Mr. Allan Zeman

Background

Starting a business in Hong Kong is not easy, especially for teenagers. They have to

adapt to the complicated business environment of Hong Kong, such as high rental

cost, limited human resources, and competitions in the industry.

We are the member of an organizing team of the Students’ Union in HKU Space Po

Leung Kuk Community College. In order to let students know more about how to

start a business successfully in Hong Kong, we have held a buffer dinner and have

succeeded in inviting Mr. Allan Zeman, Father of Lan Kwai Fong and Chairman of

Ocean Park to be our guest speaker. We hope to attract students to join this upcoming

event.

The buffer dinner will be held from 18:00 to 20:00 on 18 April, 2014 (Friday) in the

Harbourview Hotel in Wan Chai with about 200 people including lecturers and fellow

students. Participants are required to pay a fee of HKD$450 with a sponsorship of

HKD$150 per person supported by the Students’ Union and the College.

Background of Mr. Allan Zeman

Mr. Allan Zeman was born in Germany in 1949 and was raised in Canada. He had his

first job when he was ten years old and earned his first C$1 million at the age of 19.

When he was aged 20, he relocated to Hong Kong as he often travelled to Hong Kong

for work. In 1975, Mr. Allan Zeman founded Colboy International Group to import

cloths from Hong Kong and export them to Canada.

Due to the failure in finding a qualified western restaurant in Hong Kong that satisfied

his needs, Mr. Allan Zeman opened his own restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong in 1983 and

brought the whole block in the following year. This was an important step of starting

his business in Hong Kong. Because of the outstanding operations of his business, he

started to buy up properties in Lan Kwai Fong and developed it into a popular night-

life area in Hong Kong.

Mr. Allan Zeman was also the key person of Ocean Park. In 2004, he was invited by

the Hong Kong Government to be the chairman of Ocean Park. Due to his effective

management, the number of visitors of Ocean Park raised significantly and Ocean

Park become one of the Forbes magazine’s top 10 theme parks in the world.

In addition, the achievements of Mr. Allan Zeman made him appointed a Justice of

Peace in Hong Kong and he was also awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star and the Grand

Bauhinia Medal.

Run down (1)

Run down (2)

Buffet dinner:

18:00 – 18:30 waiting for students and lecturers

18:30 – 19:30 Allan Zeman’s Speech

19:30 – 19:45 15 min Q&A section

19:45 – 21:30 buffet dinner time and interaction time with Allan Zeman

Message1Send email to invite student to join the buffer dinner

Message2

Send email with poster to promote the exhibition

Exhibition

Introduce Mr. Allan Zeman to Students

Buffet Dinner

Guest Speaker: Mr. Allan Zeman

Message3

Send a thank you letter to Mr. Allan Zeman

Message 1

Objective of Communication Plan

To plan for a persuasive communication to students, we are able to attract students to

join the buffet dinner at 18:00 on 18 April (Friday) in the Harbourview Hotel in Wan

Chai. We also wish to persuade students to pay a fee of HKD450 with a sponsorship

of HKD150 per person supported by the Students' Union and the College. We hope

the students can be inspired by the successful story of our guest, Mr. Allan Zeman,

Father of Lan Kwai Fong.

Audience

Primary Audience: Lecturers and students

Secondary Audience: Students’ Union committees

Hidden Audience: Principal

Key Persons: Lecturers and students

Defining Our Credibility

The relationship between students’ Union and lecturers is quite good because the

lecturers usually have meetings or talk with us. Moreover, our rank in college and

expertise is medium because lecturers are our teachers and we need to listen to them

and respect them. Our image is good because the school may think that we have

ability to manage the Students’ Union. Our morality and fairness are close to the

lectures and the students because the purpose of attending the talk may be the same,

we all want to learn from Mr. Allan Zeman.

Enhance Our credibility – Lecturers

1.) Hold more meeting with the lecturers and share our values with them

The relationship between students’ Union and students is just recognizing them.

Although the relationship is so and so, the rank in college and expertise is high

because I am the committee of students’ Union. We are an organization can

communicate with the school directly. Our image is so and so because different

students have different opinions for our administration. The morality and fairness is

close to the students since we are also a student. We can understand what they are

thinking.

