Door Ernie Tadla

Dit is het verhaal van een ondernemer die voordelige zaken bouwt door alle globale grote kerels te slaan.
 
Dan Mintz was geboren en hief in Brooklyn op, en was de jongste persoon die in de Academie moet worden goedgekeurd van New York van het Uitvoeren van Art. Hij begon extra in de movie zaken als student in de movie Bekendheid. Hij ging naar Los Angeles waar hij zijn onderwijs en ervaring in filmproductie bevorderde en goede verbindingen met enkele belangrijke movie studio's cre�ërde.

In de vroege jaren '90, ging hij naar China een gemeenschappelijke onderneming voor een belangrijke movie studio opzetten. Dit was kort na Vierkante fiasco Tiananmen en het klimaat voor vennootschappen met Amerikaanse firma's was koud, als bevroren niet, in het bijzonder met het Ministerie van Cultuur, dat zou moeten worden geïmpliceerd.

Hij merkte op dat de globale reclamebureaus 4A die campagnes voor de V.S. doen. de multinationale ondernemingen verzonden de filmproductie voor de reclamespots van TV naar Hong Kong, Taiwan en Singapore omdat de kwaliteit van het werk in de Chinese productiehuizen beneden de maat was. De productie van de film, zoals vele ondernemingen, bestaat uit hardware (het materiaal) en software (de vaardigheden om het materiaal te gebruiken). Dan zag een kans. Hij was de software - en het is gemakkelijk om van zijn het netwerkcontacten van La te huren - en hij kon de hardware krijgen. In Maart 1993, begon hij Pacesetter met Beelden Internationaal (PPI) op zijn lijst van de flateetkamer in Peking.

Thirteen years later — with 450 people in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Los Angeles, and New York — PPI had become DMG, an international, independent full-service advertising and communications agency specializing in the greater China region generating more than $100 million US a year.

The big boys — Microsoft, McDonald’s, Boeing, GM, and Dell — were all there. They had deep pockets, global operations, pricey lawyers, accounting firms, and consulting firms behind them.

He developed DMG into China’s hottest creative, independent agency. He then added an events and public relations firm, ICN, and nailed international global accounts along with a portfolio of high-profile Chinese companies wanting to keep pace with the advertising expertise of their American competitors.

He’s a charismatic, creative genius in tune with the Chinese culture. He has never worked for a Western agency, didn’t attend college, but with street smarts, talent, an uncanny ability to handle diverse personalities and cultures, earned the respect of the domestic and international advertising world.

How did he beat the global 4A agencies to capture the creative account for Volkswagen-Germany’s first Chinese brand campaign in addition to a four-year Olympic marketing assignment for VW, a national sponsor of the 2008 Games in Beijing?

He did it the Chinese Way.

The others, the global hotshot 4A agencies, do business in China the way they do successful business in other countries. They are successful all over the world, but not in China.

Let’s break that down.

Mintz began with two Chinese partners. DMG chairman Peter Xiao had a deep and wide financial background and connections, tons of guanxi at high levels of the central government and the banking system.

Wu Bing, VP of DMG, has drive, determination and the operational savvy to get things done quickly in a society of bureaucracy and censorship. She was born in Beijing and at an early age was selected by the government to be trained as a gymnast for international competitions. When she was six, she was sent away to training facilities for grueling national competitive training, and eventually became a coach for international team competition.

While in Hong Kong, she met martial arts and action movie star Jackie Chan and appeared in movies with him. Dan was doing film production scouting in Hong Kong and met Jackie and Wu Bing.
 
Using the guanxi of Peter and Wu Bing, DMG targeted First Automotive Works (FAW) as the company they wanted to do business with. They made many trips to Changchun, delivering gifts liberally and personally, hosting banquets, developing deep friendships and cultivating relationships with the many Chinese managers, many of who ascended to high positions of authority and decision-making power over the years.

The three partners were unyielding in their demands on their staff to provide the highest levels of customer service and to exceed customer expectations. Their demands and expectations caused high turnover, but resulted in corporate relationships that were cemented to last. The true Chinese business objective — mutual benefit, win-win, and long-term relationships — was met with dedicated, committed staff.

Ernie Tadla, www.odysseychina.net

Excerpts from How to Live and Do Business in China: Eight Lessons I Learned from the Communists.

Next Week: Another Case History
An outstanding successful executive in North America, but not in China.