Eastward Ho!
Don’t Miss this Opportunity to Reach a Growing Market
by Wendy Moodie | Published in May 2007 Focus on Travel & Incentives
The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing represent a huge marketing opportunity in mainland China — notably one of the world’s fastest-growing economies — addressing a full 20 percent of the world’s population in its home territory as the world gathers there to celebrate.
Next August, the global eye will once again focus on this mammoth worldwide event and the events surrounding it. Bringing the masses together in this manner can provide direct appeal to a specific customer type, build upon overall public awareness worldwide or simply reach out to the Chinese people as a whole.
Dealing with China’s Media
One of the most challenging issues for any multinational corporation trying to brand itself during the 2008 Olympics is the fact that China represents many markets, not one. Across the nation, consumer groups vary widely in demographics, educational background and international exposure.
In addition, there is no centralized media; therefore, one message can not be blasted out to the nation via a media outlet with high consumer impressions. Traditionally, if you want to do a press event that reaches across several provinces, media outlets from each province would have to be invited to attend. Additionally, if an outlet is interested in covering an event, it will do so only firsthand, and generally will not report on something it did not witness. Neither will these outlets pay for their own travel or housing.
In other words, if you want your event covered by nationwide media, you need to pay for their travel and accommodations in order to secure the coverage. With a nation that has over 10,000 media outlets, this can become very expensive.
A Global Opportunity
International media also will be free to travel around China and enjoy uncensored access to the Internet during the 2008 Olympics. Generally, non-Chinese journalists need permission (and are frequently blocked) to access and report in websites containing material considered sensitive by the Chinese government. According to Sun Weijia, head of media operations for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, China will have no restrictions on travel for foreign journalists in China. Consequently, an event hosted by a multinational corporation could generate stories with worldwide reach.
Additionally, the space available for non-Party stories is limited (the Party being, of course, the ruling Communist Party of China). Each day the paper is filled with the must-have stories the Party needs included in that edition; the balance of the space is fought over by every publicist wanting to place a story for that region and is difficult to acquire unless it has a strong regional interest.
The unique opportunity the Olympics bring to any multinational corporation is the opportunity to get nationwide media attention, because: (1) Every media outlet in China will be there, so there is no need to fly them in; and (2) since media from all over China will be looking for stories related to the Olympics, you have a better chance of your story being picked up in local publications around the country.
Cashing In
Your company’s or client’s brand need not be an Olympic partner to fully benefit from this historic convergence. All avenues should be explored to engage the desired audience:
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Raise awareness for your brand by hosting a party in Beijing during the Olympics. You don’t need to be an Olympic sponsor to host the hottest party!
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Attract news coverage for your brand during the Olympics (press event and/or publicity stunt) and leverage the media opportunities you have at your fingertips — every significant media outlet is in town and looking for stories and angles.
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Initiate a mobile marketing tour to promote your product around Olympic venues via product sampling, street team initiatives and gorilla marketing — methods particularly effective at capitalizing on crowds looking for things to do over several weeks’ time.
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Host an intimate evening at an exclusive location to have a viewing party for your tastemakers and/or employees. With the people most important to your brand in attendance, it’s imperative that every guest feel like a VIP!
Partnering Locally
We have found that it is very important to have an alliance with a mainland PR company, giving you feet on the ground in China, a dependable inside track for the sometimes daunting task of advancing local permitting needs on your behalf to ensure official compliance while fulfilling those crucial aspects of your event/marketing demands. Our alliance with leading Chinese PR firm @PR, for example, has enabled us to produce an event that met Western quality standards yet was able to speak to and reach all of the diverse Chinese markets.
A final word to the wise — the most desirable Beijing venues are booking up quickly, and there is a limited amount of quality production and event equipment available in mainland China, so time is of the essence! We recommend doing comprehensive site surveys in both Beijing and Shanghai as far in advance of possible. As we have discovered, there are many venues of varying cuisine specialties and guest capacities, with notable décor styles and features of both modern and ancient Asian cultures — settings sure to appeal to every mood or message.
Beijing ’08 will be here before we know it, so the time to start preparing is now. It’s an opportunity much too powerful to overlook.
About the author: Wendy Moodie
Wendy Moodie is president of production and technical operations for Paradigm Shift Worldwide, a worldwide event marketing and production firm.
Contact: wmoodie@psww.com