The Negotiation WPIC Marketing + Technologies

In this episode of The Negotiation, I speak with Sam Michael, Executive Director for the China market at AtmosAir Solutions, a leading air purification technology brand from the United States. Sam made his foray into China in 2008 working in real estate, both with Asia's largest industrial developer and one of Europe's most successful luxury outlet developers. He was then brought onboard AtmosAir Solutions’ Shanghai office as Executive Director of Sales and Operations in 2015. We discuss Air quality and pollution in China; key mistakes Western organizations make when they take on projects in China; how to manage relationships with Chinese government officials; why it’s important to be on the ground in the country when doing business with China, and how AtmosAir Solutions’ sales funnels differ in China vs in the US. And oh, fun fact, we perhaps for the first time on this podcast that is called The Negotiation, actually talk about what it's like to negotiate deals in China! Enjoy!

In this episode of The Negotiation, we speak again with Jacob Cooke, co-founder of WPIC Marketing and Technologies, to gain an up-to-the-minute understanding of how well China is economically recovering from COVID and what consumer trends to keep an eye on as he is now back on the ground in Beijing. We discuss why a work-from-home culture is unlikely to be part of China's future, how consumer trends have evolved over the last 18 months, what to expect from the 6-18 shopping bonanza this year, the development of the live streaming / live commerce craze, how the IPO of JD's logistics division will impact consumer behaviour among others, and how the Biden administration is doing so far with regards to the U.S.-China trade war. Enjoy!

In this episode of The Negotiation, we speak with Kseniya Otmakhova, a Schwarzman Scholar and Director of Public Relations at Ballistic Architecture Machine. Her role as a PR manager comes with a focus on furthering research on the New Silk Road with the goal of developing it into one of several of BAM’s unique “Urban Initiative” projects. Kseniya is quite obviously brilliant so for this episode I chose to ask few questions, get out of the way and let the tape run as she speaks eloquently on using the power of design for social impact, her reframing of the Belt & Road Initiative as a “Socio-Spatial set of challenges”, the value and appeal of becoming a Schwarzman Scholar, and China’s strengths and weaknesses in architecture and urban design. Enjoy!

In this episode of The Negotiation, we speak with Daphne Tuijn, Co-Founder and CEO at Chaoly, a data insights and intelligence company based in Shanghai. We talk about why it's vital for companies to be data obsessed in China; innovations in the data and AI space in China; what ‘growth hacking’ is and why it's applied mostly to earlier-stage startups; a typical customer journey in China vs that of a customer in the West; creating brand loyalty in China; and how business can avoid ‘data overload’. Enjoy!

In this episode of The Negotiation, we speak with Greg Turner, an industry leader in live sports and entertainment events and venue management in China. He is the Founder and Managing Director at Shenzhen High Performance Event Management, which manages and promotes events at the Shantou University Sports Park. We discuss 1500 years of sports evolution in China; why team sports have taken longer to develop; the role the government plays; how foreign sports brands can and should connect with the China fan base; and expectations for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Enjoy!

In this episode of The Negotiation, we speak with Benjamin Wahl, a brand strategy, business, and sports development expert. Currently, he is Head of China for the German professional football club Borussia Dortmund. We talk about his five years of experience as a sports solution professional working in the China market, specifically around how his own Borussia Dortmund was able to gain a foothold in the country and the marketing efforts they have been most focused on in order to spread the club’s culture and fanbase.
Benjamin also touches on how other EU-based clubs are doing in China by comparison, and shares tactics that other organizations and clubs can use to grow a sports brand in China and describes Borussia Dortmund’s branding and marketing strategy that he refers to as “The Challenger Approach”. Enjoy!