Korean lessons: PR pioneer talks about crisis management and the evolution of Public Relations

This post is a continuation of the series of interviews with bright PR professionals from around the world for this blog, “global public relations”, in-cooperation with the World Communication Forum – #WCFDavos. This time we went to the East, to interview an authority in the arena of crisis communication management and a pioneer in PR & destination marketing within the Korean territory.

Downtown Seoul, Korea - Photo by Lim, Chung-Eui

      I proudly introduce you to Mr. Kim Kyong-Hae, APR, Founder and President of Communications Korea, one of the first PR consultancy groups in Korea and the exclusive partner of the World Communication Forum – #WCFDavos in that country. He is often referred to as the "pioneer of Korea’s PR industry" or as the "Father of Public Relations" in Korea. Mr. Kim has a vast experience within PR, destination marketing and crisis management. 

Mr. Kim Kyong-Hae

Communications Korea was founded back in 1987 as the nation's first public relations agency and Mr. Kim is also the key founding member of the Korea Public Relations Association (KPRA). Previously, he had worked as the Seoul correspondent of Reuters News Agency and the economic editor of the Korea Herald. In 1983, he founded Korea’s first English-language business magazine entitled Business Korea. In his professional career, he was involved with journalism for over 20 years, having graduated with a degree in English literature. 

His extensive background in journalism played a major role in shaping him as one of the key figures to develop Korea’s public relations industry. Not only did he establish the first local PR agency, but he also served as the chairman of KPRA from 1991 to 1992 and was pronounced as the "PR Man of the Year" in 1994. Mr. Kim has obtained his Accredited-in-Public-Relations (APR) certificate from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). He has authored the in-depth PR book "Live on-site PR story" from a veteran’s perspective. In 1999, the Korean Government awarded him with a presidential citation for his contributions in publicizing governmental policies. 

On top of that, Mr. Kim is also known as Korea's pioneer of destination marketing. As a journalist-turned marketing expert, Kim is well known for his illustrious PR career within the region. His travel-industry expertise is reflected not only in his 18 years long service as a marketing representative for Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB), but also for Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). His destination marketing for these three separate tourism hot spots is truly remarkable, now being benchmarked by new destinations. Mr. Kim is also a PR lecturer for graduate students and has written four books on crisis management and marketing, including the popular "Companies that overcome crisis, companies that crumble with it." 

Mr. Kim Kyong-Hae will be speaking at the World Communication Forum on 10-11 March 2015, check out the full agenda at www.forumdavos.com.

1.       In your opinion, how much communication & PR differs in different regions? I mean, do you see much difference in the successful PR efforts done in Asia from the ones in the Western world – e.g. USA, Europe?

Mr. Kim:  Nowadays, communication and PR is regarded in Korea as a vital business element. Companies are well aware of the importance in MPR, crisis management, reputation management, and so forth. High quality communication, reputation management and PR have been applied in Korea and around APAC. Thus communications and PR are seen as an important aspect of the marketing toolbox in this global era. As one scholar has said, PR is rising while advertising is declining and, as such, most companies in Korea are strengthening their PR and communication activities as they are much more cost-effective than advertising. You cannot discuss business management without PR and communication.

Seoul By Night, Korea - Photo by Lim, Chung-Eui

2.       Is there a big difference between communication behaviours in Korea when comparing to other countries you are experienced with? Could you give some sort of examples?

Mr. Kim: In the initial period in Korea, it was media focused. Many cared about how to expose their messages to target audience through the media. Nowadays, it became sophisticated and reached international level. One unique PR market in Korea is that large conglomerates have their own big in-house PR teams. We call this “defensive PR”. In the course of being conglomerates, they were closely inter-related with politics and this sometimes can result in malpractice or corruption. They worry that those issues may be exposed to the public if they employ PR agencies. But now, they are, gradually, seeking advice from external PR professionals.

3.      About crisis management, you mentioned in one of your articles that the most important thing to consider is the crisis management manual. Would you say that the same should be applied to crisis communication management? A manual should be the start and end of the crisis communication administration?

