What does it mean to be Chinese in Canada?

Started my morning off with my usual routine, scanning Marketing Mag, Adage and Strategy Online (and if I have the occasional extra time, the Globe & Mail). Came across a column article by Pepper Miller, who founded an agency focused on the African-American market "To Know Market Segments, Know the Many Shades of Black Identity". I really enjoyed this article for its blunt, candid, grassroots and yet professional perspective of what it means to be black in America.

It prodded me to validate Sensu's reason of existence in the Canadian market. (I often like to tell others that we "sell people...Chinese people to be exact". Quite frankly, that's exactly what it is - we are selling an audience and along with it, their lifestyles, habits, attitudes, values and behaviours.)

You can easily apply Pepper Miller's article into the context of being Chinese in Canada. I think that our "shades" become much more complex: we have the fobs, the cbc's, the hongkongers, the mainlanders and even amongst the mainlanders, it breaks down further by region - GZ group is different than those from Shanghai and then different from those in Beijing. Fujian is another story altogether. Infuse the Canadian layer on top of all that...boy must I tell you, mainstream marketers have a LOT to learn and understand about Chinese consumers in Canada.

But I absolutely love the beauty of this complexity, because that is what gives Sensu our real value proposition, that is how we help our clients best. Pepper mentions that "Improving one's African-American cultural IQ is critical to understanding the differences among segments." In parallel, improving one's Chinese-Canadian cultural IQ is critical to understand not only the differences but also similarities, among Chinese segments. Trick is, you cannot really articulate a culture unless you are IN it. Culture is dynamic in nature, it is an experience not a theory, not a rationale.
 
Many clients hold back from committing to multicultural marketing, most of them mention issues with scalability and market size - it's about the bottomline. But they seem to be missing the key point - the nucleus of multicultural marketing that drives cultural activity and growth - is to pay attention to all the subtle differences between and within ethnic segments. To impact the bottomline is to not only recognize that there are subtle differences but also to show your customers that you care and you want to make a connection - an authentic one.

Scalability should not be a barrier to strategy nor creativity. Neither should it come at the sacrifice of authenticity. 

Losing face is serious business, it's no joke!

After reading the article titled, “The Cult of Face”, I realized just how crucial and impactful the concept of “face” was in the Chinese culture.

To recap, the article compares the West and China based on how they perceive the concept of face. According to the West, face is how one views him or herself – more individual-based – opposed to China, where face means how others would view oneself. It describes actions, which are common or “the norm” in the West, to be losing face if performed in China. For example, to Westerners, raising a question would seem common at meetings; however, in China it is seen as “uncultured, overbearing, and rude”. Ultimately, the way Westerners do business, is definitely not how the Chinese do business.

My attention was further drawn when “truth” was added into the discussion. As stated in the article, being truthful – regardless of the shortcomings – automatically gains respect in the West. In China, on the other hand, this is a different story. The truth can be disguised with a lie, when the intention is to save one’s face.

“In fact, it’s perfectly acceptable to tell a lie—even a bald-faced one—if it serves to protect face. China’s culture of shame doesn’t think of lies in terms of “right” and “wrong.” Instead, the goal of Chinese truth is often to protect the face of an individual, group, or even nation.”

After reading this article, I learned a lot more about the Chinese culture (on top of learning more about “saving face”, of course). From the above statement, which further explains the acceptability of telling a lie to save face, it also explains the concept of “shame” in China. What I didn’t know was that, the basis of being truthful revolves more around saving face than it is around being “right” or “wrong”.

“The Cult of Face” really opened my eyes to the importance of understanding another’s culture before doing business with them. At the end of the article, there are extremely helpful hints for giving or losing face situations – a must-read for conducting business in China. One of the points, under losing face situations, mentions “calling someone out on a lie”. Now, this is another area where the West differs from China. In the West, as the article states, “we don’t like to be bull-sh*tted” and therefore, will call one out on it! Keep in mind; however, this is an example to losing face in China!

This article proves just how different one culture can be from another. We are not all the same. What’s a big deal to you may be meaningless to someone else and vice versa. For that reason it’s crucial to understand these minor, yet impactful, actions because it could definitely make or break a relationship.

Reference: http://www.china-mike.com/chinese-culture/understanding-chinese-mind/cult-of-face/