Finding your Chinese personality: 3 foreign brands who got it right

"You need to have two well-defined tones of voice - one for China, another one for the West" - says Giovanni Borde. He was previously in charge of branding Starbucks for China, he was also in charge of creating LITAO's identity. I asked him what is the key to successful communication across cultures.

"It should feel like the two personalities are from the same family, have the same value system and the same core - yet you cannot translate the words directly - you have to translate the experience instead. That becomes the skeleton of your messaging."

Why should you care?

Tomorrow is the first day of the Chinese New Year – the year of the Earth Pig. This is the biggest holiday in China that generates almost 1 trillion Chinese yuan in spending. If you want to work with China, that's one occassion you can't skip. You definitely need to celebrate together with your business partners and consumers, as well as make sure you don't start experiencing an identity crisis.

© Gucci, 2019

We have seen many luxury brands developing a pig-themed collection for China market, others have suddenly changed their whole colour palette and started embracing red & gold every chance they got; there are also those who tried to bribe their Chinese consumers into liking them by being extravagant with red packets & lucky money.

But do you really need to be so drastic?

© Alive! Tmall store

This year 3 foreign brands made Spring Festival videos that went completely viral in China, generating over 1.5 billion impressions online. They proved that you can stay true to your brand, yet accommodate cultural needs that are radically different. They are: iPhone, Peppa Pig and Pampers. So how did they do it? They shared an experience - the unique selling proposition, the painkiller, that special feeling they want to deliver - and they did that without even showing their product in a video! I will talk about each of these campaigns in more detail.

1. iPhone - "the Bucket"

This story has been shot by a famous Chinese director Jia Zhangke - and it's a story of a homecoming. The iPhone doesn't appear in the video even once! Yet it becomes an intimate part of the reality of what is occuring and being transmitted - almost like your simultaneous interpreter, capturing the subtle details of things happening at the time of our social experiences, putting emphasis on important things and filtering out the unimportant.

China is known for its high-context cultural narrative - the most important things are those which are not voiced. And so the video has barely any words, yet leaves an impression the iPhone 'gets it', and it wants to help you capture those precious moments, so that when the time has passed and you're home alone - you can look back and have something to remind you of your origins. Perhaps an egg, but perhaps a video as well.

More information on last year's campaign here.

2. Peppa Pig - "who is Peppa?"

This story is the most controversial of all. A British cartoon 'Peppa Pig' was originally banned in China for presumably promoting 'gangster culture'. Now they have entered into a collaboration with a Chinese team and shot a video, acting as a trailer for the Peppa Pig movie that is about to hit Chinese cinemas - just after CNY.

The movie is about a Chinese grandpa, living far away from his grandchild. Learning that the family will stay in their urban home during CNY, he decides to head out for a long journey himself. Yet here he is suddenly faced with a challenge - the grandson wants a gift that is 'Peppa Pig' - the grandpa lives in a village with no internet and then uses all his wit to find out what is this 'Peppa Pig'. The short movie ends in a sweet, positive tone and - again - does not mention the movie it is advertising.

More information here.

3. Pampers - "traveling with a baby"

The video shows the parents getting on the plane, and children starting to cry immediately, people turning heads and seeking headphones. Yet contrary to the usual, here the flight attendant starts to sing a lullaby on speakers - the whole plane soon follows suit and the crying babies fall asleep. There is no mention of the brand in the video, except for the emphasis on the jade colour Pampers in known for.

This story made a lot of people cry - mothers who had to travel with babies have all felt the embarrassment and helplessness once babies start crying on the plane. Pampers wanted to show that they know it and want to relieve the stress for them however they can. Subconsciously you suddenly think - wow, this brand made so much effort just to bring a cultural shift and make it easier for me to solve the emotional problems I am faced with.

More information here.

How does that apply to a traditional business?

Although most of our clients are not brands selling to end-consumers, but people aiming to convince the B2B, they too will learn a lot just by looking at these videos. Business is all about 'pushing' and 'pulling' - which translate to sales & marketing at their highest level of abstraction. While advertising at its core is created to push for sales - we see that the market dictates that the brands now focus on subtle messages and sell not the product, but the state of mind that a product promises to help you reach. 

We just recently had a very senior person wanting to translate his invitation for Chinese companies to invest in a new industrial development zone in Europe. The letter felt like he's showing off, and did not address the needs of his Chinese counterparts, or explain what is the benefit of even reading that letter.

I see a big need for a cross-category approach in China, and that usually starts with curiosity and building awareness. That's what I will be sharing through my LinkedIn account this year with a hope to provide a bigger context and new narratives for making business in China.

In a few days I will tell a story of how we translated a theatre play called 'Democracy' - even the name itself would not be approved for theatre in China, let alone the narratives. Yet we saw it on a stage with Chinese actors! Stay tuned & wishing you a happy new year!