In Singapore, as in any parts of Asia, Chinese New Year is HUGE. The lead-up to Chinese New Year here in Singapore is palpable, with many malls and retail stores switching out their Christmas decorations for the red-and-gold colours of prosperity and good luck, literally the day after Christmas! Shops are closed during Chinese New Year, a mark of how huge the festival is in productivity-driven Singapore!

So, does that mean that your business should slow down its public relations efforts during this season, since the whole country seems to be going on holiday for the first 2 days of Chinese New Year? We think Chinese New Year is the perfect time for your business to maximise its public relations mileage and hop on some festive vibes to up your own visibility in the media! Here’s how:

MEDIA DROPS

If you have a product that will be useful to people during the festive season, organising a media drop to surprise the media with a nicely packaged festive gift will really rack up those vibes of goodwill! It could be a Chinese New Year version of an existing product or a special bundle for the season that customers can enjoy during this period.

This gesture will keep your brand on the mind of the media as they write their festive stories, and if they love your product that much, they may even write a story featuring your product. We’d be happy to explain how a media drop works!

SPECIAL EDITIONS

Many media publications do plan special stories for the Chinese New Year holiday. Some even publish a separate festive guide or supplement on top of their regular publications! With this in mind, you can maximise your PR mileage if you do some proper forward planning.

These publications are usually planned for months in advance, so you’ll have to contact your media contacts way before Chinese New Year, probably in November or as early as October the year before. Pitch your products or services or events to be as helpful to people as possible, as this is what journalists usually look for when they write their stories. For example, if your event is a free event for families during the Chinese New Year season, that teaches the public some skill related to Chinese New Year, like making cookies or butter cakes – make sure to highlight this to the media in your pitch! Or, if you have a good deal for customers during the Chinese New Year season on products that people really need to celebrate the season, you will want to focus on that.

CAMPAIGNS THAT GIVE BACK

The Chinese New Year period is an excellent time to do some good for the community, to give back and help the less fortunate. During the festive period when excitement runs high and people want to spend more time with their families, this is when the marginalised, the less fortunate, and the most vulnerable segments of society really feel the lack.

Don’t just think about the PR you’ll potentially receive from your efforts, but really plan a campaign that benefits these segments of society. Pick a group that resonates with your business and organise a campaign that will spread some of the positive vibes of the season to these people. The Maxis Kongsi Home project is a very good example of one such campaign. The Malaysian telecoms company partnered with a few popular online shopping platforms to come up with a campaign that allowed shoppers to purchase building supplies that would be donated to a charity that builds homes for underprivileged families, while they were using their app to shop for their own products. And it was a success!

Let your business huat huat this Chinese New Year and beyond with these clever PR strategies and more! We’d be happy to help maximise your PR mileage this Chinese New Year! Drop us a line at +65 6532 5127 or email prominence@affluencepr.com if you have any queries.