South China Dental Exhibition | Integrating artistic language into dental commercial communication

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Good Teeth × Jizhou Education × South China International Dental Exhibition

The first intellectual art exhibition in the dental industry

Not The End

From visible to invisible —

The knowledge structure behind a clinic

This year marks the 26th anniversary of the South China Exhibition, and more than 60,000 friends and family members attended the gathering.

What is special is

The "From Visible to Invisible" art exhibition also attracted 21,000 industry professionals.

In other words

One in three industry professionals who visited the South China Exhibition had experienced the art exhibition.

This may be an unprecedented, phenomenal event in the dental industry.

This is a case study of a multi-brand collaborative communication campaign.

To date, the art exhibition has garnered over 200,000 views.

The South China Exhibition frequently trended on social media.

UGC content is still evolving...

Many friends in the industry and in branding have asked about the underlying logic of this campaign.

In fact, this art exhibition, from planning to execution

It is a calculation of inevitability and what ought to be.

Indeed, there were many unexpected and delightful surprises.

I originally intended to write a detailed explanation of the entire logic and share it with everyone. Coincidentally, this morning I saw the views of brand marketing expert "Teacher Yang Buhuai" on "Creating Communication Leverage to Enter Social Media Public Opinion." The article is short and concise, so I'll share it here; you can read it after finishing this article. (Search WeChat Official Account: Yang Buhuai)

This is still

The era of "Content is King"

only

Good content is becoming increasingly scarce.

It is also important to note that

Although words are the fundamental force of all content

However, the form of content is not limited to text.

Events, exhibitions, videos...

Even a pen or a souvenir can be a very important medium and window for brand content.

The goal of brand content is to deliver the brand's key message to a target audience. This time, we chose:

An "art exhibition" will be held at the South China Exhibition.

A Simple Breakdown of This Art Exhibition

Its own underlying logic of propagation

1. Problem awareness

The art exhibition wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather stemmed from a strategic collaboration project between Good Teeth and Jizhou Education—the Mind Palace. Normally, the two brands should have held a press conference to formally announce this long-term, in-depth partnership.

Image source: Yue Yue, owner of Good Teeth & Wei Qinghua, CEO of Jizhou Education

Jizhou CEO Lao Wei told me that neither of us are the type to sit formally at a table, shake hands, and take photos. We can't make the press conference too conventional, otherwise we'll both likely burst out laughing. The conventional ceremony of [inviting guests – press conference – press release] will soon disappear from people's sight.

Furthermore, the South China exhibition has always been a focal point within the industry, with major brands hosting a series of events during the exhibition, making it easy for audience attention to be scattered. At this point, the total amount of attention appears limited; we call this "total industry attention" – IDA

At this point, even the largest pebble has a high probability of only creating a small splash before disappearing from memory. This appears to be almost a zero-sum game of vying for industry attention—we need to consider: how to avoid direct competition? And how to increase the overall amount of industry attention?

We decided to introduce a new form of communication at the South China exhibition—an art exhibition. This will bring together our brand perspective and the friends we want to invite.

But this is certainly very difficult.

Why is it difficult?

First, the South China Dental Exhibition, a long-established professional exhibition in the dental industry with 26 years of history, enjoys a high reputation within the industry. This year's booths have already exceeded the demand of 2020, making tickets extremely difficult to obtain. In addition, for such a large-scale exhibition, safety, stability, and order are always of paramount importance.

The art exhibition format, being both non-standard and a first-time attempt, inherently presents significant "unstable" factors for the organizers of the South China exhibition. From event approval and venue coordination to personnel allocation, everything must be completed within a month.

At the time, Lao Wei and I were very uneasy, wondering if this would work out.

It must be said that the South China Exhibition was indeed a very decisive and capable organization. After several rounds of internal consultations, they not only approved the plan but also provided as many promotional resources as possible.

South China Exhibition Official Website Highly Recommended

Caption: Director Jiang Hongbo, organizer of the South China International Dental Exhibition, along with leaders from the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology, visited and experienced the art exhibition.

Of the several booth options provided, we chose the sky bridge – connecting the Westin Hotel and the Canton Fair Complex.

The South China Exhibition at the time was very experienced and reminded us: Think carefully about this choice: its location could be both its strength and its weakness.

In fact, we all know very well that once we choose this location, our friends at the South China Exhibition will also bear great responsibility and risk.

We still decided on this location, and similarly, the South China Exhibition also decided to take the "risk of innovation".

