Would you buy a dildo from this woman?

Local "sexual well-being" supplier Wanta.net is running some interesting ads around the streets of Causeway Bay at the moment. If you've not seen them here's a couple for your viewing pleasure.

The following has been running in Times Square for a couple of weeks now and every time I've walked passed I've seen people having a bit of a giggle and taking photos... I wonder if anyone has taken up its offer of a demonstration. Looks creepy!


But it was the company's website which really took the cake. "Try earlier or regret later". Seems catchy enough.

Langham's apology

So maybe by now you've seen the apology from Shaun Campbell, general manager at Langham Place, if not here it is.



Last week, I was invited by Langham's new public relations agency Weber Shandwick to interview Campbell and grill him about the disastrous online campaign launched a few weeks back called "Big Deal".

The brief was pretty simple. Come in, ask a few questions and try and find out what happened. It's quite an extraordinary series of events, which for a relatively small marketing team is even more surprising (it seems no one outside the Langham Hotels International e-marketing team knew about the videos). But generally the view from inside Langham is one of total embarrassment, made even more painful that the hotels are locally owned.

Unfortunately Langham was quicker than me at getting its footage edited and online, but I'll get my video up as soon as I can. Stay tuned.

Analogue Sunday

When was the last time you spend a day without the internet or TV? How many of us suffer from Facebook or Twitter withdrawal even though it's only a few hours of not being able to get wifi or net access?

I came to learn about Analogue Sunday from davko1 who graciously guided me when I just started out in the Twittersville.

If you check out the picture from left, you'll see that the whole idea of an Analogue Sunday is to get away from your devices or screens and sit down to read a book instead!

Now, what book to read? I've got a good recommendation to you especially those in the PR and Advertising industry.

Hot off the printers -Public Relations in Asia Pacific - Communicating Effectively Across Cultures by Mary Devereux and Anne Peirson-Smith.

The book starts off by debunking the common misconceptions or negative labelling of the PR profession as "spin doctors", (disclaimer to journos: This is a book about PR for PR professionals what else do you expect them to say?) the following chapters go into detail on how to connect with the media, its co-relation with branding, corporate reputation, crisis communications and corporate social responsibility supported by case studies in the region.

Of course it includes the hottest topic that every marketer whether you are in PR or not wants to know more about - an entire chapter dedicated to the Digital Generation from the rationale of using social media for companies, tips on having a corporate blog and how to engage bloggers using a range of digital media tools.

Why did I say those in Advertising should read this book too? An underlying theme of this book seems to suggest the title of another book that's been quoted "The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR" by Al Reis & Laura Ries.

Quick Tip: If you have no time to read the whole book, at least read the section on "Public Relations and Marketing Battle It Out"

One of the quotes by marketing PR expert, Thomas L. Harris said "Advertising and promotion are about salemanship...Consumers know it and are on the defensive about being sold something they don't want or need. By providing information to consumers directly or through trusted third parties, PR makes advertising more believable, and promotion more actionable. That is why it [PR] is the secret weapon of integrated marketing."

This seems to support a story Marketing has reported in May on PR more sought-after during the downturn and Jet Airways, which told Marketing in March this year that "PR is far more important than advertising in marketing our brand".

To our readers working in the Ad industry, I would be very interested to hear if you agree with the statement that your peers are suggesting -"The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR".

I mean if PR folks are 'spin doctors', you know You can Trust Me, I'm a Journalist.

Wedding checklist : Tweet of Honour? Tick!

Twitter's been getting extensive media coverage already and if you are in the marketing industry still skeptical about the merits of how this micro-blogging platform could reap potential benefits to your brand, please let me show you using the Wedding analogy what you're missing out for not jumping onto the Twitter bandwagon.

PR professional, Melvin Yuan from Waggener Edstrom recently became the protagonist in what is said to be Singapore's first Twitter wedding, which he coined as #Twedding.

A couple of his friends who weren't able to attend his wedding in Singapore were eagerly anticipating the live updates via Twitter.

