rethinking china!
Shanghai Deep Dive
Rethinking China! provides an intensive deep dive into the heart of today's Chinese consumer. Join the Research Without Borders team; an International team of researchers, futurists, designers, innovation directors and other local market experts on China, for six insight filled days in Shanghai.
To begin, delegates will receive a Research Report with background data and information on the topics being explored and of the locations being visited. This will lay the foundation for a better understanding of our hosts and of the issues at hand so that delegates will be able to observe and engage in the local context.
Sociocultural researchers will lead small teams in a series of ethnograhic immersions; in-home visits, retail shop-alongs, man-on-the-street interviews and on-site visits for an intimate and in-depth look into Shanghai and Chinese culture.
As each team goes about exploring daily life in Shanghai, local videographers will capture the quotidian, the unexpected, the nuances and the unarticulated which will be translated and synthesized into a video report (DVD format) of key findings for delegates.
Schedule
Join the Research Without Borders team for six insight filled days.
Day 1, Tuesday-Arrive in Shanghai! Overview + Orientation
Today we'll get an orientation to China’s most cosmopolitan city and of the changes taking place across the Nation. We'll get an overview of the history, demographic and economic shifts and challenges that Shanghai and greater China are facing, including; modernization and development, the environment, infrastructure, urban capitalism, the one-child model and aging parents, changing social and family structures, migration and economic challenges.
In the afternoon we'll begin our immersion into the sights and sounds of the city as we break off into small groups to explore Shanghai's neighbourhoods. We'll watch local culture unfold as we witness first-hand how traditional Shanghai brushes up against the modern.
Welcome reception and banquet with keynote presentation on how the concept of "green" is unfolding in modern China.
Day 2, Wednesday-Exploring Shanghai's Changing Retail Landscape
As China's fastest-growing city get's ready to host the World Expo in 2010, we'll get a look into the city's future as envisioned by city planners as we tour a scale model of Shanghai in 2020 at the Urban Planning Exhibition Centre.
We'll immerse ourselves in the streets of Old and New Shanghai and get a glimpse of how life was a century ago and how the future is unfolding in modern China. From the city's new glitzy malls, to the chaotic open-air markets and hawker stands, to the shops in the shikumen, we'll explore the city's changing retail landscape as we visit both traditional market areas as well as the gentrification projects targeting the emerging middle class.
In the evening, we'll visit local entertainment districts and witness the socioeconomic transformation that Shanghai is undergoing first-hand.
Reception at a local retailer, dinner nearby.
Day 3, Thursday-China Rising
As China emerges as a leader in the global marketplace, the importance of user experience from a cross-cultural perspective is becoming increasingly crucial to business around the world. We'll visit a local innovation labs where industry experts will share their insights with us on the practice of user-centered design in China. A panel of user experience designers and other experts will discuss the role of cross-cultural user experience design.
Reception to held on-site after the panel. Dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Day 4, Friday “Designed in China” vs. “Made in China”
As the cultural epicenter of modern China, Shanghai is rapidly becoming a source of new global design trends. This morning we'll tour a local Industrial/Product Design studio and hear from industry leaders about the role that Shanghai plays in today's global design community.
In the afternoon we'll visit a design/advertising/branding agency where local design experts will share their insights into how the image of “Made in China” to “Designed in China” is changing perceptions domestically and globally.
In the evening we'll visit several of Shanghai's renowned art galleries and meet with a local expert on Shanghai's contemporary art scene.
Reception at a local gallery. Dinner at a traditional restaurant.
Day 5, Saturday-A Day in the Life of Shanghai
Prepare for a deep dive ethnographic immersion into how Shanghai residents really live! Intimate in-home visits will allow each team the opportunity to the spend the day with individuals or families from a variety of backgrounds and income levels and experience first hand as Shanghai's youth, middle class professionals and extended families go about their day.
Today we'll have an incredible opportunity to peek into private and public life. We'll learn about the aspirations of Shanghai's residents and discuss local attitudes, motivations and preferences towards product choices and domestic and foreign brands while we tag along with them to school or work, shopping, cooking and even out on the town.
We'll share a meal with our hosts either at their home or favorite neighbourhood restaurant and experience how leisure time is spent in Shanghai. From exercising in the local parks, or visiting the latest restaurants or clubs you'll live a day in the life of today's Shanghainese.
Day 6, Sunday-Excursion to a Second Tier City
Today we'll leave the urban development behind and experience life in one of the nearby water towns as we witness the contrasts between a Tier 1 city and a Tier 2 city. Less than two hours from Shanghai, this typical canal town offers a glimpse into the rapidly vanishing ancient Chinese way of life and deep-rooted culture where fishing junks still ply the waters and women do their wash in the river. We'll speak with local residents about the changes taking place across China and what their aspirations are for the future.
In the evening, we'll wrap up by discussing some of the emerging trends, challenges and opportunities that we've witnessed during our stay and what this means for the future of China with a local expert during our farewell dinner.
Monday-Leave Shanghai
Professional Development + Networking
You'll have a chance to learn from and network with industry peers, business leaders, product developers, designers and other local market experts during our intimate fieldwork sessions, on-site visits, keynote presentations, off-site dinners and hosted banquets.
Partners
* UPA China * TANG Consulting * iXDA Shanghai * Asentio Design * Green Dragon Media Project *
Who will benefit?
Professionals involved in:
- Innovation + Strategy Development
- Consumer Insights + Analysis
- Trend Research + Forecasting
- Marketing Research
- Business Development
- Product Development
- Design
Professional Development + Networking
You'll have a chance to learn from and network with industry peers, business leaders, product developers, designers and other local market experts on China, during our intimate fieldwork sessions, on-site visits, keynote presentations, off-site dinners and hosted banquets.
Registration includes:
- All field excursions + on-site visits + tours
- Interior transportation + transfers
- Banquets + receptions
- Translators + guides (Chinese/English)
- Video highlight reel DVD + summary of findings (USD $1595.00 value)
Interested in learning more about the luxury market in China or India, designing for the Bottom of the Pyramid, selling to the BRICs or marketing to the Next Billion? for a 360° market immersion targeted to your organization or industry.
Suggested Reading
Beyond Translation; The Marketer's Field Guide to Understanding Today's Transcultural Consumer
by Valerie Romley
Today's marketplace is sophisticated, cosmopolitan and globally inter-connected, it is transcultural. What was effective yesterday is no longer relevant and what is effective today may not resonate with tomorrow's moving targets. The book is designed as a field guide for marketers to understand the roles that culture and context have in influencing beliefs, attitudes and driving behavior in order to better connect with today's transcultural consumer.
China Road; A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power
by Rob Gifford
Ride along with Gifford as he travels from Shanghai to Kazakhstan on Chinas longest road. Along the way, Gifford meets entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on China's growing economy, citizens angry and frustrated with government corruption, older people alarmed at changes in Chinese culture and morality, and young people uncertain and excited about the future.
Dragon Rising: An Inside Look At China Today
by Jasper Becker
Becker is the ideal guide to the profound changes within China that are reshaping global economic, diplomatic, and military strategies.
I Love Dollars: And Other Stories of China
by Zhu Wen
A hilarious send-up of China’s love affair with capitalism that gleefully exposes the inanities of everyday life in contemporary China.
Oracle Bones; A Journey Through Time in China
by Peter Hessler
Explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people.
Green Dragon Films
A documentary film about the potential for expanding sustainable construction and development in China.
Research Without Borders; Understand Tomorrow’s Markets Today™