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PR During the Shanghai World Expo

2009. 4 December

by Johan Bjorksten
(cibmagazine.com.cn) As the Beijing Olympic Games and the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic have reminded us, successful PR needs to take into account big trends and events. The communications climate changes around major events: the media becomes focused with a fixed agenda and all your competitors become busy trying to leverage the same communications opportunity.

The “Next Big Thing” to hit China will be next year's sustainability-themed Shanghai World Expo.
According to feedback from our clients, the Expo organizers are service-minded and efficient, making corporate involvement easier. But in order to leverage this opportunity, and avoid disruptions to their own PR plans, companies should understand their own home countries' roles, work around the Expo publicity schedule and develop programs that fit into the larger scope of activities.

HOME-COUNTRY PARTICIPATION

Most countries have pavilions at the Expo, and many of them invite home country corporations to contribute or participate. Companies need to find out as much as possible about their home country's participation, since there may be excellent opportunities for publicity or stakeholder outreach. Also, even when companies do not directly participate, Expo activities may reflect well on their own corporate image and activities.

Together with our partner Springtime Communications, Eastwei is handling the exhibition content at the Swedish pavilion. Over the last year, we have worked to ensure that Swedish companies gain maximum exposure while contributing to the overall country image: telecommunications companies will provide interactive environments, transportation companies highlight sustainable solutions, kitchen and home furnishing providers leverage their product offering in the context of environmental protection. In addition, many companies have booked access to the pavilion's VIP facilities for meetings with customers, and some plan to use the pavilion as a high-profile venue for ordinary marketing activities such as product launches.

You also need to allow suitable lead time – activities may be subject to approval by the Expo authorities, who are usually helpful, but still need time for the authorization process.

AVOID BEING CROWDED OUT

It is always difficult to achieve media coverage during important political or cultural events; many newspapers and magazines have already dedicated certain sections and dates to Expo-related reports. In order to ensure coverage of their own events, PR managers need to watch the Expo activity schedule and make sure that they time their own activities to avoid being crowded out.

“EXPO-FRIENDLY” ANGLES

By understanding the Expo PR calendar, PR managers can also work to insert their own company's viewpoints or products in articles about the Expo, as well as plan activities timed to tie in with Expo events. During the Olympics, this was known as “stealth sponsorship,” and was vehemently challenged by official sponsors and Olympic authorities. The theme and industry-relevant content of the Expo is bound to be more accommodating for companies.

SET UP AN EXPO TEAM

If you do not plan to actively exploit the Expo for PR, then at the least stay on top of developments around the event. During the Olympics, most of my clients, even if not Olympic sponsors, had a dedicated “Olympic Role” on the PR team; a person who kept abreast of developments and identified potential risks as well as opportunities. After the consumer protests against Carrefour last year, the few companies that had not already paid attention to the communications implications of the Games started to do so. The 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is important enough to warrant similar dedicated monitoring, strategy and execution.

Source: www.cibmagazine.com.cn