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What PR trends are you seeing in China？
The concept of SoLoMo， which stands for social， local and mobile and was coined by John Doerr in 2011， nicely explains what I see the PR trends are like in China. China currently has 618 million internet users， 500 million mobile internet users， 281 microblog users and 355 million users of WeChat [a mobile messaging app].
With such a huge number of netizens， social media and digital communications is a key trend if you want to communicate effectively in China. Traditional media， such as television， radio and print media remain impor- tant though. The adoption of smartphones and tablets， as well as the introduction of 4G telecommunication standard enable seamless communications via mobile.
When we talk about PR in China， we talk much about local. To resonate， PR practitioners have to identify local news angles to do storytelling appealing to the local audiences. It is also important that a company is perceived to be committed to the China market and actively contributing to local society. On the other hand， PR companies should also realize the potential of local companies who are actively going and looking to go international. Agencies are required to help their local clients to go global.
Can you give some examples of your work for clients in China？
More and more clients come to EBA for integrated communications. It is to support them from setting up marketing communications strategy， developing message framework， training local spokesperson， media relations， social media， event management and measurements. PR is a creative industry. We must be able to anticipate and to create. The challenges are hence to stay up-to-date on the local political， economic and social matters and to anticipate the upcoming communications channels and how different audiences react to these communications channels to find the best way to be agile.
Do Chinese and foreign firms have big differences in requirements？ If so， what are they？
Both Chinese and foreign companies are getting more aware of the importance of building， reinforcing or reinventing their brands and are taking actions to step up their communications efforts. I will say that it is to do with the aspiration for transparency from the general public and market competition.
Do you advise on crisis PR？ What advice do you have for foreign companies that can be the target of media scrutiny like McDonalds and Apple？ In most cases， a crisis arises or gets escalated because of poor communications.
EBA does crisis communications. This is a service which we are doing very well and seeing more and more interest from clients. We help clients to set up crisis communication strategy， guidelines and procedures and processes to mitigate risks， minimize damage or even turn around a crisis to enhance the image as a good corporate citizen.
In short， companies should not wait till a crisis comes to start thinking of crisis communications.
My message to the foreign companies is that they should never be perceived to apply double standards between their home country and in China. They need to show long-term commitment to the China market.
How do you see the Chinese market developing？ What sorts of PR services do you see companies operating in China needing in the future？
I started doing communications in China dating back to 1993. I am amazed by how much China has achieved. In the old days， communications was more focused on product promotion. It was used to support sale and business development. Companies are becoming more committed to reputation management. It also leads to a blue ocean for PR practitioners and it is CSR [corporate social responsibilities] communications.
As mentioned above， integrated communications is a key driver in the PR industry globally and in particularly in China. Most Chinese companies have just started seriously doing communication. They need to heavily invest in the groundwork. That is strategy， message development， crisis communications， communications training and the cultural difference between China and any of the markets Chinese companies want to go to. I am pleased to see that Chinese companies are getting more confident and be willing to communicate.
One very interesting thing I can see is that many companies are put- ting focus on internal communications. It is to engage and embrace their employees. Talent acquisition and staff retention is a major challenge too.
To effectively communicate， people go back to the basics. Content is more recognized as the king[in communication]. Channel comes second. PR practitioners must be able to generate content， both written and non-written， to reach the people who matter via the different and evolving communications channels. Mobile communications also enable communications in a global scale. It brings out the importance of visual content like videos， photos and infographics.
What is the challenge that you face from local PR companies？
I see lots of opportunities for PR companies in China. I am also pleased to see that local PR companies are competing with their international counterparts. I always think that EBA sits in the middle of local and international companies as our origin was from Hong Kong. We know both sides of the fence well. It is also our unique selling point that we can bridge the East and the West.
The concept of SoLoMo， which stands for social， local and mobile and was coined by John Doerr in 2011， nicely explains what I see the PR trends are like in China. China currently has 618 million internet users， 500 million mobile internet users， 281 microblog users and 355 million users of WeChat [a mobile messaging app].
With such a huge number of netizens， social media and digital communications is a key trend if you want to communicate effectively in China. Traditional media， such as television， radio and print media remain impor- tant though. The adoption of smartphones and tablets， as well as the introduction of 4G telecommunication standard enable seamless communications via mobile.
When we talk about PR in China， we talk much about local. To resonate， PR practitioners have to identify local news angles to do storytelling appealing to the local audiences. It is also important that a company is perceived to be committed to the China market and actively contributing to local society. On the other hand， PR companies should also realize the potential of local companies who are actively going and looking to go international. Agencies are required to help their local clients to go global.
Can you give some examples of your work for clients in China？
More and more clients come to EBA for integrated communications. It is to support them from setting up marketing communications strategy， developing message framework， training local spokesperson， media relations， social media， event management and measurements. PR is a creative industry. We must be able to anticipate and to create. The challenges are hence to stay up-to-date on the local political， economic and social matters and to anticipate the upcoming communications channels and how different audiences react to these communications channels to find the best way to be agile.
Do Chinese and foreign firms have big differences in requirements？ If so， what are they？
Both Chinese and foreign companies are getting more aware of the importance of building， reinforcing or reinventing their brands and are taking actions to step up their communications efforts. I will say that it is to do with the aspiration for transparency from the general public and market competition.
Do you advise on crisis PR？ What advice do you have for foreign companies that can be the target of media scrutiny like McDonalds and Apple？ In most cases， a crisis arises or gets escalated because of poor communications.
EBA does crisis communications. This is a service which we are doing very well and seeing more and more interest from clients. We help clients to set up crisis communication strategy， guidelines and procedures and processes to mitigate risks， minimize damage or even turn around a crisis to enhance the image as a good corporate citizen.
In short， companies should not wait till a crisis comes to start thinking of crisis communications.
My message to the foreign companies is that they should never be perceived to apply double standards between their home country and in China. They need to show long-term commitment to the China market.
How do you see the Chinese market developing？ What sorts of PR services do you see companies operating in China needing in the future？
I started doing communications in China dating back to 1993. I am amazed by how much China has achieved. In the old days， communications was more focused on product promotion. It was used to support sale and business development. Companies are becoming more committed to reputation management. It also leads to a blue ocean for PR practitioners and it is CSR [corporate social responsibilities] communications.
As mentioned above， integrated communications is a key driver in the PR industry globally and in particularly in China. Most Chinese companies have just started seriously doing communication. They need to heavily invest in the groundwork. That is strategy， message development， crisis communications， communications training and the cultural difference between China and any of the markets Chinese companies want to go to. I am pleased to see that Chinese companies are getting more confident and be willing to communicate.
One very interesting thing I can see is that many companies are put- ting focus on internal communications. It is to engage and embrace their employees. Talent acquisition and staff retention is a major challenge too.
To effectively communicate， people go back to the basics. Content is more recognized as the king[in communication]. Channel comes second. PR practitioners must be able to generate content， both written and non-written， to reach the people who matter via the different and evolving communications channels. Mobile communications also enable communications in a global scale. It brings out the importance of visual content like videos， photos and infographics.
What is the challenge that you face from local PR companies？
I see lots of opportunities for PR companies in China. I am also pleased to see that local PR companies are competing with their international counterparts. I always think that EBA sits in the middle of local and international companies as our origin was from Hong Kong. We know both sides of the fence well. It is also our unique selling point that we can bridge the East and the West.