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In the middle of downtown Dallas, Taiwan Excellence had a simple invitation for passersby: Give me five.

The gesture lasted only a moment. But for Taiwan Excellence, it represented something larger — an attempt to turn a technology showcase into a conversation with an American city.

In August, Taiwan Excellence brought its “V.I.G.O.R.” campaign to Dallas, taking Taiwan’s innovation story beyond the walls of a convention center and into the city itself. The campaign combined outdoor advertising, digital interaction, social media and live experiences at locations including the AT&T Discovery District and Galleria Dallas, building anticipation for the Taiwan Expo in USA 2025.

At the center of it all was a high five.

The campaign’s “Give Me Five” experience invited people to interact with FuBear, the Taiwan Excellence mascot, through a motion-tracking game. Participants began with a high five before completing three rounds of on-screen gestures to earn points and redeem Taiwan-made gifts.

It was playful by design. But it also reflected a deliberate strategy.

Taiwan Excellence was not simply trying to tell people about Taiwanese products. It was trying to create a point of contact between Taiwan and the people of Dallas — one that was immediate, physical and easy to share.

From a High Five to a Bigger Conversation

The campaign’s name, V.I.G.O.R., captures the thinking behind the activation: Vibrancy, Interaction, Gathering, Openness and Resonance.

Those ideas shaped how Taiwan Excellence approached Dallas.

Instead of relying solely on conventional advertising or waiting for professional visitors to arrive at the exhibition, the organization took its message into the public sphere.

Large digital displays appeared at the AT&T Discovery District. Advertising at Galleria Dallas brought the campaign into a major commercial destination. A mobile digital truck carried the message through other parts of the city.

The strategy was straightforward: get Taiwan seen before asking people to come and see Taiwan.

That distinction mattered.

The Taiwan Expo in USA 2025 brought together Taiwanese companies and technologies across areas including advanced manufacturing, smart technology, smart healthcare and lifestyle innovation. But before those technologies could become business opportunities, Taiwan Excellence first needed to create awareness.

The Dallas campaign served as that first point of contact.

And the high five gave people a reason to stop.

Why a High Five?

A high five is hardly a technological breakthrough.

That was precisely the point.

For a campaign representing a highly sophisticated technology ecosystem, Taiwan Excellence chose one of the simplest forms of human interaction. There was no technical knowledge required. No product specification to read. No business card to exchange.

Just a gesture.

FuBear, modeled after Taiwan’s Formosan black bear, became the face of that interaction. With its raised paw, the mascot embodied Taiwan Excellence’s effort to make innovation feel approachable rather than distant.

The idea would later become part of Taiwan Excellence’s broader global “Give Me Five! A Better Life” campaign, in which FuBear traveled across countries to use the high five as a symbol of friendliness, encouragement and connection.

In Dallas, however, the high five had another layer of meaning.

It was an invitation.

An invitation to engage with Taiwan before engaging with its technology.

Pitching Taiwan’s Best

The campaign connected that approachable experience to a distinctly American cultural language: baseball.

Under the theme “Pitching Taiwan’s Best, A Home Run for Innovation,” FuBear appeared as a baseball pitcher, standing on a mound incorporating imagery inspired by integrated circuits.

The metaphor was intentional.

Taiwan was not presenting itself merely as another overseas exhibitor. It was “pitching” the capabilities of its technology and manufacturing ecosystem to a region with its own powerful industrial base.

For Taiwan Excellence, Texas represented an especially relevant audience.

The state is home to major technology, manufacturing, energy and aerospace industries and has become an increasingly important destination for investment and supply-chain activity. Dallas, in particular, offers access to a broad commercial ecosystem extending well beyond the traditional technology centers on the U.S. coasts.

That made the city more than a backdrop for the campaign.

It was part of the strategy.

Taking Taiwan Out of the Exhibition Hall

Traditionally, international trade exhibitions have worked on a relatively simple model: bring companies together in one place and invite buyers, media and industry professionals to visit.

Taiwan Excellence took a different approach in Dallas.

The exhibition remained the destination. But the campaign began much earlier — on the streets, on digital screens and in social media.

Local influencers and lifestyle creators were invited to experience the campaign at the AT&T Discovery District, generating social content and introducing the event to audiences that might not normally follow an international trade exhibition.

The result was a kind of funnel.

A person might first see Taiwan Excellence on an LED screen. Then encounter the campaign again at a shopping center. Perhaps a mobile digital truck would pass by. A social-media post could provide another point of contact. And eventually, the U.S.-Taiwan Image Exhibition offered a place to explore the companies and technologies behind the campaign.

In that sense, the high five was not the end of the experience.

It was the beginning.

Taiwan Excellence as the Connector

That role points to a larger evolution in what Taiwan Excellence represents.

The Taiwan Excellence mark is built around the quality and innovation of Taiwanese products. But overseas, the organization increasingly operates as something broader: a platform for introducing Taiwan’s technology ecosystem to new markets.

That means creating visibility for companies that may be highly capable but less familiar to American consumers and businesses.

It also means translating Taiwan’s industrial strengths into a language that local audiences can understand.

In Dallas, that language happened to be baseball, a high five and a bear mascot.

Behind them were semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, information and communications technology and smart solutions.

The campaign therefore worked on two levels.

At the surface, it was colorful, playful and deliberately approachable.

Underneath, it was about market positioning — giving Taiwan a more recognizable presence in a strategically important U.S. market and creating a warmer entry point for future business relationships.

The First Connection

For Taiwan Excellence, the Dallas campaign was ultimately about more than driving attendance at an exhibition.

It was about changing how an international audience encounters Taiwan.

Instead of beginning with a product catalogue, it began with a gesture.

Instead of asking Americans to come to a Taiwanese exhibition, it brought Taiwan into the city.

And instead of presenting innovation as something distant and technical, it made it something people could experience for themselves.

A high five lasts a second.

Building recognition, trust and partnerships across markets takes considerably longer.

But in Dallas, Taiwan Excellence was betting that the first can help start the second.