38 THE NEXT... BEIJING
SHANGHAI

WHEN THE curtain rises on 1 May on the 2010 World Expo, Shanghai will once again reveal itself for what it’s always been — a world-class city — and for what it is rapidly becoming — Asia’s financial capital. Though Beijing seized headlines throughout 2008 with the Olympics while Shanghai had to wait for its share of China’s newfound glory, the Shanghainese have never considered themselves merely a supporting role to their northern neighbours. Rather, they believe that, as the historic fountainhead of trade and fi nance in modern China, they’ve had to pay dearly for their crimes against state socialism but, like the phoenix, are rising again to their rightful place.

Throughout the 1920s and ’30s, Shanghai was one of the most vibrant, decadent and corrupt places on earth. However, with the communist revolution this economic prowess was muzzled and, even during the early 1980s’ reforms, Shanghai’s questionable politics meant it was passed over as a Special Economic Zone. Yet with the post-Tiananmen Square ascension of Shanghai-native Jiang Zemin within the communist party, Volkswagen came to town, the new skyline of Pudong (the city’s eastern financial centre) began to rise and Shanghai blossomed once again.

Since the 1990s, firms domestic and foreign have rushed to invest in what they see as the future of Asia.

One of the most striking recent transformations of Shanghai is the large-scale renovation of the Bund, the signature walkway along the Huangpu River, laced with the colonial-era banking and trading houses that defi ned the city’s past, and fronting the glittering skyline of Pudong that guides Shanghai’s future. Aiming for completion before the World Expo, the Rockefeller Group signed on early as master developer for a six-block historic section of the Bund, to be redeveloped into over 93,000m2 of mixed-use buildings, including a Peninsula Hotel. Designated by Shanghai’s municipal government as one of the city’s 10 most important projects, the Rockefeller Group partnered, in a cooperative joint-venture, with previously designated, privatised government company, the New Huangpu Group.

But Rock Bund is only part of a much larger effort to transform the symbolic area. The elevated highway that once swooped out of the sky to funnel traffic along this golden mile is now being diverted underground through a series of tunnels costing €495m, meant to improve traffic and beautify the Bund, securing its position as a world-class tourist attraction. In addition to infrastructure adjustments, many of the landmark addresses along the Bund are undergoing their own renovations, including the art deco-style Peace Hotel, famed for a jazz band that has continued to swing from pre-revolutionary times till now, and the classic, steel-structured Garden Bridge, backdrop for many films portraying old and new Shanghai.

According to many residents and visitors, the past year has been diffi cult for the city, with construction and refurbishment projects not only directed towards its stately waterway but ranging citywide. Striving to meet a 1 February deadline, the city will begin pulling down scaffolding soon, while the Expo grounds will keep working up until the final hour. Expecting some 70 million visitors during the six months from 1 May to 31 October, and the participation of some 192 countries and 50 international organisations, Shanghai has developed a site, spanning some 5.28km2 on both sides of the river, with 12 pavilion clusters, and is gearing the Expo to touch on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection. As most nations on hand will naturally want to put their best foot forward, it promises to be not only an unprecedented opportunity for deal-making but also a chance to glimpse each nation’s and group’s visions for the future.

While the Olympics brought the world to Beijing for a few weeks and left a lasting impression, the focus on athletics created relatively few opportunities to develop business collaborations. Shanghai’s six-month showcase, however, is likely not just to lead to several co-ventures but will also offer valuable insights into the future of China’s business with the world.

39 THE NEXT... SOFT SELL
FREEBIES

IF IT sounds a little retro, then we must concede that, yes, you’ve probably seen a sample booth before. But there’s a new reason why you might soon be spritzed with a new scent next time you go out.

The wallpaper effect of advertising – ubiquitous marketing messages that become a blur for consumers – means brands need new ways to stand out. The answer is not to shout louder than the competition, but to create what in marketing circles is called engagement – a real connection with the people you’re trying to sell to.

This comes at a time when budgets are under extreme pressure. Global advertising spend is forecast by GroupM, the world’s biggest buyer of advertising space, to decline 5.4% this year; in western Europe spend is down 11.5%; in emerging European markets it’s 17%. Next year, it’s forecast to be in negative territory globally. Marketing will have to become more targeted; the wastage of mass media for anything but the most mainstream products will be unaffordable.

So, what better way to engage than in the flesh, with a smile, and with something for nothing? The sample booths of the future won’t just be leggy girls handing out bits of something microscopic on cocktail sticks. Well, there will probably still be leggy girls, but they’ll be as much about giving consumers an experience of the brand as a sample of the product. That starts with knowing where the target consumer is going to be – outside Duty Free at Schiphol on a Friday afternoon, say – and what they might appreciate at that time.

Surely the airport lounge is a great place to sample an eye-reviving cream, try out a luxury pen or a handheld game. But tasting, trying or taking away a bit of the product will only be part of the new experience. If the product interaction comes with something in tune with the brand – embossed notepaper in the case of the pen, or an eye mask for the plane with your face cream – then the consumer’s not only tried the product but got a warm feeling from it too.

If this all seems a bit too functional for an industry that thrives on its image as a magnet for creativity, not so. The genius of the marketer will play out in how brands identify where their targets will be, and show up at the right time with the right product to suit the mood and length of time the customer is likely to have. Creativity will speak louder than a big budget, and that really is clever.

40 THE NEXT... MEDICAL MIRACLE
i-DOCTOR

IF YOU are among the 250 million or so people worldwide who suffer from diabetes, you’ll know all to well of the constant need to track your blood sugar levels to assess what food, exercise and medicine you need. But if you also happen to own an iPhone, then some of that tedium can now be removed courtesy of several new mobile applications that can log your lifestyle and estimate insulin dosage via a bluetooth link to your glucose monitor. They also provide doctors with a crucial stream of medical data to draw on.

Such apps are only one symptom of a new outbreak in computerised healthcare systems; taken together, they represent the biggest revolution in medicine since Hippocrates. And you don’t even need a smartphone to enjoy the benefits. The combination of better web information tools, specialised search engines and online personal health records will, in theory, enable everyone to make smarter choices about their habits and medical care.

Such patient activism should also make better doctors of their general practitioners and specialists – provided they too start shifting towards electronic medical records for all those X-ray scans, patient histories, exam notes and prescriptions, not to mention professional updates on treatments, drug interactions and global epidemics.

For all the billions spent each year on healthcare in the US, for example, only a fifth of American doctors and a shocking one-tenth of hospitals have shifted from an ageold reliance on paper. Implementing the necessary software and hardware, not to mention maintaining those new systems, won’t come cheap. With a projected cost of €34,000 per doctor, President Obama has needed to set aside €30bn to help pay for this transition and set a target of 2014 to complete the wholesale transition to electronic record-keeping.

Not surprisingly, given this potential bonanza, commercial enterprises are jumping into healthcare. AT&T, an iPhone carrier, is currently trialling a home-monitoring system that will allow doctors to keep long-distance tabs on their patients and even arrange a quick videoconference with them over Wi-fi if they are not taking their proper meds.

The presence of Microsoft and other technology giants in this arena has prompted the inevitable outcries about software interoper-ability and also patient privacy. Governments and industry groups are working to solve both through technology and legislative measures. In the meantime, physicians are already seeing their opinions being increasingly second-guessed by the deluge of information available from the internet and from patient’s social networks in this interconnected world. All those long years of medical study and practice only to be usurped by Dr Google and Professor Facebook…