Developing a value proposition for a listed Chinese outdoor brand.
An immersive, experiential research approach helped a leading Chinese OEM outdoor manufacturer, Mobi Garden (牧高笛), transition to a brand-centric strategy amid the rise of glamping. The project involved mapping "outdoor landscapes" in contrast to urban life to guide a new strategic framework, brand book, and product development, ultimately shifting the client's internal mindset to be more human-centric. The project's impact is validated by a transformation in the client's product development workflow and a successful new flagship store launch in Ningbo.
The official case study on IDEO's official WeChat article in Chinese: 牧高笛品牌新路开拓之旅：在城市与自然的“反差”中，握住精致露营机遇
All-new brand video reportage on 鳳凰網：牧高笛发布全新品牌片，引领自在露营新风尚
Summary
01 / The Challenge: Shifting from OEM to Brand-Centric Strategy
A leading Chinese outdoor manufacturer Mobi Garden, known for its OEM expertise approached a pivotal moment as glamping emerged as a major lifestyle trend in China. To capture this growth potential, the client needed to transition from a product-centric to a brand-centric focus, which required helping internal teams embrace a fundamentally different, brand-driven mindset across their entire organization.
02 / The Strategic Focus: Mapping Cultural Landscapes for Decision-Making
As lead design researcher, my focus was to explore the relationship between urbanites and nature at an ideological level before narrowing toward brand-specific direction. I initiated a key strategic framework that mapped outdoor landscapes by their contrast to urban life, providing a reliable, grounding anchor for prioritization and high-level decision-making with the client's founder and leadership team.
03 / The Approach: Immersive Experiential Research & Design Principles Translation
I designed an upfront, immersive research approach involving on-site camping across three locations in China alongside deep interviews with over twenty diverse outdoor enthusiasts and key opinion leaders. By translating these rich ethnographic insights into core design principles for product development, I partnered with external teams to bring a human-centric brand vision to life through a unified brand book and video.
04 / The Impact & Transformation: Redesigning Mindsets and Workflows
The customized research phase successfully shifted the client's internal ways of working, directly influencing their long-term product development workflow. The resulting value proposition and brand visual identity delivered as a brand book were implemented across all online and offline channels, and guided the successful launch of their new flagship store in Ningbo, China.
“I'm very impressed with the co-creation process. The presentation of user interviews, photos, and stories helped us understand their needs and aspirations and influenced the way we work. Over time, we've become more attuned to the needs and challenges of our collaborative partners.”
— Director of Distribution Center, Mobi Garden
“In the past, when we made products, we would often rely on our own perceptions. But now, we conduct user consultations, such as collecting feedback from loyal users on platforms like Xiaohongshu, to better understand where the real pain points are. IDEO's early-stage design research gave us a lot of inspiration. Later, our team began to conduct user interviews on our own, speaking to users face-to-face. This process ultimately influenced our product development workflow and mindset.”
— Director of User Development, Mobi Garden