Posts Under: Blog

What Do Museums and Zouk Have in Common?

July 27, 2008 Blog 2 comments

Are museums becoming hip and happening? You bet, if these photos of the inaugural Night Festival (organised by the National Museum of Singapore) are anything to shout about.

From what I hear, the opening weekend featuring the world famous Studio Festi drew more than 20,000 visitors! Visitors were awed by the aerial acrobatic aesthetic displays, which defied gravity and were almost magical. Opening to rave reviews, the festival showed that Singaporeans are essentially creatures of the night (probably because of our blazing tropical Sun).

Last Friday night, I popped over to check out the action at about 11.30 pm. Being a fan of Singapore’s number one club Zouk, I also wanted to see how its Beatnik Picnic fared.


Bringing Creativity Back

July 26, 2008 Blog no comments

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I used to pride myself on being an innovator and creator. Constantly seeking and searching, I would look for opportunities to start something fresh and new. Doing things the same way just didn’t cut it for me if I can find an improved approach.

Unfortunately, the years have dulled my senses and numbed my instincts. Comparing myself to who I was 10 years ago, my ability to generate original thought and inspiration appear to have dwindled. I am no longer as sharp or spirited in my ability to pen a wickedly dastardly strategy, or to conceive a plan for world dominion.


Why Culture Matters in Marketing

July 17, 2008 Blog no comments


Courtesy of Nico in China

One of the most important point to take note of in marketing is culture. These are the traditions, behaviours, practices and values that are embraced by nations, communities, and sub-commities. Without an appreciation of the cultures (and sub-cultures) of your potential customer groups, any marketing endeavour is likely to fall flat on its face.

But then, you may ask, isn’t the world becoming a smaller place? Aren’t we all moving towards becoming a digitally-connected 2.0 global village?


Happy Holiday in Club Med

July 13, 2008 Blog 3 comments

Sometime last month, my family and I went for a short break in Club Med Bintan. For those who have been there, you would know that Club Med isn’t just an ordinary holiday resort but one that is packed chock-a-block with activities, comes with full-board (including free flow *hic* alcohol) and has performances almost every night by the Gentle Organisers (GOs). Incidentally, the GMs are the Gentle Members who are guests like us, not the head honcho running the joint.

One of the things which we enjoyed about the Club Med experience was that its GOs pay special attention in getting to know you. During meals, GOs are supposed to take turns to join guests at their tables and have a chat.

In a manner akin to Disneyland, all staff members acted like cast members and they even had to perform (nightly), do little funny skits during lunchtime, and generally help everybody have a ball of a time. Of course, I guess it doesn’t help that most of them are hard core party animals (or so it seems, from the way they did the “chi chi” dance at night).


The Scarcest Resource is Still Time

June 25, 2008 Blog 7 comments

First I have to apologise for the tardy updates on my blog. It has been almost two weeks since my last post, and I do have tonnes of topics that I wanted to talk about.

However, time wasn’t on my side. Creating that half an hour or more each day to blog will mean doing less of something else. Other than working (which gobbles up huge amounts of energy, brain juices, and time), I have been exercising a lot harder and more regularly than before. It does help to take away stress for sure.

In the age of social media, I don’t think being able to communicate with a thousand different folks simultaneously on multiple channels is going to be the Piece De Resistance of what its all about. Sure, you can twitter somebody here, SMS a buddy there, chat on MSN, email an associate, put up a blogpost, give somebody a tequila on facebook and so on. It is fun to be connected, to be the nexus of attention amongst hundreds of Friendsters. To be seen as part of the scene, the cool crowd, the hip and happening uber geeks flashing their iPhones.

Unfortunately, while engaging in these activities, I may have missed out on the important moments in my life that I may regret later. For example, seeing my four and a half year old boy grow up incredibly fast, chatting with the love of my life (my wife), breaking personal records in physical endeavours, and reading a great book. Enjoying a walk in the park, smelling the flowers, exploring new places to go to.

Of course, I can blog about all this. And I do intend to, moving ahead. However, for now, what I need to do is to catch my breath first. And slowly, breathe in, breathe out, and celebrate life.

Oh well. Just decided to rant for a bit. Do you ever experience such a phenomenon? Have you ever wanted to just be unplugged from the greater world, to recoil into your little sanctuary of solitude?


Free Entry to NHB Museums this Weekend!

May 30, 2008 Blog no comments


Have a heritage feast at IMD this year! (courtesy of Shaun Wong)

Ever wondered what a “Kamcheng” is used for? Wanna dive into more than 50,000 pieces of vintage toys across two centuries? How about flying a real rubber-powered aircraft?

Well, you can do all that and much much more at International Museum Day 2008. Yes, it is the time of the year again for all things heritage and museums.


China Conquering the Virtual World?

May 27, 2008 Blog 1 comment

Following a tip-off from Jessica Greenwood at the recent Verge event, I went to do some online sleuthing to find out more about China’s ambitious plans to create the world’s largest virtual world.

In case you do not know, the number of internet users in China has already eclipsed that of the United States, and blogging has taken the huge country by storm. More and more Chinese are relying on online sources of information, opinions and news. E-commerce has also taken off with predictions that more than a million internet entrepreneurs may be born.


We Are Still Living in a 1.0 or 0.0 World

May 19, 2008 Blog 2 comments

Got clued in to this brilliant revelation by Steve Rubel on how most of us are still living in the Jurassic Age when it comes to staying constantly connected via a myriad of digital tools and networks. Yep, that’s right, according to the chart below (courtesy of Nortel), only 16% of us are truly hyperconnected and about 48% are either passively online or hardly at all.


Source: IDC/Nortel White Paper – The Hyperconnected: Here They Come!

This shows that despite what some of the pundits say, we are still living largely in an old-fashioned, traditional media oriented, physically based world.


Laughter the Best Advertising Medicine?

May 16, 2008 Blog 1 comment

Is humour in advertising overrated? Or a fundamental element of attracting customers to your brand? Well, it depends on how they are applied.

Anybody who has watched the following VISA commercials would agree that they are highly entertaining yet memorable. It helps that they have a sterling cast and a certain style which makes them unmistakably VISA.

An example is this one with Catherine Zeta-Jones…


In Media Relations, Timing is Everything

May 14, 2008 Blog 2 comments


The horrific Sichuan Earthquake left many dead or injured (courtesy of szbluewater)

The recent spate of cataclysmic events happening around our region is simply awful. To date, more than 50,000 people in the Sichuan area are either dead, missing or buried, and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar has left more than two million homeless and tens of thousands dead. As we flip the papers, page after page describes the sad story of human tragedy caused by these natural/ manmade (some say that the cyclone is due to global warming) catastrophes.

From what I understand, both incidents are still unfolding. In other words, they will continue to dominate media spaces for quite some time.