Knowledge Driven Communications for China

Founded in 1994, Eastwei Relations is China’s leading local strategic PR consultancy, with 100+ consultants in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Eastwei provides communications analysis, strategy, media relations, online communications and event management services to a number of Fortune-500 and smaller clients. We have developed a distinctive offering based on our “Knowledge-Driven Communications” approach, which has received wide attention in the Chinese PR industry.



Communications built on understanding

Eastwei’s slogan is We Understand. This means we believe all communications must be founded on a deep understanding of target groups and other stakeholders, as well as the client’s company, business and industry. A communications effort needs to address not only what your company wants to say, but also what customers and other stakeholders need to hear.

In China, understanding the mindset of your target group may be especially challenging because of cultural differences and lack of reliable market research. It is certainly not enough to segment consumers by simple demographics: “Our target group is male, 35-55 years old, with above-average income”. What does a statement like this tell you about the people you are talking to: what their interests are, what they read, what they do in their free time?

At Eastwei, we work with analysis tools such as focus groups, in-depth interviews and media audits, that focus on the why’s and how’s of consumer behavior. In our experience, these tools are equally important in business-to-business communications.



Knowledge-Driven Media Relations™

Just as we need to understand our clients’ business and customers, we must also understand journalists and the rapidly changing media environment.

Traditional Chinese media work has been based on “guanxi” – personal relations. Guanxi are a key element of Chinese business, and will remain important. But they are no longer enough. As the Chinese media liberalize, Chinese journalists are becoming more professional and demanding.

Perhaps the most important point is that “guanxi” may help get you published, but cannot guarantee that audience will actually read your content: “You can push lots of material through personal relations, so of course they are important. But personal relations are just a channel. ‘Knowledge-Driven Media Relations’ means being sophisticated about message development” to quote Lucia Wang, Eastwei Director and co-author of the industry bestseller PR, Chinese Style.

The KDMR™ approach continues to generate consistent, long-term industry-leading coverage for our clients, giving us the self-confidence to call ourselves the best media agency in China.



A tightly knit, experienced team

Eastwei is known for its stable team of consultants. In a rapidly changing environment like China’s, this is a somewhat unique achievement.

In the words of Par Uhlin, General Manager of Eastwei Shanghai: “I think the key to our success has been our ability to retain good people in an environment that is extremely competitive for talent. Our stable team is the main reason we have been able to build stable client relationships”.



Some of the most demanding clients in the world

We believe that the best measure for evaluating the quality of a PR agency is the percentage of retainer clients that have stayed with the company for more than three years. And for the last few years, Eastwei has had almost 100% client retention. We now have a total of around 30 retainer clients, including household names like P&G, Konica Minolta, KRAFT, IKEA, SONY, Electrolux, ABSOLUT and Porsche.