EDITORIAL
Gotta catch ’em all It looks like a scene form a zombie movie. In the early evening in the center of town, a silent mass of strangers gathers together. Strangely oblivious to each other’s presence, their attentions are focused on a small screen in the palm of their hands. But the crowd is harmless: they’re just caught up in the latest craze, Pokémon Go. Proving that old trends just need new platforms to find a new lease of life, Pokémon first appeared as a video game in 1996 and 20 years later is back to teach us all a lesson in real time, targeted messaging that grabs the right audience at the right time and in the right place. What was old is new again, and all thanks to technological innovations that were unthinkable – well, to most of us – a decade or so ago. And that’s what this issue of Communication Director is all about. To mark our 10th year, not only are we tracing the evolution of the communications function from message distributor to strategic partner, we’re also looking at how the changes that rocked our world over the past decade – from technological innovations to political upheavals – have impacted the communicator’s job. And we’re asking: is this period of escalating change and innovation a springboard for the next stage in the evolution of the corporate communications leader’s position? Just over two decades ago, the internet barely existed as mass phenomenon, social media is a little more than 10 years old: companies have had to adapt the way they work – and the type of skills they hire – to remain relevant. Our Issue Focus section examines the changing environment that chief communications officers find them in today: whether Pokémon Go or the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence or the millennial work place, the communications director is at the center of multiple conversations and how he or she adapts to these will determine the future of the profession.
DAFYDD PHILLIPS
Photo: Laurin Schmidt
Editor in Chief
Brought to you by the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors www.apacd.com
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CONTENTS
KEYNOTE II
DR. WILLIAM TAN NEUROSCIENTIST MEDICAL DOCTOR PARALYMPIAN
MOTIVATION IN LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATIONS
KEYNOTE I
JUNYANG WOON CEO, INFINIUM ROBOTICS
THE POTENTIAL OF DRONES FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS
KEYNOTE III
NIKOLAS BADMINTON FUTURIST
RIDING THE WAVE OF THIS HYPERCONNECTED LIFE
UNIQUE PEER PLATFORM DISCUSSING HYPERCONNECTED COMMUNICATIONS 4
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CONTENTS
WHAT TO EXPECT • 300 IN - HOUSE COMMUNICATORS
• 30 SPEAKERS FROM VARIOUS INDUSTRIES • 2 PLENARY SESSIONS DISCUSSING RECENT TRENDS • 15+ BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES + ENDLESS NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
THE FUTURE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
BARSHA PANDA GLOBAL LEAD TECHNOLOGY PR & HEAD, INSEA COMMUNICATIONS YAHOO
DARL KOLB PROFESSOR OF CONNECTIVITY GSM (UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND)
LISA WILLIAMSON VICE PRESIDENT COMMUNICATIONS MARINA BAY SANDS
MORE SPEAKERS ELAINE NG PHILIPS ASEAN PACIFIC CHRISTOPHER DOMITTER BAYER JAPAN AMY GLANCEY ATLASSIAN PATRICK NATHAN SMRT CORPORATION LTD. ANIISU VERGHESE TESCO BENGALURU ADELINE ONG VIACOM INTERNATIONAL MEDIA NETWORKS NANDINI CHATTERJEE PWC INDIA ROOHI SAEED AUTODESK, INC. SANJAY KHAJURIA NESTLÉ INDIA FRAZER NEO MACKEN ELECTROLUX ASIA PACIFIC ROMA BALWANI VEDANTA JANE CHANG CHAN BROTHERS TRAVEL
27|28 OCTOBER Novotel Clarke Quay, Singapore
REGISTER NOW AT: WWW.COMMUNICATIONS-SUMMIT.ASIA COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR 3/2016
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CONTENTS
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Leadership and communication Defining the leadership characteristics of chief communications and corporate affairs officers
3/16
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Targeted interactions How targeted, real-time messaging is revolutionising the way brands and audiences interact – and it’s happening now
ISSUE FOCUS 64
A communications roadmap APACD Working Group heads discuss the development and future path of the communications function
Trends in communication
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Swimming with goldfish How to build engagement to counter ever-shrinking attention spans
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Future-proofing reputation
Evolving together
Watching the stars
Integrating marketing and communications could be key to organisational survival in a fragmented world
Keeping an eye on the megatrends that shape our world is an increasingly vital aspect of the communicator’s job
Managing a company’s reputation is a major responsibility of executive communicators
8 • PR ESSENTIALS
16 • CONTENT
A communications timeline
Changing the perceptions of public-private cooperation
The milestones that have shaped communications over the past 10 years
Empowering public participation in transforming global agendas
12 • SUSTAINABILITY
Delivering responsibility and value
China going global
How Coca-Cola finds worth in meeting needsare engaging How Chinesesocietal companies global audiences
How Coca-Cola finds worth in meeting societal needs
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Photo: Essam Sharaf
18 • INTERNATIONAL
22 • FINANCIAL
Advantage APAC in race for Middle East How Asia-Pacific companies are making the most of Middle East opportunities
54 • THE BIG INTERVIEW
38 • DIVERSITY
A balanced view Gender diversity within the organisation makes business sense. What are you doing to make your team more equal?
Richard Tsang The agency view of the changes in Asia-Pacific’s corporate communications
41 • INTERNATIONAL
China is chatting How should international brands adapt to communications all-rounder WeChat?
44 • EVENT
Making your events buzzworthy 26 • ROUNDTABLE
View from the States Leading US-based communicators share their insights into the public relations landscape in their country
30 • STRATEGY
Going beyond communications The untapped potential of the communications function in Asia Pacific
34 • BRAND
Photos: iStock, private
Photo: Essam Sharaf
CONTENTS
Here’s how to unlock the power of social media and mobile to attract attention to your event
47 • MARKETING
84 • COMMUNICATION READER
Books New and upcoming titles for the communicator’s bookshelf
The art of marketing How one major gallery mastered modern marketing to stir up interest in classic art 50 • AGENDA SETTER
In the event of change
86 • ASSOCIATION
APACD The latest developments in the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors
When it comes to communicating climate conferences, is media coverage a help or a hindrance? 90 • PRIVATE PASSIONS
The attention grabber
Get the motor running
Key opinion leaders are an invaluable part of building brand awareness
Satish Nair on the memories of his motoring esxpeditions
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PR ESSENTIALS
A 10-year timeline: the milestones that have shaped communications
The first issue of this magazine was released 10 years ago. The goal was to provide coverage of the latest trends in corporate communications and public relations in order to support our readers in their own professional development. Nothing could give a clearer indication of the centrality of the communications function to modern organisations than the ways in which the profession has been impacted by developments not only in communications technology but also in the political, financial and business worlds as well. Here we present the events, updates and stories that have shaped communications in the last 10 years.
