I’m as patriotic as anyone (born in Dayton, Ohio), but not blind to what China is doing.
They’re building systems for e-commerce and infrastructure– Belt and Road Initiative is a $4-8 trillion dollar investment,
Huawei 5G is way ahead of us, so we have to ban them– even backed by billions from the Chinese government.
Singles Day in China was $38.4 billion dollars, while our Black Friday was $7.8 billion.
And in digital marketing, they’re systematically building influencer networks like the Russians developed athletes, instead of hoping brands would sponsor celebrities.
Now it’s time for us to build better systems unless you’re okay with Chinese brands being dominant in America– like McDonald’s is elsewhere.
TikTok, Lenovo, and Alibaba are Chinese– and I’m okay with it. Even Burger King has been a British company until bought by a Brazilian holding company– but markets natively in each country, so we wouldn’t know.
Now it’s time for us to catch up, instead of being stubbornly patriotic and complacent.
I’m spending a lot of time in Asia this year to understand manufacturing and marketing– want to join me?
The Future of Influencer Marketing Is in China