Message From Simon

20 years in China.

On August 30th, 2002, I landed at Shanghai Pudong airport for studies which took me in 2004 to Beijing, the city that took my heart and has not let go since. Following graduation, I embarked on a career in PR that took me to support leading companies and organizations in their cross-border communications, first China going global, then increasingly helping foreign technology businesses grow in China, setting up an agency that now specializes in just that – Influence Matters.

I got to live the golden age of China’s opening up, the 2000s, working on the culmination of that era, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, followed by the 2010 Shanghai Expo. I got to play an active role in the affirmation of China as an inevitable destination for fast-growing technology companies in the 2010s, getting intimate with the China-foreign environment for semiconductor, mobile, AI, blockchain, smart-everything…, and advising some of the most innovative companies on their growth communications in China.

Now I get to live whatever this decade will turn out to be. Zero-Covid policy, geopolitical tensions at an all-time high in the past 20 years, rampant inflation and recession lurking. Everything is more difficult than it was in the past 2 decades. Running an independent business in these conditions is challenging, but as I regularly say, I’m lucky to be a geek, passionate about innovation and China. I’m in the right space, the one that thinks of new solutions. We’ve built a solid team and a trustful client portfolio. Opportunities in China are still there for foreign people and businesses, they now take more effort and commitment.

China’s direction is puzzling to say the least, a change of course in policy is needed, for China and for the world, but that’s not up to me. What is up to me is my effort and commitment. I set out to break the barriers of innovation between China and the rest of the world, it is the mission of my agency, it is an implied mission of most of our clients.

I recently read a comment from an entrepreneur that said “we cannot change the world without China” as he was defending his investment here. I cannot get this comment out of my head as I don’t think anything I ever read hit so close to home. Let’s continue changing the world with China.

Cheers,

Simon

Influence Matters Life

Lina Xue Returns With Her New Role

We are thrilled to welcome Lina back from her maternity leave. Not only are we congratulating her on her new baby and her 3rd anniversary at Influence Matters, but we also congratulate her on her new role at Influence Matters. Lina is now Influence Matters’ Associate Director, Client Operations. In her new company-wide role, Lina will lead some influential areas of our strength and growth in team leadership, client service, and business management. Join us in welcoming Lina back and supporting her in her new role, an important one for the future of Influence Matters, our success, and the success of our clients.

Krystal Wei becomes Senior Account Executive

In her previous role as Account Executive, Krystal has demonstrated independence in social media operations and the generation of high-quality content results. She established a superb network of media and maintained positive media relations. Krystal hits all records high on her media pitch success rate hitting over 90% for clients like Zenlayer and CrimsonLogics. Let’s congratulate Krystal on her new role!

Our Latest Work

Soitec | RF-SOI Online Media Briefing

Influence Matters assisted SOITEC with the release and distribution of its white paper: Engineered RF-SOI substrates for Smart and Sustainable Mobility in Chinese, which has achieved high views and attention in the media. The white paper further reinforces SOITEC’s market leadership of its RF-SOI products and technologies for Smart Mobility in China. Influence Matters team also organized a well-attended media briefing where 7 top-tier industry media attended and generated 8 original reports, enhancing SOITEC’s brand image in China.

Read more, here.