Five Questions for VSA's Anne-Marie Rosser on Alibaba Defined, China, and the Art of Navigating Cultural Perceptions

AdForum Even though the human race is more connected today than ever before enduring misperceptions continue to impede many crosscultural communication efforts What challenges do Western cultures and America in particular face when trying to fully understand the Alibaba brand and its role in an eclectic Chinese business cultureVSA Misperceptions about China can be summed up in 3 words Made in China It39s a phrase that almost all American39s are familiar with and associate with massproduced consumer goods and lowercost labor For many Americans that39s where their perception of quotchina businessquot stops So the challenge really is to take a step back and reset the context for modern China Modern China transcends mere manufacturing and reflects a far more dynamic innovative and entrepreneurial country and culture The people of China have more opportunity today and young people in particular have more disposable income than their parents did A friend of mine a lifelong New Yorker recently came back from a stint in Shanghai and reflected that quotShanghai makes New York look like a cowtownquot People have a hard time visualizing thisIn terms of the challenges in helping Western audiences understand Alibaba there is a tendency to want to use western references So the media has tried to accelerate the learning curve by referencing other companies that actually have very different business models Amazon eBay Google etc While it39s understandable to want to use these as a shortcut to understanding Alibaba it39s ultimately a disservice Alibaba is more farreaching in its business lines than any of these models and more pervasive in the lives of Chinese people every dayAdForum Advertisers know that storytelling is an effective way to educate consumers about a brand What aspects of Alibaba39s story does VSA believe are most important to communicate to consumers and investors and how did VSA integrate those storylines into Alibaba DefinedVSA You39re right that storytelling is very important and in fact this is where we started with Alibaba Before jumping into any kind of execution tactic our team focused first on collaborating with Alibaba to extract and create the Alibaba narrative We did extensive research ran workshops with Alibaba and then wrote several drafts of a longform narrative as the ultimate Alibaba quotstoryquot This then became the foundation from which all other communication tactics could be derived and Alibaba Defined is just one example of manyIn effect the entire site reflects this larger narrative with each of the five sections revealing a different part of the story we believe to be most relevant to western audiences In particular The New China and The Alibaba Experience section hew most closely to traditional story or narrative where they break down the context for growth in China and showcase the Alibaba platform at work through easytofollow narrative vignettesAdForum Globalization continues to influence international business on a more granular level where entrepreneurs startups and small businesses are better able the harness the power of an interconnected world and economies Can you please explain the creative thought process and inspiration for the quotFounded in China Created for the Worldquot narrative that is an integral part of the Alibaba digital experiencequotVSA There are parts of the Alibaba ecosystem that are truly global now and other parts where that is aspirational In order to understand Alibaba39s globalization strategy it39s really paramount to understand their mission Alibaba is a missiondriven company with a very strong sense of purpose that is deeply ingrained in the company culture The simplicity of the mission quotto make it easy to do business anywherequot belies the sense of purpose that supports it Alibaba strongly believes in leveling the playing field for small businessesamp8212and that by doing so they can create opportunity and prosperity for people everywhere So the economic benefit is mutual and it39s something that they39ve already proven within ChinaSo that39s where the concept of quotFounded in China Created for the Worldquot really emanates It39s about reframing the perception of quotMade in Chinaquot to something bigger and more meaningful But it39s something that won39t happen overnight Alibaba says that they are building the infrastructure for ecommerce in the future but it will happen in stages and that39s what this part of the website depicts The first section shows how Alibaba has already done this within China connecting urban and rural areas The next section shows how Alibaba is helping quotBring China to the Worldquot by allowing people to source through its wholesales and retail platforms quotBringing the World to Chinaquot shows how established brands have been able to accelerate sales in China to the rising middle class And the aspiration is to continue to expand the connections Alibaba can make between buyers and sellers around the worldamp8212anywhere and at any sizeAdForum The middle class in China composed of 300 million peopleamp8212a staggering number considering the entire population of the United States is 318 millionamp8212is projected to double by 2022 What steps has VSA taken to position Alibaba as a conduit for foreign businesses to penetrate the complex Chinese marketplace and reach this enormous and expanding middle classVSA Well our role as an agency wasn39t really to help foreign businesses penetrate China Our role first and foremost was to convince investors and influencers of the true potential for growth within China and demonstrate why Alibaba is uniquely positioned to drive growth The section of the site called quotThe New Chinaquot really brings this to life In this section we use other markets such as the US and Europe to depict just how large the growth opportunity still is in China in spite of an economic slowdown This section of the site establishes the context for the growth and then the quotFounded in China Created for the Worldquot begins to introduce audiences including foreign businesses to the different ways that companies can access this marketAdForum What about the creative culture and talent at VSA makes it the ideal agency to work with Alibaba and bring its brand services and missionamp8212clearly a huge undertakingamp8212to consumers and investors around the globe through the Alibaba Defined initiativeVSA Well our portfolio of creative work for companies like IBM HarleyDavidson Google and others puts us into the consideration set But in this case I think there were some really important drivers beyond past work that led to Alibaba selecting VSAWe have process and methodologies but we try not to have them be too rigid We really try to start any engagement with a very specific understanding of the client and what they think their challenges are Doing this allows us the freedom to change up our process and really partner with the client in the way that will work best for them For example Alibaba really wanted to make sure that whoever they worked with would respect the Chinese origins of the company and not simply revert to western aesthetics So we did a huge audit of modern Chinese graphics design competitors and the landscape in general to understand the differences from more western modes of communication I think this step showed them that not only were we willing to do things differently but we had a passion for solving for their unique issuesI think VSA has great depth of talent in that our different disciplines care about understanding the company regardless of their specific area of expertise And hopefully Alibaba saw this at multiple levels and knew they had a team they could trust Alibaba wanted our expertise and wanted to hear our viewsamp8212but they also wanted a great collaborator And I think that39s really the final and most important thing The team we were working with in San Francisco was relatively new at the time with the entire executive team in China They wanted to know that they had a partner who was willing to stand next to them throughout the process and could roll with whatever punches came our way We really collaborated throughout to get this right and there was just a lot of iteration to get there It was really a pleasure and our team is incredibly proud of the work and of the relationshipamp160The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecom MyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Five Questions for VSA's Anne-Marie Rosser on Alibaba Defined, China, and the Art of Navigating Cultural Perceptions

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