Taobao. One of the most used words in the current Chinese everyday life. “I bought it on Taobao” or “Look at Taobao”, can be heard on a daily basis across the still booming nation.
It’s the go-to platform for China’s ever-increasing consumer base. Not much gets done in China without the biggest online marketplace in the world. Taobao is crammed with salesmen, inventors, designers, and product makers, all actively using the platform to promote and sell their own creations.
As a real-life counterpoint to the digital marketplace and a meeting place for China’s best creative minds, the Taobao Maker Festival for creativity and future trends was created in 2016. This year, the Alibaba Group, China’s leading technology firm, organized the festival in its hometown of Hangzhou. A sprawling outdoor setting on the banks of West Lake, a famed Hangzhou landmark. The 2018 Taobao Maker Festival attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors. With more than 200 participating merchants, traders, and dealers – twice the number of last year – the 4-day mega-event was not only the biggest but also the most diverse.
This year, the Beijing office of VOK DAMS Worldwide was onsite managing the presence and communication of Volkswagen China – one of the festival’s sponsors – with an extensive digital creative showcase. This included a holographic display, an anamorphic LED installation, and a live 3D printing station. The Beijing and Shanghai-based VOK DAMS China, well-connected in contemporary China and at the forefront of tracking trends, contracted well-known Chinese artists Luo Qianxi as a designer for the Volkswagen China interactive photo walls, with which the visitors posed enthusiastically.
Katja Sassi-Bucsit, Managing Director of VOK DAMS China said: “China’s creative minds are constantly evolving. They are extremely well networked globally and eager to continue their journey outside China. We better get ready for a new generation of Chinese creative minds enriching Global creativity and innovation”. Regarding VOK DAMS involvement in the future installments of the festival, Sassi-Bucsit added: “Taobao is considering rolling out the festival internationally, according to the current motto, Born in China, made for the world ‘. As an international player, we would, of course, like to be part of it with our extensive global network of VOK DAMS worldwide. We are ready!”
