Description
This sited is devoted to analysis of the Public Relations industry in China. Topics include marketing, branding, utilizing web 2.0 in PR, SEO, RSS, trends in media, crisis management, cross-cultural communications, marketing communications, corporate communications, ROI measurement, Chinese PR case studies, Chinese PR best practices, and Chinese PR white papers.
Link
|
Parody is the most sincere form of flattery
I am mocked, yes. The noble fledgling organization that is the "China PR Observer," is subject of mockery on a danwei board. Yes, I don't know how to write code, no I don't have hosting, and there is no RSS.
but along the lines of Cyrano de Bergerac, they can never take my panache |
Posted: 05:28 PM, 2007-Sep-20 |
Comments (0) | Add Comment | Link |
|
Just a Phase? or social movement gaining impetus
I read a tremendous article about the popularity of androgeny and experimenting with sexuality among Chinese kids born during the nineties. Quite often I see young punk rockers walking down the street in Shanghai that have the fashion sense of Ziggy Stardust or Hedwig and the angry inch. Apparently in this new, more open era in China it is more and more common to blur the lines between gender and identity. But are traditionalists lashing out at this an trying to more clear define gender roles and sexuality. I perchance heard a nursery rhyme that 4 young girls none of them older than 8 were chanting as they played a paddy-cake like game and danced: ºÚ°×ºÚ£¬ÄÐÅ®²ÅÊǶԣ¡ ºÚºÚ°×°×ºÚ°×ºÚ£¬ÄÐÅ®²ÅÊǶԣ¡ They giggled as they played the game and all tumbled to the ground on the very last sentence. Literally translated the little chant means: black white black, male female that's what's right ! black black white white black white black, male female that's what's right ! These four girls probably learned this rhyme in school or they may have invented it themselves. If they learned it in school, it shows that on an educational level someone is taking steps to maintain clear gender boundaries in the new generation, the kids of the 2000s. If they made it up themselves, then it reflects a cultural difference in two young generations.
This trend sweeps through fashion, media, and entertainment and reflects the start of experimentation and a quest for self-identity. This cultural phenomenon carries implications for the communications industry in how to target the youth market. What messages and products appeal to a female audience and a male audience might no longer be mutually exclusive. Magazines targeted at fashion, lifestyle, and tabloids once the bastion of female audiences, might now be more accessible to a male audience. Computer game magazines, sports, and military affairs magazines once thought to be exclusively male can now appeal to a larger audience. As this young generation defines itself anew we will see if this is indeed just a phase or trend, or a social movement that will have lasting ramifications in media and culture. |
Posted: 06:05 PM, 2007-Sep-14 |
Comments (0) | Add Comment | Link |
|
CSR: everyone wants what's coming to them
Since AC Nielsen published their report, "Good is gold"(sorry got the New Zealand version not the China version) it overwhelmingly showed the beneficial effects on corporate reputation from involvement in the community, charity work, and a CSR program. Many companies ask, How can I get in on the act? Well, let me draw you a map.
But on occassion we must question just what motives lie behind these actions. Did a C-suite executive hold up a cardboard check for a photo-op and throw a little bit of money at a problem without any motivation or strategy? Yes, some programs are legitimate in their intent to help the people of China, but many programs only happen when the press comes out in force. When the cameras are switched off and there is noone watching are these programs given the same amount of funding and effort. Though I admire the spirit of Yaoming and Steve Nash, is the NBA using the special children of some Western Chinese schools to generate publicity? Are some companies possibly exploiting (Chinese) the Special Olympics for business purposes?
These practices are common enough and not entirely dastardly, very few people force recipients of charity to show their gratitude. In Shanxi, on September 11th the "dream factory," an organization that provides scholarships to young students without the necessary means for a higher education, did just that. Feeling that the children had not shown their gratitude they demanded that the children write a thank-you letter to show their appreciation of the 5000RMB scholarship. Five students did not write letters, give a phone call, or give a single word of thanks and thus had their scholarships taken away from them. This sort of cynical philanthropy shows that the motivation for their charity is not a genuine feeling of sympathy for their fellow human beings, but rather a wish to get a pat on the pack for "doing the right thing." Giving should be its own reward, one losses control of how the resources given are used after you give. The person receiving is generally obligated by nothing more than their conscience to thank the giver. Isn't a forced thank you insincere and worse than no thanks at all? This is a Public Relations eyesore.
Companies giving should not immediately expect thanks or even press coverage for their charity programs and contributions to society. An astute practitioner of PR would utilize these programs as a resource to increase awareness of their company in the press, implement corporate branding, and improve the company's corporate reputation. However, one should not demand any thanks in return, or be concerned with people being ungrateful. Everybody wants what's coming to them, and if you integrate CSR and charity into your business strategy you should receive it.
further reading about the incident in Shanxi my 1510: Link (Chinese) |
Posted: 03:14 PM, 2007-Sep-14 |
Comments (0) | Add Comment | Link |
|
|