If you follow his #Twedding, you would now know about Hort Park if you hadn't already known and might consider it as a possible venue for future events.

What I'm implying here is how your brand could "casually" pop up in such social chatter (whether you choose to or not) and the opportunities to associate your brand in such occasions.

Gretchen King, vice president of business development for Darizi, a luxury wedding portal said the company is open to creative and innovative platforms and will be keen to explore how they could engage brands in future 'twitter weddings'.

She said the Darizi portal currently offer newly weds a platform on its website called 'Darizi World' to put up their wedding albums, blogs, videos and journals to track their wedding preparations leading up to the big day.

Getting married is just one such occasion that involves a lot of emotional decisions and very often, people rely heavily on word of mouth from finding a good venue, picking the right wedding gown to having a reliable make-up artiste to ensure that very important day run smoothly and be remembered as a memorable one.

While it could be time consuming to engage your audience through the various social media platforms, you can no longer ignore how your consumers are talking about your brand in these spaces.

For those of you who're getting married and flirting with the idea of a twedding, make sure you explain to your Tweet of Honour what role he or she's going to play. And choose someone who's tech savvy please.

If you're a geek like me who keeps getting passed over to be maid of honour, you could now flaunt your geekiness by volunteering yourself as the Tweet of Honour. *geeky grin...

Copycats - a boost or bane to creativity?

Can you spot any similarity in the ads above?

How far can we borrow an idea or artwork before being labelled as a "copycat"?

Charles Wong, managing director for Contract Advertising says his agency rolled out a campaign (First ad on top) for Novartis' Ca-C product on 17 October last year in local newspapers and magazines.

Six months later on May 2009, Shizuoka Gastroenterology launched a print ad to promote its health product in Apple Daily and Oriental Daily featuring local celebrity Eric Tsang (pictured with drum) that Wong says looks "very similar" to Contract's artwork or simply a "layout copycat".

Wong says, "The resemblance is pretty amazing!We think it's a compliment to us but it's funny how 90% of the graphics have been used". Do you agree the ads are strikingly similar or a clever case of adaptation?

Wong adds, "Hey, we all know business is very tough these days but I suppose brands should certainly invest a bit to differentiate themselves in the market!"

It seems there isn't really an organisation locally that frustrated creatives like Wong could go to complain about such matters.

Tony Hon, managing director for Turn Creative says there's a lot of grey areas when it comes to proving if a work is 100% original as nobody really owns the ideas to an art direction or key visuals. If legal action is taken against copycat ads, he believes the lawyers will be the ones that stand to gain from this.

However, he does not think there are more cases of copycats due to the economic meltdown as such look alike executions do appear from time to time.

Copyright infringement or in the context of an increasingly digital world, piracy has become rampant particularly for those players that have got their fingers burnt.

Is there anything the industry could do anything about especially when consumers are nonchalant to such practices?

Langham's accidental orientalism

There are some strange things happening with Langham Hotels in Hong Kong at the moment, which I think are in danger of insulting not only Hong Kongers, but cultural commentators and even the local tourism board!

For the past month or so Langham has been releasing a series of videos online, under the tagline of - Visiting Hong Kong is a "Big Deal". Langham's argument is that traveling today can be a big deal, but thankfully Langham Place and the Eaton Hotel in Kowloon are here to assist you with this “Big Deal” solution.

To communicate this "Big Deal" Langham has invented a series of bizarre circumstances which travelers to Hong Kong may experience. The videos all contain a similar theme. Rude and frustrated travelers looking to escape a world of madness you find around Hong Kong streets for the safety net of Langham Hotels, where they can then have a true oriental experience, or Langham's version of it!

I find it strange that Langham is peddling these romanticised images of Asia and Asians. Who does that these days? In my two years of living in Hong Kong, I have never once experienced anything near to what Langham is trying to communicate, and I’m an adventurous person. Hong Kong was under British rule for 156 years, come on...

You can see all three videos here, but the second is arguably the worst.

