HONG KONG, Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- PR Newswire's 2015 New Communication Annual
Summit was held on November 26 in Beijing. With the theme of exploring the current
Speakers included:
Five key concepts for crisis communications management in the era of the Internet
Hu Baijing, Associate Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Renmin University of China, advanced five key concepts for crisis communications management: Competition for Opinions, Forming the Relationship, the Standard Story, the Voice Alliance and Value Sequencing. He believes that one of the most direct and significant changes brought by the Internet is that members of the general public are able to publicize their diverse opinions, and that it is those members of the general public who have the most radical opinions that receive the most attention. To deal with this scenario, he advised companies that are subject to such opinions to have an open dialogue with the opinion makers rather than to ignore or confront them. In Hu's opinion, when a public opinion crisis erupts, the first step for corporations is to regain recognition by establishing a better relationship with each other and being willing to discuss the issue. Hu also suggested good storytelling is another necessary tactic in the midst of a crisis, so it is important to let the opinion leaders express themselves and be able to guide public discussion. At the end of his discourse, Hu referred to Value Sequencing; he urged companies to see public interest and social good as their primary interests before they evaluate their own benefits and losses as it is important to earn value recognition from the public.
The evolution of the role of media and its effect on corporate communication
George Chen, Managing Editor and Columnist, SCMP.com International Edition, South China Morning Post, shared his views based on his rich experience of what constitutes news, to what companies need to pay attention when issuing press releases, and how to deal with media relations. When it comes to press release distribution, Shu said, "The most important thing is for the company to find the right platform for the press release so that it reaches the intended reader base. Broad reach across the so-called mainstream media is not a must." Shu also mentioned that internal PR cannot be unduly dependent on external public relations agencies, as no one understands your company better than you.
The evolving media trends and how multinationals are dealing with these new changes have been the hot topics. To that end, the Summit invited guests from two multinational firms to share their insights. Shang Rong, SeniorDirector of Public Affairs, Communications and Operations at Microsoft ARD, said, "As brand communicators, we still have room for adding more rational and emotional elements to our brand in terms of content creation." Li Guowei, Director of Communications and Brand for GE Greater China, said, "There are three main elements when it comes to communications: being the opinion leader, perfecting the content and building the brand. In addition, all brand communications need to build strong relevancy, which is a link between the benefits and the emotions generated by the audience to the brand. This is the most basic element of ultimate branding success."
Suggestions for China-based brands expanding into overseas markets on communications
After analyzing the challenges facing Chinese brands, Walter Jennings, Vice President of CorporateCommunications at Huawei Technologies, pointed out that the added value provided by China-based manufacturers has been increasing, and the service side of their offering is gradually becoming their chief profit maker. These changes indicate that the perception of "Made in China" is dependent on the skills applied to the complete process that results in the production of high quality products. The "Made in China 2025" program describes where the global competitiveness of China's top ten industries should be in ten years. The program, with the German Industrial 4.0 Plan as a reference, is designed to enhance the competitiveness of China's core industries through the joint efforts of the whole nation. Jennings mentioned that Chinese brands have an unprecedented opportunity to provide a positive image to consumers worldwide. For those who are interested in expanding their brand communication efforts, Jennings laid out a series of steps:
Public relations for startups
The first roundtable discussion was chaired by Cui Baohua, Entrepreneur Media 09 Assistant CEO. Zhang Nan, COO at Huangbaoche; Wang Jing, iCare Newlife partner; Dong Xinyu, COO at Raiing Medical Technology; Liu Liang, Marketing Vice President at Suifenhe Qingyun Market; and Zhang Feng, Senior Marketing Director at Babytree, shared their unique views on what a startup's brand communication should be.
When it comes to how startups can make themselves known, trusted, and even favored, Liu Liang said, "Brand communication should be based on a company's long-term strategy. From the very beginning, communication requires taking the company's own differentiating characteristics into consideration in order to create a unique brand in all aspects." Dong Xinyu mentioned two key points: the sustainability of communications and the importance of having a main element that can help you retain the user. In Zhang Nan's opinion, companies should not only look for PR applicants who are good at writing press releases, but the candidate should also be intimately familiar with the company's core strategy in order to integrate the reality of the business into the brand story. iCare Newlife partner, Wang Jing, shared the importance of letting a company's fans participate in the communications efforts. Zhang Feng talked about how public relations professionals should not be limited to writing and managing media relations, but also need to fully understand and be in line with the vision of their CEOs in order to properly articulate and disseminate the company's strategy and cultural concepts.
New changes and trends in corporate communications
With the topic on leading trends and changes in corporate corporations, this roundtable discussion was chaired byGreely Liang, Senior Manager of Media Development, South China Region at PR Newswire Asia. Special guests who joined Liang for the discussion included Shang Rong, Senior Director of Public Affairs, Communications andOperations at Microsoft ARD; Li Guowei, Director of Communications and Brand for GE Greater China; Gao Chao,Uber China Corporate Communications Director; Gu Weiwei, Vice President of Marketing at Pactera; and Chen Shu, the Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs at Lee Kum Kee.
When it comes to the leading trends influencing the domestic media in China and its impact on communications, Shang Rong said, "Compared to last year, the general trend has not changed much this year, but the pace of change has accelerated." In Gao Chao's opinion, life is becoming more difficult for public relations professionals, as last year, many media members have switched their careers over to public relations. The flow of talented individuals from the media has had a serious impact on trends in public relations. In contrast, Chen Shu countered: "The fact that media members are joining the PR community does not pose a big threat, rather it can serve to generate new potential for the PR community as a whole." Gu Weiwei shared his view on the changes from a B2B perspective. Li Guowei pointed out that the new communications challenges have been brought on by big data: communicators need to redefine different communication models, and second, communicators need to find the right balance between "change" and "adherence".
When it comes to the ultimate purpose of communication, Li Guowei commented that a company's reputation management is very important. Shang Rong proposed company awareness management, which is managing the life cycle of brand recognition by the end users. Gao Chao said, "The ultimate goal is finding the company's own position and mining the value chiefly through content." Chen Shu added that PR has long-term and short-term goals, with each phase having a different emphasis.
The keywords for corporate communications in 2016
Keywords suggested by the participants in the roundtable discussion:
Charles Clover, Beijing-based China Correspondent for the Financial Times, was also a keynote speaker at the Summit. Clover shared his experience of good storytelling from the perspective of a journalist.
The forum also included the announcement of PR Newswire New Communications Annual Summit 2015. Thirteen awards were given out to 51 companies and 19 media organizations. The company award winners include multinational corporations, private firms and emerging tech companies. The honors include Outstanding Communications Award, Best Startup Communications Award, Best Video Award, Best Mobile Communications Award, Best Exhibition Communications Award, Best CSR Award, Best Overseas Communications Award, Best Communications Content Award, Best Communications Effect Award, Best Communications Strategy Award, Most Influential Media Award, Best Original Content Media Award and New Media's Annual Innovation Awards.
For more details about the PR Newswire New Communications Annual Summit 2015, visit here.
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