Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

This article continues Orchan Consulting Asia’s Franchise PR Series, exploring how smart storytelling turns visibility into measurable franchise growth. Visibility is great. But visibility that converts? That’s PR done right. In Southeast Asia’s competitive franchise landscape, brand awareness alone won’t fill your inbox with franchisee inquiries.  What you need is a PR funnel:  a deliberate sequence of storytelling, media engagement, and credibility-building that guides prospects from curiosity to commitment. The Problem With Vanity PR Too many franchise brands treat PR like a trophy cabinet -- glossy features, influencer shoutouts, and event photos that look good but go nowhere. The result? High impressions, low conversions. PR should not end at exposure; it should drive engagement, trust, and ultimately, sign-ups. The Franchise PR Funnel: What Actually Converts A strategic PR funnel mirrors your customer journey, but focuses on future franchisees. Each phase build...

This article continues Orchan Consulting Asia’s Franchise PR Series, exploring why empowering local storytellers builds brand authenticity and trust. If every outlet looks the same but feels different, what holds your brand together? Franchising is built on replication; but resonance requires autonomy . In the race to scale, many franchise brands default to top-down messaging: HQ writes the script, and outlets follow it.  In Southeast Asia’s fragmented media landscape, that approach is increasingly tone-deaf.  Customers crave authenticity. Communities respond to relevance. And franchisees i.e., your frontline storytellers, are often best positioned to deliver both. The Problem With Centralised PR Standardised messaging may protect brand integrity, but it often sacrifices emotional connection. Here’s what gets lost when PR is locked at the top: • Local nuance: What works in KL might flop in Kuching. • Speed and agility: Franchisees can respond faster to local events, ...

By Farrell Tan Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship is already setting the tone for the region’s next decade. The recent launch of three key initiatives i.e., the MSME Excellence Centre for Green Transition (MEGA), ASEAN Ahead: STI Ecosystem Foresight 2035 and Beyond , and ASEAN in 2025: Shaping an Inclusive and Sustainable Future,  puts inclusivity and sustainability squarely at the centre of ASEAN’s agenda. It’s encouraging to see policy leadership take sustainability seriously. But as communicators, we know the work doesn’t end at the press conference. The real challenge begins when these policies meet the public. Sustainability is no longer a technical term. It’s a story that needs to be told, retold, and localised until it fits the lived realities of businesses, communities, and consumers. At Orchan, we’ve seen how easily strong sustainability strategies can lose momentum when communication isn’t part of the plan. Some clients have bold environmental goals but struggle to ex...

When 81% of global business leaders say cultural adaptation is now critical to brand reputation, 79% admit they’d rethink campaigns over cultural flashpoints, and 66% are willing to reverse course under stakeholder pressure -- that’s not just data. That’s a loud alarm bell. Weber Shandwick’s global study exposes what most Southeast Asian communicators already know: in markets shaped by ethnicity, faith, and shifting norms, context is currency. What a brand says no longer matters as much as how quickly it can read the room. 2. Why This Matters in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia isn’t one market: it’s twelve realities in constant negotiation. In Malaysia, every message runs through ethnic and religious filters. In Singapore, precision and policy tone dominate. In Indonesia and the Philippines, cultural and linguistic nuance decide whether a campaign feels authentic or foreign. Flashpoints are hyper-local. A tagline that charms in Bangkok can trigger headlines in Surabaya. CSR campaigns th...

This article launches Orchan Consulting Asia’s Franchise PR Series, exploring how strategic storytelling drives scalable growth for franchise brands across Southeast Asia. Franchise success depends on more than systems; it depends on stories that scale. Public relations (PR) is how those stories move from one outlet to the next, shaping perception and fueling growth across regions. Whether you’re managing one outlet or dozens, your brand’s reputation travels faster than your operations manual. Systems create consistency. PR creates connection. And in franchising, perception isn’t standardised -- it’s earned . The Myth Of One-Size-Fits-All Branding Franchising thrives on replication i.e., logos, menus, uniforms, and service protocols. But when communication is copy-pasted, it loses meaning. Customers in Penang don’t respond the same way as those in Perth. A campaign that resonates in Bangkok might fall flat in Bandung. PR bridges that gap by localising your message without dilut...

