China verlangt gesunden Menschenverstand
In der Suche nach dem Wesentlichen des Tuns des Geschäfts mit China, spricht Hong Kong historisch ein logisches Tor des Anrufs. In dieser dynamischen Verdichtereintrittslufttemperaty mit einer Bevölkerung von mehr als 7 Million, wir Mannschaft oben mit Daniël Ben-Ezra, Mittel-Direktor der Spotz Mittel. Dezember 2005, trennte er seine Riegel und legte für China dar, bewaffnet mit einem im Taschenformat einsamen Planeten. Was sind seine Entdeckungen bis jetzt? Kann er die vorherschenden Vorurteile über den Chinesen bestätigen und Tungeschäft in China? Oder zerstreut er irgendeine Form des kulturellen Zusammentreffens?
Der Geschäft Anklang von China, Hong Kong insbesondere, ist wie ein roter Lappen zum energischen Daniël Ben-Ezra. Dieses führte ihn bereits in etwas typisches asiatisches Glanzleistungen; von einer Stadium-gehandhabten Sitzung mit einer einschüchternden Majorität Teilnehmern, binge trinkende Konkurrenzen an den Geschäft Abendessen. Jedoch entsprechend ihm, ist der korporative Abstand zwischen Hong Kong und Europa nicht sehr großer der. „Selbstverständlich gibt es einige Unterschiede. Die Versprechungen sind gebildet einfacheres, als wir normalerweise neigen zu tun. Und folglich, sind sie von wenig Wert. Dieses könnte an der Tatsache liegen, daß die Chinesen, in meiner Erfahrung, Konflikte vermeiden. Infolgedessen sind sie schnell, Versprechungen zu bilden, selbst wenn sie nicht wirklich verstehen, was Sie bedeuten.“
Hierarchie
„Wenn Sie die europäische Weise des Tuns des Geschäfts mit der des Chinesen vergleichen, ist der Wert des Netzwerkanschlußes in China paramount. Moreover, decisions are invariably made at the top of the pyramid. There is a strong hierarchy. For example, it is a waste of time talking to assistants as they have little or no authority to make decisions. The Chinese are also very bureaucratic, they love the red tape of seals, multiple signatures and copies of forms.”
To put it differently: managing to get in at top level, and not attaching too much value to promises; is that what defines the key to success in Asia? “Of course you should never generalise. To give an impression: even in a relatively small city like Hong Kong, there is a big difference among its inhabitants. Between ‘real’ locals, people born in Kowloon or the New Territories, and Island Chinese. Island Chinese are often American Born Chinese, referred to as ABCs. A local Hong Kong Chinese often speaks poor English, is in general not very assertive and has specific cultural habits. On the contrary, an American Born Chinese is usually very westernized in his take on the world. In addition the inhabitants of Hong Kong, in comparison to the inhabitants of other Chinese cities, are better educated and more sophisticated. Foreigners can easily get by using English in this Metropolis, whereas on the mainland being able to speak a little Chinese generally proves to be of value.”
Trends
Apart from the demographic diversity, there are of course similarities between mainland China and Hong Kong. “The Chinese are equally ambitious and keen to profit from the growth of their super power. The country is developing itself just like the former British colony, to western standards of lifestyle and income. That does not necessarily mean that Europe or the United States of America set the tone. For example Japanese fashion is very trendy and pop stars from South Korea are very popular.”
Essence
When it boils down to how to successfully position yourself between all the other budding trendsetters, Daniël Ben-Ezra is more than emphatic. “The Chinese business culture is hard, ambitious and networking is very important. That demands versatility, determination and an open-minded approach, alongside the willingness to learn and work hard: common sense really. If, on top of that, you are able to communicate clearly, be polite and show respect to others, doors will open, which otherwise would have remained firmly closed. In my opinion, that probably is the key to business success in China!”
| Spotz Media, founded by Daniël Ben-Ezra and three associates, is a communications agency with offices in Hong Kong and Rotterdam (www.spotzmedia.com). The twenty-three year old Daniël Ben-Ezra works in Hong Kong as Media Director. “Spotz Media links Asia and Europe with a diversified staff and wide-ranging experience on both continents. The advantage of this setup is that we can spot trends and new possibilities in one place and apply them in another, with or without slight modifications. As we are smaller than big multinationals in the field, we are often able to offer more personalized services. This regularly leads to unorthodox, successful and effective forms of advertising.”
An example of a successful Spotz Media campaign is one developed for Sol Beer. This brand was recently added to the Carlsberg portfolio, which called for a brand awareness and loyalty campaign. “Teams of models in bikini were despatched to the hottest nightlife venues to shoot Photoflyers (www.photoflyerasia.com). Lucky recipients of these Photoflyers automatically participated in a game to win a trip to Mexico. By text messaging unique codes, participants could find out immediately if they had won. The response rate of the campaign was enormous. To be continued?” |
Printer friendly version of the interview “China demands common sense.”
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