'How Do You Speak Your Brand Voice in Chinese?' Advice From Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai

LONDON—When a global marketer first comes to China, the temptation can be to try so hard to “fit in,” the brand ends up looking even more like an outsider.

“A lot of Western brands came in like, ‘Hey, I’m part of you!’ So they’re trying to be Chinese,” says Vivian Yong, executive creative director of Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai, “which people are immediately going to say: ‘No, you’re a foreign brand. I know you’re a foreign brand.