By Giuseppina Chiaramonte and Polly Yu
The Hoffman Agency, United States and Hong Kong
PR pros are always dancing. We juggle media calls between pitching journalists; we draft press releases, while finalizing briefing docs. We cram all we can into a single day, all the while trying to maximize our time to the nth degree. You know the saying, “Time is of the essence?” I’d bet my AP Stylebook it was invented by a PR pro.
Really, it’s no wonder that PR is one of the most stressful jobs in the United States.
But despite all the stress (and despite all the dancing), we still find pleasure in what we do. And when all the cacophonous notes fall into place, we can create a beautifully orchestrated media event.
HYSTA just happens to be one of these examples.
A while back, we wrote a blog post on Hoffman’s work for the Hua Yuen Science and Technology Association (or HYSTA for short).
The group, formed in 1999, was founded with the intention of facilitating an idea exchange between entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley and in China. By 2012, HYSTA was looking to build out its brand awareness and generate publicity for its ideas in an effort to attract new recruits and get a few nods from venture capitalists.
The Hoffman Agency aimed to tell HYSTA’s story by focusing on the first-hand experiences of its entrepreneurs. We succeeded in having the company profiled as a “must-watch” organization for VCs and investors; we even dug HYSTA’s toes into some technology thought leadership by making informed industry forecasts.
But what’s really unique about this case is just how everything fell into place.
Just like HYSTA, The Hoffman Agency engaged with its global counterpart in China to facilitate an ideas exchange for a mission tour featuring HYSTA, Cyberport and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).
We maximized our time to the fullest by taking advantage of the time difference between Silicon Valley and Hong Kong. While Hong Kong prepped materials during its day, Silicon Valley used those materials to secure interviews on the same day. Following the U.S. interviews, more media opportunities were secured in Hong Kong, and so on and so forth.
Hoffman’s two teams united as one to contribute local insights to the media and secure different opportunities across the globe. The resulting coverage was 24×7 and a truly global collaboration, synchronizing with HYSTA’s mission as well.
The resulting message that pulled through in the coverage was one highlighting the true power of conducting business across borders. Interestingly, it was this same guiding message which helped the Hoffman team make the campaign a global success.
Below are some links to the coverage HYSTA received:
In Silicon Valley
In Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Trader
- Capital Weekly
- PC Market (page 1 and 2)
