Letter - ...but few agencies know China well

PR Week UK, Friday, 11 August 2006, 12:00am,

When hiring a PR agency in China, people need to ask whether the agency has the experience to give the right advice: as good as it may be at running your campaign in Europe, the account director may not have the experience to operate in China.

Understanding your business, technology and markets is one thing; but possessing knowledge of the culture being targeted, and understanding the mechanics of Chinese media, are something different.

Few agencies are able to offer the latter.

If your agency doesn't know how to get the best out of your campaign in China, then prepare yourself for a low return on investment (or, as we used to call it, a complete waste of money).

David Marsden, director, EML.