frauke at large

Sometimes, living on the other side of the world is really bl**dy frustrating. It’s not just the time difference, the miles apart and the fact that we are living in a completely alien country which can get exasperating, but also the fact that due to it being so alien, it feels as though we are completely cut off from what is going on around us (and the rest of the world for that matter). Yes, there is always the ONE and only international, english speaking, tv channel which we could watch, or the abundant rss feeds on the internet to keep us feeling the pulse of what’s going on in the rest of the world, but somehow that’s not the same as actually being part of and interacting with the (now so far away) more familiar part of the world.

 

Adding to this is the fact that the news which is broadcast here is so overly generic that it doesn’t really provide you with any sense that you are still somewhat connected to home. And there is more: have you ever spent more than 10 minutes watching any news channel (e.g. bbc world, sky news or indeed cnn)? The rolling news might give you the impression that you are constantly being held up to date, but actually those channels are telling you very little and it’s utterly dull having the same stories repeated over and over, every 15 minutes.

So, in a moment of escapism, to re-connect with the other side of the planet, ‘catch-up on’ and indulge in what all those people 8 time zones away from here are doing (if only from an entertainment point of view), I bought a few dvd box sets and started watching some of the more critically acclaimed tv series; and you know … it suddenly occurred to me: watching tv with all the tv taken out of it is so much more satisfying. Who would have thought? It’s such as pleasure being able to concentrate on the plot and not being interrupted by far too much bad advertising. Although, as a marketer, when the adverts are good I do enjoy them.

Speaking of advertising, China must be any marketer’s nightmare and heaven, all rolled into one. Nightmare, because marketing as a concept is really still only in its infancy out here. Often it seems that the volume of the sales pitch and the trailblazing-ness of the Honk Kong pop blasted out to drown out the competition are thought to be much more important than the content or indeed finesse of the advertising. It’s often really brutal. Heaven, because there are still such few laws to regulate (direct) marketing activities, that anything, and I mean anything is allowed. For example: on average, each day, I receive 3 text messages on my mobile (not from my service provider), trying to sell me stuff. It’s all in Chinese mind you, which probably makes it even more irritating as I can’t even read what it says. Also, I wonder: how did they get my number? I am not entirely sure how, probably something the service provider is happy to sell on, but it is thoroughly annoying. I also wonder how lucrative this spam sending malarkey is and whether maybe, if it is, I should start my own business making money selling tat via sms all over China… now there’s an idea!

Feed on comments to this Post