Xie Jingfen (Managing Director of Guangzhou Fangyuan Consulting Co., Ltd.)
Today, I would like to talk to you about the planning and implementation of large-scale activities. First of all, to do large-scale activities must be clear about some of the most basic issues: how to define large-scale activities, what is meant by large-scale activities? Or in our PR industry, or across the PR and related industries, which use large-scale activities? You often use this means in the usual work, we look back, in the end, large-scale activities have what skills, its methods, what is the working procedure, so that we will be conducive to the activities of the organization of a more perfect.
In public relations, advertising, promotion and even social activities, we often see some large-scale activities. Like brandy wine into the U.S. market, is a very successful case, although the history is very long, the case of the 1950s, but we still look like brandy as so mellow and flavorful, many people still look very infectious, this is the social role of large-scale activities. In our real activities there are similar exhibitions, banquets, cultural performances, as well as numerous real estate openings, which are in the large events such a communication media starter, to spread our important information. In a sense, large-scale events are a media in themselves, and this media itself focuses on disseminating a large amount of various information for us. On such a basis, we have given you this definition: a large-scale event is a social coordinated action that involves a large number of people in a purposeful, planned and systematic way. There are a couple of words here that I've used in blue font, and those blue font expressions are where a very important concept comes in. First, let's look at the first one, to have a distinct purpose. Because, large events cost a lot of money, a lot of labor and material resources. If a company wants to go public, the public relations activities in the process of listing activities, he is afraid to spend one or two million publicity costs. We have just done a listing ceremony in Shenzhen for a company in Shanxi, and he spent more than 2 million dollars to produce a little social effect. Such activities cost so much, many staff have to put in a lot of hard labor, before the listing ceremony, to do a lot of activities, invite a lot of guests to come, the staff at least two nights without sleep. Under such circumstances, why do we still have to organize such an event? Of course, it is for the need to publicize the image of the company and to better attract more shareholders to buy his shares. This is its goal, and it is not worthwhile to spend some money on such an event without a purpose.
We often meet in the reality of the process of some manufacturers, see people do a 20 years, 30 years, or even more of a factory, or company celebrations, since they do, we also want to do, looking for a public relations company, or to find a certain person to me to plan for the anniversary of the activities, celebrations to make a lot of fun, but why make such a big deal? In the process of factory celebration activities to disseminate what things are not clear, this purpose is not very clear.
There is also a plan of course. An activity to manage well, without planning is impossible. This aspect is self-explanatory.
Thirdly, since it is a large event, there should be a large number of people involved, and as for the exact number of people involved, we don't think there is a need to pursue this. In the national public relations officer training and assessment materials, we define the concept of large-scale activities, small-scale activities as what is the dividing line between it? It is within the community and within a unit. As for a unit of perhaps 10,000 people, 15,000 people, can you say that this event is small? To have a factory-wide convention is also an event for many people. So the concept is not mainly about the number, but about how big is the connection that happens with the society? We see it as a socially coordinated event before we call it a large event.
On the basis of the definition, we then analyze to see what the basic characteristics of large-scale activities should be, to seize these characteristics of how we go to the organization? To organize this large event well, there must be a distinct purpose, this has been very clear, and not only the general purpose, it should be shaped around the organizational image of the entire institution, its macro purpose. On this issue, when we discuss this issue in many institutions, many students like to ask: if an organization's public relations goals and the community's public relations goals in conflict, you as a public relations company's consultants, how do you deal with such a problem? In fact, such a question is very unifying, why? An organization's image should always be synchronized with the social coordination, in order to be able to establish a good image of the organization in the social environment, you say that in order to it for a moment of time by deception to grasp the current sales or that it is now the market share, and ultimately to withdraw from the market.
When we discuss PR cases, we have a lot of controversy over the published cases. There used to be such a case in China: in order to promote shopping malls, the organization's staff bought a lot of goods and walked around the malls, is this a case in line with our PR ethics? This is absolutely not, this is a kind of deceptive behavior, and is not the means we should use in order to do a good job of communication, so that the image of the enterprise in the future is good or not good? This purposefulness should also be seen in its social synthesis of the position, and not stand in the position of one of our enterprises to see.
Second, there is a wide range of social communication. Just now we said that the large-scale activities of public relations, or large-scale activities itself is a communication media, equal to the TV station, newspaper, except that this TV station, newspaper in this activity is not organized before the dissemination of this role does not occur, once this activity is carried out, of course, it has to be with the media, especially the mass media inevitable connection. However, because the activity itself attracts the participation of the media, attracting public participation, and through the media or through the public to spread it, this is a very important feature that we must take into account in the process of planning large-scale activities. Only in this way can we ensure that we spread the message of the large-scale activities, can really play its role.
