January 2020 PR Calendar Cheat Sheet

The first month of 2020 heralds new beginnings, a fresh crop of opportunities and resolutions to make. Injecting some buzz this month is Lunar New Year, which is celebrated across Asia-Pacific, where people will usher in the Year of the Rat with food, clothes and greetings – all bearing auspicious symbolism. Here’s a list of major events and festivals to help you plan your PR campaigns and activities this month.

Key Dates 

• 7 – 10 January: Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020
• 11 – 19 January: Singapore Art Week
• 13 January: Coming of Age Day (Japan)
• 16 January: Teacher’s Day (Thailand)
• 17 – 19 January: Taipei Dangdei (Global Art Fair)
• 21 January:  World Economic Forum
• 24 January:  International Day of Education
• 24 January:  Lunar New Year Eve
• 25 January – Lunar New Year
• 26 January – 62nd GRAMMY Awards

Highlights of January 2020

1. New Year’s Day (1 January)

Taiwanese digital design studio Fourdesire has launched a campaign to help users make their New Year’s resolutions in a fun and fuss-free way. Through its three gamified mobile apps, “Fortune City”, “Plant Nanny²” and “Walkr”, users can cultivate better wellness and financial habits such as spending wisely, drinking more water and walking more.

2. Consumer Electronics Show 2020 (7 to 10 January) 

A flurry of new products and partnerships were announced at the CES 2020, the world’s biggest consumer technology show, which was held in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 January.

Formally known as the Consumer Electronics Show, CES has set the stage for upcoming technology innovations to be introduced to the marketplace by leading companies around the world. With over 4,400 exhibiting companies across 36 product categories, competition is keen to secure media coverage.

According to Mike Butcher, editor-at-large at TechCrunch, he gets over 500 emails per day and is focused on those that contain news, not self-promotion filled with buzzwords designed to please the client. Amidst the hive of activity at this industry event, time-pressed journalists appreciate multimedia press releases as it is a one-stop resource page to gather information and multimedia assets to enrich their reports.

South Korean company Hyundai Motors distributed a multimedia news release on its smart mobility solutions, comprising Urban Air Mobility, Purpose Built Vehicle and Hub, a place for mobility transfer and community activities, that were unveiled at CES 2020. This news release, which is also available in Indonesian and Simplified Chinese, comes with photos of the three innovations, and a video on Hyundai’s human-centred future mobility vision. Relevant news and technology media outlets carried the news and created infographics from the press images, emphasizing the importance of providing journalists easy access to multimedia assets.

Relevant news and technology media outlets carried the news and created infographics from the press images, emphasizing the importance of providing journalists easy access to multimedia assets.

In a separate press release, Hyundai also announced its partnership with American ride-sharing company Uber on developing Uber Air Taxis, an aerial ride-sharing network and also launched its new full-scale aircraft concept. This piece of partnership news, which featured quotes from senior management, was picked up by major news outlets such as The Financial Times, CNN and Nikkei Asian Review.

CES is also a great platform for businesses to showcase products with novel technology and uses. Take Taiwanese start-up LuluPet for example. It has introduced the world’s first cat litter box with in-built artificial intelligence that tracks the health of cats through their excretory behaviour, weight changes and stool images.

3. Lunar New Year Eve (24 January)

    Lunar New Year (25 January) 

Many theme parks and brick-and-mortar establishments such as shopping malls strive to create a memorable experience during this holiday period. Shanghai Disney Resort is hosting a Spring Festival event – a fitting tribute given that the brand’s most famous cartoon character is the Mickey Mouse. From 13 January to 9 February, mascots of Disney’s most iconic characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy are donning new Spring Festival outfits. Guests can enjoy performances, games and food stalls in a colourful and flamboyant street market. They can also access new Disney-themed photo filters and create Spring Festival greeting videos on smartphones.

The festival season is also an opportune time to spruce up one’s wardrobe. In China, Sportswear brand Adidas has introduced a series of sportswear, adidasTERREX CNY, in conjunction with the Lunar New Year festivities. Not surprisingly, the line’s jackets, sweaters and windbreakers come in bright red – an auspicious colour in Chinese culture. The sportswear line is designed for city-dwellers who are planning to exercise during the festive break. This set of apparel is also designed for everyday wear, far beyond Lunar New Year.

Travelling during the Lunar New Year break is getting more popular, since mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam have public holidays to celebrate this festival. The occasion is known as Seollal in South Korea, and Tet in Vietnam.

To spark some holiday ideas, global online travel agency Agoda has compiled a list of Top 10 Destinations for Asia-Pacific travellers over the Lunar New Year period, based on booking data in 2019. Bangkok, Tokyo and Taipei have emerged tops in the list as these cities are gourmet and shopping spots. Agoda also released Top 10 Destination Lists and festive travel trends for seven markets in this region.

Hong Kong-based online travel agency, Klook also came up with a Top 10 list of travel experiences, from its repository of 100,000 activities across 350 destinations. These lists were picked up by travel websites and featured in search engine results, providing a nifty source of inspiration for travellers who may then use Agoda or Klook’s services.

Plan your upcoming campaigns and news releases around festivals, exhibitions and conferences in Asia-Pacific. Click here to view PR Newswire’s Public Relations Calendar 2020.

This blog post is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire. A former journalist, he relishes keeping track of breaking news as much as telling stories with trends and data. Connect with him via Linkedin.