Brushing Up On PR

Liu Xu, a staffer with Burson-Marsteller in China, told a reporter that in mid-April he only managed a few hours sleep a night while he helped Colgate reassure Chinese government agencies on the safety of using the suspected human carcinogen triclosan in toothpaste. Reporting for ''China Business Daily'' on the growth of the PR industry in China, Liu Jie noted that Colgate were not alone in calling on international PR firms for their crisis management skills. "Similar cases have involved Lipton, of Unilever; SKII, of P&G; and Nestle. Their contracted PR companies, such as Profuture, Hill & Knowlton and Ketchum Newscan, have played major roles in combating the crises," Liu Jie notes. In March this year a delegation from the Public Relations Society of America met with China International Public Relations Association and offered suggestions to help China's emerging PR industry "in terms of legislation, self-discipline and talent training."