theOH: Your Bridge from East Asia to the Middle East
“Our team can connect suitable talents to collaborate with brands on developing more competitive products and marketing campaigns.”
While in 2021 we are still fighting Covid the pandemic that has headed into year 2, our headline news lately has been the Israeli-Palestinian topic. Setting politics aside, we recently connected with “the Oriental Hybrid” (theOH) founder, Reiting Lee, about her company and why she wishes to have theOH be a platform for East Asian culture, art, and business trends to reach the Middle East and vice versa. This young Taiwanese girl from Taoyuan’s dream of creating dialogue and exchange between the Arabic-speaking world and Chinese-speaking communities is commendable! Read more about Reiting and theOH!
Curito:
Hi Reiting! Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Reiting:
Hey Jenn, of course! Before I start, I’d really love to thank you for giving me this opportunity to share about myself and what we do at The Oriental Hybrid (later shorten as theOH).
I am Taiwanese, 30 years old, born and bred in Longtan, Taoyuan. I’m naturally tanned and my hair is curly, so people always ask if I am mixed even though my parents were both raised in Taiwan - well, my maternal grandmother passed me the aboriginal (Austronesian) Taokas tribe blood, my grandfathers are Han people who came from Southern China, and my paternal grandmother only received Japanese education - the rest is up to people to define.
Briefly speaking, I attended 3 high schools in New Zealand, Taiwan, USA, and I was trained in a language-gifted national elite program of which gave me a huge exposure to diplomacy. In university, I took a very transdisciplinary route in design, from interior design, architecture, landscape, fashion, urban planning, to scenography, and rounded up with a BA degree in Environmental Arts Design from Beijing Institute of Technology. After working for a couple of years, I took some time off to further my knowledge via the certificate programs in Fashion and Luxury Management at Institut Français de la Mode and Business Sustainability Management at the Institute of Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge.
Thanks to my studies and work, I was lucky enough to live in 9 countries across 6 continents so far, including cities like Taoyuan, Rotorua, Anchorage, Istanbul, Beijing, Sydney, São Paulo, Berlin, Fez, and Rabat - I’m sure the list will continue! Out of curiosity for the world, I’ve learned about 15 languages but now I only rely on Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, and Arabic.
Disclaimer:
1) In the following answers, I will be using Chinese to indicate those in Mainland China and Greater China (Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan), and use Arab to generalize those in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. Some of the stereotypes I mention will be very generalized, but only used as examples.
2) The lower-case “the” is officially included in the agency name - the Oriental Hybrid.
“the Oriental Hybrid, from its wording definition, means “an intercultural mixture of the Far East and the Middle East.” Indeed, these are our 2 specialized markets. Our team is built with Chinese and Arabic native speakers who have resided in both regions, speak each others’ language, and some are even beautifully mixed with cross-cultural parents. The multicultural elements are already embedded in our genes, thus we are very passionate about facilitating conversations and promoting the best of both worlds digitally. There isn’t a marketing & PR agency specialized with this mixture yet - so I can proudly say that we’re one of the firsts in the world!”
Curito:
Prior to starting the Oriental Hybrid in 2021 what career path were you on?
Reiting:
I would say it was a fun combination of digital marketing, campaign management, and trend forecasting in the sustainable fashion field. My working experiences were mostly in a start-up setting and it has prepared me to be a multi-functional person.
I was fortunate to have the opportunities to work in some iconic organizations, namely, the largest sustainable fashion trade fair in the world “Green Showroom & Ethical Fashion Show Berlin (later renamed as Neonyt Berlin)” of Berlin Fashion Week, the first sustainable fashion tourism project in Europe “Green Fashion Tours”, the PeTa-Vegan-Fashion-Award organic childrenswear brand “Monkind”, the influencer campaign in 11 APAC countries for Calvin Klein Watches & Jewelry, and the athleisure fashion trend curation for the LVMH-Innovation-Award trend analysis agency “Heuritech.” Apart from the experiences in Europe, I’ve also co-founded an NGO project called Morocco Fashion Future in Casablanca and lead the digital marketing team of a PR agency in Dubai.
Curito:
As a young Taiwanese woman what drew you to Middle Eastern culture and your passion for bringing East Asian brands to the Arab world?
Reiting:
What really attracted me to the Middle East and North Africa was its heart-warming people and incredibly rich culture.
My connection with the MENA region started fairly early during my high school exchange year in Alaska in 2007 with 4 friends from Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, and Turkey, with whom I kept in contact until today. Later on, I moved to Beijing for undergraduate studies and spent a large amount of my time hanging around with classmates from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Algeria. And while working in Berlin, my understanding about the MENA region extended through my colleagues from Jordan.