Enhance Our Credibility – Students

1.) Help students to obtain more benefits from the College to get a good reputation

and image

2.) Hold more activities to let students understand what we can do for them

Needs of Audience

Informational needs: Students and lecturers may want to know:

1.) Theme of the talk and what they can learn from Mr. Allan

Zeman speech

2.) Details of the activities, for example, time, venue, guest, date and fee

3.) Benefits that they can gain from the talk and the buffet dinner

Motivational needs: Emphasize the students’ benefits if they join the buffet dinner

1.) Get a sponsorship of HKD 150 for the buffet dinner

2.) Learn from Mr. Allan Zeman and see this successful person

3.) Get a 50% off coupon of Ocean Park ticket

Practical needs: We may prefer to use short and simple words because students may

want to obtain the information in an easy way. They have lots of

things to do and lots of classmates or lecturers send lots of emails to

them. Therefore, using short and simple words can prevent the

problem that students ignore the message if the email is too long and

difficult o understand.

Carrots: We want to attract the students to join this activity and we offer a coupon of

Ocean Park for each student and lecturers that joined the buffet dinner.

Choose an Appropriate Tone

Style tone: Conversational tone

Reason for choosing the tone:

1.) The relationship between our audience and us are schoolmates that our relationship

is not so distant. Therefore, the conversational tone is more appropriate than the

formal tone or casual tone.

2.) The nature of the matters is to invite students joining the buffer dinner which is not

too serious or too casual.

Communication Channel - Email

Reasons for the communication channel:

1.) The number of audience is large. Email is more effective to communicate with a

large amount of people.

2.) Student may need time to read the information and complete the attached

application form. Email does not require an immediate reply.

3.) Detailed information is needed in the communication. A written message is more

suitable then verbal message.

4.) Replies from large amount of students are required. An electric format of

application form is more convenient.

Composed Message – Invitation Email

To: “All students”, “Lecturers”

Cc: [email protected], [email protected],

[email protected]

Bcc:[email protected]

From: [email protected]

Date: 31 March, 2014

Subject: Invitation Letter for “Amazing dinner with Mr. Allan Zeman”

Attachment: Application from-Buffer dinner

Dear lecturers and students,

Every teenager has a dream, especially a dream about setting up a business. If you are

one of the teenagers that I have mentioned, what should we do in order to make this

dream come true?

Mr. Allan Zeman has a big success in his business. He is the Father of Lan Kwai Fong

and the chairman of the famous theme park, Ocean Park. You may start to wonder

why he can be so successful and also raise numerous questions about his stories.

Specifically, how did he start his first business in Hong Kong? Why did he choose

Hong Kong to be his starting point of business? How did he adopt the environment of

Hong Kong as a foreigner?

The Students’ Union is going to hold a buffet dinner on April 18 and we have invited

Mr. Allen Zeman to be our VIP guest and give a talk on that day. Mr. Allan Zeman

will speak on the topic of” How did Allan Zeman open his successful path in Hong

Kong”.

By joining the buffet dinner, you can inspired by the stories of Mr. Allen Zeman. It is

a rare and commendable experience that you can have a chance to talk with this

successful person face to face. Moreover, we offer you a sponsorship of HKD 150 for

the delicious buffet dinner. You can enjoy the higher-class buffer dinner in

Harbourview Hotel with a lower price. The most exciting thing is all participants can

get a coupon of Ocean Park ticket which offers a 50% off discount.

The details of the talk and the buffer dinner are as follows:

Date: 18 April, 2014 (Friday)

Time: 18:00-21:30

Venue: 2/F Ballroom, Harbourview Hotel, 1 Harbour Road, Waichai

Fee: HKD 450 with a sponsorship of HKD 150

Mr. Allan Zeman will give his speech at the start of the event. After that, there will be

a Q&A session for students and lecturers to ask questions. The buffet dinner will start

after the talk. You will have a chance to interact with Mr. Allan Zeman during the

dinner time.

I look forward to meeting you on that day. The application form for this event is

attached in this email. Students who want to join the buffet dinner please submit the

completed application form to Students’ Union on or before 11 April, 2014. Since

there are limited quotas, first-comer will be first served. The list of successful

applicants will be announced on board of Students’ Union on 14 April, 2014. For

lecturers, please show your availability by replying this email by 11 April, 2014. If

you have any problems or questions, please contact Ms. Ashley Ngan at 31231111 on

or before 11 April, 2014.

