China's emergence as a global power has not gone unnoticed in America. The country has hosted the Olympics, their economy is exploding (when it's not crumbling), and they're obviously a major player on the world stage. And now Pasadena is looking to cash in on Chinamania! Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek announced the launch of the China Ready program to position the city as a key destination for Chinese tourism. Pasadena will now, with the help of the firm China Luxury Advisors, begin courting Chinese tourists with the promise of an "authentic American lifestyle," according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
China Luxury Advisors helps about 25 clients branch the divide between their brands and Chinese consumers. According to their website, the company "counsels luxury brands and retailers on their China consumer strategy, ranging from market entry to digital to attracting, converting, and retaining affluent Chinese customers worldwide." Cofounder Sage Brennan told the crowd at the announcement that "Branding in China is very important, and the brand of Pasadena needs to be enhanced." With the word "brand" used a whopping 57 times on their main page, it's clear China Luxury Advisors knows branding!
Brennan and the Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau have been working for months on the China Ready project. Here are some of the planned enhancements for Pasadena's luxury brand:
— Profiles for Pasadena will be created on Weibo, the "Chinese Twitter" and WeChat, a popular messaging app in China
— Information on web pages such as visitpasadena.com will be translated into Chinese
— Rose Parade awareness will be raised. The city will try to include Chinese businesses in the parade in order to drum up interest in the event
Whoa! Why not move the whole city to Beijing! It's no Hollywood & Highland Center, but this strategy seems like a MAGNET for tourism. —Jeff Wattenhofer
How Pasadena plans to attract Chinese tourists through 'China Ready' program [LA Daily News]