DECEMBER 2006 The publication for in-house communicators: the first issue of Communication Director magazine
2006 29 JUNE 2007 A computer in every pocket: commercial release of the iPhone The first generation iPhone sees its debut in the US. A 4GB model retails at US $499. The product that launched the smartphone era, the iPhone makes almost everyone an instant mobile web genius.
4 OCTOBER 2006 Leaking secrets: wikileaks.org domain name registered Wikileaks will go on to leak classified documents to media A new form of renegade investigative journalism hits the mainstream media. Is any communication now truly private?
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Photos: Carl Berkeley, iStock
2007
the
15 SEPTEMBER 2008 Cuts, restriction and insecurity: global financial crisis The financial crisis in the US comes to a head when investment bank Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy, kick-starting the global financial crisis. Faced with severely tightened budgets, the onus is on communicators to prove their worth as economic uncertainty prevails.
2008
19 JULY 2010 Guidelines for measurement: Barcelona Principles established The Barcelona Principles are established to measure communications efficacy at an International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication summit. The original principles receive an update in 2015. The debate may not have ended, but the principles provide a framework for demonstrating the value of public relations.
a, the bile
2009
2010
4 NOVEMBER 2008 Yes it could: the US presidential election Democratic Party nominee Senator Barack Obama claims victory over the Republican Party’s John McCain. The election of President Obama marks the end of an intensive political campaign that brought social media politics out from the cold and changes the face of electioneering forever. COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR 3/2016
Photos: iStock (2), Count to 10
ase of
PR ESSENTIALS
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SUSTAINABILITY
Coca-Cola truck with 240,000 emergency
Delivering responsibility and value Following its sustainability model of the Golden Triangle, Coca-Cola China finds value in meeting the needs of society. B Y H U AY I N G Z H A N G
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bottles of water on the way to people in
disaster zones during the 2013 Northeast
China Flood
SUSTAINABILITY
Photo: Coca-Cola China
ES S
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NT ME
From being programme-oriented to strategy-oriented, like many other businesses the Coca-Cola Company has been looking for ways to fully integrate sustainability into our business operations. In 2008, after the devastating earthquake hit Wenchuan City in Sichuan
We came to learn that China suffers from frequent natural disasters, though not all disasters are known to the public. Traditional disaster relief systems are being challenged by the frequent occurrences of disasters, especially when it comes to the procurement, storage, and deployment of emergency relief supplies.
R VE GO
Participating in disaster relief
Province on May 12, the Chinese government embraced civil society and businesses in disaster relief efforts. However, while businesses were very eager to participate in these efforts, there were few viable options other than cash donation for businesses to get involved at that time. I still remember how we were inspired when we saw a little boy who was rescued from under the rubble saying: “I want an ice cold Coca-Cola”. Our business is about water. It is our business expertise that we have developed over a hundred years of providing safe water from plants close to communities. The day after the May 12 earthquake occurred, Coca-Cola immediately donated and shipped a large quantity of drinking water and several hundred large umbrellas to the affected areas. After this, we thought that it may be possible for us to establish a mechanism to ensure prompt access to drinking water for all disasters, big or small, using our effective supply chain. Since 2008, we have talked to scholars, non-governmental organisations, and government agencies in the field of disaster relief to understand the conditions of disaster preparedness in China. We came to learn that China suffers from frequent natural disasters, though not all disasters are known to the public. Traditional disaster relief systems are being challenged by the frequent occurrences of disasters, especially when it comes to the procurement, storage, and deployment of emergency relief supplies.
BU SIN
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n recent years, sustainability has become a popular slogan for business. Some corporations view it as a fancy alternative term for charity and social responsibility, while some are transforming their overall strategy from the perspective of sustainable long-term profitable growth. Although there are companies claiming they have already integrated sustainability into business operations, it is still hard to find many corporate entities that truly understand sustainability and integrate it as a core business strategy while creating shared value for society. Some businesses have begun to take proactive steps in advancing their sustainability efforts. Coca-Cola created its sustainability function and named its first global chief sustainability officer in 2011. A few month later, Coca-Cola China also followed suit setting up a team focusing on sustainability. Since then, Coca-Cola China has made a great deal of effort progress to in building a systematic approach to sustainability. Our approach starts with a deep understanding of society’s needs, especially in areas where Coca-Cola can leverage its business strength to bring about shared value for both business and society. By connecting company resources with external organisations through a simple and efficient mechanism, we aim to maximise Coca-Cola’s business expertise to help satisfy the needs of society. By becoming part of a community service network, such a system can in turn bring about business innovation and development at the same time.
GOLDEN TRIANGLE
CIVIL SOCIETY
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola has bottling plants throughout China, and our nation-wide logistics and warehousing system are one of the most important core business competences that Coca-Cola
“It is still hard to find many corporate entities that truly understand sustainability.”
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CONTENT
Changing the perceptions of public-private cooperation
Last year, the World Economic Forum had the opportunity to build on its legacy to become a platform for publicprivate cooperation. The communications function played a central role towards this goal, ensuring that the public is aware of an expanded remit to transform global agendas and, most importantly, is empowered to participate.
BY OLIVER CANN
US Secretary of State John Kerry takes a moment on January 22, 2016, to enjoy the view of Davos, Switzerland, before delivering remarks to attendees at the World Economic Forum.
C
risis and hardship may be a recurrent feature of human history; however, it is hard to argue against the fact that the challenges facing our world today are more complex, interrelated and faster-changing than anything we have faced in the past. Climate change, migration, slow growth and growing geopolitical tension are just a few of the pressures facing today’s leaders, who in normal years might have expected to have to deal with one such herculean task. Developing a radar system capable
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of sensing the great shifts that are transforming our world, and more importantly a compass to navigate them is the purpose of the World Economic Forum. Driven by a mission to improve the state of the world, the organisation works on the simple premise that sometimes challenges are so large, so complicated, and with the potential to impact so many people’s lives, that they can only be addressed by unified, multi-stakeholder action. This principle, which has served as a bedrock for all of the Forum’s activities for over four decades, was
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underlined in 2015 when the Forum was recognised by Swiss law as the International Institute for Public-Private Cooperation. As a ‘renewal’ of its licence to operate, the institution is now even more committed not only to convening leaders but to catalysing action in a range of areas, from inclusive economic growth to food security to building a robust global financial system. It has also given an opportunity to re-assess the communication function. With the forces of populism and nationalism on the rise, and the ability of leaders to make long-term decisions under
pressure, the need to meaningfully engage the public to play an active role in shaping debates that have a long term impact on our collective future has never been more important. We have been moving in this direction for many years, of course: one of the chief criticisms of our annual meeting, Davos, is its composition. Few people would disagree that global leadership has a diversity problem and this is why we encourage our strategic partners to take advantage of a quota system to bring more women in their delegations, ensure millennial voices are heard through our Global Shapers community, that we produce research year in year highlighting ways to tackle gender and income inequality and promote social mobility.
