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ogden5.txt
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1991-09-10
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101 lines
IF YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE THE FACE ACCOMPANYING THIS COLUMN (SEE
ILLUSTRATION), THEN THAT IS ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF HOW FAST OUR
WORLD IS CHANGING.
THE LADY IS YUE-SAI KAN. WHENEVER SHE APPEARS, 400 MILLION
PEOPLE -- THE WORLD'S LARGEST TV AUDIENCE -- SWITCH TO INSTANT
SILENCE. SHE IS THE BRILLIANT CHINESE-AMERICAN PRODUCER, WRITER
AND HOST OF THE SUPER HIT SERIES "ONE WORLD" FILMED AROUND THE
WORLD AND AIRED IN CHINA BY CCTV, THE CHINA NATIONAL TELEVISION
NETWORK. TWO THOUSAND SATELLITE EARTH STATIONS AND 90
MILLION TV SETS IN CHINA CARRY THE SHOW.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE HER TO ACHIEVE THIS PHENOMENAL AUDIENCE?
JUST UNTIL HER SECOND SHOW: 300 MILLION SAW HER OPENER. HER
AUDIENCE WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE TO GROW. CHINA IS NOW
PRODUCING 16 MILLION TV SETS A YEAR AND EXPECTS TO HAVE 10,000
EARTH STATIONS OPERATING BY THE 1990'S . IT IS NOT UNUSUAL TO
HAVE 50 PEOPLE WATCHING ONE TV SET.
YOU MAY ALSO BE AMAZED TO KNOW THAT HERE IN A COMMUNIST
COUNTRY ALL TELEVISION CARRIES COMMERCIALS. THE RATE IS
REASONABLE BY NORTH AMERICAN AUDIENCE STANDARDS: TWO
DIFFERENT 30-SECOND SPOTS, RUN TWICE DURING THE SHOW AND SEEN BY
SUCH AN AUDIENCE, COST $450,000. FOR THAT BIG AN AUDIENCE IN
NORTH AMERICA, YOU WOULD PAY $4 MILLION A SHOW! FOR JUST ONE
COMMERCIAL! MAXWELL HOUSE COFFEE WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN
WORLD-CLASS ADVERTISER TO TEST THE WATERS IN CHINA. THE RESULT?
THEY SOLD OUT ALL THEY COULD PRODUCE IN TWO MONTHS. PROCTOR
AND GAMBLE, XEROX, GILLETTE AND COCA COLA FOLLOWED. JAPANESE
COMPANIES SUCH AS CITIZEN WATCH HAVE BEEN ADVERTISING IN CHINA
FOR THREE YEARS -- AND THEY HAVEN'T TRIED TO SELL A WATCH THERE
YET! BUT OTHER WATCH COMPANIES CAN'T EVEN GET AIR TIME. YOU
NOW LINE UP FOR MONTHS TO GET INTO THE LINE!!
THINK WHAT THIS MIGHT EVENTUALLY MEAN TO WORLD TELEVISION
PRODUCTION COSTS. ANY ENTERTAINMENT OR EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTION
SPREAD OVER 400 MILLION VIEWERS WILL COVER ALL COSTS NO MATTER
HOW HIGH THEY ARE. AFTER PLAYING IN CHINA, THE SHOW COULD PLAY
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD AT A MUCH LOWER PRICE THAN AN
EQUIVALENT SHOW PRODUCED ELSEWHERE. EVERY CENT MADE OFFSHORE
WOULD BE PROFIT, HENCE THE OFFSHORE SALES PRICE COULD BE "HIGHLY
ADJUSTABLE".
THIS WON'T HAPPEN NEXT MONTH, BUT THE HANDWRITING ON THE VIDEO
SCREEN INDICATES THE VULNERABILITY OF TELEVISION AND MOVIE
PRODUCTION IN WESTERN COUNTRIES. THE U.S. MAY BE HARDEST HIT, AS
AMERICANS HAVE BEEN THE RECIPIENTS OF MOST OF THE BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS POURED INTO BOX OFFICES AND TV ADVERTISING ACCOUNTS
AROUND THE WORLD DURING THE PAST CENTURY. ONE DAY CHINA MAY
SAY, "BUY OUR MOVIES OR WE WON'T BUY YOUR WHEAT, CARS OR MONEY"!
