WPBEIJING
China Marketing

浩浦工作室

WPBeijing China Media Relations

Many SME's don't fully understand the complexity of media in China, especially the tricky area of relationships.
It is a much over used expression, but it is true , China is different... what may work for you in Taiwan or Hong Kong may not do so well on The Mainland.
Media is still very much state controlled so you need to be aware of more factors here, know the right people or your could find it extremely difficult to get your media material released when you need it, if at all.
One of the common question we are asked when firms come up against this is "Why?"
A common answer is China is "No why."
Lets look at a not so hyperthetical example

WPBeijing China Media Case Study

You are a small business doing well in China, you have steady growth and good turnover.
Suddenly, out of the blue an "article" appears on the China Internet, quite probably a blog of which there are millions here, claiming some major, health or safety risk with your product.
Why? Who knows,one off your suppliers taking short cuts, a jealous rival, someone who thought they didn't get a good deal from a retailer, misplaced patriotism or just spite.
Within hours this has spread to other blogs including the bigger portals, has also gained newspaper coverage and is featured in the local nationwide evening news. Sales plummet, hate mail arrives. What do you do?

If like most SME's in China you don't have a good domestic marketing company with strong media "Relationships" you wait while officialdom grinds its way through an investigation, and probably go bankrupt.
Of course, given time, the truth will out, and your 15 minutes of fame is over, but this is China, don't expect a front page or prime time retraction, it may, if you are lucky, get mentioned as a hoax or false alarm somewhere in the lesser news worthy items.

With WWPBeijing China Marketing damage control we would have leveraged the power of our media relations, lessened the knock on effect and eventually had a Government ministry official state publicly that your product was safe effectively turning a nightmare into a marketing opportunity.

WPBeijing China Media Types

1. EVENTS:

   Trade Shows, Fairs or Exhibitions, Product Launches
As mentioned in Event Management WPBeijing China Marketing believes exhibitions and the like are an important and growing form of media often overlooked by other companies.
As well as showcasing your product or service directly to clients, events are an ideal vehicle to create news, build closer relationships with journalists and mainstream media and squeeze extra promotional coverage with media releases, documentaries or interviews.
Complimentary invitations to government and industry specific key players to special evenings is also invaluable PR for building those much needed "connections" in China business.

2. News papers, TV, Radio

The "mainstream" and most people's first thoughts on media
This is one of those areas that maybe work a a little bit differently to what some western business men expect.
What ever name you care to give it, often journalists and editors need some sort of "incentive" if you expect to do more than just place a paid ad, and even then, good relationships can be priceless in ensuring a raft of competitors ads don't swamp yours. Remember, media and government are inextricably linked and can either be a stone wall or a gate depending on the leverage your marketing company can bring to bear.
Some SME's try to send a "blanket" cover of press releases to all media, but in China that may backfire, WPBeijing China Marketing prefers an individual, one to one hand crafted approach to editors or journo's.

3. Electronic

The most obvious include; web sites, mobile phones, out door displays, in-house LCD panels, [lift lobbies, foyers]and currently growing in popularity in China, Blogs.
Whilst social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter et al are effectively blocked out of existence, a new social marketing network has developed in China, born from the very mechanism that was created to abort it, censorship.
Despite the formidable power of the state, many, once shut down, spring up again somewhere else so it is a continual game of cat and mouse where the mouse often wins. Goods and services are also assessed on these blogs and popular comment can bring instant success or failure, as noted in Case Studies.

WPBeijing China Media

It can be seen from the above that the road to media success in China marketing in far from smooth and unless you have a strong, well connected marketing studio planning and organising your material to communicate your message effectively and clearly to the right target audience with the right media vehicle.
Although for most SME's censorship perse is, in reality, not a major problem it is possible to innocently include "sensitive' words in your copy or to "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" something surprising easy to do.
WPBEijing China Marketing will ensure all your media material is well targeted and is suitable of the intended audience, we also look for ways to "co-ordinate news stories with media releases, articles and ads thereby "adding Value" to what seemed a simple step.