Public Relations Plan for XIAOMI

Term Paper , 2023 , 11 Pages

Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media

The present business environment is so competitive and demanding that every business organization must engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) to guarantee environmental protection. Consumers are becoming more perceptive and circumspect about the people they buy things from, and any indication that a business isn't fulfilling its CSR obligations may cause the market to stop buying from that business. Therefore, it is crucial that a business organization conduct thorough planning in order to demonstrate to the world what it has been doing and what it wants to do to ensure that environmental impact is either minimized or completely avoided. This paper is a Public Relations (PR) Plan for the Xiaomi Corporation, which can go a long way in ensuring that it achieves its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental Obligations.

Contents

Abstract

1. Situation Analysis
1.1 Background
1.2 Research
1.3 Problem/opportunity statements

2. Objectives of the PR Plan

3. Target Publics

4. Strategy and Key Messages

5. Tactics

6. Conclusion and Recommendations

References

Abstract

The present business environment is so competitive and demanding that every business organization must engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) to guarantee environmental protection. Consumers are becoming more perceptive and circumspect about the people they buy things for, and any indication that a business isn't fulfilling its CSR obligations may cause the market to stop buying from that business. Therefore, it is crucial that a business organization conduct thorough planning in order to demonstrate to the world what it has been doing and what it wants to do to ensure that environmental impact is either minimized or completely avoided. This paper is a Public Relations (PR) Plan for the Xiaomi Corporation, which can go a long way in ensuring that it achieves it corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental Obligations.

1. Situation Analysis

1.1 Background

The modern business is not only competitive but also demanding to the level that each business organization needs to undertake corporate social responsibility (CSR) to ensure that it protects the environment. Consumers are now more observant and cautious about who they are buying for, and any detection of a company not undertaking its CSR duties can make the market base shun purchasing from such a company. It is therefore of utmost importance that a business organization undertakes careful planning to showcase to the world what it has been doing and what it plans to do to ensure that harm to the environment is reduced or avoided altogether. This realization comes from the fact that conserving the environment is a responsibility for all individuals, and more so to companies that use the environment for their productive activities. The big companies have a higher duty to ensure that they only profit from the natural resources, yet they do not put measures to replenish or conserve the environment.

The company chosen is Xiaomi Corporation which is a tech giant in China, focused on producing and manufacturing consumer electronics and related software, household items, and home appliances. As a recent market entrant (2010) it has a huge part to play to ensure that it takes important conservation efforts to gain a significant portion of the market. That is why the public relations (PR) role for this company is vital. The company has to exhibit its effort of environmental protection not only to consumers of its products but also to its employees. People in the current world research companies and can even turn down the chance to work for businesses that they feel are not taking measures to reduce their carbon footprints. The PR role at Xiaomi, therefore, needs to put a plan which will communicate the environmental protection objectives and activities to the public.

The target public includes the company’s main consumer base which is the young people who mainly use the internet, Xiaomi employees, and local and national governmental and non-governmental organizations. The consumers are chosen because they are the ones who can decide whether the company achieves success through sales. Therefore, they have to be convinced that the company undertakes the best measures to protect the environment. Employees will be critical in helping the company achieve best practices, while governmental and non-governmental organizations can help the company implement measures that conserve the environment.

1.2 Research

As already mentioned, companies can ensure their business success by undertaking their CSR activities (Kádeková et al., 2020, p. 4856). Due to this realization, effective strategies and tactics need to be put in place to ensure that the PR initiatives are a success. The brand loyalty of Xiaomi Corporation as of August 2021 was at an astonishing 63.2% being the highest among all Chinese brands (Cobucci, 2021). Therefore, it will be important for the company to maintain the positive brand image that it already has. The PR plan for environmental protection can be a great way through which the company can increase its brand loyalty.

Positive motivation is an effective strategy that helps the people at the local level undertake roles that help in the protection of the environment (Wang et al., 2020, p. 834). Positive motivation involves showing or explaining the benefits that people are likely to enjoy by conserving the environment. Therefore, the people will have a valid reason as to why they can decide to protect the environment. For the company, it can advocate for reduced pollution levels, and logging, since people can enjoy clean air and favorable weather conditions. Another PR strategy that will be employed is negative motivation. According to Shafiei and Maleksaeidi (2020, p. e00908), negative motivation involves giving warnings that enable people to take action and start protecting the environment. It mainly involves showing the vulnerabilities that are likely to arise if people do not take action and conserve their environment. People will see the negative sides of environmental degradation, and how it can affect their lives at a personal and societal level. Therefore, these are the two main strategies that will be used in this PR plan.

