MasterCard Reaches Out to Youth Market with CSR Initiative
As Corporate Social Responsibility is gradually becoming a topic du jour in the business sector, our China team worked closely with MasterCard to kick off its inaugural youth financial literacy enhancement program, Youth Education Program (YEP) in 2005, and achieved great success in terms of the creativity of the program, its effective message delivery and resulting media coverage.
In 2006, to further step up on its commitment to the youth in China, MasterCard decided to extend this program further and worked with the team to plan and execute a refined version of YEP in China, expanding the campaign nationwide to include the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The campaign also leveraged the recent global launch of its Debt Know How website to extend the impact. The whole campaign was divided into six stages: campus survey, campaign launch, campus lectures on credit card use and financial management, campus contest, credit card experience and the wrap-up press conference.
Elements of the 2006 campaign garnered more attention from students and the media than in the previous year. The Priceless® photography contest held among university students not only provided a good platform for students to demonstrate their talents, but also created a good opportunity for MasterCard to share its Priceless® concept with potential card holders of tomorrow.
Weber Shandwick crafted a campus survey to include hot topics of the day that media were interested in; average income, financial knowledge, and spending behaviour of college students were some of the topics covered. These strategies developed into effective outcomes and received positive and widespread media coverage.
Most of the students in the campaign participated in all the events with great enthusiasm, and the comprehensiveness and relevance of the campaign impressed media.
Weber Shandwick collected approximately 70 pieces of media coverage covering all key messages, and many different media articles picked up the data released in the survey results.
MasterCard and Weber Shandwick are now building on the campaign’s success and working closely to position MasterCard as a socially responsible corporation.
The finalists hold their customized MasterCard branded credit card with Willie Fung, Executive Vice President and General Manager Greater China and Korea, MasterCard Worldwide
A poster designed for the campus talk and photography contest and posted on university campuses
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Smart Devices Enable Smart Living: Microsoft-dopod Joint Product Launch
Weber Shandwick’s technology team, representing Microsoft’s Communications Mobile Business, helped the launch of dopod C720 and dopod C858 in Beijing in December 2006. The event was held at one of China’s top social clubs and included a combination of traditional and modern elements.
With the theme “Smart devices enable smart living,” the event highlighted how Windows Mobile smartphones are helping users maintain a balance between work and life. Photos of all previously launched Windows Mobile-powered dopod devices were placed on the walls in the buffet area to underscore the strength of the partnership between the two companies.
David Lee, president and CEO of dopod Communications Corp., and Jason Lim, regional director of Microsoft MED Asia Pacific and Japan, announced the launch and touched on the key features of the new devices, the partnership between the two companies and smartphone trends in China and Asia Pacific. Zhang Shu, Beijing marketing manager of dopod Communications Corp., provided a detailed introduction of the two devices. Wang Dipeng, general manager of Digital China Handheld Devices Business, delivered a speech on Digital China’s partnership with dopod as its first nationwide distributor.
David and Jason kicked off the unveiling ceremony by typing in the words dopod and WM (short for Windows Mobile) on the keypad of a giant mock-up of the dopod C720. A dance and modelling performance artistically presented target users’ work and life.
Two celebrities—model and actress Jiang Peilin and vice president of Tom Online Feng Jue—were invited to endorse the new devices. An interview was organized for the two celebrities to talk about their understanding of smart work-and-life balance as well as their thoughts on Windows Mobile 5.0 and the new devices.
The event received positive feedback from dopod, Microsoft and attending journalists.
Performers and models showcase the devices on the stage during the unveiling ceremony
Jason Lim and David Lee showcase the devices with celebrities Feng Jue and Jiang Peilin
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Nike Nets Excitement for “First Layer” in China
Nike appointed the consumer team in Beijing to implement an eight-month campaign positioning Nike Pro as the leading performance apparel brand. Known as “first layer,” the Nike Pro line of apparel is designed for athletes to wear during training or games under their uniform to keep them dry and comfortable.
Since the concept of “first layer” is relatively new in the Chinese market, educating the media was vital at the onset of the campaign. The Beijing consumer team conducted a round of media seeding to familiarize reporters with Nike Pro and its benefits. Next, they equipped reporters with a media kit featuring athletes’ testimonials to bring in their perspectives and strengthen its positioning.
Once the coverage about Nike Pro hit the newsstand, the second phase of the campaign kicked-off. In this phase, the focus was on the consumers. Since Nike Pro is performance apparel meant for people who are serious about training, there was no better way to get connected with target consumers than through a fitness challenge at gyms in the major Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Titled, “Be a PRO,” the participants were tested on strength, endurance and agility. The competition produced three winners from each city to vie for the top three positions.
Moving from functional benefits to the emotional advantage of Nike Pro, the third phase of the campaign centred on product inspiration. At a media event held in Beijing, the director of Nike Men’s Training and Nike Pro spoke directly to media about the inspiration behind Nike Pro. Testimonials on sports training from international athletes such as Wayne Rooney and Kobe Bryant, as well as Chinese athlete Sun Xiang, were presented on video. A range of Nike Pro apparel was also presented through a live-action body combat performance.
