Jim Fields | Creative Video as an IPO Marketing Tool in China

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

● About Relay Video

● The typical dynamics between creative agencies and their Chinese clients

● How Relay aims to “create China’s first truly global brand”

● How roadshow videos become an IPO marketing tool for companies

● Monetizing your YouTube channel as a China vlogger in 2022

● About Jim’s upcoming app, Relay.club

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we talk with Jim Fields, Founder and CEO of Relay Video, a Beijing-based creative marketing agency that specializes in creating stunning pieces of video content, both for disruptive startup businesses and large technology brands.

Established in 2016, Relay Video was built on the belief that Chinese brands are the brands of the future. Relay’s mission, therefore, is to make films that tell the stories of these brands to a global audience.

Jim is also a marketing consultant for the Chinese venture capital investment fund 10Fund and a mentor at Chinaccelerator.

Asked about Relay’s unique thrust as a creative marketing agency in China, Jim explains that “the rush to iterate” that the market is known for comes at the expense of the brand story. “Each story is different,” says Jim. “But, the key thing is clarifying the narrative and then using that clarified narrative in a visual format that makes the company’s mission make sense to viewers.”

Further, the goal is to create videos that those who do not live in China can relate to, not just on a rational level, but on an emotional one, too. To this end, Relay makes sure “to visualize not just the company but the actual landscape of China” in its films.

Jim also talks about his YouTube channel, GRTR, and his experience so far as an American China vlogger in 2022.

Key Quotes:

“You’re starting to see brands in China that have products which are either at the same level or perhaps even surpass their counterparts in other markets. The interesting part about it is, in China, a lot of the founders of these companies are STEM graduates who know a lot about engineering and how to create a product; but, they might not know about the soft skills—storytelling, communications, PR, marketing. Especially when these companies take that step onto the global stage, many of them are lacking marketing collateral and materials that are going to tell that story—particularly in English—to a global audience.”

“For a lot of folks who live outside of China, China is a complete unknown. So, when you think about film, we really have to find a way to visualize not just the company but the actual landscape of China—whether it’s things like the ease of delivery that takes place in Chinese cities or the ubiquity of mobile payments or the fact that most folks are interacting primarily with technology products on mobile as opposed to via desktop. So, we have to really find a way to encapsulate the entire landscape of China in 2022 via these films and do it in a way that someone who lives in a Western market who has never stepped foot in China can actually understand.”