Mr. Kim: A manual is like a bible in crisis management and crisis communications and many companies now produce them. However, you should not make a “manual for the sake of a manual.” Companies have to practice what is in the manuals.  Without practice, a manual will get dusty and out-dated. By constantly practicing, a manual can be fixed and updated to meet the current status and situation. Meanwhile, the “3 P's” of crisis management—“practice”, “proactive” and “prepared”— become all the more important.

4.       What are the most important points to consider when preparing such manual?

Mr. Kim: The strong determination of the CEO (Head manager, etc) to make a living manual. With his/her strong determination to produce a manual to save the company from catastrophe, all resources within the company including experts and budgets should be mobilized to be fully prepared for “known unknowns”. Especially for foreign multinationals operating in Korea, they should take note of a number of local factors.

First of all, the media environment and the customs of media relations here are different from those in other nations. When reporting on a crisis situation, the Korean media are not always objective in presenting both sides of the matter. At times, they are overly nationalistic. Sometimes there may be inaccuracy in quotations. Some reporters get upset when foreign businesses refuse to respond beyond a “no comment”. So it is highly advantageous to develop allies among reporters during normal times. Also, many TV stations have investigative programs to portray negative business aspects of multinationals, causing a big damage to their reputation.

Secondly, there are also some special characteristics associated with Korean nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs. The influence and political orientation of NGOs, including civic groups, has gotten noticeably stronger of late. NGOs exercise their influence in various ways when crises arise, and their nature is different from that of the general non-political NGOs of other countries.

A third fact to consider is that the groups shaping public opinion in Korea are not the same as those in other countries. Here, opinion leaders who influence public sentiment are those who are central to political circles, certain media outlets and NGOs. And there are some who are known to be strongly biased against foreign businesses.

A fourth factor to consider is that a new chapter in the distribution of rumor and public opinion is under way in Korea. This is happening in concert with the high-speed capabilities of digital media, including mobile phones and the internet. The unique nature of Korea’s internet culture has become an increasingly instrumental in the formation of public opinion.

In Korea, the corporate culture and the labor-management relations are nothing like they are in the West. This is particularly true when it comes to labor-management relations. In Korea, corporate culture and labor-management relations are critical variables when a crisis emerges. In Korea, businesses’ crisis management strategies must be developed only after considering all the unique elements of the Korean environment. The following are some useful guidelines for businesses that I refer to as the “Ten Commandments for Effective Crisis Management”. This was developed by my company, Communications Korea, for foreign multinationals operating in Korea.

The “Ten Commandments for Effective Crisis Management” are:

1)    Make the public’s interest a priority.

2)    Build up a positive reputation during normal times.

3)    THE CEO must actively intervene and present feasible solutions. The CEO’s one strategic key message will save the firm from the crisis.

4)    Undergo media training and designate a corporate spokesperson in advance.

5)  Thoroughly scrutinize direct media quotations. Most Korean media are not exact in their quotations

6)  Learn the lessons of crises experienced by competitors and relevant case studies

7)  Develop relations with third-party opinion leaders during normal times, and positively use these resources during a crisis.

8)    Undergo simulated crisis training.

9)    In the case of an unfounded report, promptly take corrective action.

10) Try to lead the media, not to be led by the media.

5.       When it comes to crisis communication, what is essential to consider?

Mr. Kim: In crisis communication, it is important to have one-voice system. From CEO to entry-level employee, all should have and maintain one-voice when they communicate with media or other organizations that they have to face during crisis. When the U.S President Lyndon B.Johnson visited NASA after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, he met a janitor and asked him what he is doing at NASA. The janitor, without hesitation, said “I am here to send man to moon”. From the top to the bottom, a unity was prevailing at NASA.

6.       If a multinational operating in many different countries produced such a crisis communication manual, it should be the same to all divisions/subsidiaries, or should take the cultural variable into account?

Mr. Kim: It should differ by each region and its culture. Each region has different media environment, company culture, society norm, government policy etc. However, all manuals should have similar skeletons, but different skins to accommodate different cultural, social, and political aspects.

