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Farming Fun at Warrook

September 25, 2007 • Blog • 7 comments

Regular readers of this blog would probably know by now that my kid Ethan loves the rural life. This was why we had to make a farm stop during our recent Melbourne trip, at the widely acclaimed Warrook Cattle Farm. A charming 100 year old homestead located South East from Melbourne City, the rural attraction conducts regular tours for “city tortoises” like us. The sprawling estate boasted of many different farmyard residents and is a real life working farm yielding animal products like milk, meat and wool.

A metal crafted signboard at the cattle yards. Reminds me of Charlotte’s Web somehow.

VISA’s Celebrity Ads

September 24, 2007 • Blog • 6 comments

Celebrity endorsement in advertising (and sometimes PR) is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Since time immemorial, companies have relied on the household recognition, reach and popularity of movie stars, singers, TV actors and sport heroes to gain mileage in the marketing game.

Of all the celebrity commercials out there, the most memorable in my opinion belong to VISA. Few companies have managed to do it with as much style, panache and class as the world’s largest payment processor. And I have seen plenty of poorly conceived celebrity ads in my lifetime, especially those slimming ones by whats-its-name beauty parlour.

A Great Way To Drive

September 22, 2007 • Blog • 12 comments

Almost everybody we spoke to about Melbourne gushed about the Great Ocean Road. Stretching over more than 400 kilometres, it was widely regarded as one of the world’s most scenic drives. Famous landmarks (for those who went all the way) include the Twelve Apostles, Otways Rainforest, Bells Beach and Skenes Creek. Naturally, we had to give it a try during our recent vacation there, and it was certainly fun (albeit a little tiring).

Here are some pictorial highlights of our journey along the Ocean.

The first stop at Torquay, which is regarded by some as the centre of the surf world and the official start of the Great Ocean Road.

Too Much Love

September 19, 2007 • Blog • 4 comments

This follows an earlier post on Love Trails, which spoke about allowing your customers to create their own paths and destinations. Perhaps the occasional path beater tracing his or her way to your organisation’s products and services would be fine. After all, this is the age of individuality where every customer is unique and different.

What happens though if one bends over backwards to one’s customers so much that the following start to suffer?
1) Employees

Wildlife Wonder at Werribee

September 17, 2007 • Blog • 10 comments

To satisfy my child Ethan’s creature cravings, we decided to drive up to nearby Werribee at Melbourne to check out their famous Werribee Open Range Zoo. Modelled after an African-styled savanna grassland, it offered a different wildlife experience for those keen to see more animals in a natural habitat beyond your usual marsupial suspects.

Look out for hippos up ahead!

Marvellous Melbourne Museum

September 16, 2007 • Blog • 10 comments

One of Melbourne’s foremost cultural destination, the Melbourne Museum is both an architectural icon and a wonderful repository of natural history. Located next to the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens, the museum is part of Museum Victoria which is Australia’s largest public museum organisation. Touted as the biggest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, the museum was housed in a modern monolith of massive proportions.

Built in the 1990s in the modern style, the museum was designed by Denton Corker Marshall and constructed at a cost of A$250 million.

Healsville Sanctuary – a Natural Respite

September 13, 2007 • Blog • 6 comments

One of our first stops recently en route to Melbourne was Healesville Sanctuary, an open concept reserve for Australia’s indigenous wildlife located just off the picturesque Yarra Valley area. While it wasn’t quite as fabulous as our own Singapore Zoo and the prices of the tickets were rather steep at A$23 per adult (good thing Ethan gets in free as he is under 4!), we still did enjoy ourselves somewhat. I suppose the weather (yeah I missed it!) helps tremendously plus of course those cute marsupial furries…

Part zoo and part wildlife conservation facility, Healesville Sanctuary is a sprawling reserve of native Australian marsupials, monotremes and others.

Melbourne – Cosmopolitan City of Soul

September 11, 2007 • Blog • 15 comments

My family’s recent holiday in Melbourne was a great adventure, spanning 8 days and covering different kinds of experiences. Its difficult to capture everything in one blog post, so I will split it into several parts, interspersed with regular posts on marketing. First on Melbourne City itself.

Led by Lord Mayor John So (a Chinese no less), Melbourne City presented a unique melting pot of different cultures while being both sophisticated and cosmopolitan. Walk along its streets and chances are that you will see people of different ethnicities happily mingling with each other. One of its major advantages is the weather, which is mostly cool and breezy any time of the year without going to extremes.

Melbourne residents are sports fanatics, and it was interesting to see many of them jogging, cycling and playing Aussie football at virtually any time of the day. The city is also full of life, with museums, historic buildings, art performances, restaurants, shops and parks adding much colour and vibrancy. A quirky aspect of the city is its transport system. You can either get around on foot, bicycles, buses, trains, trams, taxis, cars, and even skateboards and horse-drawn carriages!

Caught in the Act!

September 10, 2007 • Blog • 27 comments

Evidence that demands a verdict?

This morning, as I was taking the lift from my home downstairs, I caught a man red-handed as he nonchalantly tossed a burning cigarette butt on to the floor. He probably didn’t see me coming from behind.

I immediately asked him in a polite but firm manner, “Excuse me sir, did you just throw that cigarette butt on the floor?”

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