The BUddy Post – HKBU Alumni Affairs Office

Alumna Lana Wong (Communication – Journalism) took up the role of Director, Media Relations of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL) in 2008. Having amassed extensive experience in media and corporate communication, alumna Wong is a recognised expert in media relations and issue management. In her new role as Director, Communication and Public Affairs in March 2021, alumna Wong’s portfolio has been expanded to cover corporate citizenship as well. In that capacity, alumna Wong needs to build and maintain constructive relationships and collaborations with the media and community partners to protect and enhance the reputation of the Resort.

1. What factors contribute to building a positive media relationship? Please share with us 2-3 essential factors.

Knowing journalists, news organisations and their needs is the key to building good relations and rapport with the media. A delicate balance is needed to cater to their needs while also taking the company’s own situation into consideration.

Regular dialogue and engagement is essential in gaining better mutual understanding and developing a long-term relationship. Treating journalists professionally and with sincerity will help win the trust of the media.

The challenge these days is to catch up with the mushrooming of social media outlets.

2. What is issue management? Please introduce 3 key points that we need to know about this topic.

Every company or organisation will encounter issues which are best to be addressed before they blow up into crises with a devastating or negative impact. Hence, it’s better to identify these potential issues and manage them early on.

A strong sensitivity to relevant news developments will provide alertness and insights into issues critical to the company’s business and operation.

Critical thinking in the shoes of stakeholders with appropriate engagement is crucial to the formulation of solutions with corresponding communication plans.

The world has become increasingly complicated and diverse. It warrants closer collaboration among relevant lines of business/functional departments to provide broader perspectives to address issues. A task force approach involving representatives from all respective departments is a good way to gauge views and enlist support in developing and executing a comprehensive response plan.

3. Please quote 1-2 recent examples of issue management. What is its implication to corporates?

An obvious case in point is the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is impacting individuals and businesses around the world, especially those in the tourism industry.

To all, it is of paramount importance to ride out the storm with dedicated efforts to minimise the impact on the company and its staff.

With that in mind, we have been closely monitoring the news about the pandemic developments across all continents since the onset of the pandemic. Out of consideration for the safety and health of our staff and guests, we have adjusted our operations and stepped up the preventive measures as required by the government and health authorities in line with prevention efforts taking place across Hong Kong.

In the continued fight against the pandemic, vaccination is critical in helping our city, our businesses, and our lives return to normal. To encourage vaccination among our staff, HKDL has carefully come up with a step-by-step approach, including the launch of a vaccination educational series with sharing by doctors via webinars, a survey to understand staff views and concerns, pre-vaccination medical consultations, as well as two days of vaccination leave, a recognition cash payment and lucky draw for staff willingly get vaccinated. The result has been encouraging, thanks to team efforts.

4. Among the areas of media relations, issue management and corporate citizenship, what are their inter-relationships?

Media relations, issue management and corporate citizenship work hand in hand in protecting and building up a company’s reputation. Very often, issue management and corporate citizenship will involve messages for external stakeholders which can be shared and amplified with the support of excellent media relations.