Breaking China

I’m hooked. I’ve been getting up at ridiculous hours and when I can’t sleep have been sneaking down stairs to watch it.

The drama, the excitement, the characters……the Olympics!

Like many, I viewed the run up as a public relations fiasco and wondered how China would in reality cope with the eyes of the world pulling apart its social fabric ……for when human rights didn’t get the headlines then we always had smog, heat and pollution to fill the void.

Half way through the games and we are now focused well and truly on the sport, letting the actual events rather than the host nation dictate the story.

Despite the ‘fake’ fireworks and the ‘miming’ during the opening ceremony, we all agree that it was amazing. How will Britain compete in four years? Well, it will probably be raining – so that will make it different for a start!

Mindful of how opinions can change once the games has started and the medal tally commences, we undertook a very simple survey of key CIPR members. We asked council and exec members, regional, national and sectoral group committees and past presidents for their thoughts on the games.

The results are fascinating:

Do you think China can build a positive image through sport?

· Yes – 50.65%

· No – 48.05%

· Don’t know – 1.30%

Not much in it – personally I think it would useful to ask the same question at the end of the games and see if this has altered mindful that our views may be coloured by our national success.

Which of the following do you think will have the most negative impact on coverage of the Beijing games?

· Human rights issues – 62.34%

· Pollution/air quality – 35.06%

· Drugs/doping issues – 2.60%

In light of the negative publicity about the torch procession and human rights issues, will the British public believe any good publicity about China?

· Yes – 58.44%

· No – 31.17%

· Don’t know – 10.39%

Following George Bush’s criticism of China’s human right record, do you think that Gordon Brown should make a similar statement?

· Yes – 62.34%

· No – 32.47%

· Don’t know – 5.19%

And then we asked these active CIPR members, what new steps the organisers of the London 2012 Olympics should take in order to make sure that our games are a success (with out qualifying what we mean by success).Never short of advice…..here are just some of the comments we had back in! it’s worth wading through them just so see the difference of opinion and also the strength of feeling – although it has to be said that the issue of ‘cost’ and ‘delivering on time’ was the most popular comment made.