7.       How important is “intercultural awareness” or Intercultural Communication framework in the field of crisis communication?

Mr. Kim: Sometimes, a crisis caused by poor intercultural communication is more serious than a traditional crisis. In that cause, a manual with no special emphasis on culture is useless and will not work. Intercultural awareness is a very important aspect not only in crisis communication but also in general communication as well.

We are accustomed to our own value system called “ethnocentrism”. A value which is highly respected in Korea might be rejected in another country. Patting a boy or girl’s head softly is regarded as fine in some places but strongly rejected in Thailand. There are so many such cases. 

   Large corporations such as Samsung and LG are paying much attention to intercultural communication. High-level executives who are dispatched to foreign countries are trained not to cause any culture-related crisis in the country where they are posted. 

8.       Have scholars or practitioners approached the theme of Intercultural Crisis Communication? How do you feel about its relevance in today’s globalised world

Mr. Kim: Nowadays, culture is also one important element of crisis in our globalised business environment. When a multinational corporation does not pay enough attention to intercultural communication in a country where it operates, it will be exposed to a serious crisis caused by poor intercultural communication. 

           There are many scholars who study intercultural communication and publish on the matter. Many major Korean companies try to study and learn about other countries and their cultures. They want to find out the do’s and don’ts to guide their behaviour in their global business operations.

9.       What does “Public Relations” mean to you? How would you define the term?

 

10. How the Korean PR industry was when you first started to be a PR practitioner? How has it evolved since then? (Could you please mention in your answer the year you started your PR career?

 Mr. Kim: In the early 1980s, major international media including Newsweek, New York Times, Fortune, and Time had their Asian headquarters either in Tokyo or Hong Kong. When something major transpired in Korea, their correspondents would fly in to cover it. Most of them contacted me when they come to Korea as I was closely following political, economic and often major news as the publisher of Business Korea, a monthly English-language business magazine and the economic editor of the Korea Herald, one of the two English-language dailies in Korea. The correspondents, in return for my full support for their reportorial activities, asked me to open a PR firm as the first of its kind in Korea, as I knew the business scene, government official and media.

In 1987, I founded Communications Korea as the first PR firm in Korea and we became Hill and Knowlton associate in Korea in 1988, the year of Seoul Olympics. Then I established the Korea Public Relations Association and we opened a “PR Class” to provide a learning environment for PR practitioners. We followed PR practices in the Western world. We also then established the Korea Public Relations Consultancy Association for PR firms. In this way, the PR industry came to take root in Korea. That is why PR people in Korea call me “the pioneer of the PR industry in Korea”.

11.    What are the most important factors when considering destination marketing? What should be on the top of the check list when drafting a destination marketing strategy?

 Mr. Kim: Identifying the unique selling point (USP), I think, is most important in destination marketing. In Korea, there are more than 50 national tourists office (NTOs) now competing to induce Koreans to visit their respective countries. To win in this cut-throat competition, exposing the USP to the consumers most effectively is a short-cut for successful destination marketing. The USP can be culture, food, adventure, entertainment, cosy atmosphere, sports, etc. Our company was the first destination marketing company in Korea for Guam in South Pacific. It was a small fishing ground but we positioned it as a honeymoon paradise. Honeymooners are also high spenders. Then we supported Tourism Authority of Thailand and Tourism Australia. I am now very pleased to see that the three destination of Guam, Thailand and Australia became Korea’s representative overseas destinations. 

Warm thanks to Mr. Kim Hyong-Hae and Wendy for all their cooperation. Your time & kind attention were highly appreciated!

Keep an eye here for future interviews with C-level PR executives from around the globe.

Join us in Davos on 10-11 March 2015 for the VI World Communication Forum - #WCFDavos - www.forumdavos.com.

