Check out the fin

2. Today’s Discussion
I. Welcome & Introduction: Craig Hoy, Executive
Director, PublicAffairsAsia
II. Today’s Objectives
III. Moderator’s Overview: Alan VanderMolen, President,
Asia Pacific, Edelman
IV. Survey Results & Discussion
V. Break
VI. Social Media/PA Case Studies & Discussion
VII. Conclusion: What does this mean for public affairs in China:
Foreign MNCs, SOEs, Government, Civil Society
VIII.Cocktail Reception

3. Introductions
• VIPS:
– Mr. Liu Hang, Acting Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
– Ms. Zhang Xin, SCIO
– Mr. Zheng Yannong, Vice President, CIPRA
– Mr. Xue Lan, Dean, School of Public Policy & Management,
Tsing Hua University
• Craig Hoy, PublicAffairsAsia
• Alan VanderMolen, Edelman
• Frank Lavin, Edelman
• Steven Cao, Pegasus

4. Today’s Objective
1. Discuss impact of social media on public
affairs in Mainland China
– Review survey results and case studies
2. Discuss the future of public affairs given the
new role of social media
– Foreign MNCs, SOEs, Government, Civil Society

6. Moderator’s Overview:
Social Media Landscape

7. What is Social Media?
• Internet-linked
• Many-to-many, user generated content
• A keyboard and a point-of-view gets you into
the discussion
• Governments, companies and citizens are
becoming their own media companies

8. What Does It Look Like?
OLD: NEW:
Pyramid Model Sphere of Cross-influence
Organization Businesses
Media Employees
Regulators Investors
NGOs Trade
Bodies
Mass Audience Consumers

9. • Conversations can start
anywhere within a network
producers commenters
• Influence flows from multiple
sources – no longer the sole
domain of mass media
• Influence can spread in any
direction
curators
• Real people can be
influencers and/ or amplifiers
• Different pyschographics:
sharers watchers Watchers, Sharers,
Commenters, Producers,
Curators
conversations start anywhere
– and involve influencers of all stripes

10. China Internet: The Numbers
• 338 million Internet users
• 181 million bloggers, 119 million regularly update
• 155 million people use mobile phone for Internet
• 124 million social network (SNS) users
• 102 million BBS users
• 62.8% of Internet users are aged 10 - 29
Data source CNNIC reports June and November 2009

11. China’s Major Websites All Have
Social Media Components
• QQ /Tencent from IM to gaming to blogs
• BBS: from tianya.cn to People’s Daily to
Baidu.com to tiexue.net…
• SNS: Kaixin001.com, Renren.com, 51.com
• Blogs and news commentary: Sina.com,
Sohu.com
• Video: Youku.com, Tudou.com
• Microblogging: Sina, QQ
• Auction/e-commerce: Taobao.com

12. Trust in the Internet
• 84.3% of Chinese Internet users believe that the
Internet is their most important source of
information.
Data source CNNIC June 2009

13. Trust wanes for most traditional information sources;
Word-of-mouth on par with media
100%
90%
80% 70% 2008 2009
70%
60% 50% 53%
47% 49% 49%
50% 44%
39%
40% 34% 34%
30% 22%
20%
10%
0%
Television news Articles in Articles in News coverage Conversations Conversations
coverage business newspapers on the radio with your friends with company
magazines and peers employees
N/A
C95-98,103. [TRACKING] Now I’m going to read you a list of places where you might get information about a company. Please tell me how credible you believe each one
of them is as a source of information about the company—is it extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or not credible at all? (Top 2 Box), Informed publics
ages 25-64 in China.
13

14. The Unwritten Rules
• National pride
• Anti-establishment: Chinese Netizens love
challenging authority
• Sensational: Chaozuo 炒作 approach
• Replicable: Zhuanzai 转载 culture

15. A View From The Government
The characteristics of online public opinion crises …
suddenness 突发性
destructiveness 破坏性
urgency 紧迫性 …
In the Internet age, many of the means of news control that were effective in
the past are no longer useful, and many in fact bind our own feet and
hands, creating passivity in the handling of crises by the party and the
government.
在网络时代，许多过去行之有效的新闻管理办法有的已经不起作用，有的
反而束缚我们自己的手脚，造成党和政府处理事件的被动。
From government document: ‘How public prosecutors can neutralize online
opinion crises’ — August 2009
http://media.nfdaily.cn/content/2009-08/13/content_5553979.htm

17. Edelman/PublicAffairsAsia Social
Media Survey: November 17, 2009
Online Survey Results

18. Methods
• This survey was conducted over the Internet
beginning November 6 and ending November 13.
• A total of 132 interviews were submitted by the
end of active data collection.