The campaign generated large scale media coverage highlighting the key messages crafted for each phase. Following the success of the campaign, Nike decided to roll out the fitness challenge nation-wide through its retailers.
The champion and runners-up for national final at Nike “Be a PRO” Fitness Challenge
One of the rounds during the fitness challenge where participants were tested on balancing
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Anna Sui Celebrates the Birth of Magic Romance
Weber Shandwick worked with top fashion design label Anna Sui to organize the launch of its new fragrance "Secret Wish - Magic Romance" in Shanghai at the end of last year. As Magic Romance" is the anniversary edition of Secret Wish, the event was themed "A celebration of the birth of Magic Romance," to link the two products together.
Weber Shandwick created a pink and purple secret garden, complete with a white unicorn and a tree growing from the ground to the ceiling with branches stretching to every corner.
After an exciting ballet performance, Sui unveiled the new fragrance. Several performers dressed as fairies helped with the product trial and a product drawing. Finally, a card game and magic show engaged the audience while a “prince charming” distributed zodiac forecasts cards for 2007.
Team members recorded 23 media in attendance and more than 40 resulting media reports delivering the brand’s messages to target audiences. The agency also won applause from the client for the creative concept and venue decoration.
Anna Sui’s magic garden
Opening performance: ballet on the shoulders
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HUGO Targets Freethinkers in Beijing and Shanghai
Launched in 1995, HUGO Man has evolved into a top-selling men’s fragrance around the world. Weber Shandwick worked with Hugo on its re-launch campaign to refresh the brand in China.
Creating a HUGO Freethinker Space in Beijing and Shanghai, Weber Shandwick showcased the HUGO spirit to the target audience—a new generation of freethinkers.
The three-day Freethinker Space event in both cities involved media events and consumer gatherings in unlikely venues designed to reflect freethinkers’ different approach to life. Eight Chinese freethinkers took part in the event to tell their stories. The brand space also included featured HUGO fashion, graffiti art, unique performances and information on HUGO’s new face, Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
The whole event, including a party in Shanghai for consumers, became the “talk of the town”, creating buzz among the target audience and reinforcing HUGO Man as a classic, cool brand.
P&G executive unveils the Hugo Freethinker Man in Beijing
Images of Hugo Freethinkers on display at the event venue
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Bayer HealthCare Enters China Oncology Market
Bayer HealthCare, one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry, brought in Weber Shandwick for the launch of its oncology product Nexavar in the China market. The agency’s healthcare team helped organize four press conferences in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai to announce the product.
The press conferences were attended by 90 media, generating 122 clippings nationwide, and 96 percent of reports mentioned Nexavar/Sorafenib and key messages. Print media in 22 cities picked up the news.
The campaign successfully raised the awareness of Bayer Oncology and Nexavar and strongly supported sales. Our team in Beijing handled a number of inquiries regarding Nexavar following the news reports generated by the press conferences.
Bayer HealthCare was impressed by the outcome of the campaign and Nexavar's China launch was listed in the best practice section of Nexavar’s global PR tool kit.
Media Interview with Zhang Wenjie in Beijing
Press Conference in Shanghai
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PR Turns Up the Volume at the 13th Channel [V] Chinese Music Awards
Weber Shandwick recently carried out public relations activities for Asia’s No. 1 music channel, Channel [V], for its 13th Channel [V] Chinese Music Awards in Shanghai.
For three successive years, Channel [V] and China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, have jointly presented the Channel [V] Chinese Music Awards, the definitive music industry event boasting live performances by top artists from Hong Kong,Taiwan and mainland China. Channel [V] is the first-ever foreign TV service to hold such a large-scale music event in China, and the awards show continues to boost the channel’s popularity among Chinese audiences.
The Shanghai team worked with the client for three months to organize a series of events in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, ending in January 2007. The final awards ceremony was held at the Shanghai Grand Theatre and featured 30 notable celebrities.
In addition to attracting more than 1,000 fans and 70 media, the event generated more than 500 media clippings, including full page exposures in print media.
Celebrities and performers at the Channel V Awards ceremony in Shanghai
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Royal Caribbean Reaches Chinese Shores
In November 2006, Weber Shandwick’s consumer team in Shanghai organized a series of communications programmes for Royal Caribbean International (RCI) to raise awareness prior to the company’s entry into the Shanghai market in 2007.
The program included media training for executives prior to China International Travel Mart (CITM) to enable them to better engage Chinese reporters, a media luncheon at which senior executives discussed RCI’s mission and strategy in China and a series of media interviews at CITM and China Cruise & Yacht Development Summit (CCYDS).
Following these activities, Weber Shandwick offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore collaborated to secure top tier media interviews with RCI President Adam Goldstein.
RCI executives met with 30 journalists from 24 media in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore, resulting in nearly 80 news clippings and three TV reports. Media reports included the key messages delivered, and RCI was recognised as a must for consideration by Chinese and other Asian travellers. In addition, the media perceived Goldstein as an industry expert with great passion and commitment to the cruise business.
Adam Goldstein, President of Royal Caribbean International, in an exclusive TV interview with the Insiders’ Insights of China Business Network in Shanghai
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