(Update links have all been removed)

It features a clearly distressed white woman in search of somewhere to eat. After finding a street stall (a truly unique experience in Hong Kong) she orders chicken with rice by doing some weird chicken dance, only to discover that a chicken foot in congee is served. She then rushes back to the Eaton Hotel for a true Asian meal of … wait for it… a spring roll.

If you have a look at Langham’s price list you can clearly see its prices are way more expensive to what you’ll pay at a street stall and I’ll bet you $100 bucks that the street stalls are serving up a lot better chow than Langham.

The idea for the viral marketing exercise was launched by Prosperity Research, I wonder how extensively researched this idea was?

Already online conversations starting to take place about Langham Hotel are taking a turn for the worst! This headline from The Dark Side really takes the cake! "Avoid dirty locals: stay at a Langham Hotel".

The runaway train that is the online conversation can have a big impact in how opinions about brands are shaped. With comments like this already doing to rounds on Twitter. Langham better wise up!

"Langham Place: Where white people go to pretend they're not surrounded by filthy Chinese." Is that about right?"

" jessicalee87: WTF Langham Hotels, are you actually trying to DEMOTE HK? Please enlighten me. http://tiny.cc/njgjM"

Downturn spurs home entertainment

As if the financial crisis is not depressing enough, now we've got a flu epidemic looming, which might force people to stay at home even more.

But people still need entertainment and gaming is one such industry that's still doing well despite the downturn.

James Hong, GM for Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) says sales for its network games have increased substantially but declined to give further details on exact figures.

Hong has joined the gaming industry for over a decade now. He observes when he first joined 11 years ago, gaming was a subculture with only a tiny population interested to play games.

Today, gaming has become the 4th pillar after movies, TV and music, endorsed by the government and recognised as an important mainstream entertainment for young people.

However, it's only through education from industry players such as SCE that the public have become more receptive to gaming.

Hong says that five years ago, there weren't many people spotted carrying handheld console games such as the PlaystationPortable (PSP).

Back then, people had the misconception that game consoles were for kids and it's naive to be seen carrying one.

SCE decided to position the PSP as a fashionable and trendy gadget. Referencing ipod as its key competitor, the company was keen to change user's perception and wanted them to be proud of carrying a PSP everywhere they went.

To create the hype that PSP was a trendy gadget, the console game was seeded to up-and-coming stars, artistes and opinion leaders including movie directors to demonstrate that they could watch movies and trailers on the device as well as for singers to watch music videos and listen to songs.

Two years since the PSP was introduced, it grabbed a 40% market share in Hong Kong in 2007 and rose to 55% in 2008.

Hong admits PSP is currently skewed towards male users but the company has recently launched 7 colours of a slimmer version of the PSP and will soon roll out a new campaign to capture the female market.

Target audience for PSP are what he coins as 'kidults' particularly the young salaried men with more disposable income between early 20s to 30s.

Hong explains it's the software that brings in the money and students are less likely to pay for authentic games as they tend to use Bit Torrent to download pirated versions.

To target the family, SCE's Playstation3 (PS3) with its Blu-ray HD format, according to Hong has "the biggest edge against competitors" especially for watching movies.

He adds that PS3 has its own social network for its users available free known as Playstation Home, where they could interact with friends or meet other people with the same hobbies as them.

While gaming has been viewed negatively in society as being anti-social or "otaku", which refers to an obsessive video games fan and in Japanese usage to generally suggest a creepy, obssessive loner who rarely leaves the house, Hong asserts that "gaming is another very healthy and popular entertainment".

He reiterates that gaming is not harmful and it's just another form of entertainment that allow one to connect and enjoy with family and friends.

To reinforce the positive image of gaming, his team invests heavily in CSR initiatives such as the public recruitment of 150 jobs for Tin Shui Wai residents and partnering World Vision to raise $200, 000 in charity sales for the Sichuan Earthquake in May last year.

