The Roaming Gazelle

Linning Time

Many thoughtful articles discussing the significance of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin and the impact he has had on Asians (particularly Westernised Asian men) has been written.

As an Asian Australian man, I too have experienced nothing short of excitement and pride during this period of Linsanity. Though it probably never formed part of his intentions, Jeremy has truly broken the mould through his outstanding play for the Knicks. And for that we are thankful.

And what’s the best way for an Aussie Asian to show his appreciation of what Jeremy has achieved?

By dedicating the following rap verse to him of course!

I feel it on my skin as the lights hit the Garden

Millions of us standing, something’s getting started

7-0 and counting, New York rising

But we ain’t keeping score cos it ain’t about the ball

It’s about the guy that we see in the movies

Never scored a date, never played good music

It’s about Harold and all his minor scenes

Four slanted eyes staring at the Windows screen

One to be quiet cos we ain’t ever starving

But what good is Harvard when all I want is loving

When all I ever wanted was what I never get

To not be seen as Hiro and not be seen as Jet

But that’s about to change with this kid from the Knicks

Breaking ankles with his game, not his kung-fu kicks

Dunking over glasses and small appendages

Dribbling through the defense into the history page

It’s Linning Time.

Design can save the day

Currently waiting on the train platform looking at a colourful ad for nokia’s latest Lumia phone and I am ever more convinced that in today’s business world where USPs are few and far between, design remains the last bastion of hope and differentiation.
Case in point: Nokia. In recent years many of us have been proclaiming the demise of the phone giant. They failed to jump onto the smart phone wave in time and have been playing catch up since.
However, Nokia’s recent models have been nothing short of gorgeous in their design. In fact when one looks at Nokia’s strongest brand equity, reliability, one could reasonably put forward (as I am) that they should push their designs even further, becoming more progressive and daring. Given that people already presume that their phones will work reliably, this gives Nokia the opportunity to push the envelope in terms of design and aesthetics without the risk of being perceived as non-functional.
It’s incredible how a single incredible design can completely turn around a brand’s reputation and fortunes (think the Audi TT). This is good news for Nokia and a renewed focus on design is definitely where they should continue heading.

Street survey takers: Where they go wrong

I work across the road from a major shopping centre here in Singapore. To get to the shopping centre from the office I have to walk through the atrium or square of the shopping centre, consisting of a vast expanse of concrete and nothing much else. It is here where everyday a pack of various clipboard-armed staff prowl the land, stopping passers-by to give them their 2-minute pitch on the charity their representing or the banking survey they simply need your help with.

Now, I don’t have a beef with this kind of people (which I shall refer to as ‘survey predators’) - heck I often have to complete my own vox pop interviews. However, what does bug me is the one fundamental aspect which most of these survey predators are failing to acknowledge: context.

The above photo which I took at lunch time today sets the scene: With clipboard in hand and a beaming smile to match, the survey predator stalks its prey as it crosses the lush concrete savanah, slowing it down, obstructing it and cornering it until the prey - helpless and flush with social humiliation - has no choice but to endure the survey predator’s well-rehearsed monologue. It is only when the survey predator unclasps its powerful and socially forward clasp that the prey is once again allowed to return back to its nest, ruffled and running late on time.

My point is this: the guy in the photo is typical of your survey predator. He waits for the oncoming traffic and tries to pick people off one-by-one. The only problem being that he is completely ignorant (or perhaps he simply doesn’t care - it’s only a part time job) of the context: if people are walking, especially if they are walking quickly or with purpose, it usually means that they are trying to get somewhere. By stopping them for a ‘quick’ survey, you are stopping them from getting to their destination. As a result, you have a ‘captive’ audience in the true, negative sense of the word: your audience has been forcibly confined. Now that is not a good context in which to make a sale.

Therefore I do offer a humble solution to all the survey predators that work near my office: instead of stopping people in their tracks (‘See that guy walking really fast with his headphones on? He probably doesn’t want to talk to you right now’), find a more accommodating context where people are less likely to mind you interrupting their day.

If you look closely at the background in the photo, my solution can be seen.

It is a place where people are just standing around with nothing much to do (or at least a lot less to do compared to when they are walking to the shops or back to the office). It is a place where someone may not mind being spoken to by a complete stranger, if only to pass the time, and a place where you could have their complete attention for a few minutes.

Look closely again at the photo: Can you see the bus stop?

Mission Intolerable

I recently saw the latest installment of the Mission Impossible series. First things first: the movie is very solid, a big improvement over Mission Impossible 3 and, yes, Tom Cruise still very much has it. The sandstorm chase scene in Dubai is fantastic and evoked a sense of Hitchcock with its play on the elements, and Anil Kapoor deserved plenty more scenes.

However the big stickler for me which affected my overall enjoyment of the movie was the product placement. Now it could be argued that because I am part of the industry I am more sensitive to spotting the brands that appear on our silver screens. I am not opposed to product placement per se - it helps get movies made and helps brands positions themselves in unique situations and contexts.

Apple products feature heavily in the movie, though Apple denies any involvment. Nevertheless I am fine with movies that heavily feature iPhones, Macbooks, etc … simply because they heavily feature in real life as well.

However the bone I have to pick is with BMW - in particular one crucial scene towards the end of the movie where Ethan Hunt/Tom Cruise has to start a car (a BMW of course). The action is at a fever pitch as Cruise enters the car,leans over for the ignition and … what do we see but the all new keyless ignition system from BMW! Camera cuts in to focus squarely on the ignition button, Mr Cruise pushes his index finger into it and voila - marketing communication is achieved.