Photo: U.S. Department of State, Private
“The need to meaningfully engage the public has never been more important.” All of which helps us when we engage the public, but there are still perennial challenges we face when we try to bring the debates of Davos outside the limited confines of its congress center. One of which is that we are an all-yearround operation, with our annual meeting marking the beginning of the year’s work, putting down targets for the regional, industry and other taskforces for the rest of the year. Another is how to get the public – either via the media or directly using our own channels – interested enough to participate in the work we do throughout the year rather than simply tuning in during Davos for the headlines.
Expansion through content Our approach to this has been to develop a strategy based on expansion of earned and owned media that places the Forum’s unique, world-class content right at the centre of everything we do. The result has been vastly increased levels of engagement across every metric. 1) Fitting the message to the medium. Every year, the Forum generates a huge amount of research and thought leadership on a great diversity of topics – from rules for autonomous vehicles to designing justice systems in the emerging world. It’s content that on the whole is written for the expert audience: a small number of CEOs, policy makers and politicians and serves that purpose very well. But the language is often impenetrable to general audiences. Doing a better job of mining these rich seams of content, pulling out the most relevant elements and providing a captivating headline has helped us introduce complex debates into the public domain, often for the first time. 2) Innovating with content. Today the Forum’s blog platform, Agenda, rivals some newspapers for size but it wasn’t always this way. A lot of research goes into what makes a piece successful and today nothing gets published without at least one graphic element and a carefully designed headline. We have found both can have a 10-fold impact on readership before anything else is taken into account. We also work a lot more with video today and this is a trend that will likely continue. 3) Being bold. The Forum isn’t an advocacy organisation but this doesn’t mean we cannot get behind grassroots initiatives. The 2016 annual meeting saw LGBT issues represented on the public programme for the first time thanks to a new format designed to enable the public to ask questions to leaders within the congress center. As part of the build-up to our regional meeting in Africa this year, we worked with Global Shapers to raise awareness for greater internet access on the continent. The campaign is still trending across Africa.
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4) Going local: The meetings we hold around the world are not about flying in, holding a few sessions and flying out again. Great effort is taken to ensure our precious quota of media badges get us the biggest audience possible, the campaigns and content are the most relevant and the local personalities we work with amplify our message to the max. Working in this way for our Africa meeting in 2016, for example, saw the value of our media engagement increase by 600 per cent. 5) Grow traditional media: Last but by no means least. Given the huge business model disruption affecting the news industry, it’s hugely gratifying to note that their commitment to quality news generation is in rude health. Packaging our content creatively and compellingly has led to double digit year on year improvements on the content we share throughout the year, even in print.
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OLIVER CANN
Head of Media Content, World Economic Forum Oliver Cann is responsible for coordinating all of the World Economic Forum’s media output, including its globally recognised Global Competitiveness, Global Risks and Global Gender Gap reports. Overseeing an account management structure that represents the interests of groups as diverse as faith and trade union leaders alongside business leaders and youth activists, his job is to help ensure that the many voices get heard on the Forum’s media channels, as well as its annual meeting at DavosKlosters and other events around the world.
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INTERNATIONAL
China going global
Chinese companies seeking to engage global audiences face several challenges, many of which are rooted in culture. Overcoming them is the job of the professional communicator. BY BRAD BURGESS
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INTERNATIONAL
I
t was way back in the late 1990s when I started paying attention to China. Enrolled in an international relations programme, we were studying new concepts with catchy names like ‘soft power’ and how sovereign states use it to develop their own cultural cache. We’ve since been inundated with content expounding the global village we all live in today. My experience is that the local environment, values, cultures and other elements where we live are very powerful
political correctness is a very foreign concept in China. The Chinese can often be very blunt and direct in their opinion of others. For example, I know immediately when I’m gaining or losing weight – I’m told so by friends and colleagues without asking! While this certainly serves a purpose in keeping me more fit than I would be back in my native US, hearing this content with a western lens is more than annoying – it can be infuriating. For the Chinese, it’s just a way of chatting that “pulls us closer together”. While this is a simple and perhaps humorous example of a major cultural difference between the Americans and
“Culture strongly impacts global communications. There is no doubt about it.” drivers of perception that are sometimes insurmountable regardless of how “international” one may seem. China’s culture is one such dynamic that, although the country has been changing radically since the “Reform and Opening up” engagement with the west, is still incredibly focused on being ‘Chinese’ and may be interpreted as being inward focused. This may be an oversimplification, but the cultural values of the Chinese are unique and pose unique challenges for Chinese organisations as they communicate with global audiences.
Photo: iStock
Culture impacts communications Culture strongly impacts global communications. There is no doubt about it. While many Americans are relishing the tearing down of all things associated with political correctness during this year’s presidential election, even the notion of
Chinese, it’s a small but significant hint at how different things can sometimes seem.
Building bridges Part of my work involves counseling Chinese and western clients about international communications to help them better understand global (and Chinese) audiences. We start by discussing the philosophical and historical foundations of Chinese and western culture and how this impacts thinking today. We also prepare and review social research that highlights similarities and differences between cultures. What seems obvious can often be very enlightening. For example, it’s only after living in China for over a decade that I’ve come to have a new perspective on the American values system. I was awakened to this while bringing my Chinese in-laws to the United States on their first visit. We were in New York City
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getting ready to cross to Ellis Island and take pictures of ourselves with the Statue of Liberty. My in-laws starting talking about the statue using its Chinese name, which when interpreted in English is the equivalent of “Goddess of Freedom”. I’ve been around the world and seen a range of various religious sculptures and idols, but I’ve never drawn a connection between those idols and the American idol on Ellis Island. Indeed, the majority of Americans worship individual freedom with blind faith. And infringing on one’s personal rights is equivalent to sacrilege. The focus on individual rights and freedoms is very American and is couched in the American historical narrative. The Chinese don’t share this historical narrative, of course. Theirs is a rich and long narrative which results in a focus upon the harmony and balance of the group over the individual.
The power of history The Chinese are some of the most historically minded people in the world. They are steeped in history lessons from the beginning, and the narrative is one that is 5,000 years in the making. China didn’t start as a democracy – it started as an imperial and feudal state. And this remained the case for the majority of Chinese history until the overthrow of the Qing dynasty just over a century ago. Why this matters today is because the nature and expectations of contemporary leadership and authority are largely reflected through this narrative – and these expectations are very different than in the west. For example, there is an expectation for leaders to be more distant and more authoritative. It is actually acceptable and perhaps even preferred. The results of this are that many working level people in a Chinese organisation are not informed of key decisions or engaged to be part of the decision-making process. Their role is executional and their job is to implement
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FINANCIAL
Opportunities for Asia Pacific companies in the Middle East include (clockwise from top left): the growing Islamic finance sector, changing energy supply and demand dynamics, strengthened tourism, business and cultural links with the opening of new flights and China’s re-establishment of the ancient silk route.