Additionally, SCE has cooperated with the government to provide part-time courses to train local youths to write PSP games and groom them as game producers.

As a Chinese native, Hong understands the enormous potential of introducing PSP and PS3 into the Mainland market, but he says the games could not be officially released in China.

"It's definitely our dream to go to China but due to government policy, we can't do anything," he sighs.

He hopes when China opens its market, it will allow them to sell in China one day.

With gaming becoming such a lucrative business and home entertainment taking precedence in this economic climate, it will be interesting to see how the key players Sony Playstation, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft's X Box battle it out to gain market share for this industry.

What the hell is a Mapgazine?

A magazine and map hybrid, of course. Visitors to Hong Kong can now get updated with a list of best shopping arcades and restaurants when they stroll into town for their holiday!

The first ever licensed monthly publication by the MTR is now distributed in the underground. Tourists can grab a copy of magazine for free upon purchase of any MTR tourist ticket.

The best buy section includes the list of suggested itineraries, selected hotels, dining and shopping outlets.

The Ossima Publishing Group, responsible for producing the title, say they are very cautious in selecting advertising partners.

"We will only choose positive brand name to advertise," said KL Chan, CEO of LoveTravel Group, of which Ossima Publishing is a subsidiary. "Any brands that receive complaints from tourists will not be in our list."

Targeting to distribute 40,000 copies a month, the publication is a combination of map and magazine. Instead of getting the location information of the recommended shopping mall, there is a box next to it with its detailed information.

KC Chan is confident that such a goal can be accomplished.

The publishing group will sign a contract with MTR for 2 years and only tourists could grab the magazine upon purchase of underground tourist ticket.

Hong Kong PR Network comes of age

If you think PR professionals in Hong Kong don't measure up to their European or American counterparts - the Hong Kong PR Network wants you to eat your words.

YeeLim Lee, founder of the Hong Kong PR Network admitted when he just arrived from the UK having worked at Firefly and Pleon a couple of years ago that the local PR industry was 'immature' compared to the PR scene in Europe.

Three months after working in Hong Kong, his perception changed as he realised things are "just done differently here" from client interaction to the pace of projects that have to be completed.

For instance, Lee said you get a brief in the morning and is expected to send your first press release draft to your client by the end of the day. Even with events that would normally take two months to plan in other parts of the world, here you've got to plan and execute in the space of one week, which does help "to train you to be on the ball and constantly thinking".

Lee (Weber Shandwick), Emma Jenkins (EBA) and Jeremy Woolf (Text 100) came together in June 2007 to form the Hong Kong PR Network, which Lee said started out for selfish reasons - to network with fellow industry peers in a casual setting - has evolved to become a group that is keen to help budding PR executives nurture their jobs and careers, provide insights and share experiences on what PR is like in Hong Kong.

The Facebook group boasts close to 900 members with key objectives to make the Hong Kong PR industry an exciting place to be and help them connect and network with peers.

With Fong Underground becoming the permanent venue where you could see local PR folks hobnobbing once every six weeks, the group announced last night that it will be endorsed by Council of Public Relations Firms of Hong Kong.

David Croasdale, chairman for cPRf explained why the organization supported the up and coming network.

To tie in with the announcement, last night's event kicked off with a sharing session by industry veterans a.k.a The Legends of HK PR comprising Annie Bentley, Mary Devereux and David Ketchum, who commented on Lee's Facebook page - "I sort of always thought of myself as "bold pioneer perpetually on the leading edge of communications" but I guess Legend will do."

Nontheless, the crowd were all ears as the legends of PR recounted anecdotes of working in the field during the 80s and 90s in Hong Kong.

With the financial tsunami still looming and the threat of swine flu hitting home, PR professionals were hungry for advice on how to manage their jobs in the midst of crisises.

"Things will pass, it's all in a days job. Be first in the queue for the best jobs and clients and be the most dynamic person in your own arena that you've created," Bentley, chairman and founding partner of Bentley Communication said.

Their secret recipies to PR success?