Best regards,

Ms. Ashley Ngan

Program Secretary of Students’ Union

HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Community College

Reply Message - Students

Application for “Amazing Dinner with Mr. Allan Zeman”

General Information

*Name (Chinese):

____ 陳大文 _______________

*Name (English):

__CHAN, Tai Man___________

HKID number:

___Y518525 (7)_____________

#Gender: □ Female Male☑

Date of Birth:

____12/5/94______(dd/mm/yy)

Age: _____19______

Student ID number:

___201215769______________

Course: _HD in Business (Accounting and

Financial Planning)_

#Year: □ CGS □ Foundation

2 □ 3☑

E-mail Address:

[email protected]__________

Home Number:

___2658 5455______________

Mobile Number:

__9661_2478____________________

*Must be same as HKID card

#Please tick the appropriate box

Signature of Applicant:

____TAIMAN____________________

Date:

__1/4/2014_______________

Please fill in all information and return the completed application form to Students’

Union before 11th April, 2014.

The list of successful applicant will be announced on the broad of Students’ Union on

14th April, 2014.

Enquires: Ashley Ngan (3123 1111)

Reply Message - Lecturers

To: [email protected]


Date: 6 April, 2014

Subject: Re: Invitation letter for “Amazing dinner with Mr. Allan Zeman”

Dear Ms. Ngan,

I would like to join the buffet dinner on 18 April, 2014. Please reserve a seat for me

and tell me about the payment method of the buffet dinner fee. Thank you.

I look forward to meeting you and Mr. Allan Zeman on that day.

Best regards,

Dr. Kat

Lecturers


Possible Barriers in Invitation Email

1.) Information overload- The email may be too long and the students may ignore

some of the messages.

Solution 1: We can use simple and short wordings. If the email is short and simple

words are used, students may use less time to read the email and understand the

message more easily.

Solution 2: We can underline or highlight the important wording, the students can

easily see the details or objective of the email.

2.) The email may go to the junk box

Solution: Use the school intranet to send the email. We use the email account of

Students’ Union to send this email. It can lower the chance that the email

recognized as a junk email in school intranet.

Main points of the conversation in email:

1. Gets students’ attention and build up their interest by asking questions

2. Outline the direct and indirect benefits the lectures or students can get by joining

the buffet dinner and the talk

3. Outline the details of the buffet dinner

4. Tell the students that we looking forward to seeing them on 18 April, 2014

Details in Message Delivery

We decided to send the message 3 weeks before the event because it let students have

more time to make a decision of participating the buffet dinner or not and return the

completed application form to the Students’ Union. We decided to send the email

through the school intranet because it can ensure the email did not go to the junk box

if we use the email account of Students’ Union to send this email.

Message 2


To plan for a persuasive communication to students, we are able to attract students to

join the Exhibition of Allan Zeman on 11 April - 18 April in the College Hall. We

wish students could have a basic understanding about Mr. Allan Zeman.

Audience

Primary audience: Lectures and students

Secondary audience: Students’ union committees

Hidden audience: Principal

Key person: Lectures and students


The relationship between Students’ Union and students is close because many

activities are held by Students’ Union and students join those activities through

Students’ Union. Thus, our relationship with all students is close. Moreover, our rank

in the College is quite high. It is because we are the committee of Students’ Union

and we are representing the College. Therefore, our rank must be high in the College.

Also, students trust us so that they join those activities which can show their

reliability on us. Furthermore, our expertise is high because many events are held by

Students’ Union so that we have enough experience to cope with any events in the

College efficiently. The image of Students’ Union is very attractive. Students’ benefits

must be the first priority for the Students’ Union. Also, we have strove the benefits,

rights and interests for the students. Finally, our morality and fairness are close

because every student has the same chance to apply our events.

Needs of Audience

Informational needs: Students may want to know:

1.) The time, venue and date of the exhibition.

2.) The details of the application for the event, such as the

deadline and the application methods.

3.) The purpose of the exhibition: Prepare students for more

details about Mr. Allan Zeman before the buffer dinner such

as his personal life, career and his contribution for Hong

Kong.

Motivational needs: Emphasize the students’ benefits if they join the exhibition

1.) Higher priority will be given to students who attended the

exhibition before the buffer dinner.

2.) They can learn from Mr. Allan Zeman through this

exhibition.

