I have a Dream. By all means, Dream it Possible

“Dream it possible” – I recently chanced upon Huawei’s music video which has taken the world by storm last year. So i admit I’m a little slow but hey, we can’t keep up with everything, can we?

As a communications professional, I was impressed by this subtle and deeply touching (corporate) video about the relationship between a child and her grandfather from young to adulthood. This strong representation of grandfather and granddaughter relationship revolves around a Huawei smart phone which serves to connect them, especially when she leaves the family abode to pursue music studies in another city.

The theme song – “Dream it possible” – was also another highlight. Warm, fast-paced notes sung by a full-bodied and modulated voice drove the message of love across forcefully, leaving the tune lingering in my ears while the scenes of affection stay engraved in my memory, for as long as a few minutes after the movie ends.

But let’s face it. This is after all, a commercial video which aims to pass the subliminal message for consumers to buy Huawei smart phones. Yet the appearance of the smart phone was indeed more than subtle, lasting for a few fleeting seconds within a 6-minute movie with the Huawei logo appearing only at the end.

And this is where I feel PRC companies have come a long way – from in-your-face visuals with rough edges to modern-day sophistication, bringing the product behind the scenes to put forward moments of love as the foundation of people-to-people relationships.

Such is the beauty of evolution.

I was so impressed by this work of art that I started sending Huawei’s music video across all my WhatsApp chat groups to friends and family who still think that Chinese companies are cheena-fied, old school, passe and traditional.

Sure enough, I had the following conversation with my brother:

Me: You can’t underestimate Chinese companies anymore – see Huawei’s music video, “Dream it possible.”

Bro: But they still use (white) foreigners to shoot the movie (in the name of yesteryear’s belief in colonial white supremacy).

Me: Don’t you get it? This is for the foreign market (outside of China). Chinese companies these days are not only fully aware of the need to customise marketing material for different markets, but they also have all the resources in the world to put this into practice today.

Bro: Does this mean they will use Indians to shoot videos for the Indian market?

He was obviously trying to be funny, hoping to trap me. And I must admit to have been stumped. But as I googled, I realised that lady luck was on my side.

I came across Huawei’s corporate video for its office in India. Sure enough, it was shot with Indians in India, showcasing their establishment in the country with local talent to build locally designed solutions for the local market.

I was honestly filled with awe and admiration for this company, or rather for the organisation’s financial resources. Having worked in the communications sector for more than ten years, I am not unfamiliar with the practice of localising MNC corporate videos produced at headquarters for APAC markets. But my definition of localisation has always stopped at subtitles, as it was too costly to produce a customised video for each country.

This led me to think about the age-old corporate saying – “Think Global. Act Local”. Companies like Huawei have clearly brought this to greater heights. Yet I would like to flip it around and ask – can we think local and act global? Would we be able to apply indigenous business practices to international markets one day?

Taking the Chinese market as an example, with such a huge domestic market and budding homegrown conglomerates, would there not be something for the world to learn from this upcoming world economy? I remember reading an article from Forbes in August last year entitled, “Tencent’s Super App WeChat is quietly taking over workplaces in China”.

Personally, I am sure that WeChat’s grasp has extended beyond the Chinese market by now.

Just like Huawei’s music video – “Dream it possible.”