When I was studying fashion in Sydney in 2015, my research was focused on Orientalism and Modest Fashion. There was a book by Adam Geczy called “Fashion and Orientalism - Dress, Textiles and Culture from the 17th to the 21st Century,” which inspired me phenomenally as it discussed the artistic relationship and impact of Silk Road from Chinoiserie to Egyptomania. Since I’ve had my internships with the MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council), as well as many occasions for cultural exchange, it felt natural for me to combine my expertise and share East Asian brands with my Arab friends that I’ve met along the way.
Curito:
Could you tell us what the Oriental Hybrid is and why you and your team decided to start this business? Did you see a lack of cross-cultural integration for the younger generation from Far East to Middle East?
Reiting:
Starting a cross-cultural consulting agency has been on my mind for years, nonetheless, in my agenda, I always thought about launching it after getting a master’s degree, working in a corporate job for a few years, and preparing some savings. Yet in the midst of the global pandemic, my study plan flipped and thankfully, I encountered two important business partners (and good friends) from Cairo, Hani Kamel and Rania Rafie, that really motivated me to overcome my fears and step out of my comfort zone to become a full-time entrepreneur.
the Oriental Hybrid, from its wording definition, means “an intercultural mixture of the Far East and the Middle East.” Indeed, these are our 2 specialized markets. Our team is built with Chinese and Arabic native speakers who have resided in both regions, speak each others’ language, and some are even beautifully mixed with cross-cultural parents. The multicultural elements are already embedded in our genes, thus we are very passionate about facilitating conversations and promoting the best of both worlds digitally. There isn’t a marketing & PR agency specialized with this mixture yet - so I can proudly say that we’re one of the firsts in the world!
In terms of a lack of cross-cultural integration, if we take the 1990s generation as an example, most Arabs only know the industrial performance of the Far East from the made-in-China and made-in-Taiwan labels and think every Chinese is good at kungfu to fly like the movie stars, while most Chinese think Arabs are only living in the desert and riding camels with an extremely conservative lifestyle or associate them with terrorism.
Our team sees that there are still a lot of opportunities for the younger generations from both the Chinese and Arab worlds to learn about each other’s lifestyle and to understand how the other side thinks, which is fundamental for building a peaceful and prosperous relationship between these 2 regions.
Curito:
What are some of the cultural misconceptions you wish to correct regarding Chinese and Arab culture from both business and consumer perspectives?
Reiting:
One of the most common misconceptions we often hear is the question regarding “quality,” as many consumers in the MENA region think everything that is made-in-China is fake and jerry-built, not to mention the made-in-Taiwan question because the majority of them hardly knows any products from Taiwan.
The second often-asked misconception would be the “hygiene” concerns on food and beauty products from the Chinese-speaking region. The “halal” certification is an important factor to consider when MENA consumers are making purchases. Yet many still believe that Chinese eat and use everything without considering on cleanness.
The third, and the most important one, is “diversity.” Chinese market includes 34 states, while the Arab market includes 22 countries. The gap within Chinese and Arab cultures themselves is massive. We cannot apply the example of Saudi Arabia in Morocco, and it’s also not suitable to apply the same business strategy in Beijing as in Taipei, hence when our team gives consultation, we must dig into geographical details.
Our team sees that there are still a lot of opportunities for the younger generations from both the Chinese and Arab worlds to learn about each other’s lifestyle and to understand how the other side thinks, which is fundamental for building a peaceful and prosperous relationship between these 2 regions.
Curito:
There is so much potential between these two markets of Chinese and Arabic speaking communities, could you elaborate more on the opportunities that lie within these markets that many have yet to explore?
Reiting:
Although this might sound cliché, the first obvious opportunity lies in the enormous consumer number. Egypt alone has 100 million in its population while China has 1.4 billion; adding the Chinese and Arab together would be approximately 2 billion people in total, that counts almost as ⅓ of the world.
Technology is definitely one of the strongest strengths for Chinese companies. From 4G/5G network, high quality tech products, smart payment system, to e-commerce knowledge, bringing these to the MENA region will make life easier and the resources more accessible for its people.
We also discover a rising interest in both regions for creativity, be it in fashion, art, or entertainment. The young people learn each others’ culture through social media and drama series. Our team can connect the suitable talents to collaborate with the brands on developing more competitive products and marketing campaigns.
Curito:
Does the Oriental Hybrid work with a specific category, industry, or brands? What makes the Oriental Hybrid different from other marketing, PR agencies in the space. Could you walk us through the advantages of working with the Oriental Hybrid?
Reiting:
theOH’s current focus is on Fashion, Beauty, and Tech. And I’d use 3 words to describe ourselves: young, specialized, impactful.
theOH’s team average age is 26. As a social media marketing agency in the era in which Gen Z is dominant, I believe it is important to keep our team young at heart so we can understand the media landscape first-hand and know how to keep our content fun.