Practical needs: Comprehensive information in the invitation email of the exhibition

will be typed short and simple words. Also, a precise and concise

poster with picture by using bullet points can reduce the time for

students to obtain the information of the exhibition because they have

many school works.

Carrots: We want to attract students to join the exhibition and we offer higher priority

to students who attended the exhibition.


Style tone: Conversational tone


1.) The relationship between my audience and me are schoolmates. Thus, the

conversational tone is more suitable than formal tone or casual tone.

2.) The nature of the matters is to invite students joining the exhibition before the

buffet dinner which is not too serious or too casual.

Communication Channel – Email and Poster through Intranet


1.) No response is needed.

2.) Detailed information is needed in the communication. A written message is more

suitable then verbal message.

3.) The target audience is the whole school. Intranet is more efficient to send the

message.

4.) Intranet allows the poster of the exhibition to be shown in the message. This can

attract students to join the activity.

Composed Message – Email and Poster through Intranet

To: “All students”, “Lecturers”


Date: 1 April, 2014

Subject: Exhibition of Mr. Allan Zeman

Attachment: Application from-Buffer dinner

Dear lecturers and students,

The exhibition prepares students for more details about Mr. Allan Zeman before the

buffer dinner on 18 April, 2014, including his personal life, career and achievements.

Students who want to join the buffer dinner please download the application form and

return the completed application form to Students’ Union Office at opening hour on

or before 11 April, 2014.

Exhibition of Mr. Allan Zeman

Content:

Mr. Allan Zeman’s background and personal life

Career and business

Contributions and achievement in Hong Kong

Details:

Date: 7 April - 14 April

Time: 0900 – 2200 (Closed at 17:00 on 14 April, 2014)

Venue: 3/F College Hall

Reminder: The deadline of Buffer Dinner is on 14th April 17:00

Enquiries: 3123 1111 Ashley Ngan

Best regards,

Students’ Union


Possible Barriers in Invitation Email

1.) Audience may ignore the email in the portal

Solution: Ensure that the audience can receive the message by posting the

exhibition poster everywhere in college so that they will go to check the email if

they really want to attend the exhibition.

2.) Audience may have little time to read the email due to school work.

Solution: Write a precise and concise email by using short sentences and bullet

point.

3.) Lower priority of message may be given by audience

Solution: State clearly our identity and associate us with high-ranked

organization by using “HKU SPACE Community College Students’ Union” to

increase our credibility.

4.) Audience may reject our invitation

Solution: Forceful email can attract students’ interest.


We decided to send the message 2 weeks before the buffet dinner because we want

students to go to the exhibition and have a basic understanding of Mr. Allan Zeman.

Therefore, they may decide to go to the buffet dinner. We decided to stick the poster

in every classroom and board because it ensures all students can see the poster and

then attend the exhibition.

Message3


To plan for a grateful communication to Allan Zeman to thank for being the guest

speaker of our buffet dinner on 18 April, 2014 in the Harbourview Hotel in Wan Chai.

Audience

Primary audience: Mr. Allan Zeman

Secondary audience: Students’ Union committees

Hidden audience: Principal

Key Person: Mr. Allan Zeman


Our credibility rank to Mr. Allan Zeman is low because we are just students and we

are low in expertise and our personal relationship to him is total stranger. However,

our image is good to him as we are students from the College that may attract him to

engage in the educational event. Our morality and fairness are very close to his as we

want to learn from him.

Enhancing Our Credibility

In order to enhance our relationship with Mr. Allan Zeman, we will present a

memorial flag as a gift to him in the event to show our appreciation . We associate

with our principal who is expert to enhance our credibility. Besides, we emphasize

what students learnt from his sharing and values to him.

Needs of Audience

Informational needs: Mr. Allan Zeman may want to know

1.) Our gratitude to Mr. Allan Zeman for being the guest of the

buffet dinner.

2.) What students learnt from him and showing our appreciation

of his achievements.

3.) Looking forward to have chance to meet him next time.

Motivation needs: Emphasize Mr. Allan Zeman’s benefits

1) Students admired the achievements of Mr. Allan Zeman and his

contributions to Hong Kong.

2) The speech was fruitful and all students were inspired and learnt

a lot from his sharing.

3) The event was successful and meaningful to students.

Practical needs: 1.) Considering the limited time of Mr. Allan Zeman, the letter need

to be concise and state the purpose clearly.