Follow me on Twitter ~ and keep on smiling :-)

South Africa: PR, branding and stunning beaches

Green Point, Cape Town - South Africa

As promised, I am starting the series of interviews with bright PR professionals from around the world for this blog, “global public relations”, in-cooperation with the World Communication Forum – #WCFDavos –. We went all the way to South Africa (SA) to hear some valuable insights about how PR is conducted in that region of the world and to learn a bit about branding and communications from an expert in the field. 

I proudly introduce: Mr. Solly Moeng, an experienced consultant in branding and communications, former President of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA) and founder of DonValley – Brand, Marketing & Communications. DonValley is the exclusive partner of the World Communication Forum – #WCFDavos in SA.

Solly Moeng

Solly Moeng is an experienced consultant with specialisation in holistic Brand Management and Strategic Marketing & Communications. His professional career so far has taken him to Canada, USA and France, where he completed his French MA Degree. He was the South African Tourism's Marketing Manager in Canada, based in Toronto, before getting appointed to lead the organisation’s operations in the USA. As Country Manager, based in New York, he managed the roll-out of South Africa’s Tourism Growth Strategy both in the US and Canada.

Solly has also worked as Business Development & Marketing Manager of Mesure, a South African subsidiary of the French multinational construction company, “Bouygues Travaux Public, and Basil Read”; a position that enabled him to act from the company head office in St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, just outside Paris. He has also occupied the Marketing & Communications Manager positions for CapeNature and the South African Biodiversity Institute. The latter, is in charge of the world famous Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, and eight other National Botanical Gardens in South Africa. Solly completed the IMM’s Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing and attended courses at the respected Vega School of Branding. He currently lives in Cape Town, South Africa, and is now enrolled for a PhD at the University of Cape Town (UCT), focussing on how the nuclear industry integrates media in its crisis communications.

From Amsterdam, I conducted this insightful interview with Solly in Cape Town by phone and email in the first couple of weeks of November 2014. Below you will find his enriching input on how communication is undertaken in South Africa and his views on branding, leadership, communication and PR.

1.    How much do Communications & PR differ in different regions? I mean, do you see much difference in the successful PR efforts done in South Africa from the other regions you have worked at such as Europe and North America?

We live in an increasingly connected world. Many practitioners in South Africa are also members of professional organisations that are located elsewhere, especially the US and UK. Participation in their activities is often online. They are therefore aware of industry trends elsewhere and tend to emulate them. In some cases, local practitioners will initiate and lead discussions on certain topics. However, entry barriers into the profession in South Africa tend to be too low. It seems to be different in other countries.

Stunning Cape Town

2.    How do you evaluate communication and PR done in South Africa? How do they differ from other regions?

There is not much difference, in my view. Here in South Africa, one of the latest big issues has to do with measurement; determining how PR/Communication contributes to the bottom-line. There seems to be increasing awareness about the need to shift measurement focus from ‘outputs’ to ‘outcomes’. This is a good move.

3.    When was DonValley founded and in which areas does it specialise? What are DonValley's main areas of expertise? Could you mention some main projects you have worked so far?

DonValley was founded in 2006 and we specialise in the provision of reputation management services. We help brands protect and enhance their corporate reputation. Exact ‘tools’ to be used for each intervention are determined on a case-by-case basis. We first conduct a thorough analysis /diagnostic of existing strategies/practice in order to determine what each brand needs. Our services, therefore, range from assessing and / developing strategies for corporate communications, media relations, influencer relations, stakeholder mapping and stakeholder communications, issues/crisis communication management, etc.

Solly Moeng, founder of Don Valley

In terms of recent project, we were called in as contractors by South Africa’s premier retail giant, Woolworths, with me being contracted to act in the position of Head of Corporate Communications & PR and to lead internal teams and help protect and enhance corporate reputation. What started as a 3-month appointment ended-up lasting almost 2 years. My leadership contributed in helping Woolworths regain previously lost positions as the most respected corporate brand in the South Africa retail sector, on one hand and, on the other hand, in the general corporate sector.

We have also been helping another giant brand, Imperial Logistics, develop a new corporate communications strategy, including media relations, internal communications, influencer strategy, crisis/issues communication strategy.

