Posts Under: Blog

Mid-Autumn Moonlit Magic

September 19, 2008 • Blog • 2 comments

The Mid-Autumn, Mooncake or Lantern Festival always carries special meaning for me. It is one of those occasions where you just simply have to be out at night to soak in the sights, sounds, scents and sweetness (mooncakes!) of that savoury festival where we commemorate the harvest of autumn. In Singapore, the celebrations inevitably revolve around the Singapore River, and that was where our extended family decided to venture after an awesome dinner (and fine wine to boot).

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The moon was bright and round that night. Apparently, it was even rounder and bigger the next day (ba yue shi liu).

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Picturesque, Placid and Peaceful Peirce

September 14, 2008 • Blog • 5 comments

Every once in a while, you need to take a break from the frenzied pace of urban life and to slow down a little. A great place for this is the Lower Peirce Reservoir.

One of the oldest reservoirs in Singapore, the Lower Peirce Reservoir is about six hectares in size, and is the home to many primary and secondary rainforest species. Originally known as the Kallang River Reservoir, the water catchment area was first started in 1901, which makes it more than a century old. The scenic body of water was named in honour of Robert Peirce, who was one of Singapore’s municipal engineers.

Here’s a short photographic tour of a recent visit by Ethan and I.

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Here’s What You Get for $50,000…

September 10, 2008 • Blog • 1 comment

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BrandHub founder Shauna with Adrian New

Are sport sponsorships worth their salt? What do companies like VISA, Lenovo and Standard Chartered get when they help bankroll sporting competitions?

I found out the answers to the above and more when I attended Brandhub’s exclusive BrandXchange – a quarterly exchange with senior marketers in Asia. Hosted by Brandhub’s founder Shauna Li Roolvink, the session featured Adrian New, Senior Vice President of World Sport Group (WSG) which is a specialist in sports sponsorship marketing.

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Celebrities Galore @ Omy Blog Awards

September 6, 2008 • Blog • 12 comments

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It was a starry starry night, with blogging stars and celebrity bloggers alike thronging the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) last night. ACM was all abuzz when the Omy Blog Awards was held at its River Room. Bloggers and social media users from all walks of life – students, young adults, mothers and fathers – gathered to participate in the event. It was a pretty interesting experience for me to combine work and play.

During the course of the evening, I had the privilege to meet both old and new friends from the blogging communities. They include Chun See, Marina, Claudia, DK, Chillycraps, Eastcoastlife, ieatishootipost, Sparklette, Samantha Chan, Angela Jean, Alice Cheong, Sabrina, and Miss loi amongst others. Special thanks to the team at Mypaper/Wo bao and Omy, Editor Chim Kang and Alvin, for having this event at our museum. Many thanks too to my hardworking team at NHB – Wei Chong, David, Kimberly and Kenny – for making this possible.

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Why Globetrotters is Great for Families

September 4, 2008 • Blog • 5 comments

We recently celebrated my nephew Isaac’s 6th birthday at Globetrotters Restaurant, a well-known joint which specialises in catering to families with young kids. It was our first time there even though we heard so much about it. Having experienced it myself, I can only say that this is one F&B outlet which pulls out all the stops in endearing itself to its target audience!

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Specialising in global cuisines, Globetrotters is located at United Square shopping centre – a family friendly hangout in itself.

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Joyful Jaunts @ Jurong

August 31, 2008 • Blog • 2 comments

After escaping to the East (ie Changi) recently, we discovered that journeying to the West can be just as fun. It has been some time since we brought Ethan out, and we thought that it would be fun to go somewhere different from his usual Northern exposure at Lim Chu Kang. Besides, I didn’t want to risk the Chikungunya virus floating around those parts!

Here’s a short photo essay of our family frolicks.

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First stop, Jurong Bird Park, where dinosaur descendents come alive.

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Wanted: Social Media Responses to the AIMS Report

August 30, 2008 • Blog • 2 comments


Courtesy of AIMS

Yesterday evening, a good friend and journalist at Zaobao called me to ask for my views on the freshly minted recommendations by AIMS. I gave her some inputs from NHB’s perspective. How we are actively embracing social media and reaching bloggers – not only on our own turf (Yesterday.sg) but through outreach programmes working with various online communities.

Some of you may already know that we have changed a position from e-Marketing to Social Media Marketing. I am also encouraging my team members to participate in various communities by attending their gatherings and meetings. You may wish to read more about NHB’s approach and views in the article at Zaobao (in Mandarin).

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Creating a Sustainable Social Media Enterprise

August 27, 2008 • Blog • 3 comments


Can you compete against what’s there in the social media universe? (courtesy of fredcavazza)

As social media gains in popularity and starts attaining mainstream status, more and more “netrepreneurs” have hopped onto the “blogwagon”. Peddling new and exciting platforms, tools, widgets, and channels, they are relentless in pushing them out. The sad thing is that many of them often do not have a clue about the basics of how markets work.

Here are some of my thoughts (admittedly recycled from an email I wrote many moons ago) on what one should consider before starting anything 2.0-ish in nature.

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I Got a Free Bus Ride!!

August 26, 2008 • Blog • 11 comments

Every once in a while, you come across a clever bit of marketing which makes you smile. That’s what happened to me today as I took my regular bus 166 back home.

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At first glance, it looks like any regular branded bus. Anybody can tell that Great Eastern Life is celebrating its 100th birthday.

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