Help Welcome

Due to other obligations, I would not be able to blog here regularly. I welcome others to contribute. Please email me at asianmkg@gmail.com if interested.

Mid-level Asian Marketing Professional Wanted

In the past two months, four Asian American ad agencies asked me if I have any referrals for their mid-level positions. I wish I do.

These agencies have been looking for the right candidates for months or years. But so far not much luck. It is not that they do not have a good package or environment to attract candidates. Qualified professionals are just hard to find.

We need someone understand the dynamic market, the complex cultural, the various languages, and have the passion and other expertise that the jobs require. Most people have some of these qualities, but not all. For those that have all, they are either already working in the industry already, or have been there and choose not to stay.

The Asian American market is no doubt growing. The work could be challenging but definitely full of fun. Its rules and standards are not the same as the general market. You have an opportunity to redefine the game.

Unfortunately, many experienced folks choose to leave to work for the client side, return to Asia, or join the general market agencies. Everyone has their own reasons. No two have the same.

Judging from what I found, I believe agencies should spend more effort to retain their professionals. They should proactively train their assets and promote from within. Many of the Asian agencies have very strong top (owner and chiefs) and large bottom (juniors), but the middle is weak or even empty. Without the mid-level professionals, the chiefs become very busy and have no time to train the juniors. This makes the juniors grow slower. Since they grow slower, there will be less supply for potential mid-level candidates. And as there is lack of mid-level professionals, the chiefs are too busy and… It is a bad cycle.

What makes the Asian marketing career development more difficult comparing to the general market is that there are not many books or classes that cater to this unique and fast-growing market.

I should not mind this problem since it helps my freelance consulting business. But it does bother me because I think it holds back the industry growth.

If you know any qualified and interested mid-level Asian marketing professional, please have them contact me ASAP.

New York Asian Film Festival 2008

This month has been a crazy month for me. My pet project – a Chinese website – has just soft launched. I haven’t had much time blogging on Asian Marketing. I feel so guilty.

But I really want to share with all that the New York Asian Film Festival 2008 is up now (June 20 – July 13). See schedule at Subway Cinema.

For those interested to know more about the event, I would recommend checking out Beth Accomando’s article at About.com The 2008 New York Asian Film Festival - Highlights and Features

Enjoy the Asian movies!

Toyota’s New Matrix Site Dedicated to Asian American

Toyota dedicates a section of its Matrix Web site “The Director’s Chair” to Asian American cinema. The multimedia mini-site feature interviews with Asian stars, film reviews and events.

Toyota has been pushing Camry, Corolla and Sienna in the Asian market. I am happy to see a new entry Matrix, hoping Toyota would dive even deeper into Asian marketing. The idea of supporting Asian American is great. It is the buzz in the market, which I already wrote about.

After reviewing the sites, however, I was a little disappointed.

First, the content. The “eventS” tab includes archive of the Asian American Film Festival only. The festival certainly is not the only film event around town. What happens to the others?

How about Asian Indian Bollywood which currently produces the most films in the world? Yes, I understand Toyota has traditionally focused on Chinese and Korean markets. Asian Indian is not their core target group. But missing out Bollywood completely in an Asian American Film site doesn’t sound right, especially when the site is in English targeting Pan Asian American. It sends a negative message to the South Asian American.

If only Toyota made it clear that this was a sponsored site featuring Asian American Film Festival, it probably would be less offensive. You should not pretend to be bigger than what you are. If you are a festival site, be it; don’t claim to you could “bring the best of Asian American Cinema” to the users. The tag line is a little too ambitious and misleading.

Another turnoff is its lack of interactivities. The site is a one way communication. From what I see, the content will not grow. I wonder how you expect the audience engagement to grow in that case.

Lastly, the technology. The server needs more bandwidth. I was at some point felt like I was on a dial-up line. I also found some broken links and minor bugs. All these spoil the user experience.

I also visited Toyota’s Chinese site and was shocked to find scrabbled characters on the home page. One thing I don’t understand: why the site is in Chinese Simplified GB coding when the actual display is in Traditional Chinese? Toyota should consider using Unicode instead. It is the norm in most multilingual sites now.

Don’t get me wrong. I am really thrilled to see Toyota’s commitment to the Asian American market and its innovative ideas. I just couldn’t help to point out things that may improve the initiative. Toyota, moving forward.

