China's HNA Group flexes CSR muscle in NYC Times Square

Achievement comes in all forms, and it seems like nothing shouts "I've arrived" for many Chinese companies as loudly as having their logo blinking on a New York Times Square billboard. Perceived as the centre stage of America, the prime media space holds symbolic value in the Chinese imagination. The latest company to debut there: HNA Group—a Fortune 500 company now on a global shopping spree to eventually be among the world's 100 largest companies.

HNA's #ShareMoreDreamMore campaign was launched last week and will run through 4 June to raise awareness around the Ghana famine. Onlookers who wave their smartphones in front of the billboard will be directed to access a mobile website, www.hnadreams.com. They will see the amount of food multiply on the outdoor screen, and the total number of participants who support the cause will be shown.

Billups and Outfront Media secured the premium media space, while WE Marketing created the interactive campaign. The conglomerate client is not just buying up media space though, it is also buying an entire NYC office tower, reportedly one of Manhattan’s priciest, for US$2.21 billion.

Ad Nut notices that the bigger the company, the more emphasis is placed on corporate-social-responsibility efforts. To quote Milton Friedman though, there is one and only one social responsibility of a company—to increase its profits. 

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