Primary research will need to be undertaken to understand the different motivations of the different target publics in undertaking environmental protection initiatives. It will also be important to undertake primary research on the target publics, to determine how willing they will be to collaborate with the company if Xiaomi corporation increased its environmental protection initiatives. The approaches that can be employed during the primary research include online surveys, focused group discussions, interviews and administering questionnaires. These approaches will be used on different target segments to elicit views on what can motivate them to undertake environmental protection initiatives.

1.3 Problem/opportunity statements

-The target public will undertake environmental conservancy initiatives if they are shown how it will benefit them in the long run.
-The target public will not associate with the company, if they see no CSR activities from the part of the organization.

2. Objectives of the PR Plan

-To get at least 30% of the consumer base commit to help in environmental conservancy in a period of six months and this will be measured by the number of confirmatory emails received from the target public and engagement on social media channels.
-To get 100% of employees, and 100% of local governmental organizations participate in conjunction with Xiaomi Corporation in protecting the environment in a period of one year.

3. Target Publics

Xiaomi is aware of its obligation to protect and conserve the environment and this will help in keeping the products and material on market and in use for long. The Company has come up with a strategy where it has eliminated plastic packing. The company has targeted the youths especially those between 18-35 years who are in the working class, and they want good and quality products. The target public also involves the heavy internet and those who use social media, and they contribute much to the e-commerce market. This is a group that can get involved in the protection of the environment and not forgets the employees of Xiaomi who have to keep the environment clean and protected. The corporation has partnered with the local government and non-governmental organizations to help fight ecological pollution and this is by protecting the environment (Wang et al,2021p.4387) The corporation needs to create awareness on ways of conserving the environment and this needs to be made aware to the public and public relations agents in the organization. The company is committed to reducing the environmental effect on the business. This is by reducing carbon emissionsand using renewable energy to improve energy efficiency and the aim is to become carbon neutral. The company has a great impact since it markers, designs, and sells smart products to the employees in the office, stores. data centers and products are places wherethe company can make a significant change to the environment by engaging even the customers visiting these areas.

4. Strategy and Key Messages

The company has come up with positive motivation where the corporation encourages the employees and customers to conserve the environment. The corporation has come up with a good design that reduces carbon footprint. This is a packaging for the IoT products like the Mi Band 4C and this is aimed at phasing out some chargers with the smartphones to cut down on energy use at the same time reduce environmental effects (Aldashova,2020 p.9). This positive motivation makes the customers want to purchase these products that are conserving the environment. The company also uses negative motivation which is guiding the employees and telling them the negative effects of not conserving the environment. This works towards making each employee want to have an environment that is free of carbon. The company has more than 23000 employees, and the operation in Xiaomi offices is a significant source of carbon emissions. The company has therefore come up with an energy-saving strategy that has been enhanced by the Xiaomi Science and Technology Park which is located in Beijing. To keep the environment protected coming up with the key messages to the public and the target groups will help in conserving the environment. Among the key messages that can be to the employees can be

-As long as fossil fuels dominate the global energy system, increased energy production and consumption endangers ecological stability, global climate, and the wellbeing of current and future generations. The primary source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, is the burning of fossil fuels.
-Energy intensity the amount of energy required to create one unit of GDP – is expected to fall further as a result of increasing energy efficiency and a structural economic shift in all areas toward less energy-intensive activity. It is therefore upon each person to conserve the environment and reduce the excessive amount of energy used in the production of smart products.

These key messages will motivate the employees of the Xiaomi corporation and the customers and all target public in making sure that they conserve the environment. They will have an interest in making sure that the environment is clean, well conserved and all will work towards reducing carbon emissions by proper waste management and water use.

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• Publication Year: 2023
• Pages: 11
• Catalog Number: V1322984
• ISBN (PDF): 9783346856357
• Language: English
• Tags: Public relations plan, PR, social media marketing, advertising, environmental protection, csr, corporate social responsibility