CPD’s Shanghai Expo Blogs and Video Conversations

CPD Blogs on Expo Shanghai 2010

Below are posts by Jian (Jay) Wang, CPD University Fellow and associate professor of public relations at USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism. Wang is currently in Shanghai where he’s heading up the CPD research project and video blog focused on Nation Branding at the Expo.

A LITTLE GOOD NEWS FROM THE U.S. PAVILION
There has been plenty of bad news concerning the unimaginative U.S. pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai. But let me for the moment, share a little good news.

WHY ISN’T THE EXPO A MEDIA EVENT?
According to Media Tenor, a Zurich-based research institute, like other recent world expositions, Expo Shanghai only received scant attention in the international media prior to its grand opening on May 1.

SHANGHAI EXPO: NOT JUST A SITE FOR CHINA’S IMAGE-CONSTRUCTION
To characterize the Shanghai Expo as mainly China’s showcasing of its soft power misses an important point.

_____________________________________________________________________

Cynthia P. Schneider, CPD Research Fellow, 2009-2011 and Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and Hailey Woldt, Research Director of the Global Initiative for Cultural Diplomacy, contributed this critique of the USA Pavilion:

SHANGHAI’D, OR THE USA PAVILION AS A CORPORATE THEME PARK
Let’s begin with the positive: the United States is present at the World Expo in Shanghai. The Secretary of State deserves praise for making this possible, by launching an eleventh hour fundraising drive, after the previous administration had done virtually nothing (besides rejecting a proposal that included Frank Gehry as architect).

CPD Video Conversations: Nation Branding at Expo Shanghai 2010

As part of CPD’s Nation Branding at the Expo Shanghai 2010 project launched this spring, Jian (Jay) Wang, CPD University Fellow and Associate Professor of strategic communication at USC Annenberg, is leading a research team in Shanghai to document how countries define, communicate and manage their identity and image through national pavilions at the Expo. To read the full CPD announcement about this undertaking, click here. The Nation Branding at the Expo Shanghai 2010 project is produced in partnership with brandchannel and Shanghai Expo Insights.

What is Nation Branding?
Watch Professor Wang’s video guide to the concept of branding and its relevance to national image management and international communication practices. Click here or below to view.

The French Pavilion: Culture as a Nation-Branding Platform
In the video below the Pavilion director discusses how culture is presented to the Chinese public and the Chinese image of France. Click here or below to view.

Additional CPD Coverage of the 2010 Shanghai Expo:

Created specifically for CPD’s Nation Branding at Expo Shanghai 2010 project, the Shanghai Expo 2010 Media Monitor tracks relevant coverage of the Shanghai Expo in China and abroad. Headlines are categorized into three groups: Chinese Coverage, International Coverage, and Editorials.

For a full index of the video blog coverage of the 2010 Shanghai Expo, click here.

You can read more about CPD’s Nation Branding project here.