‘Wild, Wild East’ Draws PR Card July 31, 2007
Posted by dixonpaul in Crisis Communications, Media Talk, PR in the PRC.2 comments
On Sunday the New York Times, beaten by a similar Washington Post article on July 14, reported that Ogilvy Public Relations has been enlisted to help the Chinese government spin positive messages to American and Chinese consumers following a tumultuous six months where cardboard filled baozi (steamed dumplings) to toxic-toothpaste have made more of an impression on their ears than in their mouths.
With a heightened sense of economic realpolitik, consumers on both sides of the Pacific aren’t of course the only group the Chinese government wishes to influence: Every US product quality enforcement agency and their EU counterparts have been hot on the heels of the Chinese – so much so, it seems less adversarial responses have been replaced by a more open, communicative approach. The Washington Post reported that Edelman Public Relations and Capitol Hill lobbying groups are also assisting the Chinese government produce articulate, positive responses when dealing with the relentless product-quality scandals hitting China this year. (more…)
Hu’s better suited to handling a flood crisis? July 26, 2007
Posted by dixonpaul in Crisis Communications, Media Talk, PR in the PRC, PR in the UK.add a comment
As I waded through my regular news portals covering the latest flood reports from the UK – and China – it was interesting to see how the respective leaders from both countries are getting their feet wet and supporting the relief efforts. Even more interesting is their attire.
First there is Gordon Brown – whether it’s riding the storm in PMQ’s;
Serving aces past 13 year-old secondary school students;
Or indeed visiting flooded homes in Gloucestershire;
the customary tailored dark suit, white shirt and polished black shoes seems to be the only way for Gordon to step outside onto Downing Street’s July puddles (to give him some credit, a pink tie was once bravely worn as opposed to his favoured blue). A search on Google images reveals just two occasions when he was clad in anything else: a picture with his wife, Sarah, and their newly born daughter; and a visit to British troops serving in Iraq – I assume too hot even for his all-purpose-all-weather suit in the midday desert heat. A white shirt, top-button open, was his attire on both those occasions by the way. (more…)
Thumbs Down to Beijing’s Western Media July 20, 2007
Posted by dixonpaul in Media Talk, PR in the PRC.add a comment
The Times (London) writes: “Web censorship is failing, says Chinese official”. Understood. I’ll now flap my wings and fly to Neverland. Are we really supposed to believe the vice-minister at the Chinese State Information Office even alluded to a failed Government policy to censor the Internet? Granted, he did say that “blocking bad news” is becoming more difficult given the wide use of new information technologies (i.e. the Internet). But he made the comments in reference to blocking information in a crisis situation (highlighted by the recent brick kiln scandal) – making reference to so some key crisis management skills that should be utilised in the future: communicate early, frequently and actively engage the media. His comments are actually quite encouraging. We ask our clients to think of one positive story from the Western media here in Beijing – needless to say, they are few and far between. It was an obvious headline for the Times’ Beijing correspondent – but the fact is, the vice-minister never said that.
For a more balanced take you can check out what I wrote, as seen below. Cheers.
Brick Kiln Scandal Puts Heat on Chinese Government Crisis Management July 17, 2007
Posted by dixonpaul in Crisis Communications, Media Talk, PR in the PRC.add a comment
Yesterday, an interesting article appeared above the fold on the second page of China’s English language newspaper – the China Daily – regarding urges made by the vice-minister of the State Council Information Office for local governments to be more open and transparent. According to the vice-minister, attempts to block media coverage of negative incidents was “too naïve” and that “blocking bad news” was becoming more difficult, given the wide use of new information technologies and also the central government’s commitment to information transparency.
The reason why a senior official came out with this is of course due to the headline-grabbing brick kiln slave scandal; children were abducted and sold to brickyards in several counties in Shanxi (a province west of Beijing) then forced to labour 14 hours a day without sufficient food. (more…)
Melcrum’s Communicators’ Network July 13, 2007
Posted by dixonpaul in Career Focus.add a comment
It’s spreading like wild fire through the inboxes of PR folks world-wide so I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t your first introduction to Melcrum’s excellent Communicators’ Network. If you have read my previous posts you will know my views on social networks: young professionals are often throwing caution into the wind when using sites like Facebook – you will be googled. The great thing about the Communicators’ Network is that it is exactly what it says it is:-
Looking forward to seeing you there 
Cheers.
PR professionals need more than a Great Firewall to protect their online brand July 11, 2007
Posted by dixonpaul in Career Focus, Social Media.add a comment
In my last post I argued that young PR professionals need to embrace social media as part of their personal branding. Social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook are leading the revolution – it’s a no-brainer that professional communicators need to get a firm grip with what’s happening online, and be an active part of it.
But things aren’t that simple: what happens when a potential employer, impressed by your CV and LinkedIn profile, then clicks on Facebook only to discover that picture? He might not put the phone down, but he will want to delve into the pockets of your life (possibly the ones after a few too many shandies) that you didn’t want him to know about. Heck, you had already forgotten about them and moved on.
PRO’s Need to Embrace New Technologies to Keep Pace with Fast Changing Internet World July 10, 2007
Posted by dixonpaul in Career Focus, Social Media.add a comment
In my latest flirt with the on-line virtual world “there.com” I commented to a fellow avatar how great she looked in her bright pink boots – only for her to flee into the jungle. Did I offend her? Should I have pursued her? I think I was more confused in suddenly facing a decision that was for me, well, weird. But for 400,000 there.com members these kinds of experiences aren’t weird at all – in fact they’re perfectly normal.
Online social interaction is transforming the way people communicate, the emergence of blogs, vlogs, podcasts, RSS, and social interaction websites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Second Life have created an arena for people to communicate in a way the world has never seen before. If PR is really about communicating with your publics, then PR practitioners – especially those who are just starting out like me – need to embrace the emergence of new media as a powerful tool for PR practice in the future. (more…)
