Inside the War Against China's Blogs

Vengeful bloggers? Flaming posts? PR firms help global brands navigate the country's perilous Web

Daqi's Zhou: Her firm tracks 500,000 online forums for clients MARK LEONG/REDUX

By Dexter Roberts

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BEIJING - It had the makings of an online crisis that could spiral out of control. A man in Tianjin had put a deposit on a Toyota (TM) Corolla, then started venting on the Internet when the car failed to show up after three months. Given the anti-Japan sentiment that rages in China's cyberspace, the griping created a big risk for Toyota—something the company learned four years ago when it was attacked for ads seen as disrespectful to Chinese.

Enter Daqi.com. The Beijing-based firm spotted the disgruntled consumer's postings in one of the 500,000 online forums it regularly searches. Before the topic could draw much attention, Daqi put the buyer in touch with Toyota, which pressed its dealer to deliver the car. "Even one negative consumer comment online can end up influencing many customers," says Zhou Chunlan, Daqi's CEO. "This is a great challenge for global brands." A public-relations agency representing Toyota says the company has worked with Daqi but declined to address the specifics of this incident.

Daqi is one of a new breed of company that helps multinationals navigate China's perilous Web. Nike, (NKE) PepsiCo (PEP), McDonald's (MCD), French cosmetics maker L'Oréal (LRLCY), and others have hired the likes of Daqi, fellow Beijing outfit Chinese Web Union, and Shanghai-based CIC. These companies charge $500-$25,000 monthly to monitor postings and squelch negative information or to create positive buzz.

This year has brought the Net monitors plenty of opportunities to win clients as hot-tempered bloggers have attacked global companies for perceived slights to Chinese culture. Coca-Cola (KO) and French retailer Carrefour were lambasted for what was seen as support for Tibetan independence. McDonald's, KFC (YUM), and Nokia (NOK) have been tarred for allegedly being stingy with relief money after the Sichuan earthquake. And Citroën had to apologize for an ad featuring a scowling image of Chairman Mao. "If it touches on nationalism, or if the client clearly made a mistake and disrespected a customer, that's dangerous," says Sam Flemming, CIC's founder.

WINNING SYMPATHY

When online commentary turns negative, the monitors assess whether it might flare up. They figure out who's generating the criticism—an irate consumer, a nationalist teen, even a rival. Then they consider how fast the complaint is spreading, and whether it's likely to be picked up by Web portals such as Sohu and Sina. "You know it's a crisis when Sohu (SOHU) or Sina (SINA) has created a special page to collect all the news articles and aggregate comments," as they did when bloggers angry about Tibet called for a boycott of Carrefour in April, says Flemming.

The companies also can help clients win sympathy. Metersbonwe Group, a domestic apparel retailer, faced eviction from its flagship outlet in Shanghai last year when the local government wanted to replace Chinese-owned brands with big names such as Nike and Adidas (ADDDF).