GolinHarris honored at Asia Pacific PR Awards GolinHarris received two Certificates of Excellence at the 2008 Asia Pacific PR Awards recently held in Hong Kong. The first honor went to the Taipei office of GH in the Healthcare Ethical Campaign of the Year category for its work to raise awareness of andropause, a gradual decline in the production of testosterone. “Project Volcano,” as the campaign was dubbed, resulted in 70% quarter-on-quarter sales growth for AndroGel, a testosterone replacement therapy for men experiencing andropause. The Hong Kong office of GH also received a Certificate of Excellence in the Corporate Publications category. The judges recognized GH’s role in the successful launch of Cotton Council International’s innovative 2008 “Life Journeys” calendar. Read more about this campaign in Breakthrough. Stanley Liu, general maganer of GH in Taipei, and John Morgan, regional managing director, Greater China Ida Young, director at GH in Hong Kong, and John Morgan display their award Golin Awards honor Asia Pacific GolinHarris recently announced the winners of our annual internal award program, the Golin Awards. This year, Asia Pacific offices secured a whopping 11 recognitions! Of particular note was the Shanghai team’s work on behalf of A1GP, the “World Cup of Motorsport,” which ranked among GH’s highest-profile clients—including Nintendo and McDonald’s—to be named a finalist for Best of Agency. Finally, Asia dominated the Young PR Professional of the Year category, with two of the three winners hailing from this region—Kathy Huang from Taiwan and Simon Ren from Shanghai. Here is a complete list of winners: Best of Category Honorable Mentions Beijing: Ni Hao, Y'all: Georgia Says "Hello" to China, Georgia Dept. of Econ. Dev. [read in Breakthrough] Shanghai: Racing Against Ping-Pong and F1: A1GP's Reputation Building Campaign in China, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport [read in Breakthrough] Shanghai: It Takes Two to Tap Dance, Nederlander New Century [read in Breakthrough] Taipei: Serve Your Body & Mind: Panadol Menstrual Pain Hot Remedy Launch Campaign, GlaxoSmithKline Best of Category Winners Beijing: Ni Hao, Y'all: Georgia Says "Hello" to China, Georgia Dept. of Econ. Dev. [read in Breakthrough] Hong Kong: The "Life Journeys" 2008 Fashion Calendar, Cotton Council International [read in Breakthrough] Shanghai: Racing Against Ping-Pong and F1: A1GP's Reputation Building Campaign in China, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport [read in Breakthrough] Shanghai: Adding Food-shion to Food Solutions, Unilever Food Solutions Taipei: E-girl in the E-world, Yahoo! Kimo Auction Taipei: Project Volcano, Orient Europharma Young PR Professional of the Year Shanghai: Simon Ren Taipei: Kathy Huang Best of Agency Finalists Shanghai: Racing Against Ping-Pong and F1: A1GP's Reputation Building Campaign in China, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport [read in Breakthrough]

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Managing crises in real time

Hong Kong directors Charlotte Fan and Gloria Chiu recently addressed members of the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies on how companies can manage crises effectively.
 
The current quarterly period has so far been an extremely turbulent and uncertain time, with one high-profile corporate crisis after another, a global milk powder recall, the near-collapse of one of the world’s insurance giants and a bank run of one of Asia’s largest banks, just to name a few.

Cases such as these highlight the importance of reviewing and rethinking crisis preparedness strategies to protect a company’s business and corporate reputation. According to industry estimates, the average large organization will experience between eight to ten crises a year. Some arrive without warning, while others result from months or even years of issues.

This is not necessarily a sign of organizational weakness, but rather a reflection of the reality of the world today. The business environment has changed, and companies are under increasing scrutiny as customers, the media, activists and the general public demand greater openness and higher standards of accountability. If not effectively managed, the consequences of even a minor crisis can have serious impact on the reputation of an organization.

At the seminar, Charlotte and Gloria gave a detailed presentation covering the following topics: 

	How companies can effectively prepare for and manage crises
	The keys to survival when a crisis strikes
	How to manage the media and opinion leaders who play a significant role in shaping public perception during a crisis
	Case studies of how companies have managed specific crises and issues

They also urged companies to review their crisis strategies, regardless of how well things might be going at the moment. As GH’s founder Al Golin says, it’s imperative in today’s business world to “fix it before it breaks.”

Mike Wong, CEO of the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies, believed the talk was most timely to the current market situation. “Listed companies need to be fully prepared for any potential crisis situation. The real-life cases shared at the talk put in perspective how important it is for companies to react to crisis honestly and responsibly and take real actions to address the issues promptly. This is the only way a company can limit the damage and protect its reputation and integrity” he said.

Communications training: More than handling the tough questions

GolinHarris is the go-to firm for training, regularly conducting dozens of sessions each year across Asia for executives who want to hone their communications skills. PR agencies are typically known for media training, but in GH’s experience, this is just one aspect of the management skill-set executives must master to effectively communicate to a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders, particularly in the current global financial environment.  

For example, GH recently worked with a major mainland Chinese company that sees relations with the West as key to its business future and therefore took the initiative to request “etiquette training.” During a fascinating session, participants took a crash course in the cultural differences between doing business in China versus the U.S. or Europe. Topics veered between the basic etiquette of cocktail events—which tend to be unfamiliar to businesspersons in the East—to how to get the most out of a videoconference, to where different cultures draw the line between private time and company time.

Recently the firm also conducted presentation training for a major infrastructure company. Because the training was related to lobbying efforts that aim to secure approval for a crucial project, it had to teach participants about the finer points of relating to group audiences, including content delivery, inflection, body language and answering tough questions in public forums.

Of course, in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, media training is still a major focus. GH is staffed with seasoned PR professionals—including many who are former journalists—so participants are assured of an intensive, in-depth and realistic immersion into the complex world of media interviews.

Other forms of training include executive coaching—which helps executives who are being groomed for a company’s senior-most positions develop presence and poise—crisis management training, and employee communications. The latter is becoming particularly vital as companies face staffing uncertainties in the current economic climate. GH consultants from offices across Asia Pacific often work together to combine their expertise and deliver it to participants in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

In 2008 GH conducted training for many of the world’s leading companies, including market leaders in consumer products, IT, banking & finance and logistics. Because business’ needs and focuses are constantly evolving, GH consultants will often see different executives from various departments within the same company who also want to improve their skills.

As changes in global business continue to challenge companies, it is becoming more and more important for their executives to articulate their business strategies. Communications training is a vital first step.