Beijing’s 798 Art District, fashioned from military-industrial facilities built by East German engineers in the 1950s, is often compared to New York’s SoHo. But SoHo East it is not. China’s contemporary art scene defines a one-of-a-kind place and experience.
So it is with the public relations profession in China. Several years after my last trip there, I journeyed back with the encouragement and support of multiple Institute for Public Relations (IPR) Trustees – most notably Mark Hass and Bob Grupp. As IPR adopts an increasingly global stance, I wanted to further develop a sense of how the science beneath the art of public relations™ might support a growing profession in China.
I must offer my warmest thanks to all parties who met with me to share their time and knowledge – among them representatives of the China International Public Relations Association, the Central University of Finance and Economics School of Culture and Communication, APCO Worldwide, Burson-Marsteller, Edelman, GE, Johnson & Johnson and Weber Shandwick.
What did these friends, old and new, teach me?
First, that China has a fast-developing indigenous public relations industry, with a growing number of local practitioners working on the client side and in Chinese and multinational agencies. The local agencies themselves have global ambitions and seek to establish reputations that will allow them to fulfill those ambitions.
Second, the Chinese public relations community hungers for research and expert knowledge from many sources. Already, they have sought permission and translated IPR research papers. IPR in turn wants to acquire and share more knowledge about China’s current research and practices with professionals and academics worldwide.
Third, that some of IPR’s priority research topics resonate well in China. Of particular interest is our dive into the social science of social networking. China’s own social media platforms are huge, vibrant and some say better. Forward-looking academics and practitioners also feel that our organizational communication initiatives could be of value to huge Chinese companies.
Fourth, that universities in China are held in high regard and may be natural allies in IPR’s efforts to build research-based knowledge. In many countries, practitioners believe they are ahead of academics in their thinking about professional practice. Not so, it seems, in China.
Fifth, any time you enter a new environment, it’s time to reexamine your assumptions about how things work. One of my contacts suggested that while public relations strategy often can be global, implementation in China must be local. And while some ethical practices in China disturb Western practitioners, there is evidence that the reverse is also true.
Taking all of these lessons to heart, what comes next? Certainly the exchange of more research and content, with translations to make the work accessible to more practitioners. Plus the exchange of invitations, introductions and speaking opportunities. Perhaps even forming an IPR China advisory group, gathering the in-country representatives of organizations represented on our Board.
Frank, you visited one of the right spots on the globe. I tell my children that the successes of their generation will be global. Being able to trade at that global level while dropping down to local level in major geographies will be essential. Tomorrow’s ( perhaps today’s) players will have a global perspective coupled with a strong understanding of the US, China, EU, Russia, Brazil. IPR has the opportunity to get our profession on the same page.
Having lived in China for three years while working in the PR industry, here are my five parallels –
http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=85089994&gid=3456152&commentID=62133056&trk=view_disc&ut=1Zdw1IMNsXS501
Keep us (and me) in mind should you want to do something in terms of programs or outreach there. The Masters in Strategic Public Relations program at the GWU Graduate School of Poltical Management is getting a steady influx of applications from China. Per your observation, there is a keen interest there in PR and a cultural belief in the value of education.
Good experience to share; think IPR is really doing well in developing universal intelligence that is not only western. It will be enriching to test the western PR thought in China and other Asian countries that are not originally western in their learning.