Focus on China

Posted on: Thursday 05 July 2012 5:15pm

Blogged by Tina Boonstra

There are undoubtedly massive opportunities in the Chinese Market; the audiences are large and the atmosphere in this session suggested that the market is willing to invest into British talent. But how does this work practically? How do you move from having a desire to work with Chinese broadcasters to actually seeing it happen?

Here’s the advice from the experts:

-Do your research! Just because your idea or product works in the UK doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in the same way in Chinese markets. Invest time into researching not only the Chinese markets, but also government policies.

-Make sure you’re ready to take the plunge into the Chinese market. You’ll need to invest a lot of time, so do you have the financial and human resources to invest into overcoming the language and cultural barriers properly? Are you willing to stick at the endeavour for the long haul?

-Be prepared to make local contacts.

-When all this pays off, make sure you understand what they want from you. You don’t want to travel all the way to Beijing because you think you’re pitching a great new idea and walk into the room to discover your actually giving a lecture!

There is a huge respect for British storytelling and great opportunities for content creators, app developers and for delivering training. The one thing emphasised the most however was this:

-Develop good working relationships with UKTI, meet the representatives at this conference or in London. They have the knowledge, expertise and contacts to promote your business effectively, and make working in this exciting market a success.

Introduced by: Paul Jackson, Executive Producer, Eyeworks
Speakers: Karen Cheng, UKTI Beijing, Tony Hughes, Focus Innovation/UKTI sector specialist, Chen Xiangnong, Producer CCTV Animation, Xiaoxuan Yang, Vice Director Beijing TV KAKU Children’s satellite channel
Produced by: Tom Cousins, AP CBeebies
Sponsored by: Guinness World Records