We not only have a focus on social media content translation and strategy, but also have one of the widest networks to Arabic media, KOLs, and creators. We can ensure the timing, quality, and competitive pricing of our content translation and media campaign result.
theOH has our expertise in social media and press relations. Although there are many translations and trading services on the market, our team is unique in the way that we not only have a focus on social media content translation and strategy, but also have one of the widest networks to Arabic media, KOLs, and creators. We can ensure the timing, quality, and competitive pricing of our content translation and media campaign result. Our team members own several social media outlets, including “Asia on Spot,” which is the first Arabic self-media ever with a focus on Asian affairs. Most Arabic media is filled with local news and tend to make readers lose concentration, yet “Asia on Spot” being considered a specialized platform in the Chinese topics with high credibility, the Arabic audience believes us as THE expert in our selection of brands and news.
theOH sincerely cares about the social impact we are making. Our business model is designed to be in harmony with the UN SDGs 2030 and China’s 14th Five Year Plan. Apart from being environmentally friendly with our officeless and paperless operation, we aim for each project our team collaborates on, a minimum of 20% from the revenue will be applied to enhance CSR for our clients by supporting local NGOs that are related to sustainability in the targeted region. We strive to see the immediate social impact rather than waiting for the right time to come for philanthropy.
In April 2021, we organized the first English-run webinar about Sustainable Fashion across North African countries and collected Ramadan donations for an Egyptian Clothing Bank and the Anou. You can read more about our webinar on Egypt Today here and Black and White magazine here.
Curito:
If companies want to enter the Middle East market what are some of your suggestions to be prepared and better position themselves to understand the consumers in the Arab speaking countries?
Reiting:
The Middle East and North Africa countries differ from one to the other in their cultural landscape and consumer behaviors due to different colonial history and economical factors, thus our team provides localized translation and consultation to guide the companies according to their requests.
A special note is that the terminology of “Arab” needs to be carefully addressed to show respect as the people in each region has a variety of identities, for example, many prefer to call themselves as Egyptian, Amazigh, or Bedouin in accordance to their cultural lineage.
Curito:
At the moment what are some of your favorite Middle Eastern influencers we should all be following, brands you love, and what is trending for the Oriental Hybrid?
Reiting:
We curate and share our favorite talents, rising trends, and business tips on our Instagram account, do follow!
Recommended Instagram Accounts:
@ascia @danahourani @_ghitta_ @sofiaelarabi @mohcineharisse @moroccan.mirage @unsghassib @ayabarqawi @loginasalah @dear.nostalgia @mouslamrabat @l4artiste @aminazaher @aezzeldinn @lomovros @karimadduchi @rhitacreations @upfuse @nafsikaskourti @amirteima @sheriffayed @khaledjwad @marvunis @hosheikal @tasneemelaidy
Curito:
In this coming decade, what do you hope to achieve personally and with Oriental Hybrid?
Reiting:
Personally speaking, I feel extremely blessed being a Taiwanese with the full freedom to travel and a safe home to return to, and I think every single day that God allows me to be alive for should be used to bring a reason for someone to smile.
As I’ve already reached my 30s and being a family-oriented person in both the Chinese and Arab context, I wouldn’t lie about my desire in building my own family in the coming years aside from work. Meanwhile, as Andy Warhol said, “they always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself,” with my proactive mindset, I always keep moving forward in taking on challenges to work on topics that I find meaningful such as supporting the cultural heritage preservation and reducing regional inequality caused by the imbalance of resources.
There is still a lot of space for our team to grow, and I hope theOH will continue expanding and become an established voice and a well-known entity in the sphere of Chinese-Arab intercultural communication in which the creative businesses and young generation will look up to as a role model.
Curito:
Are there particular companies and individuals you prefer to work with or cross collaborate with? What is the best way to reach you to inquire about your services?
Reiting:
the Oriental Hybrid is open to all types of collaborations that are aligned with our values and specialty.
We specialize in Fashion Week and Tech Tradeshow updates coverage. We can help tech companies like Tencent, Xiaomi, ASUS, and MSI in promoting their positive corporate image. We can enhance market presence through press relations for fashion brands like Anta Sports, Li-Ning, ICICLE, Gioia Pan, Dleet, and Nicole+Felicia. We can assist on sales and consumer awareness for clean beauty brands like O’right. We can support business incubators like Anchor Taiwan and industry associations such as Textile Federation to attract buyer attention and develop a more internationalized media plan.
Our team is very active in the digital channels, so any business or individuals may reach us easily via email, website, or social media channels to schedule a free 30-minute online consultation.
You can reach us with any of the following link: website / instagram/ email / linkedin / weibo
Curito:
Reiting, thank you for your time and energy in sharing with us your journey and creating theOH! Can’t wait to see what theOH continues to work on in the years ahead, we think this space is worth checking out to really educate consumers, create that dialogue and bridge the gap between East Asia and the Middle East!
First published on May 22, 2021
