China: GREAT festival in Shanghai - two nights at the west end
Updated 2 December 2014
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This article is no longer current. Please refer to Overseas Business Risk - China
Summary
Successful events in two regional capitals promoting GREAT Festival of Creativity which will be held in Shanghai in March 2015. Targeted business and government guests numbered 500 and media coverage reached millions. Strong interest in the Festival.
Detail
In preparation for the GREAT Festival of Creativity which will be held in Shanghai in March 2015, the Consulate General Festival team held warm-up events in Hangzhou and Nanjing on 25 and 26 November. The events were designed to brief senior business leaders from the sectors covered by the Festival and to raise awareness of the event with provincial government leaders and the media.
Turn out at the events exceeded expectations with over 500 guests receiving briefings on the Festival including its aims, objectives and content. Briefing from CBBC also covered inward investment and regional trade links.
Guests also attended receptions themed around a London theatre and were entertained by West End singing stars who agreed to travel with the team for the GREAT campaign at the end of their successful China tour.
Reaction from the audience, which the regional departments of Commerce had helped to assemble, was overwhelmingly positive with many businesses confirming that they would like to attend the Festival next year. The Festival team was also invited to speak at a number of creative events in the next few weeks being organised by cities in these prosperous provinces.
Media
Both events attracted media coverage. In Hangzhou, Zhejiang TV covered it on their business channel with an interview with our Head of Communications providing details of the Festival in March, and footage of the West End Men’s performance. This programme reached an audience of 2 million business and government viewers.
In Nanjing a large media audience including Jiangsu TV covered the event interviewing the West End Men and Deputy Consul General. Topics included the Festival, business links and UK immigration policy. An early assessment of the overall media impact of the events clearly shows that we reached our target audience, and that news of the Festival will have be seen by millions.
Comment
Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces are important creative centres and two of China’s wealthiest and most prosperous areas with economies similar in size to Austria and Turkey respectively. Their proximity to Shanghai makes them a key target for Great Festival audience acquisition. The provincial governments in both have been very supportive. The subsequent announcement on CG Brian Davidson’s weibo account that the Duke of Cambridge will open the Festival has been reported across all main news media portals in China.
Disclaimer
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