NIE 2023 | Valu Consultancy Chai Ying: Public Company Public Opinion Management and Response

Firstly, Chai Ying revealed the current public opinion status of listed companies through a set of media public opinion monitoring data. The data showed the number of media reports on public companies, including their attention to changes in the capital market; in addition, the media paid more attention to IPOs than to listed companies.

As a media outlet, how do you view listed companies or companies planning to go public? To answer this question, Chai Ying, starting from his own professional experience, analyzed four characteristics of the media with examples. First, from the perspective of doubt theory in Chinese media, objectively, any company has doubts. Doubts are not a flaw; therefore, we see that after Baidu searches for more than 5,000 listed companies, including over 500 companies planning to go public, there are sensitive reports for every one. This is one perspective of Chinese media. Second, there are rampant sensationalist headlines because this is an era that captures attention, so negative headlines do not necessarily mean negative content. Third, as a public company that often deals with the public, media must understand their rules and ecosystem. Media also has various demands, including operational ones. Fourth, public companies should view negative news rationally; negative news is also a natural part of public sentiment. As a public company, if 70-80 percent are positive and neutral reports and 10-20 percent are irrelevant and sensitive information, the public sentiment is healthy and relatively safe. However, it is particularly important to note that once reporting is linked to public grievances, populism, or dissatisfaction, it may turn into a crisis event.

Subsequently, Chai Ying analyzed the common difficulties faced by public companies, which are: 1. The shortcoming of media resources in public companies, 2. The mindset of companies when facing negative public opinion, 3. The external pressure brought about by negative stock price impacts, 4. The increasingly rigorous attitude of regulators towards public opinion supervision, 5. The lack of a spokesperson system and insufficient awareness.

Chai Ying believes that IPO companies do not need to build a brand or run advertising campaigns. During the IPO process, the bosses only want one thing: when can they get through the listing process? When can they go public? All work should revolve around this focus.

Therefore, when conducting public opinion management for IPO companies, it does not need to be too complicated. As long as a baseline is maintained, all public opinion issues can be divided into two categories: those that affect the issuance review and those that do not. Chai Ying further added, 'When you encounter media reports or reporters coming to interview, analyze carefully with your securities firm the questions they ask and the content they report. How will the exchange view this? If we determine that it has no substantial impact on our issuance review and is just speculation, then you need to have a good attitude; otherwise, you will definitely waste money. However, once you find that a reporter's question could create an obstacle to your issuance review or delay it, then you must truly initiate public relations work. IPO companies can manage public opinion according to this standard.'

Chai Ying believes that if the IPO is aimed at preventing negative impacts and ensuring issuance review, then after a company truly becomes a listed entity, it must remember that the media is very important. It serves as a bridge for external communication and a channel for understanding the company from the outside world. This task is even more critical than information disclosure or institutional management. He specifically proposed, 'I hope that all our listed companies will adopt this concept and strive to become media-friendly listed companies.'

To become a media-friendly listed company, four key tasks generally need to be accomplished: building a media ecosystem, capital brand and labeling, crisis prevention and response, and system establishment and improvement.

On this basis, in communication work, it is necessary to avoid putting all one's efforts into one go-ahead move, attempting to establish a brand or a label through a single article, over-relying on a single major media source while neglecting the diversity of the media matrix, as well as three major misunderstandings: working behind closed doors, having self-confidence that is unfounded, and ignoring external voices.

Chai Xian suggests that when listed companies conduct communication, they must focus on two aspects: content production and precise dissemination. Through targeted communication, they can reach the right people effectively and cater to their preferences.

Finally, he emphasized once more that public opinion is one of the three major components of a listed company's IR work, alongside information disclosure and institutional management.