So key take-aways from JWT and Starcom, both agencies:
- The Chinese government funds certain enterprises
- Banks
- Food
- Airlines
- Pharmacy
- Mobile Operations
- The top 2 enterprises (China Mobile and China Petroleum) earn more than the top 500 private enterprises combined
- The Chinese think more about the holistic rather than individualistic.
- They don't really understand analogies here
- Money talks!
- The government is the media owner and has power over what is said in advertising
- there is strict censorship and getting ads approved is a long process because there aren't any hard guidelines. The rules change from day to day. One day you might be able to say "unhappy" and the next they will band your ad for that word.
- Example of government power: there was an earthquake that cause many deaths. As a show of respect, the government ordered to stop all content that was "happy" for a period of time. Basically, any ad that had smiling or if there were any bright colors, was banned/blocked for a period of time.
- They have local media brands that mirror global brands
- example: while they don't have YouTube, they do have YouKu. Similarly, they have their own versions of Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- While certain programs, such as Facebook, are banned, locals find ways around the regulations and use Facebook.
- You may remember hearing about the recent crash of a high speed train in China. The government banned all conversation about the crash; however, locals found ways around the regulations
- They posted images of the key words rather than text, which made it more difficult for the government to find/track
- Some created code words or even created a whole new language
- We learned the China luxury market is growing fast. There are more Chinese people who are becoming rich.
Eating:
We've learned that some of the best restaurants here are the ones that are off the beaten path. They are the simple places with a lot of local people in them rather than a bunch of flashing lights. The hygiene here is a little lacking, but none of us have really had any issues as of yet. As long as you have some hand sanitizer and some wet wipes, you're good to go. The first night here, Misia, Lauren, Mel and myself found found a great little gem of a restaurant and enjoyed some dumplings, wantons, noodles, and beer.We may have gone a little overboard in our ordering, but we did a good job finishing the majority of it off. We definitely finished our beers. ;-)
One major thing I've noticed is the lack of napkins. In Seoul, they really only had cocktail napkins, but here in Shanghai they only have tissues. After spilling a cup of beer all over my lap the first night here, and having to sop it all up with the travel pack of Kleenex the waitress gave me, I've learned you need to carry a supply of napkins. I purchased a large thing of what I thought were napkins, but ended up being of tissue consistency. Regardless, I have been carrying them around with me everywhere. Apart from coming in handy when going to a restaurant, they've been helpful in the times I've had to visit a ladies room and found a lack of TP.
A few of our classmates who are from China joined us on Friday, and set up a place for us to eat lunch as a group in between the JWT and Starcom visits. They ordered for us, so we were able to try a number of different things. There were a few items that I just didn't want to know what they were. One thing is for sure, our fish was fresh.
Last night we had our alumni dinner at a restaurant called Lost Heaven. It is one of the top rated restaurants in Shanghai, a 1920's-style villa located in the Former French Concession District. My favorite part: they had napkins!! You really don't appreciate the napkin until you don't have access to any and are using chopsticks. The food was delicious too, especially the broccoli. After dinner, we went up to their rooftop to enjoy the bar and relax.
Shopping:
Our Howard Johnson Hotel is spectacular and located right in the middle of things.
We are right off of Nanjing Road, which is a pedestrian only road with a lot of shops, some of which you might see in any European or American city. We've spent some time visiting a few of the shops, but it's not a place you can do any sort of bargaining.
Today we visited the market outside the Yuyuan Gardens, and this is bargain central. I may have gone a little overboard, but definitely was able to bargain things down to about half of whatever they were asking. I was able to get a new camera (as mine died before coming on this trip - thanks Joe for letting me borrow yours). I also got some great souvenirs for some peeps back home. Here is a picture of Katie and Lindsey with their purse purchases along with the owner of the store. Then there is a picture of Katie and myself at McDonald's with our knock-off ipads.
Sightseeing:
I guess that kids here don't always wear diapers. In fact, they walk around in pants that are completely open in the rear area. I was walking through this area near our hotel where parents seem to bring their kids to play. It's like a little plaza area. I saw a number of kids with their tushies hanging out, and they were about 2 or 3 years old (at most). I was going to take a picture, but thought I might seem a little creepy.
We visited the Yuyuan Garden, which was beautiful. It is a famous classical chinese garden, from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Here are a few pictures.
Apparently, McDonnald's delivers here.
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