Northwest Airlines’ Campaign to Support Quake Relief Effort

I received numerous promotional emails from Northwest Airlines every week. But this one I received today caught my attention. Its subject line was “Opportunity to support China earthquake relief efforts". The message…

Dear Fanny Lawren,

The earthquake that struck Sichuan, China on May 12 was devastating to millions of people. NWA’s AirCares® partner The Salvation Army is actively participating in the disaster relief efforts to help survivors who are suffering from the loss of their homes, belongings and loved ones.

If you would like to help, here are two ways that you can support this important relief effort:

1. Give Miles - Transfer WorldPerks miles to The Salvation Army in any increment and Northwest Airlines will match WorldPerks mileage transfers of up to a total of one million WorldPerks miles. Transfer miles online or if you prefer, call 1-800-327-2881. Make sure to have your WorldPerks number 123456789 and PIN ready.

2. Give Money - Donate $50 or more directly to The Salvation Army and receive 500 WorldPerks Bonus Miles. Information on donating money to AirCares partners may be found at www.nwa.com/corpinfo/aircares/donate

Thank you for your support!

I think this is a smart campaign, at least from branding perspective. I suppose I got the message because I flew NWA to Asia couple times. But I would be curious to know how exactly the marketer segment their customers.

Another Asian Marketing lesson: Be responsive to social events.

Sharon Stone's Karma Remarks

Since Sharon Stone suggested the Chinese earthquake was "bad karma" for Beijing's policies in Tibet last Thursday, many marketers has been busy doing damage control.

Sharon Stone is well-known in China. In a red-carpet interview at the Cannes Film Festival on May 22nd, she said "I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said. "I've been concerned about how should we deal with the Olympics, because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine. And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"

The actress’s comment sparked a swell of anger and a storm of criticism in China and beyond. Chinese bloggers suggested boycott everything related to her. They demanded apology for the sake of the 67,000 Chinese killed at the quake.

So did Sharon Stone. She said in her statement, "Due to my inappropriate words and acts during the interview, I feel deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people," Stone said in the statement. "I am willing to take part in the relief work of China's earthquake, and wholly devote myself to helping affected Chinese people."

But the damage was made. Luxury retailer Christian Dior -- which uses Stone extensively in its advertisements -- had distanced itself from her remarks. It pulled all advertisements featuring the actress from stores across China and released a statement, “We absolutely disagree with her hasty comments and we are also deeply sorry about them.” It is very unlikely that Stone would ever reappear in the company's advertisements in China.

According to the Web-based database imdb.com, Stone has at least four movies coming up between now and 2010, including “Streets of Blood,” “Five Dollars a Day” and “The Year of Getting to Know Us.” But Cinema chains in China had already said they would not show her films.

One remark kills all. Celebrities and marketers should know better: Be sensitive to your audience, regardless it is Asian markets or not. Notice that the Chinese government had press conference AFTER Stone’s apology saying actresses should promote friendship between people. There are matters that marketers should just avoid.

Chinese around The World Unite Strongly

I usually don’t read the comments of New York Times articles. But I made an exception for Daniel Bell’s “China’s Class Divide”. I am pleased I did.

Daniel A. Bell is the author of “China’s New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society.” He has been teaching political theory at Tsinghua University – one of the most prestigious universities in China – since 2004.

After the tragic Sichuan earthquake, hundreds of Tsinghua students lined up overnight at a Red Cross station to donate blood and supplies. Others went to the earthquake zone, more than 1,000 miles away, to distribute aid. Bell thinks the disaster perhaps can do some good by helping dispel a widespread myth that the new generation of Chinese students is materialistic and selfish.

Bell further discuss about the global obligation of China which I was curious about readers’ feedback. So, I checked the comments. I was specially touched by the following response which is also one of the Editors’ selections:

It is truly natural that Chinese care about their compatriots in every critical situation. [They] help each other as much as [they] can. Chinese around the world are families. This is the Chinese values. Chinese consider being a Chinese as a glorious identification. They have a strong loyalty for their country. Whenever China faces difficulty, its people will unite quickly and strongly as a tough fist. I think this is very crucial for Chinese to conquer any big test facing them. Even during World War II fighting with invaders around the world, Chinese achieved full independence.

Chinese won't fear challenges, no matter what will happen in the future. Chinese around the world will come together and support each other, help each other, always work together. Go China!

It was from Greg, China. I could not agree more. As for the Chinese global obligation, I am still debating with my friends. I will blog it in a later day.

