Expo giving local PR firms new lease of life
- Source: Global Times
- [10:17 June 21 2010]
- Comments
By Zhou Mi
Local public relations firms are benefiting from the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, as pavilion organizers seek out their expertise in promoting themselves to the 11,500 registered reporters visiting the park.
"Our revenue has gone up substantially compared to normal times," Fan Weidong, account manager at Shanghai-based 3rd Floor Public Relations told the Global Times Sunday.
3rd Floor is the designated public relations service provider for the Czech Pavilion and has clients who are sponsors of the Italy Pavilion. Fan said that 75 percent of her company's staff are assigned to the Expo Park.
According to the Expo media center, 9,600 reporters from Chinese mainland media, 1,400 from foreign media and 460 from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan media have attended press events at the Expo.
According to a report by the Xinhua News Agency Sunday, almost every pavilion has hired a public relations firm.
However, despite the huge demand, local public relations firms are finding themselves having to compete with their international counterparts.
"Local firms need to compete for business on the ground here in China," Johan Bjorksten, founder of Eastwei, a public relations firm based in Beijing, told the Global Times Sunday. "Although they really understand the mind-set of local consumers, and have good relationships locally, international firms are better positioned to exploit the Expo, given their network abroad."
Despite their successes, local public relations service providers still have room for improvement in how they deal with the opportunities the Expo has given them, according to a scholar from Fudan University.
"What I have seen of the public relations activities at the Expo has not met my expectations," Yu Zhenwei, deputy professor at the Fudan University School of Journalism, told the Global Times Sunday. "There should be lots of interactive activities highlighting communication among young people, especially students, from different countries, since they stand for the future. This has not happened on a large enough scale so far, and is a missed opportunity."
