China’s censorship and communications problem

China needs to learn to communicate. It needs to learn that it can’t protect its’ people forever and instill ideals which might not be accepted by the masses.

I applaud China’s communications efforts in the Sichun earthquake and the Olympics was an excellent way of showing the world that China was ready to move on.

However, the Sanlu incident showed that the communications efforts by the Chinese company did not address any stakeholders’ concerns until pressure caved in.

Now, we have a censored Obama speech!! You can read the article here.

This was the part which was censored,

“Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions,”Mr Obama said in his speech.

“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist,” Mr Obama said. This excerpt was also censored.

What annoys me is that not only did traditional media attempt to cover up the truth, but also 2 of China’s largest internet portals censored this information from the speech.

However, the beauty of web2.0 is that there are many alternative tools which can be used to spread the news and this is just a classic example of China’s unsuccessful attempt to filter out the information.

It would be interesting to see what happens over the next few days as the ‘original uncut’ speech spreads around. How would the Chinese people react?

Johnson & Johnson and the Olympics

Moving down the list of TOP Olympics marketing efforts, we have Johnson &Johnson!

J&J is the first company to be a health care products company become a TOP. They are the official health care product partner for the Olympics.You can check out the press release here.

While this is a great step forward for the pharmaceutical industry in terms of marketing, J&J have got some interesting moves for their Olympic Sponsorship.

I found this amazing article here which states how marketing the Olympics used to be like a 100 meter catwalk. The media plan was easy, and all u had to do was have a huge ass budget.

But now, it’s so different. You can see the contrasting difference of the % of the marketing budget that companies used to spend on the Olympics for digital media then and now.

I liked this particular quote here that states the ever growing importance of Digital media and social media.

Millions of Americans will watch the Olympics but never turn on a TV set.

So back to J&J, what’re some of their Olympic marketing efforts?

1) Prior to the Olympics, they had a  series of spots tell stories with multiple meanings about Chinese people who are unsung heroes as they care for others.Directed by Tony Kaye, American history X (Love that show), it again relates back to their core message about a brand that cares.

Unfortunately, i couldn’t find the video for you guys but I’m sure it was good. If u haven’t seen his other tv ads, do have a look. Pretty raw stuff, check out the drink driving ad here….

2) Caring world is an ongoing exhibit on the Olympic green. I quote from the press release what this is about:

The Caring World features a series of eight high-tech, interactive exhibits that demonstrate how the Company celebrates the spirit of caring to create a healthier world. From the “Our Aspirations” exhibit where individuals share stories, reflections and memories about giving and receiving care in their lives, to the “Global Challenges” exhibit that depicts how Johnson & Johnson engages in major global health challenges on many fronts, to the “Vital Technologies” installation that shows how medical technology can restore the joys of life, the Pavilion experience conveys how caring for others makes life more meaningful.

3) Their core message has always been about caring. So their Olympic message was simple, gratitude to their moms for the Olympics. They have a website linked to Youtube which shows how athletes are thanking their moms. While this might seem like a mother’s day message campaign rather than the Olympics, the more I listened on, the easier it was to relate to the brand.

So good or bad campaign, what do you think? I applaud the fact that they used Youtube to spread this campaign, and while the Olympics stirs up heart warming and exciting emotional moments, so does this sweet little campaign which is easy to relate to the brand like i mentioned earlier achieve its aim?

Here’s an article which states that J&J’s reputation has been soaring because of its efforts to leverage their brand on the Olympics. This is great news cause ROI is pretty hard to measure. While brand reputation increase and return on investments is by no means an wasy feat to measure, I’m sure the positives of the campaign achieved far outweigh the costings involved. Especially in China, a market with such huge potential.

4) With all the controversy surrounding this year’s Olympics, one of the most scrutinized issues was the environmental issue China was facing. In its bid to help the country, J&J has installed is green and sustainable building technologies to 18 building structures in China. These include the bird’s nest and the international conference center to name some of the many. You can read more bout it here.

So there you have it, really amazing stuff by J&J, and i’m surprised to say this for a new sponsor but they’re really leveraging their Olympic sponsorship. I dare say their almost as good as Visa which I blogged about earlier. They helped the host country, they relate to its culture by using their core message of the brand and they did utilize social and digital media with good effect to push out their Olympic sponsorship and core message.

Kudos to J&J, one of the best Olympic sponsors in terms of marketing efforts!

Olympics and Lenovo with Sports 2.0

The Olympics is gonna be starting next week! We’re talking about the largest sporting spectacle the world has to witness and how it has come to China this year.

China has had its fair share of controversies with regards to the Tibet issue and Carrfour and France…. It’s also shown how internet as a medium has been restricted by the government and how users have found ways to go around these restrictions. There was the earthquake which showed the China government could be transparent and wasn’t totally inflexible.  I talked more about it here in my post on Citizen Journalism and its works in China. In fact, Rebecca MacKinnon, former Beijing Bureau Chief of CNN who now teaches digital journalism at Hong Kong University. shares some journalism tips when using the internet as a medium.

Now with the background all laid out for China 2008, the Olympics will prove to be the next story board in China as a brand. Hopefully no political issues will be dragged into this sporting event to mar it as another event filled with political debates.

What i want to emphasize is the brands who are participating in the Olympics. I wouldn’t be covering China as a brand itself, I’ll have to wait for the end of the year to have a good overview of how China has fared.

What is great about this Olympics is the use of social media. Let me bring your attention to Lenovo. A China brand which owns IBM’s laptops has propelled themselves into the sports marketing scene. With sponsorships in the NBA, F1 BMW and now the Olympics, Lenovo has positioned itself to be the technology to use to capture the best in the sporting industry. Pretty slick move considering the various stigmas haunting ‘made in china’ brands. Read more about the Olympic athletes blogging here.

But what’s great about Lenovo has been its use of social media in the sporting industry. Just recently, the Olympic council has allowed the athletes to blog about their experiences. This was banned in previous Olympics, also showing how the Olympics are embracing social media and its increasing importance in today’s world. Lenovo understands this and supports the use of blogging for athletes by providing them with a laptop each to blog about their daily experiences.

What’s so great about blogging by athletes is that it allows your favorite athletes to share what goes through their minds during those critical moments. I mean, take a step back and think, sports allure is how the athletes attract people to watch them play, i mean throw in the fact that you get a personal diary note on his/her blog rather than a set up interview, doesn’t that just kick ass? Great product placment for your brand too! IIn the words of Shamus McGillicuddy,

In the world of sports, there are two things that fans obsess over: the games and the statistics that surround those games.

And what better blend than special media and sports to get this across. Kindda like eggs and bacon, salt and pepper, Mark and Remzy, ya get the idea…

I’m gonna be taking a look at other brands over the next few weeks to see what efforts are they doing as we approach closer to the Games.