Paul Dixon’s PR blog

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their EU counterparts have been hot on the heels of the Chinese – so much so, it seems less adversarial responses have been replaced by a more open, communicative approach.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.

So how are the Western PR gurus advising their new, appreciative clients from the ‘wild, wild east’, as one American political commentator put it. Be open, honest and stage the press conferences to show the world you mean business is one recommendation the Chinese have taken on board. Blow your own trumpet, so to speak. And July was very loud indeed, almost deafening by previous Chinese standards. The government has trumpeted its offer of large rewards to citizens who report illegal practices in the food industry. China’s quality inspectors have also been more vocal about their promises to improve quarterly reports to the EU about consumer product safety. Only last week, the world learnt about how co-operation with the FBI led to the seizure of pirated Microsoft and Symantec software worth an estimated $500 million. The list goes on.

It was good to read the opinions of Dan Harris (he runs the popular China Law Blog) in the Washington Post article – he believes, ‘the problem is so massive and so deep-seated that I think it’s going to take huge amounts of money and a very long time for it to be cleaned up’. And he is probably right. The other thing of course is that for these clean-up acts to work, having your new communications strategy in your pack is one thing, but sticking to it – and to keep your PR ace card working for you – you have to be consistent and persistent with your message. Let’s see what happens in the second half of 2007, it’s going to be a fascinating game of cards folks.