In addition, I write weekly columns for a weekly online financial website, analysing corporate behaviour. Below are examples of recent articles Solly has written:

http://www.fin24.com/Tech/Opinion/Something-is-terribly-wrong-at-Eskom-20141112
http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Health/Discovery-beats-PnP-20141105
http://www.fin24.com/Tech/Opinion/HCI-Cool-heads-must-prevail-20141030
http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Advertising/What Cell-C-should-learn-20141119
http://youtu.be/0FeDUYVj4V8

Astonishing South Africa

4.    Would you consider cultural backgrounds when crafting communication/PR/branding strategies?

Yes, cultural background in the broader sense, not so much in the ethnic sense. But where the latter is strongly followed, it would be better to have it in mind when drafting communication strategies.  It is generally wise to consider local values and norms in order to shape communication practice, otherwise proposed solutions might, at best, not be easy to implement and, at worst, be rejected outright. For instance, in South Africa we have 11 official languages and there is a considerable influence of English, this is important to have in mind when crafting messages for recipients in this country. Culture determines the way things are done in a country, so it is significant to take cultural differences into account when structuring e-messages in a way that e-recipients will understand and interact.

6.    Branding and Public Relations – are these areas connected? How?

The Public Relations function supports brand. It can be used to help raise awareness about brand or as an ongoing tool to help position the brand, and grow goodwill and affinity to the brand. It is one of the tools, but not the only one. It is all about stakeholders’ relationship and engagement.

In today’s, 'reputation economy’, brand identity and brand image are two increasingly important factors to consider in a PR strategy. Brand identity is “how an organisation wants to be perceived by its audience”, while brand image is “how the organise is seen by its stakeholders”.

7.    You have been responsible for managing the growth strategy of South Africa Tourism in US and Canada. What are the main branding strategies you have developed during your time in North America? Which would you mention as the most effective plan/programme for destination marketing/branding?

Americans believe other Americans easier than they do foreigners. Our most successful strategy was to use Americans to help tell others about our product. We did this through a consumer advertising campaign, both in Canada and the US, through which we worked with a number of outbound tour operators to promote two types of travel packages to South Africa. One was cheaper, lasting about a week in South Africa, and the other was slightly more costly, lasting ten days or more. 

The first one, dubbed “Upscale Wonderlusters” targeted potential first long-distance travellers and the second one, dubbed “Next-Stop South Africa”, targeted Americans/Canadians who were used to long-distance travel, possibly having been to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, etc. and disposed of both time and income to travel. We believed that the latter were predisposed to consider South Africa as their next travel destination.

Cape Town

We had a special campaign website themed “My South African Story” on which those who returned from a trip to South Africa were encouraged to share their South African stories. Many of them were happy to do so, and thus encouraged others to also travel to South African, telling them that South Africans are very friendly and welcoming to (especially) Americans (because of widespread fear to travel soon after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre).    African-American travellers were particularly interested in the historic aspects of travel to South Africa, visiting places like Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were incarcerated for many years, and his home in Soweto, as well as other related sites. White-Americans are generally interested in wildlife and general sight-seeing experiences. These considerations always informed tour content. 

8.    How have brand architecture and strategy evolved along the years? Is there a global branding strategy programmes you have worked in?

At a high-level, we still follow the “Branded House” or “House of Brands” approach, or some slight modifications here and there. Solly explained that a branded house is a brand like Mercedes-Benz which has many brands under the same umbrella brand while a house of brands is a brand such as Coca-Cola that is owner of other big brands like Sprite or Fanta but with very distinct separation between them – some people do not even know Sprite and Fanta are from Coca-Cola, for instance.

These are still, by and large, the brand architecture options that make sense to consider. I led processes to develop a new brand strategy for organisations like the South African Oil & Gas Alliance (SAOGA -www.saoga.org.za), a new Corporate ID for CapeNature -www.capenature.co.za (formerly known as the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board), Eastern Cape Tourism Board -  www.visiteasterncape.co.za, etc.  