Third, the tight operation. There is only one chance, why? That is to say, in the process of organizing large-scale activities, give us only one chance to succeed and fail. In reality, many activities due to our organization process of poor management and lead to planning staff, organizational staff and even leadership in jail, large-scale activities are very easy to danger, problems. There are such cases, newspapers often reported, which activities due to mismanagement caused the death of the accident; a city a light fair because of safety issues did not do a good job, there was an accident, stepped on the death of a dozen people, this mayor will have to take the blame for this black pot.
Make a movie or make TV, he can shoot three or four versions, in the editing room to re-edit, but to do large-scale activities, we are live every time, you are wrong is wrong, always wrong. We have a deeper lesson in this process. Before the handover of Hong Kong, we did a Hong Kong-Macau operation in Guangzhou, originally we released a message to the media very early, saying that we were going to do a symbolic ceremony at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong-Macau Youth Celebration, exchanging the flags of the three places by the youth leaders of the three places, but it turned out to be a very simple mistake that caused a big accident. The staff put the flag that had been made into the office and did not bring it to the scene. As a result, when the scene was proceeding according to the agenda, it was only when the props were inspected that it was found that the flag had not been brought to the scene, and as a result, the scene was forced to cancel the activities of such a link. Nowadays, the environment is different from that of '84 or '85, when it was a very sensitive issue, and the immediate concern of journalists and the media, especially the media in Hong Kong, was whether the policy had changed. This is a great pity. Therefore, this leads to the notion that we have only one chance to succeed or fail.
There is also the high investment, this needless to say, a large-scale activities often have to invest in the capital and costs are relatively large, it is absolutely impossible to use very little money to make a big event out of it, which is more difficult. We can advocate a copper break into two or three more to do, but the most basic characteristic is high investment, if not particularly necessary is not necessary. Some of these characteristics are good for our understanding of organizing large events.
We look at the planning of large-scale activities, from the program can be seen, large-scale activities in full accordance with the requirements of the four-step PR, we further refine it listed, the first there should be a project, we do large-scale activities, first of all, the project to determine down, to do or not to do? Why do? This goal must be very clear. After the project is determined, we should do a survey and feasibility study. Investigation, we are very clear, feasibility study, which is an industrial use more concepts, we do a large-scale activities, do a public relations campaign, also need to do feasibility studies. The scope of the study includes the social needs of this activity, is it the same? Our financial resources are not adaptable? From the point of view of efficiency, is there any benefit of doing this kind of activity to save money on our publicity? If I was to put the media advertising, may be more superior than this, which is considered not necessarily used.
We do such a campaign, the level of materials can adapt to the design and cost? Doing such an event requires those contingencies. An outdoor event has to consider if the weather conditions are affected? If it's an indoor event, it's probably more about safety and facilities, and that's all part of crisis management. There are also more social and environmental factors that we have to look at in terms of feasibility.
The next step is to refine the theme and go through the individual creative process. In addition to the process of individual creativity, we particularly emphasize that there should be a concept of group creativity. I also wrote an article in the proceedings of this conference, I personally do not agree with the concept of what individual planning masters, modern planning is not like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the Zhuge Liang a calculation can be calculated out of so many brilliant ideas, are now different combinations of various disciplines, so Sun Yat-sen University asked me to give their students to talk about the planning of their original casework is to give each student to do the planning of the case I said, "Can't we change it? After three years of change, they felt that the result was very good. Not to extinguish the individual's creativity, he always has a personal creative process, but as a modern planning, the need for multidisciplinary synthesis, and not a masterpiece.
Back is some of our work procedures, all the planning to become a copy, program, we can discuss the implementation, or as a *** with the seminar such a concept. Otherwise it is always something in the head of some people, can not be ignored, there must be a program argumentation process, there are leaders to implement the program decision, which is a basic concept.
After the planning decision, there should be a specific operation of the implementation of the process, from the results of my personal work and research, we attach great importance to the implementation of the operation and design. We see a lot of good ideas, but also see a lot of units in the organization of activities, and even professional organizations to undertake some professional activities in the process, there is such a problem: the idea is very good, but due to the operation, design or not, or not enough, often in the process of the operation of a lot of problems, affecting the spirit of the original, affecting the level of the original. Therefore, in the process of operational design, we are in a principle program to determine, but also to further deepen the operational design, the operational design, including how we through a more accurate financial budget, because many units to do activities, the budget to do 1 million, down to 1.6 million, which can not be said to be very successful in planning, in the modern management, this is a very important concept.
