Marketing with Technology and More

TED prize video on YouTube

Many of you have read my posts about the amazing TED conference.  There is currently a video on YOUTube that you just have to check out.  Jehane Noujaim won the TED prize two years ago, and was granted a wish.  Her's was a project called Pangea, a day of film with a very cool global objective.  The video will fill in the details, but should not be missed.

A Chinese Trojan Horse

The Chinese are great manufacturers, but most of us don’t think about them as great marketers.  However, as I learned at dinner last night, the Chinese are marketing in a way that is best compared to the Trojan’s and their famous horse (which is appropriate considering where I am). 

I am in Greece for a speaking engagement in Thesolaniki for a program called Helexpo. Last evening I had dinner with the event host, Ioannis Papapkonstantinou and one of the other speakers Renee Carayol from the UK.   Carayol speaks on corporate culture and reports for the BBC. He has spent quite a bit of time in Africa (and is originally from Gambia).  It was extremely interesting to hear about his recent travel to Africa and his observations.  The one that hit me was the influence the Chinese are having on the continent. 

He told us that in many cities in Africa, the Chinese are building major soccer stadiums.  They are providing these to the cities at low or no cost.  What is very smart about the way they are implementing the stadiums is that they are outfitting them with Chinese infrastructure.  The plugs are Chinese, the lamp sockets are Chinese,etc.  It is the old King Gillette, we will give them the razor, and them sell them the blades on a massive scale.  Chinese workers move to the countries to build the stadiums, move in with the locals and then stay.  They become part of the culture.

The Chinese have something on their side from a marketing perspective that many of us don’t have. Patience.  They are willing to slowly introduce their standards into a culture that does not have strong standards, and they let time make the sale.  With our short term focus, perhaps there is a lesson for us in their actions.