19. Respondent Profile
• One out of three respondents are communications specialists
with MNCs or SOEs. One in five work with consultancies.
Approximately one in 10 are employed by government or
NGOs.
• Six out of ten claim to be decision makers for government or
public affairs strategy in China. The remainder are mostly
involved in the implementation of government or public
affairs strategies.
• More than six out of ten respondents are residents of China
or Hong Kong.

20. Importance of “Social Media” to
Overall Public Affairs Strategy in
China
How important is social media to your
broader public affairs strategy in China?
Extremely important 17%
Very important 28% 74%
Somewhat important 29%
Not particularly important 14%
Not at all important 13%

21. Social Media’s Influence Over
Public Policy
To what extent do you believe opinions
expressed in online and digital social
media channels influence
contemporary public policy in China?
The most influential media 10%
channel available
67%
Often more influential than 57%
other media channels
No more influential than other 24%
media
Less influential than other media 9%
channels

22. How the “Social Media” are Used
by Respondents
How often do you conduct And how often do you
a systematic search of communicate news and
Answers social media for news and information about your
information about your business via social media?
business?
Many Times a day 11% 5%
At least once a day 27% 59% 16%
Several times during the 21% 16%
week
At least once a week 12% 17%
Less than once a week 29% 46%

23. How Social Media is Used in
Organizations
Represented in this Survey
Which of the following statements best
reflects your organization’s use of social media
in a public affairs context in China?
We fully utilize social media platforms as part 17%
of our public affairs strategy and have
evaluated its impact 60%
We have started to use social media platforms 43%
as part of our public affairs strategy but have
not yet evaluated its impact
We do not utilize social media platforms as part 32%
of our public affairs strategy
We avoid social media platforms as part of our 8%
public affairs strategy

24. Department or Function
Responsible for
Social Media in China
In your organization, which department
(function) is responsible for strategic
social media communications in China?
Marketing department 11%
Corporate communication / Corporate 23%
affairs
Public relations department 16%
Public affairs department 8%
No particular department assigned 42%

25. Statements About
Social Media

26. Statements About
Social Media

28. Online Public Affairs
Case Studies in China
• The Coca-Cola Company - Huiyuan
• Tengzhong- Hummer
• Hangzhou 70kph
• Mineralized water

29. The Coca-Cola Company
failed bid to buy Huiyuan

30. How Story Broke
Media breaks story
September 3, 2008 — Huiyuan reports Coke takeover bid to
Hong Kong market regulators, HK media pick it up
Social media reacts
September 5 — Sina.com video interview* that says Coke's
acquisition of Huiyuan would violate anti-trust law
Further reaction from social media
September 8 — Sina video transcript taken down — netizens call
it 封口门 (hush-gate), alleging that Coke attempted to
manipulate public opinion * With lawyer Qian Weiqing, trade analyst
Mei Yuxin, and consultant Li Su

31. How Story Played Out
National pride issues
September 5 - 12 — Internet discussion focuses on allegations of
quid pro quo for Coke Olympic sponsorship, national pride,
sale of national jewel to foreign company, criticism of
Huiyuan CEO Zhu Xinli
— Mainstream media follows tone of Internet debate
Slow reaction
September 12 —Coca Cola Company denies cover-up charges
Deal is rejected
March 18 2009 — Regulators finally turn down the deal; netizens
claim victory

32. Lessons Learned
• Buyer and seller treated this as “transaction
communication” - top down
• Completely ignored grassroots / digital