"Take things personally, be always alert with news about your clients and company. Make more effort to really care about the result. It makes a huge difference," Devereux, International VP for New York Life International in Asia with over 20 years experience having worked in Burson-Marsteller and Ogilvy said.

And finally pioneering legend, Ketchum, CEO for Upstream Asia who was marcomm senior VP for Calvin Klein and held senior roles in Burson-Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton said,

"People successful in public relations have a predilection for action. Strategy is important, but it's mostly judgement and common sense. Strategy is the sound thinking behind all your action. When you are action-oriented, you naturally make mistakes. It's OK to make a lot of mistakes. But make them quickly, and learn from them, and move on to make new mistakes."

Mobile Boutique?

Strolling into Nathan Road the other day, I saw a colorful truck driving through the busy road, far far away.

I thought it was the Mister Softee, or what the locals call "ice-cream car." But I was mistaken when I saw a number of people lining up to enter the truck.

Following the queue, I was quite amused to see it is Uniqlo new advertising strategy - a mobile boutique with hundreds of T-shirts decorated the truck.

Uniqlo has expended quite vigorously in the Asia Market in recent years. With its "simple" style, it attracts those who like mix and match.

Promoting the new line of Unliqo Tee, the shop launches a new campaign -the mobile boutique.

"This little truck is very effective in promoting our new items," Jen Leung, marketing officer of Unilqo said. "There are so many items, not just the tee but also jeans and scarf, in the actual shop. And this provides another space for potential customers to know more about our Tee design." Jen Leung, Marketing Officer of Uniqlo said.

Instead of storing the stocks in the trucks, passer by could click the computer installed in this 200-feet tiny little shop, to browse the latest items displayed on the computer screen.

Barbie, no space waster

It has been a while since I’ve been to Shanghai, but a two day trip on the way to an ancestry visit opened my eyes. Yes, hardware changes a lot in the cityscape. But it is more than that. Retailers are making use of every space to encourage people to spend, as the new Barbie store shows.

Strolling into the six-story Barbie extravaganza, the escalator on the ground floor took me back to the 50s era. Lots of old designed Barbies are displayed within these 20 seconds, like a mini-exhibition, the Elizabeth Taylor and the pilot style Barbie are two of the many. These certainly mean something to the mid 20s and 30s something generation like me. It took us back to the good old days.

But the Barbie store symbolises more than a child’s fantasy. I could see different strata, different ages of people in the shop. I would say the only Barbie store in the world which offers something for everyone. Not only the spa and cosmetic shop lure the 20 to 30-something women, the coffee shop, selling macaroni and cakes with Barbie’s logo, are suitable to everyone and those who would like to sip a cup of coffee. There is a tiny little space that allows us to be Barbie for a minute or two in front of the camera.

And this giant shop also fulfills its corporate responsibility while encouraging you to spend. There is a big space for educational purpose. Kids could learn fashion design and English, with the computer aid and English books.

The only thing I am puzzled with is the timing. Why investing US$30 million in Shanghai and in this particular period of time? Not other cities? Not other country? My Shanghai friend told me China, as US President Obama said, will be the first country in the world to recover from the credit crunch. And the elixir to save the country from the deteriorating economic growth is to encourage consumptions. Corporates believes China is the only and biggest country that has the potential to spend, albeit in a gradual speed during this time of the year. Sadly fail to make an appointment with the manager; I would have to ask him this question.

Not just the Barbie shop, Shanghai gives me an impression that corporate grasps every chance to boost consumption. Like the sakura exhibition I have gone the other day, Sakura is never the main character. The lucky draw, the painting auction, the food store, the handmade accessories, every step I walked through the path is not about flowers! And they got pig racing that sort of things that attract people to come over.

I will tell you more about interesting marketing in Shangahi, in the next round.

Layoff communications - How to do it right

Whether you call it layoff, retrenchment or reduction enforcement, it is a process that companies and employees increasingly face in light of the economic crisis.

