Most public relations professionals and companies in China believe the up-coming Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will open up opportunities for development, according to a national survey of the Chinese public relations industry.

 

The survey shows that 67.2 percent of public relations workers surveyed agree the Beijing Games will offer good opportunity for the development of the PR industry, while only 9.4 percent disagree.

 

The survey shows that PR professionals think the Olympics will bring more business opportunities. At the same time, the public will attach great importance to the role of public relations play in daily life.

 

The survey was recently conducted by the Advertising Studies School at the Communication University of China. The survey covered a variety of major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Changsha.

 

The results were summarized through 235 questionnaires that included 65 from PR companies, 102 from in-house PR departments, and 67 from PR staff.

 

The survey covered various aspects of the PR industry. In the section related to "the overall attitude to the development of Chinese public relations industry", most PR staff agreed the Beijing Games would have a positive impact on PR companies.

 

However, some PR practitioners admitted requirements for contracts for the Games would be challenging, and some small PR companies would not be able to compete with larger firms.

 

The survey results also show that 49.2 percent of respondents agreed with the idea that the PR industry will do well next year, and 31.7 percent strongly agreed. Only 1.6 percent disagreed.

 

This result showed that most PR staff are optimistic about the development of the PR industry in the coming year.

 

"The Olympic Games is such a big event that it will attract attention from all over the world, so both the organizing committee of the Games or the Games' sponsors hope to do as much promotional work as possible," said David Liu, managing director of Weber Shandwick in China.

 

Weber Shandwick is one of the world's leading public relations and communications management firms.

 

"The organizing committee expects to show the world the real image of China, while the sponsors want to let more people know their brand through the Olympics, so they will hold various marketing and PR activities, which is a good opportunity for the PR companies."

 

One firm already benefiting from the game is Hill & Knowlton (H&K). The firm won the first PR battle early this April when it was named communications consultant for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

 

As a communications partner for the Committee, H&K will provide support for major events, communications outreach to the international media, and assistance in communicating Beijing's Olympic vision.

 

Although H&K grabbed this opportunity, other PR companies won't miss the variety of chances to link their name to the Olympics.

 

Weber Shandwick, as communication consultant for the Beijing bidding committee for the Games, is already reaping some reward for the event. Now, they are trying to drum up more Olympic clients.

 

"We failed to be BOCOG's communication consultancy, but through the application process, we set up a good relationship with some departments of BOCOG, and this will help our clients when they want to do Olympic marketing," said Liu.

 

"As a global PR company, many Olympic sponsors have already been our clients and we are contacting more Olympic sponsors as well."

 

As for Olympic marketing activities, Liu suggested that PR companies help organize uplifting events.

 

"Besides marketing events, some activities aimed at encouraging staff are also necessary," said Liu.

 

Since Olympic sponsorship and marketing are still new to China's companies, Liu suggested local PR companies not support ambush marketing by clients not officially sponsored by the Olympics.

 

"The Olympic project is very special, since the Olympic sponsors enjoy exclusive rights in their own category, so we will suggest our clients, which are not Olympic sponsors, to promote their brands in other ways," Liu said.

 

"The Olympic marketing events should obey Olympic rules that may not be so clear with some local companies."

 

Sponsoring other sports events may be one option.

 

"While people are paying attention to the Olympic Games, they may also watch other sports activities," Liu said.

 

"So sponsoring star athletes or famous sports teams are efficient ways for the promotion of the companies that are not Olympic sponsors."

 

"China is a rising sports powerhouse, but sports marketing is still at the starting line," Liu said. "The Olympics will help boost sports marketing in China, which means much more chances for PR."

 

(China Daily November 24, 2006)