33. Tengzhong - Hummer Deal
Image from
http://www.dongying.com.cn/qcpd/xwzx/sdpl/42041.shtml

34. How Story Broke
Unstructured announcement by GM / Tengzhong
June 1, 2009 — GM Chapter 11 announcement says Hummer brand will be
discontinued
June 2 —GM says MOU signed with Chinese buyer for Hummer; later that day
CNN and NY Times identify it as Tengzhong, Tengzhong then confirms
Social media reaction
June 3 through August — Blog posts criticize the deal, saying Tengzhong will
get only a brand name not any technology, and alleging that the deal is for
money laundering or a way to export capital from China. Such online
criticism continues throughout June. Bloggers suggest that the
government may not approve the deal
Announcement of deal confirmation
October 9 — Tengzhong and GM announce deal is finalized

35. How Story Played Out
Government reaction to new announcement
October 10 — In a Xinhua report, the Ministry of Commerce states that it has not received
the required applications from Tengzhong.
Further social media reaction
October 12 — Bloggers say Tengzhong may have set up a offshore company to circumvent
regulations; CCTV news anchor and blogger Rui Chenggang criticizes the takeover on his
blog as "against the Chinese government's commitment to low-carbon economy
development and environmental laws“.
Widespread negative speculation and further online criticism of the deal continue. Still in
play…

36. Lessons Learned
• No communication co-ordination between buyer and seller
• As with Coke / Huiyuan: this treated as “transaction
communication” - top down, ignoring grass roots / digital
• Buy-side and sell-side vulnerable to nationalistic commentary
• National pride issues can attract celebrity bloggers who have
clout of mainstream media with strong digital / grass roots
following

37. Hangzhou 70kph

38. How Story Broke
Media report fatal car accident
May 7, 2009— Hu Bin (20) driving souped-up car, hit and killed Tan Zhuo, a
"working class" man (25) while crossing a street.
Witnesses said that Hu's speed was enough to send Tan flying, but media
reported police gave him a minor citation for driving at 70 kph.
Social media reaction — “human flesh search engine” 人肉搜索
May 7 - 14 — Netizens outraged at apparent deference to Hu's wealthy
background, and his nonchalance — photo of he and friends smoking and
laughing near scene of fatal accident
”Human flesh search engine" uncovers Hu's driving record and other personal
information and attempts to find out his family connections. "70 kph"
becomes online catch-phrase.

39. How Story Played Out
Police reaction to controversy
May 15 — Hangzhou police released update estimating Hu's speed between
84 and 101 kph.
Resolution
July 20 — Hu Bin appeared in court and is sentenced to three years in prison.
Netizens compare photos released to the press against photos taken at the
scene of crime and suggest that Hu paid someone to take his place in jail.
A week later Hu expressed regret and offered proof of his identity.

40. Lessons Learned
• Authorities are subject to same online forces as
companies
• Chinese netizens are sensitive about cases of
apparent abuses by the rich and well-connected
• Slow police reaction to online criticism enhanced
netizen suspicions
• Once “human flesh search engine” behavior starts,
even baseless rumors are credible to netizens

41. Mineralized Water

42. How the Story Broke
Story broke on BBS website
Late July 2008 — BBS post “Master Kong, where is your water source?”
appears, accusing Master Kong (康师傅) of quality problems, foremost
that their mineral water is merely tap water.
Huge response from netizens, who accuse the company of false advertising.
Traditional media picks up story
August 6, 2008 — National Business Daily picks up the story, noting that
bottling plant is located in an area without natural springs.
Reporter speaks to Master Kong representative, who says: "Everyone does it.
A one or two kuai bottle of water can't be natural spring water."

43. How Story Played Out
Regulators react
Mid August — government regulators get involved, review bottled water
standards.
Corporate response
September 2 — Master Kong apologizes for creating the "gap in
understanding" by not adequately explaining its "superior source”. Water
is now labelled as “distilled”, “mineral” or mineralized”.
Reputational fallout
September 9 — Results of an online poll conducted by China Youth Daily
reveal: 57.3% of respondents will no longer buy Master Kong water;
72.9% believe that supervision of the water industry needs to be
strengthened

44. Lessons Learned
• Social media is the world’s biggest fact-checker and
can rapidly expose false advertising
• Traditional media now feeds off social media