Advantage APAC in race for the Middle East Diversifying economies and growing, youthful populations make the Middle East an attractive opportunity for internationally-orientated companies from the Asia-Pacific region. But only if they can assimilate and communicate effectively in the Arab world. BY SAM TURVEY
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FINANCIAL
Photos: iStock, Yonhap, Belsky, Thinkstock
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n 2020, Dubai will host the World Expo, bringing the six month long exhibition to the Middle East for the first time. According to government officials, the occasion is estimated to add US$24 billion to Dubai’s GDP and will create around 227,000 jobs. Companies operating in the tourism, hospitality and logistics sectors are expected to see considerable growth on the back of Expo 2020, as well as construction firms contracted over the next four years to help build and generally prepare the city’s hard infrastructure for the anticipated surge in visitors and associated economic growth. While Expo is, in itself, an impressive project and a significant commercial opportunity, in reality, it is just one of several government championed initiatives being used to drive the UAE’s ongoing economic diversification away from oil and gas, and towards an innovation-led economy underpinned by robust and enlarged manufacturing and service sectors. The UAE leads the region’s wider efforts to diversify their economies, which is an imperative made all the more urgent as the price of oil lingers around $40 a barrel, hitting government revenues and forcing a squeeze on public spending to reduce ballooning budget deficits. It is clear that this particular macro-economic environment is creating considerable economic and social challenges for various Middle Eastern governments, which are used to relatively stable and substantial oil revenues. But, while ministers consider their options, the situation is also starting to frame the future commercial opportunities available to internationally-minded businesses from across the world. Iran’s re-emergence into the global mainstream only adds to the regional opportunity, although it carries its own distinct challenges and characteristics that all foreign companies will need to carefully navigate through.
Establishing a modern silk route for the twenty-first century There has always been a scramble among foreign businesses for the various commercial tenders and partnerships available in the Middle East. This will remain the case as the current, evolving opportunity is more clearly defined. However, increasingly close links between the Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East regions over recent years means APAC firms are likely to be in pole position. They will certainly be at the front of the grid.
share an obvious religious affinity with the Middle East, but more poignantly, this has created substantial links through the growing Islamic finance sector. The same could be argued, although on a far smaller scale, with Islamic fashion. Tourism and business links have also steadily grown. Thailand and the Philippines both already sit in the top 10 most visited countries for residents from the Arabian Gulf and new flights have recently opened up with Emirates Airline to Myanmar and Vietnam. China is particularly well served with five different airports receiving flights from the Dubai headquartered carrier, in addition to Hong Kong.
“Increasingly close links between the Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East regions over recent years means APAC firms are likely to be in pole position.” Existing trade relationships, particularly in the energy sector, partly explain the reason for this. For example, the Middle East is currently China’s largest supplier of crude oil, which perhaps unsurprisingly is a status the former will not want to put at risk. This is not to say contracts will not be competitive, but it is another incentive to look favourably upon Chinese business proposals. Meanwhile, South Korea has been entrenching its credentials as the nuclear power operator of choice for the region, with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) already having secured a $20 billion project to build four reactors in the UAE. KEPCO is well aware of the post oil dynamic that is emerging across the Middle East and North Africa. Countries within South East Asia stand in good stead too. Indonesia and Malaysia’s large Muslim populations
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The re-establishment of the ancient silk route, as evidenced by President’s Xi Jinping’s ‘one belt, one road’ international development strategy, demonstrates his country’s outbound transcontinental ambitions, with Oman taking on a particular relevance around the 21st century maritime routes.
Overcoming old barriers to build new business links It has not all been about forging hard commercial ties, however. There are increasingly close cross cultural and social relations being formed. A stark example are the efforts being made by Dubai to associate with the huge Chinese consumer market. In addition to being Dubai’s second largest trading partner and the city al-
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ROUNDTABLE
The view from the States Continuing our series marking the Global Excellence Awards – an international celebration of the best in PR and communications hosted by Communication Director – we asked four jury members of the North American Excellence Awards to share their experiences of leading communications across the continent.
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Between you, you represent decades of professional experience in corporate communications. During your careers, what have been some of the biggest developments in the way communicators work? MARJORIE BENZKOFER The obvious answer is technology. When I started at ComEd in 1993, I used a pager and a cell phone that came in a large shoulder bag. But perhaps more subtle and even more profound is the interconnectiveness of stakeholders. Then we could talk to employees through one channel, regulators through another, each in its own swim lane. But today they talk to each other and we have to be taking a holistic approach managing reputation. Usually when companies do stakeholder research it is with one or two audiences, rarely taking a 360 degree view. When we don’t invest in research to listen to what our multiple stakeholders are saying and thinking, we create blind spots for our organisations that can have lethal effects. NICHOLAS ASHOOH The biggest change has been the evolution of corpo-
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rate communications from a one-directional communications function to an essential part of the business management process. When I started in communications, the function was mostly about putting out news releases, communicating some development, promoting a company position or putting the best face on something that went wrong. Today corporate communications is – or should be – working shoulder-to-shoulder with business management as decisions are being developed, providing inputs and perspectives that likely won’t come from operational management. And today the corporate communications professional
Photos: iStock, Private (2)
“(In the US) there tends to be greater specialism silos in communications.” is often looked to as a counsellor to the CEO and leadership team, facilitating consensus and ensuring alignment with corporate strategy and values. In short, the chief communications officer today helps their organisation make better decisions instead of merely communicating those decisions. The FBI vs. Apple case earlier this year was a landmark event: what are the repercussions for corporate communications? J. CHRISTOPHER PREUSS It just illustrates how complex and nuanced the issues around security and privacy have become. These are intense and important societal debates that must be approached with exceeding caution and thought – it is dancing on the razor’s edge. The biggest issue for companies is to not put a stake in the ground before fully weighing all the
NICHOLAS ASHOOH
Senior Director, Corporate and Executive Communication, APCO Worldwide Alongside his current role, Nicholas Ashooh is also a member of APCO’s International Advisory Council. Nick has more than 37 years’ experience in corporate communications, serving as senior communications officer at five Fortune 500 companies across sectors including energy and utilities, financial services, insurance, metals and mining, and entertainment. Most recently, he served as vice president of corporate affairs for Alcoa where he also oversaw the Alcoa Foundation.
MARJORIE BENZKOFER
Global Lead, Reputation Management Practice, FleishmanHillard Prior Marjorie Benzkofer leads FleishmanHillard’s work around The Authenticity Gap and regularly works with C-suite executives to manage both brand and reputation. She also leads the firm’s thought leadership efforts at the Center On Reputation, an online and virtual centre that hosts commentary, events and training for seasoned executives throughout the industry. Prior to joining FleishmanHillard in 1997, Marjorie worked in corporate communications for ComEd, the energy delivery company.
