As I was going home last night, I spotted this slip of paper under my door. I think it can easily qualify as the most dodgy looking piece of marketing material ever conceived by mankind.
PS – The wet spot on the right isn’t purposefully created to add to the filth. Rather it was created by me resting my wine glass on this direct mailer.
In the world of social media, I believe that there are five Cs which can help to mandate success beyond the initial buzz of just being a part of the blogosphere. They are:
1) Contacts
2) Content
3) Continuity
4) Controversy (this is more debatable)
5) Currency
Can we give our HDB estates more heart and soul?
Read this excellent post on Branding Insider about Place Branding and how it is moving into smaller municipalities and towns in the United States. It triggered off this idea about the branding of residential communities in Singapore.
What if we brand each and every one of our estates in Singapore? In other words, give them a greater individual identity, uniqueness, colour and point of differentiation. After all, Singapore, though tiny, isn’t just a homogeneous and uniform mass. It would be awesome, wouldn’t it?
Bollywood Veggies along Neo Tiew Road
Recently, after our regular visit to Ethan’s favourite goat farm, my family decided to drop by Bollywood Veggies for lunch and a quick look around. Located at the long and winding Neo Tiew Road at the Kranji/Lim Chu Kang area, this organic farm is opened by Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim and her hubby Lim Ho Seng. Ivy is a very well known and outspoken figure in our local social scene, and was previously the President of the Netball Association of Singapore, while Ho Seng used to be the CEO of NTUC Fairprice.
In a way, the farm cum restaurant (Poison Ivy Bistro) is a labour of love for both – a retirement gig which offers the promise of a more rustic laid-back lifestyle after slogging it out for the better part of one’s life in the corporate world. According to my wife Tina, rental for the entire plot of land is only about $5,000 per month, and much of the income derived by the couple comes from the F&B business plus farm tours (which goes for about $2 per head and includes a little snack).
Taken at Singapore Zoological Gardens
King Robert the Bruce I was born at Lochmaben Castle in 1274. He was Knight and Overlord of Annandale. In 1306 he was crowned King of Scotland and henceforth tried to free Scotland from the English enemy.
After being defeated at a battle, Bruce escaped and found a hideout in a cave. Hiding in a cave for three months, Bruce was at the lowest point of his life. He thought about leaving the country and never coming back.
While waiting, he watched a spider building a web in the cave’s entrance. The spider fell down time after time, but finally he succeeded with his web. So Bruce decided also to retry his fight and told his men:
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again”.
Also known as the Golden Land, Myanmar is one of Southeast Asia’s largest and probably least well explored country. Culturally rich and vibrant, it is the only country in our region where the traditional sarong is still worn daily as a modern attire. Due to its relative isolation and insulation from the modern world, Myanmar retains much of its heritage, traditional practices and charming way of life. It is definitely a charming cultural destination worthy of a visit by those who yearn for a unique and enriching experience.
Here’s a photo essay of my observations during a trip there in end January this year. Apologies that this took two months to conceive!
Aung San Bogyoke Market, a famous shopping area at Yangon full of crafts, jewellery, textiles and other traditional wares.
One of the things which irk me each time I return home is to see this.
I know that you are trying to clean the common stairwells of my flat, and I am eternally grateful for that. However, must you leave such a spotty and blotchy messy at my door? I don’t think it would hurt to bring along a cloth and wipe the exterior of the doors which you dirty while cleaning the stairs would it?
Of course, nothing beats this eye-sore which I spotted at a common recycling bin just a block away from my home.
I wonder if one should be deliriously happy that the oft-ignored recycling message has finally hit home – to overflowing effect – or sob at this monstrosity of mankind’s messiness.
Courtesy of fellow asus eee fan jaaron
Ok I have succumbed to the lure of the most talked about ultramobile PC on the planet – the Asus eee. Yep, I just bought myself one of them cute li’l critters in pearly white.
In order to aquaint myself with its miniscule charms, I have decided to blog about it using the very same object of desire. So how does it fare and is it really as good as its hyped up to be?
Stop fighting with your agency! (courtesy of edpeach1969)
While reading Vivienne’s post on high and mighty advertising agencies, I reflected upon my own years of experience in dealing with agencies both big and small. Yes, there has been lots of blood, sweat (often cold), and tears throughout the process. However, you do also encounter gems in the business and artwork plus copy that makes you smile.
As a client, how does one ensure that a Return On Marketing (ROM) is achieved without stifling the creativity and effectiveness of one’s hired advertising help? Here are some ideas to start the ball rolling:
Think of sharks and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Man-eaters? “Jaws”? Shark’s fin soup? After watching Sharkwater, my perception of these apex predators in the sea changes entirely. And how.
Thanks to my buddy Jason and Howard Shaw (Executive Director of Singapore Environment Council), I had the privilege of catching Rob Stewart’s beautifully filmed documentary depicting his life long journey of loving and protecting sharks. An underwater photographer par excellence, Rob captures the magnificent creatures in their natural environment and is seen swimming, cavorting and even hugging the oldest swimming predators on Earth.