Sichuan Earthquake Shows Hope to the Future of Chinese

“In the aftermath of the great Sichuan earthquake, we’ve seen a hopeful glimpse of China’s future: a more open and self-confident nation, and maybe — just maybe — the birth of grass-roots politics here.” Such opening is so refreshing and enlightening. It was from Nicholas Kristof’s Earthquake and Hope on New York Times.

Chinese government has always been portrayed as a no-freedom-no-right communist by Western media (American and European). Most of the coverage is on unsafe products, trade surplus (i.e. deficit in the other countries), human right, property copyright, Tibetan freedom and other negative events. Different culture, and in some cases lower education level, somehow got translated into being uncivilized. To some, communist must be autarchic.

Sichuan earthquake proves them wrong. China has been changing to the right direction. I am glad Kristof shared his thoughts on NYT.

After the earthquake, the Propaganda Department instinctively banned news organizations from traveling to the disaster area. But journalists all around the country ignored it and rushed in. The order was withdrawn the next day. After then, the authority ordered media to focus on the outstanding relief effort. Yet journalists investigated why schools collapsed when government offices stand; and if there were corruptions. Apparently, media scored again.

Earthquake is sad. But I am very impressed by the overall positive attitude.

• Prime Minister Wen Jiabao rushed to the disaster area to oversee rescue operations.


• There are crying faces who lost their loved ones, but those who survive are thankful.


• Many children lost their limbs, but are grateful being saved.


• Buildings were collapsed, but will be rebuilt.


• Schools could be ill-structured; those responsible will be punished.


• Food and supply were short; help is being transported over every day.


• No one fighting for limited resources. Everyone try to help each other.


• Chinese traveled from around the nation to volunteer.


• Mourning messages, articles, video, and animations flooded all major Chinese websites.


• Billions of dollars of donation were collected domestically and from overseas.


• Media offered a good balance of the coverage.

I do not know if such affirmative outlook is a result of pressure from the authority. No doubt it helps to heal those were hurt, unite the country, lift up the nationalism overseas, and build a positive image of the nation’s value around the world. I am pleased to see how Chinese united together. I am proud to be Chinese.

Asian Americans are “In Play”

In the article Anderson Cooper Explains Little About Asian Americans at Huffington Post, Scott Kurashige criticized Anderson Cooper’s special report “Race, Gender and Politics” at CNN fell short on Asian American. By saying Asian Americans are “in play” is not just an understatement, I think, but an insult. Kurahige complains how little the mainstream media understands the political dynamics within the Asian American communities. Well, this isn’t a surprise.

To help the media understand how ethnic identity politics functions, Kurashige outlines how minority interest groups form. Such groups conform perfectly to niche marketing of politics. I couldn’t agree with him more on that. Yet winning endorsement of such groups is not enough, endorsements from minority politicians, community leaders and media are no less important.

Kurashige argues “ending the marginalization of Asian American voices and stopping the monolithic portrayal of Asian American political attitudes would be great strides toward eliminating the conditions that sustain the ‘bloc vote’ mentality.” Can everybody hear that?

Quiet Minority Swings Vote

Every vote counts. Asian American make up 5% of the U.S. population and as much as 12% in states like California, our power and influence should not be underestimated. We may not be as active as we should, but we could swing and change landscape.

Asian American is known to be the quiet minority. We don’t speak out for what we need – at least not as loud as African American and Latino. Many of us don’t vote. Politicians would think “If I do them good, they won’t give me their votes since they don’t vote. If I do them bad, they are not noisy enough to hurt me. With limited resources (time and money), I’d rather focus on the other groups.”

Asian’s quietness is part of the culture. A lot of us are brought up and taught not to question authority or the system. For someone who was told to follow the assigned leaders without questions, voting does not come natural. In fact, voting system is still relatively new in some areas in Asia.

The no-questioning mentality not only leads to low voting turnout, it also translates to reluctance to run for political office. To improve this, education is the key. There are groups like Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE), Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) and 80-20 that try to counter the fear and barrier.

“[The Asian population] is growing really quickly, and it’s a shame we’re not harnessing our potential,” said Sharon Chen, Executive Director of CAUSE.

I personally think it is a chicken-or-egg issue. Politicians will devote more attention to Asian Americans only if they vote and raise their voice. More Asian Americans will vote and raise their voice only if politicians devote more attention to them.