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potential options to avoid the controversy in the first place. Apple probably lost as many customers as it may have gained by drawing such a strong line. In the end, it was a moot issue since the FBI cracked the phone another way. MARJORIE BENZKOFER This tension between our expectations of transparency and privacy is going to further flare up in many different ways. Management teams need to be reviewing every aspect of their business to do risk assessments and scenario planning around these issues. The court of public opinion moves swiftly when companies are caught in the crosshairs of these two competing forces. The middle of a crisis is not the time to begin contemplating your values and belief systems when making decisions on these issues, which can creep into employee privacy, customer information, product quality, workplace violence and myriad others. How will you behave and what guiding principles will guide your decisions when the public is demanding full transparency on an issue and also protection of their privacy? ANDY PHAROAH It is a good example, albeit an extreme one, of companies needing to be willing and able to engage in public discussion about difficult issues. When you choose to do that you will not make everyone happy. The worlds of politics, policy, business and reputation are coming closer together. So companies need to have a point of view on a wide range of issues outside of their core. The communications profession in the US is not helped in being able to engage in this due to its discipline silos. From my own day to day work I can say that we as a company are being more active (and more publically active) in a range of policy issues ranging from fighting climate change, responding to issues around added sugars, artificial colors or GMOs or being able to offer equal benefits to associates regardless of their sexuality. While not everyone will agree with the stances we have taken, on the whole clear, open and consistent opinions are at least respected.
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STRATEGY
Going beyond communications Working out of Asia for a multinational gives an entirely new perspective on the untapped potential of the communications function. B Y J A C Q U E LY N D R O Z D O F F
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STRATEGY
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ommunications, like any function, can become a siloed activity. It’s easy to focus on a select number of stakeholders and think within the parameters of established channels such as: internal, external, intranet, press releases, town halls and social media. While it is of course important to know your domain and deliver the responsibilities associated with your role, a tremendous opportunity exists for communications professionals to go beyond traditionally defined functions. This is not about overreaching or trying to actively transition out of the field. Rather, it’s about capitalising on the inherent potential to deliver added value our role provides – if we’re doing it right (and embraced by engaged management and peers). While this seems like common sense, there is a real opportunity for leaders in our industry to elevate the communications function, to not only serve as connectors, but also as invaluable strategic advisors. As an industry, it’s easy to focus on ascending up the ladder to more
not only do we serve our respective companies better, but we can actually serve our industry better and perhaps pave the way for more future senior leaders – both in communications as well as in broader management roles. While this piece offers an in-house Asia perspective, it is also explores expanding on the concept of what the communications role should be about, and how our industry can leverage the valuable skills and knowledge we cultivate into broader future leadership roles.
An Asia perspective While working for a multinational out of Asia can present numerous inherent challenges, especially those due to a lack of regional proximity and inconvenient time difference, it can also present a tremendous opportunity to serve as an invaluable resource to educate management and colleagues unfamiliar with the region on the cultural, business, political and environmental nuances to best achieve desired outcomes. This is particularly valuable given
Photo: iStock
“There is a real opportunity for leaders in our industry to elevate the communications function, to not only serve as connectors, but also as invaluable strategic advisors.” and more senior communication roles. While there is nothing wrong with this, it can also be limiting. By thinking and operating in a broader, strategic manner,
the reality – for companies and senior management that are headquartered in North America or Europe – is that many executives spend far less time visiting
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and engaging with APAC, as opposed to locations regionally closer and in more accommodating time zones (i.e. New York with London). This often translates into less regular interaction (especially with the US given the punishing time difference), less frequent in-person visits, and a lower level of engagement and familiarity compared to EMEA. In addition, when visitors do come to the region, they are understandably often jet-lagged from 12+ hour flights and have jam-packed, tiring, multi-country itineraries, sometimes only across a few days. Adding to this, Asia is an incredibly diverse region with vastly differing professional, cultural and political operating environments for business. All-in-all Asia can be a tough region to understand and engage with, especially for executives working at multinationals based outside of the region. However, assuming you have built strong relationships with management and stakeholders, there are some unique and wonderful professional opportunities to working out of Asia for a multinational, especially as a communications director. In looking after corporate communications for Dow Jones out of our regional headquarters in Hong Kong, I have the benefit of regular interaction with regional leaders and the opportunity to develop relationships with colleagues across APAC. This broad exposure, combined with the intimacy found in working with smaller offices, has naturally allowed me to deepen my understanding of our business and cultural operating dynamics regionally. Given this dynamic, I’m not only able to advise colleagues in countries outside of Asia about the region, but I’m also able to serve as an Asia expert and advisor to visiting global leaders. While this naturally encompasses communications related activities such as town halls and media
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BRAND
The attention grabber Whether bronze, silver or gold, carefully cultivated key opinion leaders can be an invaluable part of building brand awareness, at home and abroad. B Y J OY TA N
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BRAND
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hen I speak publicly about influencer marketing, I often ask the audience three questions: can you name three Chinese brands? Can you pronounce Huawei’s name? Do you know what Huawei does? The responses vary – and they reveal something about the state of Chinese brands generally, and of Huawei’s brand identity in particular. China has created a solid handful of megabrands that are famous within its own borders. Many are related to social media, including Baidu, TenCent and WeChat. Several Chinese companies have gone one step further and built global reputations: Lenovo made international headlines in 2005 when it bought the ThinkPad laptop business from IBM. Alibaba, the e-commerce giant, is now pretty close to being a household name. Less well-known, but rising quickly, are DJI, the world’s largest maker of commercial drones, and Dalian Wanda, a property
na could name a single Chinese brand. Knowing this, we were eager to learn what people knew about Huawei. So last year, we hired market research firm Penn Schoen Berland to conduct in-depth interviews with key opinion leaders around the world.
Introducing the brand Huawei is a multinational company based in China, and a global leader in information and communications technology. It’s the world’s largest maker of internet switching equipment and the third biggest seller of smartphones after Samsung and Apple. Last year, we reported sales revenue of 60 billion dollars. We employ 175,000 people in 170 countries. The point is, we’re not a small company. And in the information and communications technology industry,
Photo: Huawei
“The responses vary – and they reveal something about the state of Chinese brands generally, and of Huawei’s brand identity in particular.” behemoth that bought US cinema chain AMC in 2012 and may soon acquire the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a popular mixed-martial arts franchise based in the United States. Even so, a recent survey by consultants Millward Brown found that just 22 per cent of consumers outside Chi-
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many influential people do understand that Huawei matters. Unfortunately, a lot of them still don’t know much about what we actually do. It’s not that we’re reclusive. Huawei has a corporate communications department (which I lead) that handles outreach to both Chinese and interna-
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DIVERSITY
A balanced view All the evidence agrees: A fair gender match in business is good business. But achieving this match requires fundamental shifts in organisational vision, policy and culture. BY BOB GROVE
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DIVERSITY
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n many ways I am a typical ‘bloke’. While I am conscious of my own fallibility, I am also alarmed that so many businesses continue to fail to appreciate the differences that they consciously or sub-consciously propagate between genders. Whilst it is now largely agreed that sexism is bad, in its place is a lazy acceptance of the differences between men and women that inhibits the ability of women to reach senior positions in companies. Yet, there is a fundamental truth in business. A balanced and fair gender match in business is good business.
