Elevating Mobi Garden from OEM powerhouse to lifestyle brand, through a new value proposition
Mobi Garden (牧高笛), a listed Chinese outdoor company known for its OEM expertise and its signature Cold Mountain tent, reached a pivotal moment as glamping became a major lifestyle trend in China.
To capture this growth, it needed to shift from a product-centric to a brand-centric company.
The deeper question behind
The brief was to find new brand opportunities as the glamping wave swept across China. The deeper question was what nature and the outdoors truly mean to China’s urbanites, and how the whole organization could learn to see through their eyes, turning the momentum of glamping into a lasting brand transformation.
My leadership & impact: mapping where the brand could play, through the contrast between city and nature
As lead design researcher, I began by exploring how Chinese urbanites relate to nature through their outdoor activities, consumption and aspirations, before narrowing toward a brand-specific direction.
Along the way, I:
Designed an immersive research approach. The design team and I went camping at three locations across China, each representing a different way to camp, from hardcore bushcraft to luxe glamping. We also held in-depth interviews with more than 20 outdoor enthusiasts and key opinion leaders.
Created a contrast-based framework to guide the founder and senior leadership . I initiated a framework that mapped outdoor landscapes by their contrast with urban life. It helped the client think more tangibly and holistically about the space they wanted to play in as a brand, and doubled as a map of research participants, current competitors and products. It also gave the founder and leadership team a grounded anchor for prioritization and high-level decisions.
Translated insights into design principles. I distilled immersive insights from the field into design principles, giving communication designers on the team tangible starting points for developing brand concepts.
Conveyed the essence of the value proposition to external partners. I shared the research insights and the core idea behind the new value proposition vividly with our brand copywriting partners, so that even without joining us in the field, they could quickly grasp the essence of the value proposition and create a compelling new brand manifesto for Mobi Garden as part of our deliverables.
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Crafted nature
Close to the city
Wild nature
Far from the city
Backyards & city parks
Suburban campsites & forest parks
Scenic areas
Outdoor activity sites
True wilderness
Where we camped
Weekend camping near Shanghai
Glamping in Yunnan
Bushcraft in Zhejiang
Glamping
Camping
A simplified view of the contrast-based framework, mapping outdoor landscapes and our research sites by their distance from urban life.
Outcome
The research changed how Mobi Garden understands its customers and reshaped its internal ways of working, especially around research. Instead of relying on their own perceptions, the team began gathering feedback from loyal users on platforms like Xiaohongshu and interviewing customers face to face, an approach that went on to influence their product development workflow.
The new value proposition and brand identity, delivered in the brand book, were rolled out across online and offline channels and guided the launch of a new flagship store in Ningbo, China.
Mobi Garden’s new flagship store debut in Ningbo, China
What the client says
“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.”
— Director of Distribution Center, Mobi Garden
“In the past, when we made products, we would often rely on our own perceptions… 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
Key learning
Research leaves its most lasting mark when it becomes a way of thinking and doing things. Here, the contrast between city and nature gave Mobi Garden a clear space to play in as a brand, and experiencing that contrast firsthand taught the team to keep listening to their customers, long after the project ended.
Read more
IDEO’s official case study, featuring my perspective as lead design researcher (in Chinese): 牧高笛品牌新路开拓之旅
The new brand film, reported by Phoenix New Media (in Chinese): 牧高笛发布全新品牌片