So after 2 weeks, Heather’s gone on to the next chapter of her adventure.
To be honest, I don’t know what she made of it.
It was certainly enjoyable to have her here … she’s full of energy, ideas and questions … but I still have that nagging fear we didn’t give her what she was looking for.
We talked a lot.
We covered a lot of ground and she was very generous with her knowledge and experience … including how some people need to get out more because they’re slowly going mad … but I just don’t know if she is walking away with the experience she was looking for.
That said, we certainly exposed her to some of the weird and wonderful elements of China, including this pre-conference ‘entertainment’ that occurred just before I got up to speak.
[And yes – the karaoke opera singer was better than me and better received than me]
What I hope is that she goes away thinking this part of the World is wonderfully mad but full of promise and potential.
While it might not yet have the ‘creative cred’ of cities like London or NYC, I don’t know if they really have them anymore either … I mean, have you seen the majority of the work coming out of those ‘creative hubs’?
Without doubt, the overall standard of work out here is lower than many in the West, but the potential to do things that can affect culture on a massive scale dwarfs most of the established ‘advertising cities’ put together.
As I said in my post when Heather arrived, my main reason for doing this was the hope the experience captivates, intrigues, excites and challenges her so when she gets round to writing her book about this whole wonderful adventure, she encourages planners to venture – physically, or at the very least, mentally – beyond their own shores.
I don’t know if we have achieved that, but what I do know is we’re better off for the experience of having had her here for a couple of weeks.
Thanks Heather. Safe travels.