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PR Companies Seek E-solutions in New Age
"Where is your PR (Public Relations) plan?" and "Which PR firm do you use?"
These are two of the most common questions asked by a venture capitalist when approached by a website company for support.
Such questions are spreading fast in China, too.
Internet, the new economy and China's pending accession to the World Trade Organization are dramatically reshaping the landscape for the country's young PR industry, and thus become the most frequently uttered keywords at the China International PR Congress, which opened on June 25.
"China's PR industry, which grew from nothing 20 years ago to a prestigious profession officially recognized today, is going to enter a new era with challenges and opportunities posed by the WTO and the Internet," said Li Daoyu, president of the China International PR Association.
World Internet leaders like Yahoo, eBay and AOL have, in just a few years, established their name brands, which win the same recognition and respect from customers as Coca-Cola, which spent 100 years publicizing its name brand, said Carolyn Fazio, president of the International PR Association, which has 78 member countries.
PR work has played a significant role in the promotion of Internet leaders, and this should serve as an example for China too, she said.
Statistics show that the number of Internet users in China skyrocketed from 2.1 million in 1998 to 8.9 million last year, and is expected to reach 85 million in five years, which means China will replace Japan as "the most wired country" in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Internet age is having a ground-breaking impact on the dissemination of information, and PR people will play an irreplaceable role in organizing, analyzing and spreading information, said Wang Zhiwen, general manager of the China Global PR Co., China's first national enterprise specializing in public relations services.
"China's PR industry needs to foster more high-quality professionals to fulfill its role and standardize its professional practices," he said.
His concern was echoed in a draft "Declaration of China's PR Industry in the New Century" tabled at the congress for adoption, which calls for PR people, when serving Internet-related clients, to "take full advantage of modern media and network technology, to readjust and innovate the means of PR communications and management."
The draft also urged PR companies to draw lessons from the experiences of other countries, conscientiously study the local market, and reinforce the self-discipline of the profession and business ethics.
More than 200 scholars, PR professionals and government officials are attending the congress, which will last two days.
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