In this episode of The Negotiation podcast, we continue our conversation with Charles Lavoie. We talk about creativity and the role it plays in APAC marketing. Charles is the VP of Creative & Head of Creative Labs at WPIC Marketing + Technologies. Among other topics, we discuss the growth of digital commerce, evolutions in that space, why it might be necessary to create cartoon characters for brands, gamification and the digitalization of the shopping experience in Asia. Charles also gives insights into brand localization and how best to activate a multi-market strategy. Enjoy!

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

• The growth of digital commerce
• Casework example with Xero shoes and the notion of barefoot running 
• Why it might be necessary to create cartoon characters for brands, which can personify hero products
• Gamification and digitalization of the shopping experience
• The different layers of brand localization
• How to activate a multi-market strategy

Notable Quotes

[00:00:11] “Where social commerce hasn't actually taken off, e-commerce has still had massive growth.”

[00:00:43] “People are appreciating the convenience of online shopping for pretty much all categories. But unlike China, there may still be a little bit of apprehension [regarding fully shifting to digital commerce].”

[00:01:50] “Technologies are getting more and more sophisticated. We've seen a really cool integration of augmented reality that is being tested.”

[00:07:32] “Everyone is busy in Asia and everyone's working lots. And basically, the thing that you can’t buy is time. But a product like Vitamix can help you buy time.”

[00:13:09] “[A mascot] is not going to make or break your brand, but it's definitely an addition you have to have a really, well, I do at least, a really strict schedule of what your day looks like, how your prospecting business, what your timeline looks like to have a mascot that can go online or offline, can stick to the minds of consumers, and thoroughly represent your brand.” 

[00:21:09] “You can't teach customers to buy in a different way than what they’re used to. It is too time-consuming to teach a customer to buy in a new marketplace that they're not used to.”