The Challenge ​

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Bank of China is one of the largest global banks, with a proud history of more than a century and a presence in 51 countries and regions. However, the bank was relatively unknown in New Zealand when it opened an office here in 2014. Bank of China New Zealand needed to build a presence that aligned with the local market whilst also highlighting the advantages of its connections to a wider global network.

 

Our Approach ​

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We work with the Bank of China (New Zealand) team on government and media relations and social media. We have connected the Bank with key politicians that matter to their business and raised their profile via carefully selected media relations activity and social media channels LinkedIn and WeChat. We seek to raise awareness with two key audiences: the wider business community, and the Chinese-speaking community.

As well as working in English, we also post and write media releases and articles in Mandarin for selected channels and publications, with a Mandarin-speaking member of the team proving invaluable. Key topics include: trade and match-making opportunities, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), services for high net worth clients in China through a partnership with Immigration New Zealand, and the Bank’s achievement of a branch licence.

 

Our Success ​

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The Bank has a steadily growing presence on LinkedIn and We Chat, and we have developed the profile of the CEO David Wang and several key heads of department through opinion pieces, interview and business-focused media coverage in publications including the New Zealand Herald, Stuff and Newsroom.

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We have also supported the Bank to maximise the benefits of key sponsorship opportunities including the 2017 New Zealand – China Mayoral Forum led by Local Government New Zealand.

We are now working on additional strategies to help the Bank attract new talent and strengthen internal communications, as the Bank continues to grow from strength to strength.