Give Tencent PR a thumbs up

The negative reviews of Tencent’s investment have sparked heated discussions in the media circle. Content originality should be the standard in the minds of every media person. With Tencent’s top management stepping in to do public relations this time, it’s time to take a good look at their attitude towards content.

Mr. Sanbiao, whom the editor respects very much, wrote an article yesterday titled "Tencent is as big as a Tibetan mastiff, but it is still a dog after all." It went viral and triggered heated discussions in many TMT media WeChat groups , among which the WeChat group for the copycat press conference was the hottest. The editor was working in the afternoon while paying attention to the situation. It has been a long time since I have seen such a fierce group discussion.

My cousin’s point of view is very clear: Tencent led the investment in Chaping, which is said to be a self-media that made its fortune by plagiarizing original works. Tencent claims to protect and respect original works, but its actual actions are to invest in plagiarizing media. This is a problem of values. This view has been supported by many self-media people. The uncle also agreed very much.

Tencent PR Director Zhang Jun quickly explained, emphasizing three points:

The editor feels that this explanation is perfect from the perspective of PR . Perhaps the only thing worth discussing is number 2. However, there is nothing wrong with Zhang Jun saying this. At least it represents Tencent’s attitude. After all, the public relations department is responsible for speaking out to the outside world. In fact, in a sense, it represents the attitude of the company and even the company’s leaders.

However, my cousin and other self-media teachers still have strong opinions on 2, including Principal Lin, Ge Jia, Chen Zhong, and even Keso, all of whom have joined the debate. Everyone believes that no matter how much is invested or which department invests, it represents Tencent’s values.

With Keso's article "Give Tencent a Bad Review", the matter reached a climax.

At 23:07 that evening, Pony Ma Huateng left a message on WeChat Moments saying: "We have not done a good job of due diligence, and we will resolve the issue responsibly."

This screenshot is said to be true:

Then, at nearly 24:00, Tencent officially released a statement as follows:

Although the withdrawal of shares has not been finalized, the dual statements from Pony and Tencent officials have basically reached a conclusion on the matter: Tencent quickly corrected its mistakes and its values ​​are fine.

A public relations friend commented: Tencent is very smart. It uses something that does not affect the overall situation to build up its image and divert attention.

It is not easy for Tencent and Pony Ma to make a clear statement before 24:00. It shows that Tencent attaches great importance to the issue of values. It is also a good crisis public relations , at least much better than fake screenshots. It is said that it may be because Zhang Jun's phone has always had a signal...

In fact, Keso's article is more like a turning point. The article, including the title , seems to be critical, but in fact it has pulled back a lot and laid the foundation for Xiao Ma Ge's appearance, especially this paragraph:

Of course, before this, everyone was discussing a topic: Why can we still publish subscription accounts after we scold Tencent... Tencent itself reported and appealed for a long time...

Working backwards from the current results and looking back at Zhang Jun’s response at 3 pm in the afternoon, it is even more perfect. There is indeed no representation, so Tencent plans to withdraw its shares. But at that time, Zhang himself and even the higher-level people in Tencent were unable to make such a decision. But you are a public relations person, and you have to take action when you are angry, so you can only express your position.

But the reality is that public relations cannot solve business problems at all. At most, it can give suggestions, and it cannot even provide pressure.

According to Mr. Wei Wuhui, the communication between Keso and Pony is actually smoother than that of the public relations department. Judging from this case, this seems to be the case.

It’s not easy to be a public relations person for Tencent

This article was compiled and published by @万能大叔(Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!

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