With the sizeable influence Asian Americans can wield in an election, as evidenced by Super Tuesday, candidates running for office would do well to campaign within this community. Bel Leong-Hong, the chair of the Democratic National Committee's Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus believes “the conversation needs to go beyond just addressing this constituency as an afterthought to other ethnic groups. In a close election, the result could come down to a swing group, which, considering their support for Clinton, could very well be Asian Americans.”

(Source of Chen and Leong-Hong’s quotes: The Huffington Post “The Asian-American Minority Swing Vote” by Natasha Chen)

The Benyan Tree Project: Stop HIV/AIDS-related Stigma in the API Communities

I’ve just learned that the annual increase of HIV infections in the US Asian & Pacific Islanders (API) communities is the fastest in the nation.

The Benyan Tree Project is a national social marketing campaign to stop HIV/AIDS-related stigma in the API communities. The program has released four public service announcememtnts (PSAs) featuring three major API stars:

Joan Chen, an award-winning actress, director, and producer
http://banyantreeproject.org/extras/joan_chen_welness_center.mov

Amy Hanaiali’I Gillom, a Hawaiian singer/songwriting legend
http://banyantreeproject.org/extras/amy_api_wellness_psa.mov

Jason Kyson Lee, actor from NBC's critically-acclaimed television drama Heroes
http://banyantreeproject.org/extras/James_welness_center.mov

http://banyantreeproject.org/extras/combined_welness_center.mov (combined spot)

The PSAs highlight the alarming increase of HIV infections in the US API communities; the importance of showing compassion to those living with HIV; and the need for APIs to get tested for HIV.

The PSAs were tailored to be regionally relevant for distribution across the US. Estimate of 200 million households will be reached by the spots in the coming 3 months. Through informing, teaching and setting a positive example, the Benyan Tree Project aims to stop the cycle of discrimination and silence, by eliminating barriers that delay or prevent access to HIV prevention and care services.

It is not an easy task, but I believe the Benyan Tree Project is on the right track.

Presidential Forum by APIA Vote

None of the presidential candidates showed up at the presidential forum organized by APIA Vote last weekend in Irvine, California. What does that mean?

Politicians have been talking about diversity. We heard news talking about how women support Clinton, whether African Americans are in favor of Obama, who could get the most Latino votes. Did anyone in the mainstream media mention Asian American?

While presidential candidates may not care enough about the Asian American votes, we do offer financial support to the leaders who we believe will make a change. But hold on, which should come first? We pay them, so they care? Or they care, so we pay? Regardless, the reality is that we pay and they could care less.

Here is a video taken at the APIA Vote presidential forum. I watched it over and over. I wanted to memorize his speech. I believe all Asian American should watch it too.



Key messages to the Presidential Candidates (quotes from the video):

• We (Asian American) want to give, but have never felt like our giving has ever mattered. And now it is the time to prove us wrong. Inspire us. What must be done for you to embrace us?


• You could talk about us more. I can't wait to hear Asian would be mentioned in a real American speech. I just want to be in one story. Can you please just put us in one of your speech? Recognize that we have helped to build [America].


• We know without your help, we cannot get what we want. But the world is changing fast. If you don’t see this, you must understand you can't get what you want without us.

Watch the Chinese Earthquake News on Tudou.com

Among all the video sites, YouTube is by far the number one in the US and many other countries around the world. But in China, Tudou is the king of online video.

In the past few days, the site is almost dedicated to earthquake mourning. Thousands of related videos flooded in – professional and amateur. As I am writing this, the home page of the Tudou is divided into three sections: the top half has all the news video (mostly copies from TV news reports); the bottom left shows the videos shot by members in the affected areas; the bottom right lists video from other areas and people who want to show their support. A link to denote is on every page, every video.

I was planning to talk about Todou vs YouTube. But my tears do not allow me. We will continue some other time.

Cyclone in Myanmar

I started an entry about the cyclone in Myanmar last week. I was very upset and concerned. How dare the junta refused the foreign aid? Selfishness killed more refugees than the natural disaster. I didn't post the entry because I found myself yelling too much.

It has been more than a week. It is still a chaos. I am speechless.

Pardon me not be able to focus and write some real articles about Asian Marketing.