Caption: Aerial view of the sky bridge filled with "knowledge particles".

This sky bridge was previously used only as a passageway.

But this time

We want to leverage our unique geographical advantages to revitalize new commercial and artistic value.

2. Awareness of the work

We contacted Zhonghai Yigao Design Institute overnight—also the strategic partner of "Good Teeth" in spatial design. Director Ye and his team created seven drafts of the design for this location. Ultimately, while maintaining the safety and functionality of the connecting corridor, we chose the "Knowledge Particle" design.

Caption: Actually, these are just two of the manuscripts that were rejected.

Caption: Yue Yue, manager of Good Dental Clinic, and Ye Haojian, director of Zhonghai Yigao Design Institute

Within the limited 7-day negotiation period, we found like-minded partners. At this point, time was already very tight. However, these four partners, with their brand vision and innovative spirit, quickly began co-creating works with us.

Both parties quickly identified the points of convergence between their partner's brand keywords and the art exhibition. From finalizing the plan to creating the installation and its final presentation, the entire process was completed in almost a week.

Visitors to the exhibition not only stopped to look at the exhibits, but also took out their phones to take selfies with the exhibits and brands.

In the new media art installation area, we incorporated the Mind Palace brand information, which helped Mind Palace gain thousands of targeted followers during the event. As of today's dismantling, many followers have already begun selecting suitable courses from Mind Palace and embarking on their learning journey of "Knowledge Outside the Body of Oral Medicine: Knowledge Within the Structure."

Our pursuit of brand communication

Combining brand and sales performance, it is widely appreciated.

3. Other consciousness

According to the creators, "the consciousness of the other" actually has three layers of meaning.

1. Help others express themselves

Attentive attendees noticed many of our insights into the dental industry and the medical profession displayed on the "knowledge particles" at the event. For example:

Caption: Image "stolen" from a user's WeChat Moments.

Our audience is willing to "take selfies" with us because these messages, based on a deep understanding of them, offer new expressions for them. This is another dimension of brand communication: a brand is not talking to itself or indulging in self-satisfaction—brand communication should help your users express themselves.

2. Understanding the true meaning of "the other".

Let's take a moment to consider this question: In the advertising industry, the principle of agencies is often "serving clients." But let's deduce further: who are these "clients" ultimately serving? — In fact, they are "the clients' clients."

Therefore, the "customer's customer" is the ultimate effective audience. Many service providers set their sights too close to the customer, thinking that the person who pays directly is the "customer," so they only need to satisfy the customer or the customer's "contact person."

What we really need to consider is helping "clients" and serving "clients' clients" well. This is based on insight, professionalism, and always keeping the real "others" in mind.

Therefore, all the partners involved in this collaboration have chosen to keep their "customers" in mind:

Caption: When users want to take a photo standing next to a brand/product.

3. Immersive co-creation with "others"

The concept of "consciousness of the other" also carries a more important meaning: because an idea alone is not enough; the three elements of "location," "people," and "objects" are needed to create a complete work. Therefore, every friend present is an important co-creative partner in this art exhibition.

Caption: You are all art itself.

Caption: Mr. Shi Kaolong, Executive Vice President of the Guangdong Private Dental Association, also offered a profound interpretation of "From the Visible to the Invisible".

Thank you all for your support and participation.

Admittedly, this event had many shortcomings. The team has already begun its review and hopes to provide a better experience for everyone next time. We welcome your comments and suggestions in the comments section. We also hope to invite readers with ideas to participate in the organizing committee of future events.

End

Art exhibitions, as a new form of content in the industry, may be like a catfish in the industry.

In my preface to the art exhibition, I wrote: "All of these aspects make this exhibition a unique presentation of a new issue in the industry, propelling us into a new realm of thinking and experience. If the significance of the exhibition 'From the Visible to the Invisible' reaches this point, then it carries a profound sense of mutual appreciation!"

Many thanks to the visionary leadership of the South China Exhibition, to Jizhou Education for their strong support, to the Zhonghai Yigao Design Institute and the Geeksart team, and to Purgo, Beikangmei, Pintech Technology, and Zhongke Anchi for their trust, support, and understanding during the collaborative creation process. And also to all the "invisible" partners who contributed behind the scenes.

"From Visible to Invisible" presents the visible effects of communication, while the invisible aspects are the staff working behind the scenes.

Thank you to everyone who has brought positive change to the dental industry!

Good teeth, Yueyue

May 13, 2020, in Guangzhou

From the visible to the invisible... See you next time!

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