clear business case for addressing this deficit. The latest Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, for example, notes that companies with top quartile representation of women in executive positions perform better than companies with no women at the top, by some estimates with a 47 per cent average return on equity. However, many markets across our region appear to be oblivious to, or at least unwilling to act upon, this fact. The same World Economic Forum report ranks Japan at 101 of the 145 countries studied in terms of its gender equality in the workplace. China currently sits at 91. Even Singapore, famous for its dynamism and meritocracy, ranks outside of the top 50 at 54. There are numerous groups, like The Male Champions of Change in Australia, which have made admirable progress for the cause. However, there is a great deal of potential in our region still to be unlocked that would, gender fairness aside, be good for business. From when I graduated to when I was 32 years old I had five female and three male bosses. Since then, I have had 10 male bosses and one can’t help but wonder: where did the women go? According to the World Economic Forum, more women than men are now enrolled in universities in nearly 100 countries, yet women hold the majority of senior roles in only a handful of countries. In Asia, if you look at the communications and marketing agency world, approximately 75 per cent of the graduate intake is female. That ratio holds true for about five years. Therefore, naturally around 75 per cent of the best talent is female. Yet at 30-35 years old, the ratio
between men and women is about 50:50. Once you get above 40 years old, the ratio of women in senior positions is just 25 per cent, a total inverse of the graduating intakes. That means the industry loses two-thirds of its best and brightest talent, and they happen to be female. There is a female brain drain because organisational expectations are shaped by what are considered to be ‘typical’ male values, an in-built ‘people like me’ bias and a ‘culture of men’. I am often told it is because “women aren’t as assertive”, “women don’t ask for pay raises and promotions as frequently”, and the most common one I hear, “she wants to spend more time with her family”. This mentality is damaging because it becomes the excuse for why so many organisations accept what is clearly bad business. There are hundreds and hundreds of exceptions and we can applaud them all, but they shouldn’t be exceptions. Yet, in our region almost every company bemoans talent shortage as an inhibitor to growth. An OECD report published earlier this year suggests that across Asia, more so than in any other region, businesses have experienced difficulties in securing employees with the required skills. In Japan, 81 per cent of firms with 10 or more employees reported struggling to find qualified employees. Similarly in India, the figure is 64 per cent. I believe that the talent is there – companies, however, often just lose it. There are three steps that can and should be taken to address this female brain drain.
Photo: iStock
Do the maths Promoting diversity, and especially gender diversity, is often classified as a moral requirement rather than a business imperative. Whilst the inherent injustice of inequality must be recognised, there are also volumes of studies that illustrate the
“Organisational expectations are shaped by what are considered to be ‘typical’ male values.”
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ONLINE
China is chatting
WeChat is the communications all-rounder from China, but how should international brands adapt to it? BY GI NA HARDEBECK AN D SVEN SPÖDE
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eChat is an integral part of everyday life in China. 762 million active users worldwide keep themselves informed via the app: that’s equivalent to nearly the entire population of Europe. With WeChat, users search for people in their vicinity, order food or taxis, play games, pay restaurant and electricity bills or book flights and theatre tickets. The reach and influence of the messenger are correspondingly wide. No other tool, whether Facebook or WhatsApp, has anything like the market penetration of the all-rounder from China. Figures recently presented by the
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China Academy of Information and Communications Technology are incredible, even for China: 95 per cent of the above-mentioned 762 million WeChat users use the tool daily. 36 per cent even check their account more than 30 times a day. Or, as my colleague in China put it: “When I pick up my mobile, I look at what’s going on in WeChat.” Meanwhile, western companies have also recognised the potential of WeChat when it comes to reaching Chinese customers and consumers. Here, a question that often crops up is: what’s the difference between WeChat and WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger which are common in Europe? After all, all three are instant
ONLINE
messaging tools with which messages, pictures, voice and video files can be sent. However, the possibilities of WeChat go beyond the functions of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Twitter. WeChat offers company-specific functions which customers can access and use directly. In this way, daily messages to followers can be sent in a kind of company profile (subscription account). In addition, companies can make further content and services available via a configurable menu where, and here’s the relevant bit, parts of the homepage can be directly integrated. Thus, WeChat not only competes with other social media services and messaging tools, but also with websites and company apps. Supplemented by e-commerce functions, the payment service WeChat Pay and the open programming interface, business models can be fully portrayed in WeChat.
Photo: iStock
How can companies employ WeChat as a tool for marketing and sales? Here are a couple of examples: a large trader in fine foods wants to present his products specifically to Chinese consumers (both in China itself and during their journey to Europe) and motivate them to buy. The company advertises its products in the subscription account. As with all communication channels, the information is specially prepared for the target group. Suppose the trader advertises Austrian specialities with a campaign. While Mozart chocolate balls and Sacher cake are instantly associated by Europeans with Austrian treats, most Chinese need more information about the product. The history of the traditional company Sacher and its legal dispute with the company Demel about the original recipe make the chocolate cake something special: a Sacher cake promises tradition and quality. So it’s not about clumsy product marketing, but about imbuing products with a feeling.
Ideally, the product communication via WeChat should arouse a direct desire to buy. The purchase can be made in the shop or via a service account in WeChat, in which a complete e-commerce shop with customer relationship management connection is integrated.
Tourism agencies and trade fair companies have WeChat in their sights Tourism and regional marketing can also benefit from WeChat. Postings of landscapes, attractions and events with additional information on local customs and festivals are communicated quickly, and, thanks to beautiful landscape photographs, are a welcome eye-catcher. Here too, the added value of WeChat lies in its integrated interface, for example, to travel portals: information about the availability of hotels can be displayed via the menu in the profile, along with booking options. On holiday, travellers can also ask questions about opening times or current events directly in WeChat and get in touch with the tourist office. This gives tourism managers in Europe an entirely new way of advertising their region to Chinese travellers. (And, by the way, hardly any other group of travellers to Europe is set to increase as much over the coming years as the Chinese. So it’s time to adapt.) There are plenty more examples. Here’s a final one from the trade fair sector: trade fair companies are increasingly communicating their services regarding ticket booking, travel options, hotels or trade events and shows via Facebook and Twitter. However, these channels cannot be accessed from China. Here too, the solution is close to hand.