"AS THE WORLD TURNS" MAY BE A U.S. SOAP TRADEMARK, BUT IT'S
TURNING OUT THAT THOSE "NUMBERS", ON WHICH SO MANY ADVERTISING
EXECUTIVES DEPEND, MAY END UP MEETING TOUGH COMPETITION FROM
THE LAND OF THE DRAGON. DON'T LAUGH, REMEMBER, THAT'S WHAT WE
DID WHEN WE FIRST SAW THOSE TOYS -- MADE FROM RECYCLED
AMERICAN BEER CANS -- WHEN JAPAN STARTED INTO BUSINESS A
COUPLE DECADES AGO.
WHAT'S HAPPENING? TIME IS COMPRESSING. CHANGE IS ACCELERATING.
EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. EXAMPLE: IN
1600 AFTER TAKING 200 YEARS TO GET THERE, SPAIN RULED THE
BUSINESS WORLD. IT TOOK GREAT BRITAIN APPROXIMATELY 100 YEARS (
1810-20 TO 1910-20) TO ACHIEVE WORLD ECONOMIC DOMINANCE. IT
TOOK THE UNITED STATES BUT 50 YEARS (1910-20 TO 1960-70). IT HAS
TAKEN THE JAPANESE BUT FIVE (1983 TO 1988)! JAPAN WAS THE FIRST
COUNTRY ON THIS PLANET TO INCREASE GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT TEN
TIMES IN ONE GENERATION. TODAY, THEY WORRY ABOUT THE KOREANS
WHO ARE MOVING EVEN FASTER. IN 1970 THE PER CAPITA INCOME OF
SOUTH KOREANS WAS THE SAME AS FOR A NATIVE IN UGANDA. TODAY
THE SOUTH KOREA PER CAPITA INCOME IS HIGHER THAN THAT OF ANY
COUNTRY IN SOUTH AMERICA!
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? IT MEANS THE WESTERN WORLD NO LONGER
SETS THE RULES. IN 1960 SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF ALL CARS WERE
MADE IN AMERICA. TODAY THE U.S. HAS ONLY 25 PERCENT OF THE WORLD
MARKET AND EVEN THAT PORTION IS SHRINKING. WE NO LONGER HAVE
THE LUXURY OF SURPLUS TIME TO MAKE DECISIONS, AT LEAST IF WE
WANT TO KEEP IN THE LEAD GROUP OF WORLD COUNTRIES. TODAY
CAPITAL FLIES AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT. LABOR CAN BE IMPORTED
ELECTRONICALLY. INFORMATION IS REPLACING POLITICAL POWER.
EXAMPLE: NEWS ABOUT GARRY HART ELIMINATED THE BRIGHTEST
PROSPECT FOR THE U.S. PRESIDENCY. NEWS OF A CRASH ON WALL STREET
THAT PREVIOUSLY WOULD HAVE TAKEN WEEKS OR DAYS TO REACH THE
ORIENT IS THERE FOR THE OPENING OF THEIR STOCK MARKET.
THE EFFECT IS INSTANTANEOUS AROUND THE WORLD. IT AFFECTS
EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY.
THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF ANY PRODUCT, SERVICE, COUNTRY OR COMPANY
CHANGES DAILY, SOMETIMES WITH DEADLY RESULTS. SWINGS AND
VOLITILITY WILL INCREASE. DISRUPTIONS NEVER CONTEMPLATED, ON A
SCALE NEVER IMAGINED, ARE OCCURING AS YOU READ THIS COLUMN. THE
VALUE OF THE JAPANESE YEN ROUGHLY DOUBLED IN ONE YEAR. THEY
PROFIT. WHO PAYS? IN THIS CASE -- WE DO. ARE YOU INFORMED
ENOUGH TO NOT JUST COMPREHEND YOUR OWN SURVIVAL BUT THRIVE IN
SUCH AN ENVIRONMENT? CHANGE OPENS THE GATES OF OPPORTUNITY.
THE STATUS QUO TREMBLES. MOVE AHEAD.
_