Quizno’s Laundromat Spot Features An Asian-American Woman

To promote the chain’s Deli Favorites subs, Quizno launched its new "Laundromat" spot where an Asian-American woman grabs a $5 bill taped on the wall and eats it. The VO asks “If you’re gonna eat $5, shouldn’t you get your money worth?” Then, it goes on saying Quizno’s Deli Favorites sub is just $5. It gives you more meat than a $5 bill.

To see the Laundromat spot, go to http://www.quiznos.com/commercials/2008/tvspot5dollarsub.asp

Lewis Lazare criticizes on Chicago Sun-Times that the spot is an insult to Asian American. See http://www.suntimes.com/business/lazare/946162,CST-FIN-lew13.article. I personally do not see it that way.

Obviously the spot is dramatizing and meant to be funny. While I don’t typically like the humor, I – as an Asian American – do not find it offensive. The commercial works better in a boring environment setting – a Laundromat makes sense. Since many Laundromats around the country are owned by Asian, seeing an Asian face at the cashier is – to me – natural.

Yes, the commercial made the Asian-American woman look very dumb. But it doesn't try to say all Asian American are not smart. Imagine if the spot features an African American cashier at the Laundromat instead. That would look weird.

There are several other TV spots featuring South Asians in deli and gas stations. Why? For the very same reason: many delis are owned by South Asians.

Take it easy. The commercials are just trying to mirror the diversity of the society. We live in a melted pot. Be cautious, but not overly sensitive.

May: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) is celebrated in May to commemorate the contributions of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States. Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution in 1978 to commemorate Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May. The date was chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, completed on May 10, 1869. In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a month long celebration.

In Canada, many Asians have also begun to celebrate their heritage during the month of May. In December 2001, Senator Vivienne Poy introduced a motion in the Senate of Canada to designate May as Asian Heritage Month. The Government of Canada officially recognized May as the Asian Heritage Month in May, 2002.

The designations acknowledge the long and rich history of Asian as well as their contributions to both the United States and Canada. It provides an opportunity for the two nations to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of Asian American and Asian Canadians to the growth and prosperity of North America.

Internet Is Back

Finally, I have the Internet back at home. The disconnection was a nightmare… that I surprisingly enjoyed. I read a lot during the last few weeks – 12 Chinese and 2 English books. Now, time to go back to write.

Current Top Asian American Buzz

Type in "Asian American" in Google News search, here are the top four this evening…

A New Wave Of Asian Americans Makes Significant Strides In Film And Television
San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/restaurants/ci_9026318?nclick_check=1

'Harold And Kumar' Push The Limits Of Multiculturalism
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-ethnic24apr24,0,454272.story

Asian American Women Filmmakers Are in the Spotlight at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Sun Herald
http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/508639.html

DisOrient festival to showcase Asian-American films
Oregon Daily Emerald
http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2008/04/23/News/Disorient.Festival.To.Showcase.AsianAmerican.Films-3342270.shtml

Notice all of them are about films. I think this is the Asian American buzz now, at least for the media.

Asian Marketing Is Different, But Not Necessarily Difficult

An American executive told me the reason he delayed marketing to Asian American was the fear of offending Asian American. I could understand his worry. Eastern culture is indeed very different from the Western, not to mention the variance among the subgroups.

While there are books about African American and Hispanic marketing, not much reliable and updated reference on Asian marketing are available. That certainly doesn't help the concerned marketers.

Actually, it doesn't matter if you are Asian or White, human being has the basic needs. We all want to be loved, to be protected, to be successful, to live happily. Yes, the audience media consumption and buying behavior are different from the general market. But difference is not necessarily difficult. As long as you respect the audience culture, willing to learn and adapt, you will succeed. Work with Asian advertising agencies and consultants if you are clueless how to begin.

Though Asian represents only 5% of American population, their purchase power will reach $528 billion by 2009. Their household income is the highest among all minorities. It is the market that marketers should not miss, especially if their products are high-end or high-tech. Go ask who buy the most LV and Prada bags in the U.S. and around the world.

The biggest risk is not taking risk. The worst fear is fear itself.

DiversityInc Lists 7 Things Never to Say to Asian-American Executives

Yoji Cole states on DiversityInc seven things one should never say to Asian-American executives. I believe the quotes listed could be offensive to Asian American in general, not just the executives.

Cole's list not only demonstrates the ignorance of American executives, it also proves that I am an Asian. How so? I had experienced all of them (except one) in my past career.

1) "You must be the IT person"
My response: No, I am in Marketing. But I am glad my technical expertise is higher than the average American.