While HR departments usually lead in the layoff process, Paul Matalucci, president for Wordwright Communications explains why it's important for the corporate/PR communications folks to be involved.




Matalucci is in Hong Kong for the director's club discussion on Best Practices in Layoff Communications organised by IABC Hong Kong.

He says there are over a hundred ways that you could execute layoff communications wrongly and shares the key tips to doing it right.

• Accelerate your communications planning process. Once decision is confirmed, make your announcement as close to the decision as possible.
  
• Carefully plan your timing to the minute - to the hour.
  
• Repeat company strategy and vision and remind your audience internally and externally that there's no change to the strategy of the company.

Another trend leaders in companies are facing is that employees are increasingly using social media spaces such as Facebook, Twitter or blogs to rant about their jobs, what should they do when such situations arise? Is firing the best solution?

Matalucci says while leaders can control their staff by firing them, however, that will backfire. Leaders have no choice but to join the discussions in social media spaces to have a dialogue and act as an influencer.

The key takeaway from my chat with Paul tonight is that layoff communications is about creating trust and how honest and timely you can be.

Of course, no one wants to share negative news to the media but if you get a call from me, it's because I want to hear your side of the story.

I hope you will be honest and engage in a dialogue instead of bombarding me with your corporate jargons.

FT embraces multi-platform future

While 2008 marked the first signs of the financial sector crumbling, Financial Times online portal boasted a stellar year with an average of more than 7 million unique users, a 68% increase in page views, some 1.2 million registered users and a revenue increase of 28%.

Rob Grimshaw, managing director for Financial Times.com says in the early months of 2009 traffic has been consistently "very high". He says people are coming back again and again to see what the top journalists are saying about the financial crisis.

However, the financial newspaper is not totally invulnerable to the crisis.

"You win some, you lose some. Certainly we gained in terms of traffic and exposure and that's fantastic for us in the long term. But there are particular categories in advertising that are under pressure that you would expect, " Grimshaw notes.

Banks are cautious, he says, adding that there are more banks advertising on FT.com than you expect.

Grimshaw observes marketing managers at companies working on smaller budgets now are under pressure to show results in their marketing are increasing their share of money online.

In particular, the luxury goods category has developed online in a big way with Rolex and Hublo, a Swiss watch manufacturer committed to running campaigns on FT.com.

"The luxury goods category is starting to take online much more seriously and explore how they can put their brands online," he says.

FT.com has also being working on its mobile platform as it sees it critical to have a strong mobile proposition for core users - busy people who want information on the move.

Although FT's mobile platform gets an average of 2 million page views, it is currently a developmental channel with plans to relaunch the mobile site and introduce an i-phone application in May.

Grimshaw admits the company is experimenting how to create different ways for its audience to consume content and working on fixing its mobile user targeting, which is not as sophisticated as the website.

He is optimistic that with handsets evolving in the future, "it's a question of time before mobile becomes a real commercial money spinner."

Grimshaw is also pleased with the way its community blogs Alphaville has developed in the past year, which has become "real engagement blogs" that attract over 100 comments.

He finds it gratifying to read comments and see people are taking time to write intelligent stuff to enrich the site as well as confirm the quality of audience with 80% of them returning users of the site.

Grimshaw points out not many sites out there can match the precise behavioural targeting that FT.com offers to marketers.

Apart from extending new tools to make the site richer and create 'stickiness', he says his team is devoted to creating exciting things for advertisers with IBM coming on board for the first time to launch special sponsored videos based on carbon management in business on the site recently.

Grimshaw emphasises not many publishers out there have the capability to offer and allow marketers to match their strategies closely to the targeting and special features that they could on FT.com.

When it comes to free versus paid content. Grimshaw doesn't believe in a trade-off. He thinks one can have a successful business both in terms of content sales and advertising all at the same time.

FT.com allows users to read 3 articles on the site and over 50 million unique users make up the top of the funnel of casual users that drives 20, 000 of them to register on the site every week.

