Share of Mind comes before Share of Market

The UK Advertising Exports Group (UKAEG) launched their second virtual trade mission for UK Advertising  which included  a roundtable discussion with the Chinese Advertising Association (CAA), their members and representatives from their members and representatives from both UK and Chinese Governments. We held our first roundtable with the CAA at Cannes Lions in 2019 and we were pleased that we are able to build on that relationship that was formed and host our second event virtually around Lions Live.

This was a knowledge share event with over 50 attendees as part of our series to seek global collaborations and opportunities for UK Advertising during COVID-19 and Beyond.  We know that the UK is the global hub of advertising, however it is also a global gateway for companies looking to go global. We want to see the UK as China’s home from home and the first place they come to when expanding their business.

The event itself was chaired by Janet Hull,  UK Advertising Exports Group. We were joined by senior leaders from Government on both sides, Yang Guangyuan, Director of the Third Division, Department of European Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Rupert Daniels, Director of the Creative, Lifestyle and Learning team at UK Department of International Trade (DIT). We were delighted to welcome the introduction to Tian Guofeng, Executive Deputy Secretary General, CATIS (China Association of Trade in Services) who presented. Tian has engaged in research on services trade, e-commerce and digital trade for many years. In recent years, he has participated in the formulation of projects and standards on national service trade, e-commerce and digital trade.

Presentations were given by UKAEG companies including;

• Marco Frigatti, SVP East Asia and MENA, Guinness World Records who noted how they were able to shift all records online.
• Jamie Sergeant, Founder and CEO, Crowd, Co-founder, Fast Forward who has an office in China and works with brands to position themselves all around the world.
• Jimmy Robinson, Co-Founder and Director, PingPong Digital who help brands go to China and most recently launched a partnership with Royal Mail, Butter. Butter is designed to help SME’s enter into the China market.
• Julie Cohen, CEO, Across the Pond who has recently been working with UK Government to provide the animations for daily briefings and messaging. One of the most important things Cabinet Office will ever undertake.

We also heard from

• Alexandre Chieng – CEO, JALA Group International Division. JALA is the number one beauty brand in China, and 47^th in the world.
• Jerry Yang Founder and CEO, TechBridge, Inc. VP, WeDoctor.  We Doctor who provided free online consultation during the pandemic.
• Pully Chau, Group Chief Executive Officer, Cheil Greater China. 1,400 people under Cheil Group with a holistic range of experience across digital, media, retail, PR, brand experience, ecommerce, data analytics, Cheil Auto, etc.

What was clear from all presentations was how consumers from both markets have shifted to online. As the world’s most advanced digital advertising economy, UK Advertising has a role to play in helping brands around the world navigate their strategy.

We are continuing our virtual trade mission and showcase of UKAEG members at the Shanghai International Advertising Festival next week. We are hosting a series of talks on stage, running virtual booths for  20+ members joining us and working with DIT China to arrange one2one meetings with companies interesting in meeting with UK Advertising.

If you would like to find out more about the UKAEG, contact Aisling Conlon.