2) "You aren't like them" or "You don't act very Asian."
My response: Because I am an American, just like you.

3) "Asian Americans are not risk takers."
My response: The biggest risk of all is not to take any. Asian Americans are conservative in that sense.

4) "Where are you from? No, where are you really from?" or "When are you going to go home?" Or "How often do you go home?"
My response: I am from New York. Seriously, I live in the city. Of course, I go home every day.

5) "Oh, you speak English good!" Or "Do you speak your language?"
My response: Thank you. I am proud that I am bilingual.

6) "You're not a minority because all Asians are rich and successful."
My response: Are you saying all non-Asian are poor and unsuccessful?

7) "You're not Asian, you're from India."
This does not apply to me. I am not Indian and I do not look like an Indian. Yet indeed there are a lot of American do not know that India is part of Asia. For more information on the three board regional groups of Asian, read my post Asian American Subgroups.

Here are more if I could add to that…
- "How come your name is not so Asian?"
- "Asian do not like to talk" or "Asian are shy"
- "Koreans are Chinese. All Asians are Chinese."

Asian Women in Politics

The match of Hilary and Obama makes this year's presidential election the most interesting ever. Either one wins (at least for the Democrats Party) will make the history, because they are minority – woman and African American. Imagine it was an African American woman versus a white man. How about an Asian American woman? Trust me, it will happen one day, just not soon.

According to Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University of New Jersey, there are 86 women serving in the 110th U.S. Congress, only two of them are Asian Americans. Of the 1,741 women state legislators serving nationwide, only 30 are Asian-American women. Consider 5% of the population in the U.S. is Asian; we are definitely underrepresented in Asian women politics.

Knowledge and culture could be the major reasons for the disproportion. Many Asian women immigrants simply do not know much about American politics. Some of them do not even realize women have the right to and should vote. They think their husbands, fathers or sons would represent the families.

Another issue is the complex composition of Asian Americans. Chinese, Filipinos, Asian Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese are only some of the subgroups under the Asian American label. We speak different native languages and have different community issues. The challenge is to unit the Asian American. Only then, Asian voice – men and women alike – will be heard in politics.

When it comes to Asian marketing, I always remind people to be sensitive about the differences among subgroups of Asian Americans. As for politics, I urge all the Asian American to look at our similarities instead.

To unite is to empower. I sincerely hope I will have a chance in this lifetime to vote for a capable Asian American woman to be the President of the United States.

Asian American's Median Earnings Increased The Most In This Century

Since 2000, American's median earnings were basically flat after adjustment for inflation. If we break it down by demographic groups, Asian's income growth significantly suppresses the others.

White	0.6%
Black	-0.4%
Asian	11.9%
Hispanic	4.5%

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Eastern Countries Outperformed In The Business Cycle 2000-2007

I found some interesting data from Business Week 3/31/08 issue.

For the share growth of global economy, here are the leaders in the past business cycle (2000-2007):

	2000	2007	% Point Change
China	7.2	10.9	3.7
India	3.7	4.6	0.9
Russia	2.7	3.2	0.5
Iran	1.0	1.2	0.2
Ukraine	0.4	0.5	0.1
Indonesia	1.2	1.3	0.1
Korea	1.8	1.9	0.1
Kazakhstan	0.2	0.3	0.1

Countries that have shares decreased in the cycle:

	2000	2007	% Point Change
Brazil	3.0	2.8	-0.2
Netherlands	1.1	1.0	-0.1
Canada	2.1	2.0	-0.1
Mexico	2.3	2.1	-0.2
Britain	3.6	3.3	-0.3
France	3.7	3.2	-0.5
Italy	3.4	2.8	-0.6
Germany	5.2	4.4	-0.8
Japan	7.7	6.6	-1.1
U.S.	23.7	21.4	-2.3

China's share was one third of the U.S. seven years ago; now more than half. What does that mean? Watch out!

Daniel Wu's 吳彥祖 AliveNotDead.com and Hollywood Stories

I've just found from the SFIAAF (San Francisco's International Asian American Film Festival) about the great artist community site Alive Not Dead (http://www.alivenotdead.com/), which was found by Daniel Wu 吳彥祖, Conroy Chan 陳子聰, Andrew Lin 連凱 and Terence Yin 尹子維.

AnD is dedicated to strengthen and connect the artist communities worldwide. The site provides artists a platform to connect with their audience as well as other artists. Artists can share their creative works, and seek opportunities to collaborate with each other.

