Oct 25, 2016 Joe Kleiman #65 IAAPA 2016, 2016, Asia, Attractions, Features, IPM Interviews, Museums, Theme Parks, Uncategorized, World markets Comments Off on THINKWELL GROUP: Being Beijing
In 2014 Kelly Ryner moved from Los Angeles to Beijing to kick-start Thinkwell Group’s first office in Asia. As President of Thinkwell Asia, Ryner has been responsible for building a team of mostly Chinese employees, growing the company’s list of clients in Asia and developing local relationships and resources to support new projects.
On a recent visit, IPM publisher Martin Palicki visited Thinkwell Asia and spoke with Ryner about the progress she has made during the last two years.
Beijing is the capital and really the heart of China. We’ve been doing work in China for 10 years and it seemed that for just about any project we were working on, the client was headquartered in Beijing. So I got used to coming here all the time and realizing the strategic benefit of being able to meet in person with all the clients who are located here.
Government relations is also a benefit. As a company we really wanted to make the statement that we were committing to China and not just here in passing. We work with a lot of clients who are making big land development deals and I believe the government looks at us a little bit differently because we are here in Beijing.
We chose Beijing long before I knew I was coming here, but as a personal perk to me, I prefer the weather up here. It’s drier and has only a short humid summer.
As a result of having to staff and build up the office, I now know more about Chinese tax and labor laws, and that has been an interesting journey.
At first, I was concerned about how to transfer from the home office our Thinkwell culture – it’s collaborative and fun, containing a gregarious sensibility about our company. People in general think of Chinese office spaces as being very quiet, somber and hierarchical.
It turned out that creating that Thinkwell culture was much easier than I imagined. It’s not about the cultural differences, it’s about finding that human connection. You find the right people that you can connect with and you simply encourage the collaboration. When we first had some of our team from L.A. come out and do some mentoring, the team leader would say, “You can’t stay at your desk all day. You have to get up and get people together.” It has now become such a culture in this space, I don’t see how any of my team members will be able to go back and work in the other kind of office again.
There is still a huge desire for IP product. It seems insatiable. Whether it’s a small mall developer or the guy who has a massive piece of property next to the lake, they are all saying “I want IP!” That’s a challenge because there really are only so many IPs right for location based entertainment, and many larger ones are only interested in certain sizing. When you have studios wanting the big theme park, they aren’t also doing the one-off thing for the guy down the road. So we have been doing a lot of IP creation for people, such as SongSong Town. There are five other developers nearby who want to license that little squirrel that we created for SongSong Town. So we have proven that you can create an IP for someone and with the right support, they can then also build that out within China.
Of course, there is still a lot of interest in building the really big parks, they just take a really long time because getting the land is challenging.
No, it is totally challenging. Even with the fantastic setup we have here with video conferencing where we can hop into any meeting room in the US, nothing replaces the human connection of being in the same space. Nothing can replace being able to walk up to someone at 4 pm and say, “I have an idea, let’s talk about it.” Here, you have an idea at 4pm, you send an email about it and then you wait – there is a big lag. We send people back and forth between the offices frequently to help collaborate and glean from one another. The more we do that, the stronger it makes the team as a whole. Nothing replaces the human part. But there is a ton you can do with the virtual tools.
However, we have had scenarios where L.A. starts working on a design and sends it over to us at the end of their day with notes for how to start the 3D rendering, then we will work on it and send it back for them to pick up at the start of their morning. That’s always been my dream – to have that 24-hour work cycle – because every client wants things to go faster. We’ve been pretty successful with some of that work recently. It doesn’t work that way for everything, but for some projects it is ideal.
To be frank, China is so hot, it’s hard to keep up with China. We are doing work in various companies in Asia, but by default we have ended up focusing more of our energy in China because projects keep coming from here. Within China I’m amazed at how much Harbin continues to be a hot spot. Guangzhao and that whole area is hopping.
