3rd Brand Innovation Conference — Transcultural Innovation of Heritage Brands

Brand Innovation Conference 2024 — Hamburg

The third Sino-German Brand Innovation Conference (BIC 2024) took place on 27 May 2024 on the Hamburg campus of Zhejiang Wanli University in cooperation with the Brand University of Applied Sciences. Under the motto "Transcultural Innovation of Heritage Brands", the conference dealt with the challenges and opportunities of heritage branding in an increasingly global, digital and transcultural environment.

The conference formed part of the ongoing Sino-German Brand Innovation Forum series and brought together scientists, designers, industry representatives and institutional partners from China and Germany. Connected in a hybrid format with Hamburg as the main venue and Ningbo online, the event connected academic exchange with practical perspectives on branding, communication, design and innovation.

Key topics were:

• Transcultural transformation of heritage,

• Digitisation and international brand communication,

• AI and innovation processes,

• intercultural branding strategies,

• and the role of design in contemporary brand identity building.

The forum was supported by institutions such as China Advertising Association, the German Design Council and the German Brand Association. Participating universities and partners included Zhejiang Wanli University, East China University of Science and Technology, Brand University of Applied Sciences, University of Nottingham Ningbo, and representatives from industry and cultural institutions.

The programme consisted of keynote speeches, panel discussions and a panel discussion with Chinese and German experts. Around 100 Participants came on site in Hamburg, around 500 participants online. English served as the working language of the conference.

An accompanying exhibition entitled "Old Honorable Brands · New National Trend Innovation Design Exhibition" presented outstanding student projects and brand design works from Chinese and German universities. The exhibition shed light on innovative approaches to the reinterpretation of cultural heritage within the contemporary brand communication and design practice.