2.) Show our respect by using formal and respective language in the

letter.


Style tone: Formal tone


1.) It shows our respect and sincerity to Mr. Allen Zeman

2.) The relationship between Mr. Allen Zeman and us is very distant. Therefore, using

the formal tone is more appropriate than conversational tone or casual tone.

3.) The nature of the matter is to thank Mr. Allen Zeman to be the great guest speaker

for our schoolmates, which is serious.

Communication Channel - Letter


1.) No response is needed.

2.) Mr. Allen Zeman may not have time. He can read the letter when he is available.

3.) Thank you letter requires a formal format. Letter is more suitable than email.

4.) Students’ Union may need a documented record of the communication to keep a

record for the buffet dinner.

Composed Message – Thank you Letter

HKU SPACE Community College

Students’ Union

5/F, HPCC Campus, 66 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: 3123 1111

www.hkuspace-plk.hku.hk

Mr. Allan Zeman

Lan Kwai Fong Group Head Office

20/F, On Hing Building,

No.1, On Hing Terrace

Central

Hong Kong

Dear Mr. Allan Zeman,

I am writing on behalf of the Student Union of HKU SPACE Community College to

thank you sincerely for sparing a time to give us a wonderful speech. It was our honor

to meet you. The event would be succeeded and became much meaningful because of

your sharing. Your story and sharing impressed our students a lot.

All students and lecturers were inspired and felt enthusiastic in operating a business

after your interesting and amusing speech. After your sharing, we now realize that it

is. We were admired by the effort and creativity you made in developing the business.

Expanding and leading the Lan Kwai Fong becomes a world-class entertainment and

top tourist attraction in Asia. Ocean Park also became one of the Top 10 theme parks

of the world under your operation. Besides, you are now being the member of

different organizations. We all appreciated with your contribution to Hong Kong and

integrating the different culture into Lan Kwai Fong. Your success is there for all to

see. Your story telling us “nothing is impossible” and encourage us to be brave to try

and pursue our dream. We did reap much benefit from your speech and motivated by

you. We would bear the things you taught us in mind and it would benefit students

throughout our lifetime.

Thank you very much again for being the guest of our buffet dinner and having a

wonderful night with you. We are looking forward to have another chance to meet you

in the next time.

Your sincerely,

Bonnie Hui

Presisdent

Student Union

HKU SPACE Community College

Possible Barriers in Thank You Letter

1.) Letter may be lost by post

Solution: Check carefully that the correct address of the office of Mr. Allan Zeman

has been written on the letter and send it by registered post to ensure that the

audience would sign after receiving letter. Also, write down our return address of

HKU SPACE Community College to notify us if the letter cannot be sent.

2.) Audience may have little time to read the message

Solution: Mr. Allan Zeman may be busy to deal with his work of Lan Kwai Fong

and Ocean Park. He may not have much time to read the letter. Therefore, we

write the letter clear and concisely.

3.) Audience may take our message as lower priority

Solution: State clearly our identity and associating us with high-ranked

organization by using “HKU SPACE Community College Students’ Union” to

increase our credibility.

4.) Language problem

Solution: Use formal writing to show our respect to Mr. Allan Zeman

5.) Inefficient communication

Solution: Ensure the audience receives the letter on time. To take it seriously and

showing our respect, we ensure that Mr Allan Zeman will receive it the day after

the buffet dinner.


We decided to send the thank you letter to Mr. Allan Zeman 1 day after the buffet

dinner by post.

Checklist Task Person(s) in Charge Completion

☑ Setting up the background

and Identify objectives

Done in lesson 3/3

☑ Analyze the audiences of the

messages and possible barrier

Done in Group

Meetings

7/3

☑ Write a flowchart for planning

of messages

8/3

☑ Choosing appropriate tone Ashley Ngan 15/3

☑ Choosing appropriate

channels

Hilda Kong 15/3

☑ Composing the email Bonnie Hui 15/3

☑ Production of poster Wing Cheng 15/3

☑ Composing the thank you

letter

Merci Ma 16/3

☑ Composing the application

form

Wing Cheng 16/3

☑ Revising all the messages Done in Group

Meetings

17/3

☑ Organizing the portfolio 17/3

☑ Revising the portfolio before

submission

18/3

Documents

Mr. Allan Zeman