Chengdu Government: CHENGDU PAMBASSADOR

Credits & Description:

Category: Public Sector
Advertiser: CHENGDU GOVERNMENT
Product/Service: GLOBAL SEARCH FOR PAMBASSADOR
Chief Executive Officer: Arthur Yu (Soho Square, China)
Chairman of the Board: Matthew Fan (Chengdu Apex Ogilvy Brand Marketing Consulting Co.)
Director: Joe Zhou (Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Beijing)
Media placement: Press Release - AFP,BBC,Telegraph,ABC,CBS,Al Jazeera,IANS,The Australian,Agencia EFE,The Standar - July 10, 2010
Media placement: Event - Shanghai EXPO; Chengdu Panda Base, China - August 16, 2010
Media placement: Social Media - Facebook,Twitter, Naver,Mixi,Kaixin001 - August 17, 2010
Summary of the Campaign
• 'Pambassador' was the first example of China’s realisation that 'soft power' could be a more effective strategy on the world stage than messages of economic might. This approach proved highly effective at delivering outstanding growth results with major impact on the economic future of Chengdu city, in western China.
• Due to lack of foreign direct investment (FDI) and tourism revenue for growth; Chengdu was not on the radar of tourists and investors in 2009 - threatening the city’s long term economic development.
• From an unknown status, our 'Pambassador' campaign delivered +229% more FDI to Chengdu, 12 Fortune 500 companies established bases in Chengdu and the city saw a 63.1% increase in tourists in 2010 (and a massive 58% increase in the month following the campaign).
• A thorough understanding of Chengdu’s assets and their unique value resulted in a campaign focused on the lovable panda and a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. The 'Pambassador' campaign helped reinvent Chengdu as a city that is economically sustainable, friendly and open. It also lured more than 60,000 people worldwide to apply to live in Chengdu.
The Situation
• Chengdu is the fourth largest city in China however it remains virtually unknown outside China to investors or tourists. Chengdu’s anonymity threatened to handicap the city’s growth agenda. It needed to sell itself to the world or risk being left behind at substantial cost in lost economic development.
• Further complicating the challenge was the volatile international media environment. The human face of China’s economic development was overshadowed by negative political news and concern over China’s future economic domination in Asia.
The Goal
Campaign objectives were to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) into Chengdu above 2009 levels of US $2.8 billion; attract multinational corporations (MNC’s) to base their operations in Chengdu, and to increase inbound tourism to Chengdu by 10% to over 715,000 visitors.
The Strategy
• After three months of research and planning, Chengdu’s unique brand attributes were found as "sustainability" and "openness." And a crucial strategic guideline was to take a "soft power" approach to the campaign.
• Based on surveys with foreign journalists, we concluded that the Giant Panda had the most potential to become a sought-after icon. We executed the 'Pambassador' idea; a global competition to select six panda keepers and dubbed 'Pambassadors,' to work at Chengdu Panda Base. A gesture of openness to the world, 'Pambassadors' embodied Chengdu’s cultural heritage and ambition of sustainability.
• The campaign would partner with the WWF; it would be a serious initiative and would serve as the first of its kind internationally. And to ensure the campaign's success, we embraced "the experiential factor" in every detail of the execution.
Execution
• Debut: We officially launched the 'Pambassador' search at the Shanghai EXPO and launched the competition website.
• Recruitment and final competition: At each milestone of the recruitment process, we distributed tailored news releases to tourism and business media to balance our dual objectives of visitors and investment. 12 'Pambassador' finalists from around the world were invited to the Chengdu Panda Base for a week of customized training before the final competition.
• Key Stakeholder Engagement: mechanisms were in place to manage the various interests of key media outlets and blogs, providing them with tailored information, to get people talking about the campaign with the right angles for growing tourism and encouraging FDI and consideration of Chengdu as an MNC base.
• Differentiated PR: We approached 60 foreign media including AP, CBS, ABC, Fuji TV, TF1, RAI, CTV and Al Jazeera with differentiated messaging. “Cultural affinity” was the hook with Asian media while “Sustainability” was highlighted with Western media and particularly business media.
Documented Results
• In 2010, 294 foreign investment projects in Chengdu were approved, a 37.5% increase from the previous year. An unprecedented number of 12 Fortune 500 enterprises entered Chengdu in 2010. The city now has more MNCs (189) than any other municipality amongst all China’s western cities.
• The total number of foreign tourists to Chengdu reached the highest ever level by the end of 2010, at 1.04 million, an increase of 63.1% from 2009.
• Around 40% of key opinion leaders across Asia, North America, and Europe had heard about the 'Pambassador' campaign (source: Penn Schoen Berland)
• More than 8.5 million people from 178 countries viewed the campaign website
• Nearly 61,000 applicants from 52 countries entered the competition
• Nearly 800 media outlets globally covered the story, including the Wall Street Journal, AFP, USA Today, international TV networks including American ABC and CBS, British BBC, Global Al Jazeera, Japan’s Kyoto News, CTV (Canada), RAI (Italy), CCTV (China) amongst many others.
• The Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-moon wrote a letter to praise the success of the campaign.