There is also an approval process, some people feel that the approval is very complicated, afraid of trouble, but in practice, we instead want someone to approve. Here's a case study for you. There was an event in Guangzhou to honor the elderly, which was supposed to be a very good thing, and a lot of sponsors were approached, including a fireworks factory. Guangzhou in previous years did not require fireworks in the city to be approved, but the public places to carry out activities must be approved, this is a bureau of Guangzhou City to do this activity, he felt the right to do this activity, in their own venues to honor the elderly activities, the arrangements are good, there are a lot of cultural and artistic performances, there are also many sponsors of the gifts given to the elderly, and finally set off the fireworks for them to see the result of the three public security bureaus, the Civil Aviation Public Security Bureau, and two Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, the public security bureau. In the end, the fireworks were shown to them, but the result was that three public security bureaus, the Civil Aviation Public Security Bureau and two public security bureaus in Guangzhou, were arrested. Why? That is the aircraft route, the aircraft route on the fireworks in any case is a mortal sin, because he did not have the approval, but also lack of understanding of civil aviation management norms, the results bring a lot of trouble, make the sponsoring unit is very unhappy, to write a review.
And the design of specific operations, in the specific management of the link, why the enterprise management of the production design team to make a huge point, it is hoped that the complexity of the labor into a simple labor. Similarly, in large-scale activities, each staff member involved in the organization is not necessarily a planner, not necessarily able to understand the overall planning intentions, but we should give him a guide to do a good job in the implementation of the program in the process of this kind of work, which is a very important.
There is another part of the program that comes after that, the training of the program. It is very simple to understand the so-called informed in order to contribute if you want to make this program good and to have better participation from the staff.
Relating to the evaluation aspect, there should be a very accurate standard for the evaluation of a large-scale activity. Now a lot of cases are done, often ignoring to do the assessment program, including our customers have never asked us to do an accurate assessment, much less willing to pay the cost of a professional company to give him an assessment report, but no matter how to say? I think the evaluation criteria, we should be in the planning of the time it is designed so that customers can complete the program, it can be based on the standards you set for him to check, in the end, where is the success of it? Where is the unsuccessful place? Such a standard we should be clearer to him point out.
There are two skillful issues in planning, one is the planning of the "eye", this "eye" concept is derived from the article's eye of the text, or the singing of the song's eye. Our secondary school read Zhu Ziqing's essay "back", especially his use of white description of his father to buy oranges, the most evocative place is the eye of the text; we sing friends know that there are many songs you will not sing, but this song has a line certainly written down, that is the most wonderful place, and therefore the most dissemination of the place. Similarly, large-scale event planning needs to create such a very exciting place, like a text eye, song eye, the eye of our activities, this time is often our creative process of large-scale activities should focus on the issue of the climax, to have a wonderful place to express the activity more communicative, the key to see this climax is not a good design? If the core of an event creativity where? This should be the key.
Secondly, there should be a more able to express the atmosphere of our theme of the design, today we see in the General Assembly venue of the General Assembly theme image of the publicity board, very clear, this atmosphere to bring a kind of atmosphere of the theme of the publicity we this time, and it has the Chinese and English, but also brought out the concept of international public **** relations and exchange, which is a very thoughtful conception. In this process, we can really bring out the atmosphere through the design of the venue, the design of the atmosphere, this point many people do not pay too much attention to, tend to consider the creativity of a certain activity link, and relatively neglect the creativity of the venue.
I bring a few pictures you can look at, the atmosphere of the site can bring some changes. This is a bank building, this is the doorway, the doorway of 13 floors, very high, very large, in the course of our activities in the doorway design a "letter", which is the organization's own business philosophy, from which we convey its philosophy, through a large technique to enhance its dissemination. This is a method of operation.
This is the glass ceiling of a hotel, he does not necessarily have other goals, at least there is a sense of environmental protection; the following is a cafe, such an environment, the hotel itself has a lot of decorative materials, are very hard, but with this small umbrella, and add a few sunflowers on the top, people feel that in the natural environment to drink coffee, this is very creative.
This is a five-star hotel steps, in the course of an event, people make this step into a red carpet, write the theme in the escalator above, a hotel lobby into the strong atmosphere, you walk into such an environment, will inevitably bring a very good dissemination of the effect.
This is a side door of the Guangzhou Trade Fair, this is a usual photo, the side door has a round hole, the diameter is eight meters. When we design the venue, the use of eight meters to make a big LOGO, can be seen from a distance, the design of such an atmosphere, is bound to bring us good results, the planning and implementation of large-scale activities, there are many skills in the use of the process, we can summarize, and to improve, we will be able to create more, more influential large-scale activities.