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In this issue we have asked Mr. Mike He,
in charge of Business Networks and International Media Relations
at Broadcom (www.broadcom.com), to
share some of his thoughts on effective international PR in the
ever so-changing technology landscape.
Following his interview you will find some of the
"Do’s and Don’ts" of international PR we at
Globalpress have collected over the past years. They may help you
avoid some common mishaps.
Mike He is an award-winning marketing communications
professional with almost ten years of experience in technology PR.
Before joining Broadcom Corporation as senior manager of public
relations, Mike worked with two of the world's leading semiconductor
companies, National Semiconductor and Texas Instruments. He also
worked for Edelman Public Relations Worldwide where he managed key
accounts, including former Peoplesoft (now part of Oracle). At Broadcom
one of his responsibilities is to drive the company's international
PR program.
Globalpress (GP): What percent of
your PR efforts are focused internationally?
Mike He (MH): While it is hard to say exactly what
the percentage is, we do have very focused PR programs that address
various global regions, depending on our markets and products. Right
now, about 40 to 50% of our news releases are translated and distributed
in Asia-Pacific. I believe the volume will go up as we expand our
communication efforts in this region. As part of its growing commitment
to international PR, Broadcom has stepped up its use of local PR
agencies and has assigned me to manage our international programs,
especially in Asia and Europe.
GP: How has this percentage changed
over the past few years?
MH: We see growing need for PR support as the company
grows its market share internationally, so our efforts, focus and
commitment on international PR have increased gradually by about
20% over the last couple of years.
GP: How do you see the percentage
changing in the future?
MH: In the future, we will see more activity in
Asia-Pacific and the Greater China in particular.
GP: How much of your company’s
business depends on sales or relationships in Europe and/or Asia?
MH: Our business outside of the U.S. keeps growing
in all markets but especially in Asia-Pacific.
GP: What is the CEO’s, executive
staff’s and board’s attitude toward international PR?
Do they perceive it as a tremendous opportunity, an added bonus
or a ‘necessary evil’?
MH: The entire executive team is very supportive
of international PR. The CEO has been involved in a number of international
PR efforts and he takes time to meet with the PR team to discuss
the international activities. He appreciates good coverage resulting
from international PR.
GP: Do you prefer outbound or inbound
international PR activities (i.e., your executives traveling to
Europe and Asia, or international editors visiting you in the U.S.)?
Why?
MH: We have no preference as long as our message
comes across and reaches our target audience internationally. We
travel to meet with editors at press conferences, tradeshows and
conferences in Asia-Pacific but we also meet with them here in our
U.S. offices where we can give a live demonstration of our products
and technologies.
GP: If you do a combination of outbound
and inbound efforts, what is the approximate proportion of each?
How did you settle on this mix? Do you plan to change this mix in
the future?
MH: Right now I would say that most of the efforts
are outbound and I don’t think this will change much in the
near future—except special events such as trade shows and
the Globalpress Electronics Summit in February this year where our
CTO, Dr. Henry Samueli, will present a keynote speech.
GP: How often do you get your company’s
CEO in front of European and Asian editors? Do you feel this frequency
is too little, too much or about right?
MH: Our CEO and other senior executives have been getting
more involved in meeting international editors, and we intend to
increase the number of those meetings through proactive PR outreach.
GP: Do you participate in European
and/or Asian trade shows? If yes, what has been your experience
at trade shows -- what worked, what didn't? Do you have plans to
try anything different for trade shows in the future?
MH: Yes, we participate in a number of tradeshows
and technical conferences in the two regions such as Computex in
Taiwan and 3G World Congress in France. We are also looking into
new tradeshows to reach out to more of our international customers.
For the first time, Broadcom will participate in the International
IC China in April 2005. Generally speaking, I find that tradeshows
and conferences in Asia-Pacific are better attended by trade editors
than those in the U.S. as our audience there is hungry for new technology
and product information.
GP: What do you find is the biggest
challenge in your international PR efforts?
MH: How to keep our target journalists worldwide
informed of what we do on a timely basis.
GP: What approaches or programs
that you’ve tried have you found most successful?
MH: Face-to-face meetings and discussions with
reporters. The Globalpress events, for example, provide the desired
face-time with journalists and have proven to be good venues for
us to increase our visibility.
GP: Are there any new approaches
or programs that you want to try in the future?
MH: As we are improving and expanding our international
PR effort, we are working constantly on creative PR approaches that
will help us getting our job done efficiently and cost-effectively.
One of the challenges here is to get news to the international editorial
community in a timely fashion.
GP: What has been the most fun international
PR experience you’ve enjoyed so far?
MH: Meeting journalists from all over the world
and helping them get the right information.
Here are a few more "things to know" as
gathered from the over 120 press tours we have organized so far.
Consider these tips when working with international editors:
- Who you are
- What you do
- How the technology works
- Why their readers should be interested
- Your company’s target market(s); especially international
- Any new products you have brought out recently or plan to bring
out
- What you are doing – or plan to do – in the countries
the editors represent
- Future trends for your technology and market(s)
- Use the same presentation you give to analysts or potential
customers
- Use prolonged "slide shows"
- Use sales pitches or marketing hype, including leadership or
"uniqueness" claims
- Bring on too many presenters. Two or three presenters should
be able to impart sufficient information; other people who may
be important can be present to answer questions.
- Use cluttered slides—too much information on one slide
is hard to digest
- Use company specific jargon and acronyms; some editors may be
more business oriented and acronyms mean nothing to them
- Criticize the competition
- Serve alcohol with lunch
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Things
to Know