Alan Vandermolen, President of Edelman APAC, spoke at the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on April 28, 2010, on the Imact of Social Media on Public Affairs in China.

1. The Impact of Social Media on Public
Affairs in China
Alan VanderMolen
President, Asia Pacific, Edelman
28 April 2010, Hong Kong

2. What is Social Media?
• Internet-linked
• Many-to-many, user-generated content
• A keyboard and a point-of-view gets you into the discussion
• Governments, companies and citizens are becoming their
own media companies

3. Traditional Influencing
Model
Brands

4. The World Does Not Revolve Around You:
The Public Engagement Cloud
Brands

5. • Conversations can start
anywhere within a network
producers commentators
• Influence flows from multiple
sources – no longer the sole
domain of mass media
• Influence can spread in any
direction
curators
• Real people can be influencers
and/ or amplifiers
• Different psychographics:
sharers watchers Watchers, Sharers,
Commentators, Producers,
Curators
Conversations start anywhere
– and involve influencers of all stripes

6. Public Engagement Imperative
Brands Insight Collaboration Innovation

7. The Challenge Is To EVOLVE
from pitching to informing
from control to conversation
from static stories to dynamic
narratives
from influencing to advocating

8. China Internet: The Numbers
• 338 million users
• 181 million bloggers, 119 million active
• 155 million access using mobile phones
• 124 million social network (SNS) users
• 102 million BBS users
• 62.8% of users are aged 10 - 29
Data source: CNNIC reports June and November 2009

9. Major Websites in China All
Have Social Media Components
• QQ /Tencent from IM to gaming to blogs
• BBS: from tianya.cn to People’s Daily to Baidu.com to
tiexue.net…
• SNS: Kaixin001.com, Renren.com, 51.com
• Blogs and news commentary: Sina.com, Sohu.com
• Video: Youku.com, Tudou.com
• Microblogging: Sina, QQ
• Auction/e-commerce: Taobao.com

10. China and the Internet
• 84.3% of Chinese Internet users believe that the Internet is
their most important source of information.
Data source: CNNIC, June 2009
• Chinese social networking
Websites, especially Sina, Weibo
and Kaixin001, are reshaping the
overall online communications
ecosystem.
Source: Edelman Digital Brand Index, April 2010

11. Online search engines most credible digital information source
Rivals credibility of traditional media sources in many countries
Credible Sources of Information – Digital
Online search engines Free content sources Social networking sites Blogs
100%
90%
China India Japan S. Korea Indonesia Singapore Australia
80%
70%
60% 56%
50% 47%
43% 43%
41% 40%
40% 37% 37%
33%
30% 30%
30% 27% 27% 28% 27%
25% 25%
22% 22% 23%
19%
20% 16% 16% 15% 15%
13%
11%
10% 7%
0%
China India Japan S. Korea Indonesia Singapore Australia
E84-97. Now I’m going to read you a list of places where you might get information about a company. Please tell me how credible you
believe each one of them is as a source of information about the company—is it extremely credible, very credible, somewhat credible, or
not credible at all? (Top 2 box, very + extremely credible) Informed Publics ages 25-64
11

12. The Unwritten Rules
• National pride
• Anti-establishment: Chinese Netizens love challenging
authority
• Sensational: Chaozuo 炒作
• Replicable: Zhuanzai 转载

13. A View from the Government
• The characteristics of online public opinion crises
– suddenness 突发性
– destructiveness 破坏性
– urgency 紧迫性
• In the Internet age, many of the means of news control that
were effective in the past are no longer useful, and many in
fact bind our own feet and hands, creating passivity in the
handling of crises by the party and the government.
在网络时代，许多过去行之有效的新闻管理办法有的已经不起作用，
有的 反而束缚我们自己的手脚，造成党和政府处理事件的被动。
Source: government document ‘How public prosecutors can
neutralize online opinion crises’ — August 2009
http://media.nfdaily.cn/content/2009-08/13/content_5553979.htm

