Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

2020 in Retrospect | Training & Public Speaking Engagements   One thing that 2020 enabled was training! From pivoting to online delivery modes to embrace the #BusinessAsUnUsual minset and regulatory constraints, through to curating exciting new courses and content with innovative new partners; training was a central theme for us at Orchan.  Our signature Crisis Management programmes evolved to focus on Business Continuity Planning and the Role of Communications in Non-Brand Crises – something that many entrepreneurs and managers needed to explore early on in the year. Many businesses were still blinded (like deer-in-the-headlights-blinded) with Malaysia’s first lockdowns, and were extremely slow to react on the communications front. New programmes included Return on Relationship, Developing Strength of Purpose, BrandYOU, and programmes examining specific industries in detail – property, retail, and education.   New collaborations saw Orchan work with old fri...

When We Get Caught on Camera   Exhausting, but fun!   That pretty much sums up our first day recording Crisis training just before Christmas.   Not live webinar training; but pre-recorded online training, that’s going to be accessible via mobile app.   Orchan is collaborating with new mobile phone-based training app, Open Academy, to facilitate a series of easy-access training modules on Crisis Communications & Planning. The Open Academy app empowers participants to truly learn-on-the-go, as content is specifically curated for mobile-phone-based, short duration learning.   It’s an emerging paradigm for training, and Orchan is excited to redesign its signature Crisis content and training to embrace short-burst learning. A few others are in the pipeline, too.   App-based doesn’t make the preparation any easier though; succinct content in shorter-than-five-minute blocks, end-to-end recording to maintain the trainers momentum; couple...

Blast from the Past | Yuna Inspired Astro Hitz ‘Yuna Inspired’ campaign was more than just a platform to bond with her fans, it was also an interactive contest for Yuna’s fans to share creative ideas and help pen a tune with their favourite icon - the campaign contest offered fans a lifetime opportunity to “inspire” Yuna by helping her finish the lyrics to her latest song. Each week, Yuna would post a verse from her work-in-progress track, and fans get to share their self-composed lyrics to see if they can finish it. Winners from each week received prizes and an invitation to a secret concert, held at end of the campaign. Yuna serenading the crowd during the Press Conference Orchan was involved in creating the overall publicity strategy for the Yuna Inspired campaign, as well as managing the logistics of the competition. To maximise publicity, Orchan produced weekly contest releases to gain media support for the competition, and most importantly, to get the contest message o...

Blast From the Past | Forget the Monday Blues | Red Monday Rulz Red Bull Product of Europe loves to celebrate work and life. Work hard, play harder is the unspoken motivation for this energy drink, which loves to be the ‘drink of choice’ at parties, festivals, concerts, and just about anywhere. Red Monday is one of the penultimate celebrations Red Bull hosts for brand friends and media, and it’s a great time to catch up with friends, but to hear latest product gossip too. And boy, did this latest Red Monday have some great stories. The Red Monday emblem   Popular local Emcee Dennis Yin hosted 2017 Red Monday Malaysia at the stunning View Rooftop Bar, G-Tower Hotel. Forget the views spanning KL, the gorgeous sunset, and the amazing food; we were there to party, and – to launch Red Bull’s latest product – Sugarfree.  Sugarfree is now available in select outlets in Malaysia, and means that those of us counting the calories can now enjoy our favourite energy drink with les...

Opinion | Has Covid Killed Media Training? In our opinion, NO! There is always going to be a need to develop and enhance ones skills, especially when it comes to communicating with the media. Covid hasn't changed this need; it has only altered the communications channels and the way in which we should structure messages. It has also altered expectations, which, can be both a good and a bad pivot! Furthermore, it has created opportunity for training delivery modes which are different to face-to-face, these bringing advantages to both parties in the training equation. Our friends at PR Newswire put together this short post (following) to highlight their perspectives on media training during (and post-) Covid. Well worth a read: __________  Professional baseball players take batting practice seriously because they want to be prepared to handle any pitch they may face in a high-pressure game situation. This is the philosophy behind  media training : practice one-on-one with an exp...

Throwback to When Crowds Were a Good Thing! It was a colourful and vibrant Malaysia Independence holiday back in 2013 at Ipoh Parade (IPM), where a total of 240 children got involved with IPM’s Merdeka Colouring Contest – an annual event which gets children from Ipoh’s schools involved in the “junior arts”. The contest, part of the shopping mall’s school holiday programme, called for children aged 4 to 12 to participate in a number of categories. Given only two hours, the participants needed to showcase their creative side by colouring the outcome given, and add in Merdeka icons in their drawings. Pertandingan Mewarna Sempena Hari Kemerdekaan by Berita Harian The event was not only cherished by the kids, but the parents were also involved; supporting their children throughout. They considered it a great activity for their children to manifest their talent, as well as to be given a lesson on friendly competition. For the children, it was more than just a colouring ...