Tom Ford, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, and L'Oreal. Armed with a Master's in Marketing, Mia represents the new face…

This episode is for those who are thinking of leaving China, maybe now or in the future. In this episode, we're joined by 2 "experts of experience" who left China to return home and can share their experiences about adjusting, why they left and what they really miss. For many, especially the expatriate population, the Shanghai lockdown has become a…