A vortex of summer events showcase vibrancy of 'magic city'

A blitz of cultural events, designed to woo the hearts and minds of overseas as well as domestic consumers, have achieved unexpected results in publicizing the city's magic as a destination of choice for global tourists and consumers.

The success of these events also testifies to the importance of coordination between different government departments in designing stylized programs, in targeting precisely a defined audience, and in launching a marketing blitz by leveraging multiple media channels.

Although autumn has set in, belatedly, this drive is by necessity an ongoing effort that goes beyond seasonal constraints, with more stylish programs to be expected for the next summer.

The success of the campaign this year could be simply told in numbers.

A rough tally suggested that, by mid-October, the summer campaign-related media products had been viewed or read in excess of 2.2 billion times, of which 400 million were achieved in the overseas market, including over 40 countries, particularly in the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia and India.

The success of the campaign could be analyzed from several perspectives.

Obviously, market research of the target audience in different markets is de rigueur.

Specifically, in-depth studies have been conducted over the predilections of domestic and overseas tourists, and on the basis of the findings, effort would be committed in leveraging the right search engines, influential bloggers and vloggers, hot social media chatrooms, and relevant ticket booking agencies, in a well-prescribed and orchestrated endeavor with the need of the consumer in mind.

For instance, since June 21, over 80 bloggers, vloggers, journalists, and tourists from countries such as the UK, New Zealand, France, Egypt and Japan have been recruited so that they could report about their experience in these events.

These reporters, aged 8 to 72, afforded an overseas audience a vicarious China experience in an authentic setting.

A cursory inspection of some of these events would convince you of the range of these events: "Civilization of Ancient Egypt" exhibition at the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Masters, "Splendid China: Shanghai Summer," "University Tennis Friendship Tournament," a tour of the first home-made cruise "Adora Magic City" during Shanghai International Cruise Festival, or the 2024 FISE World Series (Festival International des Sports Extrêmes), to name just a few.

These overseas influencers have fed a total of more than 200 videos on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Xiaohongshu and Douyin.

Shanghai Daily invited over ten vloggers and bloggers from eight countries – Italy, Japan, Russia, Norway, Argentina and South Korea – to experience seven signature events of Shanghai Summer.

After participating in the 2024 Tour of Shanghai • New Cities race for cyclists in late September, a participant wrote affectionately on X: "Honestly think Shanghai should be mentioned along the same lines as Amsterdam/Copenhagen! The cycling infrastructure here is pretty good, I feel far more confident than I ever did in London."

After reading media reports about the exhibition "Shanghai: Time & Timeless 1990-1993" held at Fotografiska featuring photos by Dutch photographer Robert van der Hilst during his multiple visits to Shanghai between 1990 and 1993, one reader exclaimed: "China is a different world every 10 years. I would love to visit China!"

Significantly, the report about this exhibition has been read 40,545 times in overseas social platforms, drawing 4,519 responses.

Such activities would inevitably entail coordinated efforts to make tours of Shanghai by overseas tourists a hassle-free experience, with meticulously created promotions involving coordination between airlines, museums, and payment apps, with amazing payoffs: a total of 310 million yuan in sales achieved through short video promotions.

In this aspect, City News Service (CNS), a one-stop information provider, has played a pivotal role, with its special Shanghai Summer section having published a total of 45 articles aiming to facilitate participation in the events by overseas visitors.

It is estimated that CNS's 19 pieces of practical and easy-to-follow guides reached an audience of 6 million.

A lot of readers and overseas readers would be eager to know what the city has in store for them next summer. Well, relevant authorities are already working on the next Shanghai Summer events. Just stay tuned for more exciting events!