9.    In general terms, how would you define the difference between local branding strategies from global ones?

In South Africa, too many people still confuse branding with corporate identity (the look and feel – usually the logo - part of a brand). One has to keep reminding people that a brand is made up of what I refer to as the ‘invisible part of the iceberg’ (value proposition, strategic intent, etc) and the ‘visible part of the iceberg’ (colours, logos and other look-and-feel aspects). South Africans also seem to like rebranding over and over again, usually whenever new leadership takes over. People elsewhere seem understand that a brand is like a slow growing tree that should be nurtured over time.   

More of Cape Town

10.  In 2015, you will be speaking at the World Communication Forum about communication and leadership, how do you see these two areas? Is communication essential for good leadership? Or vice-versa, communication could only be well executed if led by a strong leader? Could you please develop on this?

Indeed, no leader can expect to be effective if he/she communicates badly, or doesn’t communicate at all. But, communication goes beyond internal communication to company employees; it has to extend throughout the organisation’s entire value-chain and stakeholder groups. Increasingly, all organisations should map their stakeholders, identify them, group them, and determine the most appropriate way (media platform, tone, regularity, etc.) to communicate important information to them. They should also put in place appropriate platforms for two-way/multilateral communication with all stakeholders, informed by a thorough understanding of each stakeholder group, as well as the issues that matter to it. 

These could be rights issues: human rights, workers’ rights, children’s rights, women’s rights, environmental rights, etc., or pure shareholder related issues.

I will also address structural matters in many organisations. Few organisations have Chief Communication Officers or similar positions at the most senior leadership levels, e.g. EXCO, or even board members who understand strategic communications. This lacuna often results in the ‘juniorisation’ of the communication portfolio and denying it crucial opportunities to make strategic input at the right level. Communicators are turned into ‘runners/messengers’ who simply take instructions, often from bosses with little understanding of the strategic role that can be played by seasoned communicators. If positioned correctly, seasoned strategic communicators can help organisations avoid finding themselves on the back foot in terms of reputation management.

Solly Moeng

I also refer to this as “upstream integration for better downstream delivery”. Where strategic communicators are integrated at the top echelons of organisational leadership, they become better prepared to foresee threats and weaknesses, and prepare their organisations deal with potential media issues that might embarrass the organisation. The opposite might also be true, as they might see opportunities ahead of time and, through clever communication, help their organisations take advantage of them through clever positioning.        

I concluded the interview by asking how Solly defines the term 'Public Relations', as I intend

to ask this to all PR professionals whom I will be talking to in the coming weeks. In the end, we should be able to have a global definition when combining all definitions.

A huge thanks to Solly Moeng and Jessica Jones for the time and efforts... Your

time, kindness and attention were highly appreciated!

Keep an eye here for future interviews with C-level PR executives from around the globe.

Join us in Davos on 10-11 March 2015 for the VI World Communication Forum - #WCFDavos - www.forumdavos.com.

Follow me on Twitter ~ and keep on smiling :-)

Interviews with top PR professionals from around the globe

I am preparing a series of interviews with top PR professionals from all around the world.

The list will include very important communication personalities, which have contributed to shaping the form of our profession in the regions they actuate. To name a few: Kim Kyong-hae (Communications Korea, Korea), Solly Moeng (Don Valley, South Africa), Sharad Agarwal (Cyber Gear, UAE) and Maxim Behar (M3, Bulgaria). will be among the first profiles to highlight.

These interviews will provide insightful ideas on how the Public Relations activity exist in those many different countries/regions and how PR is perceived by those experienced professionals considering its co-existence with other communication areas.

I do believe the series of interviews I am working on will result in a good & useful sort of world map of PR, providing deep awareness on how the profession may be seen differently and may function in a distinct way accordingly to the region it operates and to the existent cultural background where the PR & Communications efforts are undertaken.

In a few days I will be posting the first interview which I assure you will be very interesting to read.

Many thanks for your attention and keep an eye for what is about to come!!

~  and keep on smiling :-)

New community, new city and new job!