Every new beginning is difficult
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One characteristic of WeChat is the rudimentary search and closed communication – users only see the content of their direct contacts. This poses special challenges for companies: whereas on Facebook, Twitter and so on they can draw attention to themselves through purely online activities, this is considerably more difficult with WeChat. Therefore, companies often choose offline campaigns to draw attention to their new WeChat channel. One popular campaign mechanism is WeChat Instantkill – at a trade fair, potential users are invited to send a message to the company account at precisely 15:00. Whoever sends the first message after 15:00 receives a prize. Who-
“WeChat is not simply just another communications and marketing channel, but is digitalising life in China.”
ever sends their message at 14:59 or was not the fastest, gets nothing. Afterwards the account will instantly have gained the participants as fans, thereby giving the company a head start for their WeChat activities. The necessity for offline campaigns in order to draw attention to a WeChat channel also shows how prominent WeChat has become in China. WeChat is not simply just another communications and marketing channel, but is digitalising life in China. Whether in shops, on business
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EVENT
Making your events buzzworthy To make your event a must-see, you need to unlock the power of social media and mobile. BY SELENE CHIN
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EVENT
Previous page and right: The Future Of Us exhibition is the capstone event for Singapore’s 50th anniversary celebrations
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o what does a good event look like? One successful example comes from Singapore: the SG50 Heart Map project. Devised as part of Singapore’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, the aim was to create a map of the Top 50 places with special meaning to ordinary Singaporeans. The organiser reached out to the community via social media, asking them to share little-known facts about Singapore via the #DidYouKnow hashtag, followed by a competition which encouraged people to share their favourite hangout spots and guess the location of places in various photos. The campaign made a massive splash, with a total Facebook reach of 437,000 over six months, including 150 social influencers. Crucially, this online buzz drove offline, real-world results. The SG Heart Map launch event attracted over 14,000 people, while the SG Heart Festival @ Float event had a total visitor count worth of 135,000.
Photos: Pico
Apps are lagging behind Social media marketing is sexy, relatively easy and often brings immediate results. Apps are different. They are
no less valuable, but up until now they have been visibly absent from the event marketing scene. A recent survey found that only 59 per cent of event marketers bothered to use a mobile event app (compared to 83 per cent who said they used social media) – citing that it was ‘not relevant to their event’ or that they ‘couldn’t clearly identify the benefits’. Of those who did have an app, barely one-third could report that over half of event attendees had used it. The benefits of event apps are immediately obvious: less paper, timely reminders, searchable databases, all the information at your fingertips… So where is the disconnect? Right now, most event apps are missing three crucial value-added elements: flexibility, customisability and ‘tailorability’. Why these three? Think about it – the core driver of the events industry is to create unique stories and experiences. Giving users the ability to customise the functionality, look and feel of an app lets them express their creativity and feel unique. Apps also need to be developed with, rather than for, their users – if developers create a customisable app, they gain valuable input from the people that matter most. And if an app can be tailored to
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an individual user that lets them shape their own experience – today’s apps have the power to provide notifications triggered by location or content, why not take advantage of that? Apps can also provide customisable visitor interactions, event promotions and numerous baseline capabilities like event registration, tracking, feedback and others. An app with all of these elements is powerful but potentially confusing – not everyone needs all of these features, so why not let people choose the elements they want?
Social listening creates a genuine connection Mobile marketing is also incredibly useful at events themselves. The beauty of mobile is that it never has to stop – pretty much everyone at an event these days has an immensely powerful supercomputer in their pocket, which they frequently consult. Using mobile, event marketers can continue to shape and refine their audience’s experience – as it is happening. But how do we do it so we’re creating and sustaining the right buzz? On social media, brands have to speak the
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MARKETING
The art of marketing
When it comes to attracting attention to the arts it can take a masterpiece in modern marketing. BY VIVIAN SIM
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MARKETING
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ntrepreneur and author Seth Godin once said, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” Many brands have since taken a page from this book to tell great stories that struck a chord with their audiences. Similarly, National Gallery Singapore believes in telling relatable and relevant stories that matter to the people. Only one problem: the visual arts have never had mass public appeal.
told by individuals with little or no professional arts background, repainted each creation with the brushstrokes of personal experiences, bringing art to life and relevance to the man-on-the-street. Taking a channel-agnostic approach, the stories of My Masterpiece were shared online and via interviews with the print media. The results of the campaign were remarkable. The videos racked up more than 900,000 views in just seven months. But beyond an ROI measurement, the campaign proved to be successful in shin-
Room with a view: the atrium
of Singapore’s National Gallery
Photo: National Gallery Singapore
“We need to answer the perennial question on the minds of every visitor: what is in it for me?” How does a visual art institute that houses more than 1,000 modern Southeast Asian artworks make paintings and sculptures more palatable to the community? How does it make Singaporeans and foreign visitors sit up, pay attention and relate to works by artists with lower exposure? How should it tell the world that the Gallery is not only an iconic building but also an art institution dedicated to collaborative research, education and exhibitions that highlight the importance of modern Southeast Asian art in a global context? We are determined to tell the Gallery’s story – an engaging and relatable story to spark people’s curiosity in the buildings, history and the art.
ing the spotlight on modern Southeast Asian art. It made art accessible to the community and demonstrated different ways to interpret and appreciate art. After the success of the My Masterpiece campaign, it became more apparent that video was an effective medium for the Gallery to tell its story. We decided to push the envelope to create another campaign that would bring the Gallery to the fore regionally and capture the attention of a broader audience. We wanted to tell our story with new perspectives and conceptualised Art Through Our Eyes to incorporate another discipline of the arts.
Marketing masterpiece
The new campaign is a film collaboration between the Gallery and five of Southeast Asia’s top award winning film directors to celebrate the region’s artistic heritage. Launched in May this year, the campaign features five original short films inspired by five masterpieces from the Gallery’s Southeast Asian collection handpicked the directors. Through the films, which are slated
In the year leading up to the opening, we embarked on a storytelling journey to engage the community through the My Masterpiece series. The campaign featured 12 well-known local personalities who selected Southeast Asian artworks that they connected with. The stories,
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Art on film
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AGENDA SETTER
In the event of change When it comes to communicating international climate conferences, is media coverage a help or a hindrance? BY JAN WISNIEWSKI
A passerby takes a picture of an installation erected in protest against pollution, near the site of the United Nations Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark
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AGENDA SETTER
A
t the end of 2009, world leaders and national representatives from across the world gathered in Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The Bali Road Map, the outcome of the 2007 conference, had promised that a framework for future climate change mitigation was to be created in Copenhagen. However, by the final day of the event, the international media were reporting on the stagnation of the negotiations. For example, the Associated Press wrote, “The UN climate talks were in serious disarray Friday, with delegates blaming both the US and China for the lack of a political agreement that President Barack Obama, China’s premier and more than 110 other world leaders are supposed to sign within hours”. In the end, the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference produced the Copenhagen Accord – a document that delegates agreed only to “take note of”. As this example shows, climate change issues are far from resolved at major conferences. This is despite research findings becoming more assured – in 2014, the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report declared high confidence that human activity is disrupting climate systems. But what role does media coverage play in the perceptions – negative or positive – of climate change conferences? Is the media just a passive recorder of the daily developments at such conferences, or do their coverage actively shape the outcomes of these events?