It’s more about size of cities that are hot, rather than locations on a map. The big push out here is for mall owners. They know that people here will do their shopping online. So in order to get people to come to the malls, they have to have something else other than shopping to get them there, and that is a big boon for our industry for sure. • • •
Comments Off on WhiteWater wins IAAPA Brass Ring Award for Spinning Rapids Ride
Comments Off on Into the universe: Alterface’s Popcorn Revenge expands to themed lands
Comments Off on Super 78 opens attraction featuring 8K immersion tunnel at Dinosaurland in Changzhou, China
Comments Off on Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) returns to IAAPA Expo with expanded vision
Dec 09, 2019 Comments Off on Ernst & Young names WhiteWater’s Geoff Chutter as Entrepreneur Of The Year
Dec 09, 2019 Comments Off on Garner Holt Productions establishes non-profit foundation
Dec 09, 2019 Comments Off on Blackpool Pleasure Beach directer Nick Thompson to open InterFun Expo 2020
Dec 09, 2019 Comments Off on Space Center Houston marks record attendance and introduction of Galaxy Lights
Nov 16, 2019 Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Looking back from 2019: 15 years of InPark
Nov 16, 2019 Comments Off on Editorial: Cross platforming and cross pollination
Nov 15, 2019 Comments Off on Garner Holt Productions: Growing the legend
Nov 15, 2019 Comments Off on Raven Sun Creative: Unwrapping the new Hersheypark
Nov 15, 2019 Comments Off on Technifex: FauxFire® and real people
Nov 15, 2019 Comments Off on Smart Monkeys: Visualization vectors
Nov 16, 2019 Comments Off on #80 – IAAPA 2019
Table of contentsNov 15, 2019 Comments Off on Meet Amanda Thompson
IAAPA’s incoming chair has deep roots in the attractions...Nov 15, 2019 Comments Off on TEA 2020
A chat with Michael Blau - incoming TEA International Board...Nov 14, 2019 Comments Off on IAAPA 2019 Chair David Rosenberg: The aqua-man
Rosenberg serves as the 2019 Chair of the IAAPA Board of...Nov 14, 2019 Comments Off on CircusTrix CEO Fernando Eiroa: Leaps and bounds
InPark spoke with Eiroa about the unique business of...Nov 09, 2019 Comments Off on InPark exclusive: Interviews with Jeremy Railton and Scott Ault on the launch of their new company, Railton Entertainment Design (RED)
Themed entertainment design veterans Jeremy Railton and...Oct 22, 2019 Comments Off on ISE 2020
The annual Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) trade show for...Oct 21, 2019 Comments Off on IAAPA: “Wear comfortable shoes!”
"If this is your first Expo, attend the First Time...Sep 11, 2019 Comments Off on Netflix and thrill: Greg Lombardo joins the content streaming powerhouse as Head of Experiences
Lombardo brings with him more than a decade experience in...Sep 10, 2019 Comments Off on Transitions: Leaps and bounds
Industry professionals are making moves and creating wavesSep 09, 2019 Comments Off on Exploring IAAPA Europe
Meet recent additions to IAAPA’s European teamAug 08, 2019 Comments Off on IPM Interview: Jennifer Lee Hackett, Sinking Ship Entertainment
Giant screen veteran Jennifer Lee Hackett has joined...Jun 28, 2019 Comments Off on John Miceli and the new DE-ŹYN Studios
Throughout his career, John Miceli has worked in feature...Jun 26, 2019 Comments Off on Meet Lionsgate Entertainment World’s new general manager: Selena Magill
Meet the new GM of Lionsgate Entertainment World, scheduled...May 08, 2019 Comments Off on ECA2: All eyes on Lanzhou
ECA2's latest spectacle, a permanent installation in a...May 06, 2019 Comments Off on IAAPA Expo Asia
"Establishing a presence in both Hong Kong and Shanghai...Apr 29, 2019 Comments Off on Vekoma: Coasting around Asia
InPark spoke to Jason Pan, Vekoma’s regional director of...Mar 21, 2019 Comments Off on Lisa Passamonte Green
The Thea Awards Nominating Committee annually reviews and...Mar 21, 2019 Comments Off on Infinite Kingdoms: Planet playology
We recently connected with founder Denise Chapman Weston...Mar 21, 2019 Comments Off on The French connection: Meet Michel Linet-Frion
"Since I typically rely on contracted expertise and talent...Mar 21, 2019 Comments Off on Andrew O’Rourke: Google THIS
In late 2018, Andrew became an employee of Adecco working...Dec 18, 2018 Comments Off on Mad Systems: The future is now
InPark reported on the launch and revisited with Ensing for...Dec 18, 2018 Comments Off on Time for a change
InPark checks in with industry leaders who are heading back...Nov 05, 2018 Comments Off on Michael Mercadante: Giving back
Michael Mercadante, President of Main Street Design, Inc....Nov 05, 2018 Comments Off on JCO: Theming beyond the theme park
JCO, based in St. Louis, MO, specializes in master planning...