14. Importance of “Social Media” to
Overall Public Affairs Strategy in China
How important is social media to your
broader public affairs strategy in China?
Extremely important 17%
Very important 28% 74%
Somewhat important 29%
Not particularly important 14%
Not at all important 13%

15. Social Media’s Influence Over
Public Policy
To what extent do you believe opinions
expressed in online and digital social
media channels influence
contemporary public policy in China?
The most influential media 10%
channel available
67%
Often more influential than 57%
other media channels
No more influential than other 24%
media
Less influential than other media 9%
channels

16. Statements About Social Media

17. Digital Public Affairs Case
Studies in China

18. Tengzhong - Hummer Deal
How story broke: Unstructured announcement
• GM Chapter 11: Hummer to be discontinued
• One day later: GM says MOU signed with Chinese buyer
Social media reaction
• Online criticism and allegations: deal is money
laundering; exporting capital from China
Deal is confirmed
• Formal announcement 5 months later

19. Tengzhong - Hummer Deal
Government & Social Media Reactions
• Ministry of Commerce had not received applications from Tengzhong
• Bloggers: “Against Chinese government's commitment to low-carbon
economic development and environmental laws“
Lessons Learned
• Poor communication between buyer and seller
• Treated as ‘transactional, top down’; ignored digital
• Online commentary: national pride issues can attract celebrity bloggers who
have clout of mainstream media with strong following

20. Hangzhou 70kph
Media report fatal car accident
• “Working class" man hit and killed; although driver’s
speed excessive, police issued minor citation for driving
at 70 kph
Social media reaction: “Human flesh search engine”
• Netizens outraged at deference to driver’s wealthy
background and nonchalant attitude
• “Human flesh search engine" investigates driver
• "70 kph" becomes online catch-phrase

21. Hangzhou 70kph
Police reaction
• Hangzhou police update speed to between 84 and 101 kph
• Driver sentenced to three years in prison
• Netizens compare photos at crime scene; suggesting driver paid someone
to take his place in jail
• Driver later expressed regret and offered proof of his identity
Lessons Learned
• Authorities are subject to same online forces as companies
• Chinese netizens are sensitive about apparent abuses by the wealthy
• Slow police reaction to online criticism enhanced netizen suspicions

22. Mineralized Water
Story broke on BBS website
• “Master Kong, where is your water source?” accuses Master Kong (康师傅)
of quality problems – mineral water is merely tap water
• Huge response from netizens, accusing the company of false advertising
Traditional media picks up story
• National Business Daily notes bottling plant is located in an area without
natural springs
• Master Kong representative: "Everyone does it. A one or two kuai bottle of
water can't be natural spring water"

23. Mineralized Water
How Story Played Out
• Government regulators get involved, review bottled water standards
• Master Kong apologizes for "gap in understanding“, not adequately
explaining its "superior source”. Water is now labeled as “distilled,”
“mineral” or mineralized”.
• Online China Youth Daily poll: 57.3% of respondents will no longer buy
Master Kong water; 72.9% believe supervision of the water industry
needs to be strengthened
Lessons Learned
• Social media is the world’s biggest fact-checker and can rapidly expose
false advertising
• Traditional media now feeds off social media

24. Insights for Engagement

25. Listen With New Intelligence
Start by listening to stakeholders from all stripes

26. Participate in Conversation:
Real time/All the time
Widgets Blogs
Social
Message
networking
boards
sites
Insight Collaboration Innovation
Credible voices
Participate as
equals
Be transparent
Find and participate in conversations in a transparent way

27. Every Company Is A Media Company:
Create And Co-Create Content
Every organization must create content, not rely on media

28. Champion Open Advocacy
Advocate for change. State where you stand and why.

29. The Impact of Social Media on Public
Affairs in China
Alan VanderMolen
President, Asia Pacific, Edelman
28 April 2010, Hong Kong