In the wake of the decidedly maudlin mood hanging over the city throughout the Sars debacle, this is a welcome break from the norm, despite being one which is clearly not grass-roots led, but orchestrated from the highest rungs of chief executive Tung Chee-hwa's cabinet.
Burson-Marsteller has also carved out a significant role for itself, as the consultancy which won the bid to revive the reputation of Hong Kong's dented reputation in local and global markets. This will be no mean feat, although perhaps one that a consultancy which has represented Romianian dictator Ceaucescu's government in the 1970s, the Nigerian government during the civil war of the late 1960s; reinforced Argentina's credibility on behalf of the military junta's Ministry of the Economy in the late 1970s; and handled the Bhopal oil disaster crisis for Union Carbide in the early 1980s; can negotiate with aplomb.This quick history lesson illustrates how public relations has been used at levels where the skill needed to manage the opinions of multiple stakeholders has been considerable, and the stakes proportionally high.
Let's not forget that Hong Kong's 'image' has been dealt the kind of body blow that could have a lingering impact on the most robust city, in the same way that New York was given a wide berth by tourists and investors alike, following September 11. The Big Apple managed to stage an heroic comeback based on the resilience, spirit of its citizens and heroism in the face of such hellish tragedy. Hong Kong, however, is grappling with the most recent in a series of health scares in recent years which have been brought about by human blunder, and in which Government inefficacy has played a large hand.
The economic taskforce set up to spearhead its recovery by - among other things - inviting some of the world's biggest celebrities is a flashy gesture that, in fact, does little to address the core issues dogging the everyday lives of Hong Kong residents. Despite international media announcing the WHO ban being lifted, try doing business in Asia, and the story is still the same - the meetings are being cancelled where Hong Kong-based businesses are concerned. Meanwhile, a new challenge is emerging for practitioners - and not just those directly involved in this campaign - which while double-edged, is by turns ripe with opportunity. Preliminary signs show that already, consultancies are getting the go-ahead to execute campaigns that clients put on hold as soon as Sars struck. This may be a temporary upkick but, at the very least, projects left in limbo are now seeing closure. For communicators, building brands under fire and becoming even more prepared for potential crises will be crucial moving forward. Even in these times, however, a fine line between crisis preparedness and crisis paranoia must be drawn.