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Opinions

  • Two Sessions 2021: Embarking on a new journey

    This year’s Two Sessions, which has returned to the regular March schedule after last year’s postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, takes on special importance. As 2021 marks the start of the country’s new five-year plan and the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China is marching toward building a modern socialist country after realizing the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. China has just declared a complete victory in eradicating abject poverty, on the way to pushing for higher-level development. In fact, China became the only major economy in the world to achieve positive GDP growth last year while withstanding a series of unprecedented challenges, from the pandemic to the US trade war. With the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 on top of this year’s agenda, eyes are on how the country will make further efforts to realize its...

  • The Asian Century: An opportunity for innovation over isolationism

    In the words of Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A-Changin’.   Last year delivered two historic changes in the West: Brexit and the election of President Trump. The implications for international tax, trade and immigration are great. But from the Asian perspective, it is doubtful that these changes are for the greater good. This new era in Western politics coincides with the Asian Century, the region’s race for growth. By 2050 Asia is expected to be as wealthy as Europe on a per capita basis and the signs of progress are already evident. After all, it’s Asian companies that are going global and Asian companies that increasingly feature on the Fortune 500 list. Take the 2016 list, for example: China alone offers over 100 companies, three of which rank among the top five. From this position of strength, we see more foreign direct investment (FDI) by Chinese companies in the US...

  • Our Power to Change the World With Shared Impact

    Corporate citizenship isn’t dead. It’s hanging out somewhere with cause marketing and CSR, reminiscing about the old days. When creating goodwill alone was enough. And demand for ROI sat in awkward silence.   Actually, sometime between the social media revolution and the global financial crisis, it grew up, married sales and behavioral change, and moved on to produce amazing, world-changing outcomes. Today, shared impact – the magic melding of higher purpose with commercial imperative – is elevating communications to its full and glorious power. It is statistically proven that brands that fuse purpose with profits: enjoy greater customer love and loyalty outsell their category competitors outperform the stock market and thereby increase shareholder return engender better employee retention (and it’s a safe bet they are more motivated and productive, too) Yet, a mere fraction of brands are perceived to be meeting any real social need. There is much more work...

  • From Content Marketing to Conversation Sparking

    There’s this new ugly phrase in social media that makes me have the same guttural responses as phrases like “social business” or “liquid marketing,” because at its heart it just feels like it’s missing the mark on what social media is about. “Content Marketing”… ugh, gross. I think we can all agree that any piece of content is trying to “market” something, whether it’s a product or a personal POV or agenda that we share on social. But that phrase just feels so void of human emotion to me and I’m hopeful that we can get back to a place that felt more fun. If we strip everything back to why people are on social, you find one core thing. Connections. Connections to people. Connections to brands we love or influencers we fancy. I know that I got on social many years ago simply because it was a new way...

  • What Do Consumers Want?

    At some point, everyone will use a self-driving vehicle. We’re already using the components – mobile devices, robots (thanks to mine for a sparkling kitchen floor!) and wearable technology – on a daily basis. Our devices help us do more and it’s becoming clear: The everyday technology we depend on is revolutionizing the way we perceive human performance. Social technology equips us be in several places at once, communicating across platforms, in an endless torrent of activity. But how are humans bearing up? Judging from the abundance of news stories and online conversations, it seems the embrace of technology is draining human batteries. And it’s made us serious about improving how we eat, sleep, live and learn, which will impact brands in new ways. How will brands succeed? By answering these five consumer questions across all social platforms: 1) Why should I believe you? Social media has created wary consumers...

  • A Truth Well Told: PR Professionals Should Keep the Art of Writing Alive

    Content marketing specialists seem to be the new “job du jour”. Every creative and communication firm wants one and those that have them claim that their person can create gold from straw. For PR professionals, now is the time to reclaim what used to be our bread and butter – our ability to create engaging content. We need to reassert ourselves as story tellers. While a good picture does tell 1000 words (still) and moving pictures (video or movies) are even better (witness the dominance of video in the winning Cannes campaigns), as an industry working in a multi-channel age, we should not lose sight of our role as lead scribes nor of the power of the written word. We need to continue to train people to write well in whatever language is their mother tongue. In fact, now it’s even more important for PR professionals to be excellent writers...

  • Creative Outputs Are Important; Creative Input Is Essential

    Over the course of more than 30 years in a communications firm, I’ve come to see creativity in a few different lights: I see it as a consumer, someone who occasionally is a member of the “target audience.” I see it as outputs – from print to videos to digital – both for our clients and in the work other agencies produce. But perhaps the most intriguing view I get of creativity is its evolution in the communications strategy and planning process. It’s in this third manner where creativity dons its most underappreciated and underemployed role: creativity as problem solver. The necessity for this role only rises as the rate of change (ROC) rises. The ROC seems to be following Moore’s law: doubling in speed every 18 months. That puts enormous pressure on marketers to adapt. If we are not adapting in a hyper-accelerated way, we will become obsolete in...

  • M&A Panel, Co-Hosted by New Fortune and FleishmanHillard

    On July 18, 2013, New FortuneMagazine of , Shenzhen Securities Information Co., Ltd. (SSIC), and FleishmanHillard co-hosted the New Fortune Capital Market Forum in Shenzhen China on 18th of July, with the theme of “The Rise of China in Global M&A Arena”...

  • The Iron Lady’s Legacy: A Chinese Perspective

    “You can love her, you can hate her, but you cannot ignore her,” and with these words from Carol Thatcher, the daughter of the former British Prime Minister, we have an insight into the nature of this truly unique woman. These are the opening words to the BBC documentary ‘The Iron Lady’, which was first broadcast hours after the death of Margaret Thatcher on April 7th. These words have been often repeated in the past week and that is because there is much truth behind them...

  • China’s Auto Makers, Dealers Must Embrace Digital Marketing to Achieve Growth

    For more than a decade, China’s auto industry has been a stand-out sector. Pent-up demand fueled rapid growth, and in 2009 China became the world’s largest market for new passenger vehicles. But now the pace is slowing. A recent JP Morgan report predicts that a coming industry shake-out, combined with government policies aimed at fostering more sustainable economic growth, will reduce the industry’s compound annual growth rate from around 25% before 2010 to roughly 7% over the next decade...