Photo: Neil Palmer (CIAT)
Mediated climate Professor Alison Anderson, editor in chief of the Routledge journal Environmental Communication, suggested in a 2009 paper that the lack of homogeneity and dominant sources of information in the media coverage of climate change is reflected in the unsettled nature of societal climate change perception. Considering the competition between multiple actors such as scientists, industry bodies, policymakers and NGOs in having
their voices heard on climate issues, Anderson suggests the media “play a crucial role in framing the scientific, economic, social and political dimensions through giving voice to some viewpoints while suppressing others, and legitimating certain truthclaims as reasonable and credible”. The actors involved in climate change policy and opinion are especially prominent during climate conferences. At Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 in Paris last year not only were 150 heads of state in attendance but other political figures such as governors and mayors joined as well. Also competing for media attention were those on the political periphery such as business executives and environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs). According to a 2016 paper from me-
gather attention. As part of a project called Down to Earth, a German research recently team looked at how the news from UN Climate Change Conference in Paris reached and influenced citizens. Speaking with Communication Director, Dr. Imke Hoppe of the University of Hamburg says that other issues may be more significant in the media and in public attention during climate conferences. “At the time of the conference last year in Paris, coverage related to terrorism and immigration issues was high on the agenda of the audience,” she explains. Although the concentration of climate coverage does mean policy breakthroughs and blunders can be overshadowed by other current affairs, the annual UN climate conference has now become part of
“The annual UN Climate Change conference has become part of the yearly news cycle.” dia and climate academics Antal Wozniak, Hartmut Wessler and Julia Lück, in the 20 years of increasing media attention before Copenhagen and even in the decreased coverage since then, UN Climate Change Conferences and the simultaneous COPs have been a focal point.
Covering climate change Climate change is a tough topic for journalists as it lacks the short term impact and simplicity that match traditional news values. However, climate conferences provide journalists the opportunity to gather quotes from important players in the global climate debate. Yet this focused coverage across one time period does not necessarily mean that significant climate news will continue to
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the yearly event news cycle. The focus of the coverage of these events has not remained static however. In 2012 Professors Risto Kunelius and Elisabeth Eide of the University of Tampere’s MediaClimate Project identified two broad positions taken by journalists when covering the conferences. The first of those constructed a discourse calling for a decisive, multilateral agreement. The second focused on a narrative of competing national interests. The academics argue that as this second position gained prominence there was a change of tone following Copenhagen, which challenged the realistic chances of a multilateral agreement and legitimacy of transnational organisations. In contrast to COP15 in Copenhagen, COP21 in Paris has been hailed as a positive step forward in global climate
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THE BIG INTERVIEW
Richard Tsang and his team at the SPRG offices in Singapore
“Public relations needs to be more business-savvy” For the agency view on the changes in Asia-Pacific’s corporate communications profession, we’ve turned to a communications professional with long-standing overview of the communications field. Richard Tsang, chairman of Strategic Public Relations Group (SPRG), has been at deeply involved in agency work in the region since the late 1980s: almost three decades later, we asked him to describe the evolution of corporate communications. INTERVIEW BY DAFYDD PHILLIPS
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THE BIG INTERVIEW
D
uring the course of your career as an advisor to many corporate clients, how have you seen the role of the communications function change among your clients? In the past, it was always a mix of advisory and execution work; now it depends on the size of the clients. For larger companies, advisory/consultancy and execution work will be handled by their in-house department, while for small companies it is still both advisory and execution. Also, the function was more image-oriented, whereas now it is primarily stakeholder management. And today, the corporate structure is leaner: C-suite or board members are more involved in communications than before. Your particular expertise is financial communications and investor relations. In your opinion, does public relations need to be more business-savvy, and do you feel that most corporate communicators have sufficient grasp of the financial bottom-line? In my opinion, public relations definitely needs to be more business-savvy. In order to manage stakeholder expectations, public relations needs to understand all their concerns, and why they should (or shouldn’t) support a company. In many listed companies, investor relations is under the supervision of the chief financial officer, therefore they have sufficient knowledge of it, but public relations practitioners who only have communications expertise will not be able to deal with this responsibility. However, there are increasingly more practitioners from the finance field joining the agency side, providing their knowledge and connections to clients.
Photos: Private
“In order to manage stakeholder expectations, public relations needs to understand all their concerns.”
With mergers and acquisitions on the rise in countries including China/Hong Kong, India and Vietnam, what kind of impacts will this have on Asia’s public relations scene? The first challenge is to understand the rules and regulations of the different countries. These cultural differences are also regarded as a critical determinant of success for any merger or acquisition. It is also crucial to establish a regional/international presence to make sure unified messages are delivered and to ensure timeliness. Government relations is also becoming more important in mergers and acquisitions as sometimes it is not just a matter of financial dealings, but also the ability to understand and abide by government policies.
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RICHARD TSANG
Chairman, Strategic Public Relations Group Richard Tsang is an investor relations and public relations veteran with over 25 years of industry experience in Asia. In 1995, at the age of 29, Richard founded Strategic Public Relations Group (SPRG) in Hong Kong. SPRG has become one of the largest public relations networks in Asia and the largest public relations consultancy in Hong Kong. Richard is the global chairman of Public Relations Organisation International (PROI Worldwide), the first Asian to chair the organisation since its inception in 1970. Richard has received 15 awards and recognition for his professional and personal achievements, including 2003 Young Entrepreneur Award, part of the DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards; Outstanding Individual Achievement bestowed during the 2012 Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards – the first Chinese winner in the history of the Awards; and Asia Power List 2014 – The 50 Most Influential People in PR by PRWeek Asia. Richard has also been included in PRWeek’s Global Power Book 2015 and 2016. He becomes the only agency owner in Hong Kong to be included in the listing. He is also listed in 2015 Debrett’s Hong Kong 100 – The 100 Most Influential People in Hong Kong. Furthermore, to help foster development of the business sector, Richard sits in over 50 board, committee and advisory positions in business, religious, education and nongovernmental organisations.
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ISSUE FOCUS
ISSUE FOCUS
Trends in communication 68
Future-proofing reputation 60
Leadership and communication Defining the leadership characteristics of chief communications and corporate affairs officers Interviews with Gizem Weggemans and Richard Marshal Working Groups 64
A communications roadmap APACD Working Group heads discuss the development and future path of communications Interviews with members of the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors
Managing a company‘s reputation is a major responsibility of executive communicators By Herbert Heitmann
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Evolving together Integrating marketing and communications could be key to organisational survival in a fragmented world By Merlissa Elvin-Poulose
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Swimming with goldfish How to build on engagement to counter ever-shrinking attention spans By Chris Galloway
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Watching the stars A future role of communication directors is to explain societal megatrends to their organisations and stakeholders Interview with Ayesha Khanna
Targeted interactions Digital-based campaigns provide highly relevant information to their intended audience By Jean Cai
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