Dear readers, hope you have enjoyed my last post - a quite long one - resulting from my enthusiasm about the creation of a new area within Public Relations, which should consider the extremely important variable of culture. Therefore, why not institutionalise InterCultural PR in the Academia as well in the practitioners world? I really do not see any reason why not!

But today I have some great news... One week ago, on July 1st 2014, I have started my new role as Community Manager and moved to Amsterdam to work at UBM Live - a division of UBM. In this very exciting position I will be in charge for managing the online communications of the Pharma portfolio of digital services & events.

After a very warm welcome given by Liz Wakefield, Rhylie Luan Weir and an amazing team of intelligent, good will and moody colleagues from all around the world, I felt comfortable to do what I like most: communicate. If I mention communication, I think it is always interesting to dig a bit into things' history, in this particular case, of the etimology of the word "communication".

Can you see how much sense it makes, specially on today's globalised sharing digital society? I do. A lot. Communication is about sharing perspectives, of explaining your ideas in a understandable way. Communication is key to avoid conflict and essential to solve. I believe that what cannot be solved with Communication, dialogue, be a chat or a negotiation, cannot be solved at all.

On top of that idea, I remember Marshall McLuhan, one of my literary mentors, when predicted the world we live in today with his concept of "a global village" - a place where people would be able to communicate as in a village without concern to geographical position. McLuhan predictions were made in the 1960's, a way before IBM launched personal computers (PCs) and decades before the WWW became popular and internet became part of a considerable part of Earth's inhabitants.

Internet has always fascinated me. Communication and technology. What a great combination. Unifying cultures through the power of dialogue, of sharing perspectives and being able to analyse different paradigms, different ways of seeing and experiencing life. Cultural studies teach us that much of one culture is hidden to oneself and that at the same time culture will exert great influence over individuals' communication behaviour.

That is why after conducting my Master's studies with focus on Intercultural Communication, PR skills and Digital Communications allied with around 7 years professional experience in a diversity of communication-related jobs ranging from foreign correspondent for several magazines (USA, UK, China) and media relations at the #WCFDavos, [loads of] academic and market research, intercultural induction sessions, photography coordinator - I am, indeed, very excited about this brand new position of Community Manager which I have just started to work as, being the very first person to occupy such role at UBM Live.

I like challenge. I know it is going to be one. Integrate different cultures on a mutual level of understanding is not an easy task. CPhI Worldwide, #CPhIWW, one of the largest events on the planet, is one of the events organised by UBM Live Pharma Portfolio, it gathers 2,200 exhibitors and more than 35,000 visitors. This year edition will take place from 6-9 October in Paris, France.

UBM Amsterdam is located in Toren A (the middle tower) with amazing views

You can have an idea of the complexity of the communication process and have an idea of the multitude of cultures that I will have to interact with. But I am up to do it. I want to do it. I am an Intercultural PR enthusiast and completely passionate about communication. I will do it. With the collaboration of an amazing team of talented professionals that I have found there, I do believe we will do great things together.

Another great thing is to be back to Amsterdam and now to live as local is like a dream that comes true. I have been coming to Amsterdam since 2006 when I was a student in Lyon, France, and decided to backpack in the Netherlands having the chance to visit at that time not only A'dam but also Den Haag, Noordwijk and Leiden.

I felt in love with this city and the country when I first stepped my feet here the first time and now I come to live and do what I like best. Then, I came back for my Master's and was luck enough to live two amazing years in Groningen - dankjewel allemal in het leuke en mooie stad!!! :-)

Groningen, jij bent in mijn hart!

I will keep you posted! - but for that, you need to keep an eye here too!! ;-)

Check out my Twitter account and my Facebook fanpage. Please do not hesitate to share comments about my ideas, the main "idea" here is to "share" - that is the real meaning of communication!



Muito obrigado, meus queridos amados pais, irmão Daniel & Borboletinha, e todos os amigos (a família que a gente escolhe) por toda torcida, suporte e principalmente pelo AMOR! Paz, luz e alto astral :-)))
~ and keep on smiling :-)