• Abandon the world-wide torch procession - as is being considered
• Plan, plan, plan! Make sure that as many positive news stories are generated in the run-up to, and throughout the 2012 Olympics
• Understand that more that the ability to build stadiums and accommodate athletes is called upon by the world of public opinion by any country that hosts the Olympics. The Olympian ideal is strong and the organiser needs to live up to. With great potential tourism and retail gains from hosting this great event, comes great responsibility. The UK's involvement in Iraqi prisoner torture, arms sales, etc will be as much under scrutiny in the years to come
• Monitor the social web and be current with public opinion
• They have to understand current perceptions and why some people feel negatively not just promote happy messages. Acknowledging the problems and dealing with them at an early stage is a basic step. Anticipating issues now - such as traffic problems in reaching the sailing venues for example - will also allow any potential crisis to be avoided.
• Come in within budget and be open about the costs
• Stringent risk assessments of all potential negative PR issues, in good time and with good PR professionals. Minimise elaborate 'over-statements' and promises which can't be kept. Ensure best possible transport links, hotel accommodation availability, completed venues etc and keep spend under budget and within reason in comparison to the economy at the time.
• Appoint a successful, charismatic business person to take control, on a big salary and a major bonus for getting it right
• That the event is about nation building and showcasing Britain to the world - it's not just about London
• need a hearts and minds campaign to encourage support and enthusiasm from the home nations prior to targeting international coverage
• Prepare a promotional video or invite the BBC to prepare brief news reports to be aired in the run up to the games about the preparations for the Olympics which focuses on the benefits it offers less advantaged people in the UK and those participating or wishing to attend the games. In addition, they must ensure everything is done with the environment and sustainability clearly positioned as a priority issue - they should consider a steering panel of interested parties to advise them who can act as ambassadors for the games which should include an environmental NGO body and a social inclusion organisation as well as the more obvious, sports, health, business and tourism interests.
• Efforts should also be put in to making London the gateway to the rest of the UK so the regions benefit from the increase in tourists.
• Try to ensure that the Olympics is a sporting event rather than a political one.
• Make sure that the government of the time realises that foreign policy issues will be magnified in the run in to the games and during it.
• Be more sensitive to the criticisms (esp from locals and small sports clubs losing grants to meet Olympic targets), rather than dismissing them as ill-wishers.
• get ordinary people enthused by it stop bloody minded sceptics criticising every turn make it a green games finish all the infrastructure in plenty of time smile because the eyes of the world will be on us in 2012..what a fantastic opportunity that is!!!
• Do more to solicit support and interest from local residents - motivate - make them feel involved.
• Two pronged continue the excellent pre-bid PR around the world - London the most multi cultural city etc internal UK - absolutely crucial that the wider UK public recognise Olympics as theirs and not just London: when talking about China Olympics its just too far for the majority to consider attending but the luxury of having on your doorstep whether in Thurso, Inverness, Penzance or Holyhead is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Keep on following the youngsters who went to Singapore - follow their dreams and those of the other children in the five host boroughs who expressed their dreams for the Olympics. Make those dreams real.
• Not sure it's a real selling point around the country but am always struck by the fact that the London population is greater than Scotland, Wales and N Ireland put together - puts things in proportion with the moaners who complain about things being London centric. It's time that the rest of the UK actually support their capital which really is the best capital city in the world.
• They can approach the games with a realistic attitude and maintain their reputation through an open and honest approach to the build up and the event.
• Positive news about the early completion of any Olympic-linked projects, news about any extra support being given to athletes to help us succeed in 2012,
• UK life ban on any athletes proven to be using drugs. Set up and use own TV channel to communicate to local people. Keep politicians well away from it all. Provide free tickets to any sporting event to all children under 12
• Ensure an inclusive approach involving all four nations in as many aspects as possible so that GB is totally behind the games.
• Switch emphasis immediately from building the hype and excitement to an emphasis on getting the infrastructure and logistics right. Any positive impression made from advertising/marketing etc will be rendered totally wasted if the participants and spectators cannot get to the stadiums on time or without spending significantly over the odds to do so
• Give infrastructure and some of funding generated to local people to ensure it does not appear a financial fiasco in a coming recession 2. Get more of London Mayor Boris Johnson involved to support the peoples' view of (1) and increase confidence 3. Get a China link to commentate on their recent Olympic experience: this would be a wise move both diplomatically and financially, and they will have a lot of expertise to offer at all levels, including consumer.
• Need to focus on 2/3 positives that cant be easily undermined by the press, as they love to trash this story and will continue to do so to bate politicians. Perhaps stories on benefits to UK children, sports initiatives in the community and benefits of tourism to the country (might play well in current economy)as distractions to the negative issues. Topics to avoid = the logo, money wasting on temporary facilities, being behind schedule on building compared to other countries Olympic villages - they need good answers on all of these for their spokespeople, to keep the press at bay. Also, they need to rethink the financial strategy where possible, putting up buildings that will be demolished after the Olympics will not play well in light of the credit crunch or from a Green perspective, got to find other stories/angles on the UK PLC investment in Infrastructure or sport facilities or children’s sport education being well made and run with these, lasting benefit is important in current climate.
• Define success. For the UK population... we have been promised that this will bring about positive change in many areas and will bring in revenue to the country. Don't forget to follow up on these promises in communication post Olympics. For the athletes and other attendees..... practise and test again and again and again, don't let's have an event that is like the opening of terminal 5.
• engage Londoners [workers - daytime population - and those who live in London, beyond the 'east'] in legacy benefits for our city. avoid doing daft stuff like close Oxford Street for the duration [causing massive traffic issues for those who live and work outside of the immediate Olympic area.
• They should under-promise and over-deliver even though this Government seems to find that difficult. Please let's not have another fiasco like the Dome
• Most important is to get the planning and organisation right and infrastructure delivered on time without any more cost shocks. Then aim for a time to draw a line under previous problems to give a smooth run-up to games so briefing can focus on positives.
• Do not attempt to follow the amazing large scale and large cost of the Beijing Olympics but instead set out "An Affordable Olympics" model; use a very British theme and style and make the most of the organising skills for which we are famous.
• Return the games to a straightforward celebration of human endeavour and sportsmanship and resist the temptation to waste effort and money in image enhancing or power promoting spectaculars.

What do you think?

Comments

[Webconomist]

The 2012 Olympics may be the first to be truly driven by consumer need - and the first time consumer need and public constituency can be analysed by the organization.

[Jane Cameron]

you also need to bear in mind that we may well have a change in government before our Olympics. This could potentially have a huge effect on the way the games are organised - let alone promoted before and after.