In the AnD spotlight today, I learned that Anthony Ng who is a former child actor in Hong Kong graduated from NYU Film School. His award winning short films helped him secure grants for his first feature film "212" that premiered at Sundance… And Anthony is just one of many great talents (many are Chinese) I found from the site. I am so excited!

In the SFIAAF panel discussion, Daniel Wu told us how "turned off" he was about the Hollywood productions years ago. He remembered people were not as interested in him after they found out he was an American born Chinese and therefore not really from "the Orient". Then, in the production of Around the World in 80 Days, he was asked to speak in English with Chinese accents – the caricaturized version of it. I could imagine how he felt.

But situation has changed. Since the turn of millennium, China's global economy share has increased from 1/3 to 1/2 of the US. Bollywood now produces more films and has more audience than Hollywood. US filmmakers finally recognize Asia as the untapped market. Many of them are educating themselves about Asian market and artists.

Things are heading to the right direction. Keep it going that way!

Asian American Films

In the past 3-5 years, we have seen increasing number of Asian stars being featured in Hollywood movies. Meanwhile, Asian production companies are also starting to take an interest in Asian American filmmakers and Asian American projects. It perhaps began with Korea and its Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP), a financing forum where filmmakers can pitch their projects to Korean financers. Grace Lee's American Zombie, Gina Kim's Never Forever, and Michael Kang's West 32nd that are all co-produced by Korean production companies.

Ted Kim, executive VP of CJ Entertainment, Korea's largest media conglomerate which co-produced Michael Kang's West 32nd talked about the trend at the SFIAAF (San Francisco's International Asian American Film Festival).

He believed this natural flow came from PPP and the Asian American filmmakers who could speak the language, identify with the production companies, and have that ease of dialogue.

In fact, Korean has a very clear mindset about Korean films. For films that are mostly in English, they would be considered as a foreign film in the local market even if they are Korean American films. Such productions are not great commercial endeavors and Kim believed filmmakers noticed it. He stated, "I don't think you go into English-speaking, Asian-dominant films because you think you're going to make a lot of money. It's really to see the market, grow the market, and then hopefully be right there when it lifts off, and then you can ride along with the wave."

Tracing back the history and growth of the African American film industry, there were very similar stories and situations. These Korean companies are trying to accomplish a proven path by giving Korean American filmmakers opportunities to work on their craft.

"Young filmmakers need guidance," said Kim, "You have to go through the process once or twice to really know what you're doing from an efficiency standpoint. So that's what I am worried about. I just worry that these organizations will not be able to hit their benchmark and won't be able to find their success. And if they don't see the quality of film that they're looking for, will they become discouraged? I hope not."

Neither do I. Please support the Asian and Asian American film industries.

National Association of Asian Publishers

A group of Asian American publishers had recently established the National Association of Asian Publishers (NAAP). Congratulations!

Extract from their press release:

NAAP's mission is to develop the Asian American market and to increase advertising share for Asian Pacific American publishers, including both English language and Asian language media. NAAP’s first priority is to reach out to over 400 identified Asian print, electronic and online publishers throughout the United States. NAAP will focus on three areas: (1) market research, (2) matching circulation verification and analysis with the needs of advertisers and (3) developing new leaders in the field of Asian Pacific American publishing.

Recent statistics show that Asian Pacific American buying power is growing proportionally faster than any other group: at $427 billion in 2006 and expected to top $622 billion by 2011. Buying power of Asian Pacific Americans is growing three times faster than APA population growth.*

Linguistically and culturally, Asian Americans are primarily an immigrant population but with the highest English literacy rate of any minority group, and among the highest birthrates in America. This means that Asians and Pacific Islanders are retaining their cultural heritage and cultural sensitivities while at the same time functioning and contributing to American society. Studies have shown that most Asians socialize with other Asians, and use English as their preferred language.*

"Asian and Pacific Islander publishers are experiencing major growth all over the country, and we know no limits – from newspapers to magazines to electronic publishing, we are helping to drive the new economy. NAAP welcomes all API publishers and seeks to represent our common goals," said Ted Fang, publisher of AsianWeek.

"It was exciting to witness history in the making as I watched the formation of the National Association of Asian Publishers. I expect this market segment to experience significant growth and look forward to the future success of this worthy organization," said Alan Levy, vice president of marketing and sales for Verified Audit.

