Media

Chinese media are expanding rapidly both in terms of reach and complexity. On the home front, the huge demand for content means that they need to constantly innovate to compete for the appetite and loyalty of the Chinese news consumer.

Internationally, however, Chinese media’s huge investments are still to pay back. This is due to many reasons. Decades of Western media domination and the resulting stereotyping of China has led to bias against Chinese media. This is turn created credibility issues for Chinese media. At a time when foreign interest in China is at an all time high, Chinese media should be the “go to” stops for any news consumer wishing to learn about the biggest story of the 21st century. But they are still far from achieving this status.

Chinese media need strategies not only for branding themselves well, but also for carefully branding their content to targeted groups. That means becoming innovative and creative within the limits of their mandates to attract viewers, readers and listeners.

China-i works with China’s top media outlets on all issues communication strategy and branding as a trusted adviser of many years.

Sameh El-Shahat, President of China-i, is a regular contributor to Global Times, writing on issues of branding, strategic risk and communication.