Meanwhile, FT.com is undergoing a major project to transform the regular site, completely revamping the structure that will put it in a good place in the next 5 to 10 years.

He reveals in parallel with this are smaller projects such as the launch of the iPhone application, an online glossary of financial terms for readers and creating a separate online existence for its high-end luxury magazine How to Spend It.

FT recently launched China Confidential and Grimshaw says it's an indicator of possible future strategies to expand their proposition of the online brand to support specialist and niche content targeting industry verticals and geographic areas.

He hopes to get advertisers from all areas and is working hard to diversify FT advertising from its core marketplace of financial advertisers.

Grimshaw observes a big shift from its core advertisers in finance, technology and recruitment to other areas such as luxury goods and business education and looks forward to new opportunities and beyond.

2009 Earth Hour: The Heart In Darkness

I have to snap this moment - 28, March, 2009

From 8:30pm - 9:30pm, Hong Kong, a city renowned for its night life, joined Beijing and Shanghai to turn our city to darkness.

I can see brightness as well as a heart to combat against global warming in darkness.

Just an hour, however, how much we can save and earn?

While those companies joining the campaign can "earn" their reputation as a "socially responsible" corporate, statistic shows that just an hour, each of the 60 countries, including Hong Kong will save up to 8.7% electricity. .

To me, this kind of campaign is always about the symbolic meaning more than the actual effect. After today, how much people in Hong Kong, which switches on "lights" every night to accommodate the tourists, will remember to use energy wisely and to help the sicken earth?

But I am wrong. This simple action actually can make a big difference. On the way back home, I saw the staff in my apartment lobby voluntarily switched off the lights. It is a very encouraging sign. They know the earth is on the verge of collapse.

What's more, governments around the world draft a policy to replace the "toothless" Kyoto Protocol. Therefore, it is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.

Dos and don'ts of successful corporate blogging

Corporate blogging is not a question of budget but more about whether your company is open and transparent enough to engage with customers.

Carine Senft, interactive director Asia for Ruder Finn Public Relations, says the key question for companies starting a blog is: "Are you transparent?"

Shanghai-based Senft has just helped Volkswagen China to roll out a corporate blog on Sina about its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects focused on green topics. She points out that China has a strong blogging culture with almost 50 million bloggers.

According to an iResearch China report in 2007, consumers ranked BBS first followed by internet word of mouth as the top factors to influence their purchase decisions.

Senft says the main challenge for clients is they get a bit lost on how to enter the blogosphere.

A bad practice prevalent in China is for companies to pay students to post fake comments online.

She says marketers should respect the online community and not enter the discussion with lies, fake comments or intrusive promotional offerings. If this persists in the long term, it will kill social influence marketing.

A corporate blog is about creating a relationship with the brand and customers and having the customers directly involved in the company's strategies.

Senft says, "A blog is a human story to tell. Do not push marketing or promotional messages, tell a story and drive conversation".

Clients are usually concerned when it comes to negative comments about the company.

"(There's) no fear to have but only opportunities to seek, explain, apologise and hear," she says.

She adds that when you receive feedback on your corporate blog, you have to listen to your customers and integrate their feedback to your business otherwise they will find out that your corporate blog is nothing more than just a "social strategy to look trendy".

Senft also helps her clients with Blogger Relationship Engagement.

She never send bloggers press releases and doesn't believe in social media releases either.

"We don't pitch the bloggers, we believe in providing them an experience to live and share with readers."

In November last year her agency organised the first Chinese blogger trip outside of China to British Columbia in Canada aimed at creating awareness of British Columbia as a travel destination for Chinese white collars.

The bloggers returned to write three to four stories each and resulted in half a million people reading their blogs.

Companies used to be in the drivers seat in communications but with Web 2.0 and the financial crisis, Senft reckons the world will become more balanced.

The coming years are going to be interesting as the world becomes, "The age of customer thought leadership".

Carine Senft, interactive director Asia for Ruder Finn Public Relations shares the key tips to a successful corporate blog: