Interview with Xiaochu of Benmo Public Relations - Essay Example

News Interview Interview: Good morning. Today, we will be talking to Qianmo, Li. Aka. Xiaochu. She is the founder of Benmo Public Relations Marketing Consultation Co., Ltd, a company that has grown into one of the top PR companies in this country. Ms Xiachou joins us here today in the studio – Good morning, Ms. Xiachou – welcome to the show! X: Good Morning – I am pleased to be here today. Reporter: Ms. Xioachou, first of all, would you tell us something about yourself and how you started Benmo? X. Where to start? (laughs) I shall start at the very beginning – let’s see, I was born in 1979 and I am Chuanqing. I graduated from school in 1997 and started work straight away – no college for me, thanks. Reporter: Really? Why not? X: I started working as a model and a bartender to make money. College did not come into my plans because “I saw the need to get my life started and going as soon as possible”. Reporter: So was making money more important then? X: “I never saw money as the main goal. Even at the beginning, money was just something to put food in my mouth and a roof over my head.” Reporter: Did you always know you wished to work in public relations? X: Not immediately, no. I came across the Internet and that got me started in blogging. Reporter. Indeed. You were named the no: 1 web blogger at one time – and the “basketball babe” during the 2008 Beijing Olympics! X: (laughing) Yes, you’re quite right. I was the number one blogger for four networks – Sina, Sohu, Xici and Tianya – I was the beauty blogger in the last two as well, by the way. Reporter: So you were totally immersed in your virtual identity during those early years? X: Oh no, on the contrary. I served as a member of the organizing committee for the 57th World Beauty Pageant, and I was also an editor for a local Shanghai magazine between 2004 and 2006. Reporter: So, how did you make the jump from the world of virtual blogging and beauty pageants to the world of public relations? X: Well, for a start, I think all these varied jobs I was doing really put me in touch with members of the public. Since I participated so actively in society, I was able to get a good idea of what society wants. I noticed that most PR companies did not seem to really be providing what the public actally wanted, they didn’t have that knowledge of the Chinese people that was necessary to make a true connection. Most of those foreign PR companies saw the potential in our country of almost 1.6 billion people and most of the time, and my idea was to adapt their professionalism and experience to provide a PR experience and service that was specifically tailored for our country .” Everyone knows PR. What we need here is something “by the people for the people” so to speak. I wanted to create a widespread, quintessentially Chinese central network, where a central figure was available whom the public could relate to and have access to. “ I want my company to grow like a big tree and now, I am the seed. We have a long way to go.” Reporter: It must have been difficult for you at first to gain enough income as compared to the international PR companies. X: You know, I have never really seen money as my main goal in any of the work that I have done or that I am doing. As I started my business, I never really bothered about how much money I made on an individual job, the only consideration I would bear in mind is how large a segment of the public I was able to gain access to, through my PR work. My theory was, “the bigger you get, the more jobs you get and the money will come naturally.” Reporter: You founded Benmo in 2008 with very little promotion. Why did you opt for such a strategy? X: Well I have always believed in the strength of the word of mouth kind of advertising. ““ Clients are our number 1 strategy in promotion of the BenMo. Word-of-mouth plays a central role of great influence, and clients are more likely to trust a friend or family member’s recommendation as opposed to an advertisement. Reporter: How do you go about creating a newsworthy campaign? X: Well, I would say the secret is knowledge of the media. As an ancient Chinese proverb says, you have to “know the inches” – in other words, deliver only the news you can support with facts and no overstatements. Reporter: Could you tell us about your first ever campaign? X: Oh yes – it was also my favourite - for the SALT restaurant, in Beijing. I saw a “I saw a new business on a business trip to plan a future in Beijing ( I was only based in Shanghai)about to open and they were working with a company that I didn’t think was doing the best for them - so I drafted a quick campaign and proposal and presented it. The whole experience was so dreamy.” Reporter: How would you describe one of your typical days? X: “Busy!!! Emails early in the morning, meetings with clients, hours behind the computer – social networking is so important!” During the nights I check on the network/industry events that are going on – I can keep going, so long as there’s enough coffee and tea! Reporter: What do you like about PR? X: It’s pure and simple fun, you work with interesting people! If you do your job well, your message is heard and there’s never a dull moment. Reporter: What don’t you like about PR? X: “Not having time to breathe. Too much caffeine consummation.” Reporter: What did you think about the handling of the crisis in incidents like the Toxic Milk poison dumplings? X: Well, most people like to think of those PR crisis that got out of hand as pure commercial PR stunts pulled off by competitors but in reality those are serious problems that the Chinese society faces! Some publicity will even say that they caused such a problem!” I think sometimes there is such a thing as a bad publicity agency, one that a competitor PR company can hire for one purpose only and that is to bring down a competitor by generating bad news. A large part of the problem lies in the large number of web users and bloggers in China, a total of 350 million users, would you believe” Since I was one of them myself at one time, I know how powerful this blogging force is and I will never underestimate the power of the public to determine the nature of the PR message that is being conveyed. “These people play such an important role – the key to handling such a crisis – to get a hold a this public!!!!” Reporter: So you would have handled this campaign differently? X: Indeed, I would have. One must be in touch with the pulse of the public and be able to convey and spread a message without overstatement or exaggeration. Reporter: based upon your own experience, what advice would you give to other PR companies? X: Well, I would say, always keep the end user in mind - whether it be the media or the public. If you want to convey your message across to the public and capitalize on the powerful impetus that blogging can also give you, you must give the people what they want and this will also help you to convey your message at a minimal cost. Another important aspect that I would stress upon is networking. Network, network and network some more. Make sure you attend events associated with the industries of your clients so that you know and understand their business and the environment that they are operating in. Just meeting people and supporting can be extremely beneficial and its amazing what you can manage to achieve through this simple feat. Reporter: Could you tell us a little about the future projects that Benmo will be working on? X: Let’s see – yes, we are working for Pizza Hut, Maybelline, China Eastern Airlines, etc…. Reporter: Well, Ms. Xioachou, I must say it’s been exciting and interesting, talking to you. I’m sure your success will prove to be an inspiration for many other young entrepreneurs like yourself, who are able to sense the pulse of the public and respond appropriately. Since we’re running out of time, this bring us to the end of our interview. Thank you for having been here with us today. X: Thank you, I have enjoyed being here. Reporter: For those of you who would like to get in touch with us about this program, or have questions for Ms. Xioachou, please call us on the number listed at the bottom of your screen. You can also email us at the email address shown below. And that brings us to the end of our program. Read More