* Sources: Kaiser Family Foundation/San Jose Mercury News 2004, Selig Center for Economic Growth, InterTrend Communications, 2006

While most traditional print publications in general market struggle with decreasing circulation, Asian American publications indeed have been growing remarkably. Both marketers and general market publishers should make a note of it.

Presidential Election in Taiwan

I had dinner with my family in a Chinese restaurant tonight. I couldn't help but keep watching the TV. It was all about the presidential election in Taiwan and how people were celebrating on Ma Ying-Jeou's victory. I wasn't alone. Many of the patrons were more interested in the TV than the food.

As usual, I paid more attention on the commercial than the program itself. It was a satellite TV station I was watching. The program was 100% fed directly from Taiwan. The commercials were mixed – some local and some global. How could I tell?

HP's commercial featured their Compaq slim desktop, which is not available in the U.S. McDonld's offered their coffee at 50% off; I don't think we have the same discount here. In couple other commercials, celebrities were holding boxes of CIBA Vision's Focus Dailies written in Chinese.

I suspect these spots were not placed by the US office of the brands, but the office in Taiwan. They most likely were added value. Taiwanese marketers of course would not pay for such placement, but they might think more spots – regardless anywhere – was good for global brands like theirs; and so accepted the added value offer. They forgot the brands had different products, promotional offers and packages around the world. Though the audience does not mind – in fact, they are used to it, it could cause legal issues.

I am not saying overseas marketers should not accept such added value. They just need to be mindful about the creative placed around the world.

Claridge Casino Hotel in Atlantic City

Everyone in the casino industry knows Asian is very important to the business. All the major casinos in the nation – or probably around the world – dedicate specific areas catering to Asian customers, especially the Chinese.

Back in the early 1990's, I was in the team to promote Claridge Casino Hotel in the Chinese market. Claridge was and still is the smallest casino in Atlantic City. It was among the last players to make effort to target the Chinese.

The management team at Claridge was the type that agencies would love to work with. Though the budget was relatively small SOV-wise, the executives were very open-minded and most important of all, they believed in us. We had their full support.

As a result, not only we developed a major integrated marketing campaign to re-brand Claridge, we also convinced the casino to change its "product". We worked with the management to change the casino floor layout, recruit Chinese hosts, add Asian dishes to the restaurant menu, host first-time-ever Chinese talk show, and more. The Chinese American marketing initiative was very successful. We had so much fun… and many sleepless nights. Some of my clients now even become my close friends.

Ever since Claridge was acquired by Bally's years ago, things changed. Claridge no longer smiled, he became very corporate. I took a tour with my old friend who used to be one of the executives at Claridge. It was depressing. There were not many customers. Almost everything was closed. We couldn't even find a restaurant for a drink. Then, we went to the basement. There we found a group of Chinese playing Baccarat in the Asian Pavilion… and the Chinese noodle bar that both of us worked hard to set up.

It was sad to see where Claridge is heading. But I must say I was so proud – and so do my friend – that what we built still stays at Claridge. We must have done something right to make the new management keep the section.

And I am telling you: Chinese are big gamblers. They play even when the casino has nothing, but the tables and noodle bar.

Asian Languages

Here is an old story. Unfortunately, it still happens a lot.

A company asked me to translate a brochure into 5 languages. Which five? Whatever their current customer speak the most.

So, I reviewed their customer profile. There was no language information. Why? They thought it was legal issue. In fact, although the law says you can't ask people ethnicity background, it doesn't say you can't ask your customers their preferred communication languages.

How about the diversity survey the company had done some time ago? That should help. Let's see. Here was the customer ethnicity breakdown: x% African American, y% Hispanic and z% Asian American. Sir, please note that while all Hispanics speak Spanish, Asians speak a million different languages.

Could we review the customer's last name? Sure, but there were tens of thousands of customers.

Final solution: Review where the Asian American customers are. Compare it to Asian subgroup population. Then, make an intelligent guess.

There is another easy alternative: Just pick the top foreign languages Asian American depend the most – Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese. FYI, most South Asian, Filipino and Japanese speak English well.

Start Over Again

I started this blog anonymously two years ago. Back then, I was working for an Asian advertising agency full time. I had to be careful what I said. It wasn't easy. So, I stopped.
Now, I am working for general market. No conflict of interest. I think I can pick up again. But this time, I will proudly be who I am.