Except that now the movie’s rhythm has suddenly become disjointed for me. Where moments before I was happily lost in the frenzy of the movie’s climax, I am now left with the sour taste of obtrusive branding.

The only question that remains in my eyes is: Which brand did this cinematic faux pas tarnish - Mission Impossible or BMW?

What do Apple and TOMS Shoes have in common?

Had an interesting chat with colleagues Natasha and Greg today about the role of CSR in building brands. It seems that every other month, a brand out there is looking to improve its image through some sort of CSR/charity/make-a-difference campaign.

Which is exactly part of the problem: That some brands are relying on a CSR campaign to help make them look like they are having a positive impact on the world.

CSR for the sake of CSR is fast becoming outdated.

The next wave of forward thinking companies will have a ‘CSR element’ built into their DNA, into their very purpose of existence. Think brands like TOMS Shoes, who donate a pair of shoes for every pair sold. Brands like TOMS Shoes don’t need to ‘do’ CSR campaigns, they live and breathe it everyday by simply existing.

Which brings me to Apple. I may be wrong, but I don’t recall ever seeing Apple involved in a typical CSR campaign. I believe that’s because they don’t need to. Through their brand philosophy and the very products they produce they are making the world a better place.

And that’s why they have something in common with TOMS.

The problem with new Tablets: The strategy

I saw another flashy poster for a new smart tablet (I think it was from HP) at local electronics store today.

I’m sure it is a solid product, my only issue (and it’s a huge one) is the way tablet manufacturers (other than Apple) have approached the market in terms of their strategy.

The phrase ‘iPad killer’ should be put the rest both from a comms point of view and a strategic point of view. It really points new competing tablets in the wrong direction.

Right now in the growing tablet market you have the iPad and ‘everyone else’. The problem is that all the brands in ‘everyone else’ is trying to beat the iPad or at least offer a worthy alternative.

Instead of focusing on the iPad as your main competition, these tablets should be positioned against the other tablets that are part of ‘everyone else’. Because let’s face the hard truth: you are not going to out-iPad the iPad. What you should be aiming for is differentiating yourself from the sameness of ‘everyone else’.

Group Buying: Is the Deal ever ‘Off’?

Earlier this year I attended The Internet Show where I met Karl Chong, the founder of Beeconomic which later was acquired and became Groupon Singapore.

One of the things he was well aware of was the risk of ‘deal fatigue’ - in which people eventually become over inundated with group buying deals and stop participating.

Today when I look at deals on Groupon and others like it, I never seen any deals that doesn’t attract enough buyers to be ‘on’.

My own take on the group buying phenomenon and its livelihood is that it will simply blend into the world of promotional measures that already surrounds us everyday, in the same way that coupons and credit card promotions have kept on thriving.

At the end of the day, people like saving money on the things they buy. Group buying just gives them another avenue to do so.

Having said that, can I please get a group deal that doesn’t involve a spa or manicure? Please?

5 cool things I saw at the Singapore Internet Show

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Here’s five cool things I saw or learnt at last month’s Internet Show in Singapore, which covered Digital Advertising and Social Media:

1. ‘A Day Made of Glass’ video by Corning

Corning is a glassmaker. With the proliferation of touch screens and interfaces everywhere, expect to see more glass in the future. Corning should be happy.

2. Air B’n’B

Instead of staying at a hotel room, you can now rent a room/house/mansion/boat from an actual person. A step up from bed sharing programs like CouchSurfers, Air B’n’B fills a nice gap in the market. I would expect (and hope) to see more social travel offerings like this in the future as we start to evolve as travelers, searching for more authentic experiences.

3. Using Twitter to take audience questions

For his presentation on digital trends, Gregory Birge (F5 Digital Consulting) opened up a Twitter hashtag (#internetshow) so that audiences could send him their questions via Twitter during the presentation and every now and then he would check his mobile for questions. A fantastic application of Twitter (especially for the shy audience) and the perfect demonstration of the power of social platforms.

4. ‘Is Social Media a Fad’ video

A great video that makes an obvious point: Social Media is here and is here to stay.

5. Social media ≠ Communications

Finally, this was perhaps the most important lesson I got out from the conference. Many of us still have a tendency to see Social Media as a communications channel (along with TV, Print, etc). To do so is to miss the whole point. As Thomas Crampton (Ogilvy PR) said in his presentation ‘Social Media = Social Business’. Social Media has the power to transform your entire brand and business, and should not be confined to the Marketing function (yes, that means the CEO should be involved in these discussions).

One last thing before you set up that Facebook page…

Here’s a post I gave for the upcoming Internet Show in Singapore about an often overlooked detail when companies (especially big brand ones) decide to set up a page on Facebook.

Free seminars on digital advertising in Singapore

If you’re in Singapore between April 13-15, thought you might want to know that the Internet Show will be holding free seminars on all things to do with digital marketing. They’re also running two specialised clinics (one on blogshops and the other on cloud computing) - these are free too.

They’re also giving away a Digital Advertising eBook that is available for download here, which has contributions from Basker Rangachari (Chief Marketing Officer, Standard Chartered Bank), RP Singh (Regional Communications Director, ASEAN Starcom Media Worldwide) and Rob De Pinto (Chief Technologist, Tribal DDB Asia Pacific).