Case Study: Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America

 

BEST SELLERS

 

Client: Weijian Shan

MEDIA CONNECT was retained to represent Weijian Shan – a leading economist, businessman, and one of Asia’s most prominent financiers  –  for the promotion of his business and cultural memoir, Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America (Wiley, 2019). 

Instead of only focusing on promoting the most obvious elements of the book itself: Shan’s personal story, the history of modern China and the Cultural Revolution, etc. -- the MC team leveraged Shan’s stature and expertise as an economist and private equity investor in China to build up his personal platform in the U.S., which ultimately translated into coverage for the book in nearly every major business publication and news broadcast program in the country.

MC worked closely with Shan at the outset of the campaign on developing key messaging connecting the history of modern China to current US-China relations -- and why this history defines present day China, its economy, and the country’s leadership today. In that context, MC focused first on positioning Shan as an expert on the trade war, China’s slowing economy, the global investing/business environment, and much more.  As a result of this tailored approach, we opened up the minds of journalists and editors at “longer lead” publications to Shan’s personal story and ultimately the memoir, which led to several book reviews, profile and feature pieces in leading magazines & daily newspapers, major television & radio appearances, as well as influential speaking engagements.

Out of the Gobi became a national bestseller, hitting #34 overall (among all fiction and non-fiction books) on the USA Today Bestseller List.  

Here’s a sampling of top media coverage and speaking engagements from the campaign.

 

*Print/Online Coverage

The New York Times

The Wall Street Journal

Fortune

Foreign Affairs

The Financial Times

“Weijian Shan’s Hong-Kong based private equity firm defies US-China trade worries.”

Quartz

MarketWatch

South China Morning Post

Project Syndicate

Asia Society

Axios

Forbes

 

*Broadcast Coverage

NPR

Amy Walter interviews Weijian Shan about ‘Out of the Gobi’ on NPR’s ‘The Takeaway.’

CNBC

  • CNBC Asia | Shan appeared on “Inside China” with anchor Eunice Yoon – CNBC’s Beijing Bureau Chief

Bloomberg

CNN

  • GPS with Fareed Zakaria | Interviewed one--on-one with Fareed Zakaria

BBC

Big Think

Yahoo! Finance

Real Vision

SiriusXM’s Wharton Business Radio

Reuters

 

*Speaking Engagements

Asia Society (New York)

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

National Committee on U.S. China Relations

University of Oxford’s China Centre

Chatham House at The Royal Institute of International Affairs

Talks at Goldman Sachs

Asia Society (Hong Kong)

  • Book Talk & Fireside Chat | Presented on February 27, 2019

American Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong)

  • Book Talk | Presented on March 13, 2019

Wharton Global Forum

  • Book Talk | Presented on March 8, 2019

 

 

TESTIMONIALS

From the first email to the day of the Tour, Kristin helped us with every detail. She understood our goals, utilized her expertise for our pitch and studio location, and helped to coach our talent, Editor Matt Berical, through the entire experience. I would definitely recommend Kristin and Media Connect to anyone looking to have a seamless Satellite Media Tour experience.
— MARY-THERESA TRINGALE, Senior Integrated Marketing Manager, Men's Journal