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| Weak communications and PR by the Chinese-owned Haier Group may hurt its chances to buy Maytag, according to Josef Blumenfeld, a global communications expert who runs Tradewind Strategies in Natick, Mass. In an article in The Des Moines Register, Blumenfeld said "Haier's communications and PR skills are so poor that they could complicate any effort to buy the ailing Iowa appliance maker." The article, which was headlined "Chinese firm tough to contact," used a conversation with a Haier American spokesperson that "provided a glimpse of what Blumenfeld meant." Illustrating Blumenfeld's point, the article in the Gannett-owned paper concluded: "So how do we reach the Haier brass in China?" The spokesperson "said she didn't know." In the blog, Managing Global PR, Blumenfeld said "unless Haier's PR surrounding its bid for Maytag improve dramatically--and quickly--China's business community will get a collective lesson on the importance of communications, particularly in a market with a free press." "It's clear to me that a series of missteps and poor communication are not serving Haier well. If I were a leader of the union that represents workers in Maytag's plants, I'd be leaning heavily on Sen. Tom Harkin to oppose the sale," said Blumenfeld, who has been quoted in Fortune, the New York Times and Asian Wall Street Journal. He recently cited a lack of American global communications professionals that are experienced in Asia, and the hurdle that presents U.S. companies. "China also lacks savvy communications pros that understand the strategic value of the U.S. press. Unless China's businesses recognize the strategic imperative of savvy communications outreach, the anticipated wave of Chinese acquisitions is far from certain," he said. Through his company, Tradewind Strategies, Blumenfeld helps U.S. companies to develop strategies to counter the backlash of anti-U.S. sentiment by promoting their companies as "global brands, not American brands" and to localize the company wherever possible. |