In 2025, PR isn’t just about being seen anymore; it’s about being found . Voice assistants, AI search engines, and chatbots are rewriting how people discover stories. Which means PR pros have to evolve too i.e., from pitching headlines to crafting answers. But in the scramble to please the algorithm, one thing keeps us up at night: how do we stay human? Welcome to the age of Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) --  where structure meets soul. What Exactly Is AEO -- and Why It Matters Here AEO is the art (and science) of structuring content so it becomes the best possible answer when someone asks a question; whether that’s on Google, Siri, or ChatGPT. Traditional SEO hunts keywords. AEO reads between the lines. It’s about understanding intent, speaking clearly, and matching how people actually talk. And in Southeast Asia, this matters more than ever: 70% of Malaysian internet users now use voice search weekly (Google Consumer Insights, 2024). Indonesia’s Gen Z prefers a...

The ink is barely dry on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ’s RM470 billion Budget 2026 --  tabled just three days ago on October 10 -- and already the creative and communications sectors are feeling the tremors. At Orchan Consulting Asia , we’ve spent over 15 years turning policy headwinds into brand tailwinds for clients navigating Malaysia’s ever-evolving landscape. So, how does this budget play out for PR pros? The Upside: Fuel for PR’s Digital and Tourism Engines Budget 2026 doesn’t forget the creative economy; it just funnels it into high-growth lanes where PR thrives. With RM140 million earmarked for the “ orange economy ” (arts, culture, and content), there’s still juice left for brands that know how to tell a story with purpose. Creative Incentives on Steroids: The RM110 million in grants for filmmakers producing “nation-building” content (RM10 million ringfenced) opens up fresh PR angles: think media tours, influencer tie-ins , and cultural storytelling that builds so...

When a crisis hits, speed isn’t a luxury... it’s oxygen. And in APAC , where social chatter moves faster than official statements, brands that hesitate don’t just stumble -- they fall flat on their face. The question isn’t if a crisis will hit. It’s when . And when it does, your response decides whether you come out scarred but standing or dragged through the mud for months. Case Study 1: Bitis vs. Khaisilk -- Apology vs. Denial Two Vietnamese brands. Two very different outcomes. Bitis , the footwear brand, ran a cultural campaign that backfired. Instead of stonewalling, they did the simplest, smartest thing: apologised quickly, corrected the issue, and kept moving. Consumers noticed the humility, and the brand survived with minimal scars. Khaisilk , on the other hand, was caught mislabelling “ Made in Vietnam ” silk that was actually from China. At first? Denial. Then, when the truth came out, scrambling apologies, recalls, compensation. By then, it was too late -- the damage w...

AI is rewriting the PR playbook across Asia . From chatbots fielding customer queries to generative tools drafting copy in seconds, the efficiency is intoxicating. But speed without ethics? That’s a reputational landmine; and in Southeast Asia , where cultural trust is everything, the blowback can be brutal. This isn’t just about “using AI responsibly.” It’s about whether your brand earns or loses trust every time you hit publish. AI Ethics: PR’s Next Crisis Waiting to Happen The warning signs are already here: Singapore : A retail chain faced backlash when AI-personalised ads misused purchase data without consent. Malaysia : A telco’s chatbot accidentally leaked sensitive customer info, triggering investigations. Thailand : A travel brand went viral for the wrong reason after an AI campaign used culturally tone-deaf imagery. These weren’t just “tech glitches.” They were trust failures, magnified by APAC’s hyper-connected, mobile-first audiences. Compliance Won...

Honest truth? Most  brands are drowning themselves in their own press releases. The logic seems harmless -- “the more updates we push out, the more visibility we’ll get.” But here’s the reality: every fluffy, low-value release chips away at credibility, irritates journalists, and tells your audience you’ve run out of real things to say. Journalists notice. Google notices. And trust me, your market notices too. 68% of APAC journalists automatically delete releases that don’t pass the “so what?” test ( Meltwater, 2025 ). Google’s 2025 algorithm penalises “ thin content ,” including fluffy press releases; dragging down SEO. A Malaysian tech brand saw engagement drop 40% after flooding inboxes with weekly “updates” no one cared about. (PS: We rectified this when we came on-board!) The fix isn’t “more.” It’s smarter . Why Brands Flood the Market With Releases (and Why It Backfires) The optics trap: Teams equate volume with success. Ten releases look busier than th...

TikTok isn’t just a dance app anymore -- it’s where Southeast Asian consumers discover products, engage with communities, and drive purchasing decisions. For some brands, TikTok has overtaken Facebook and Instagram as the top channel for reach and engagement. But governments from Washington to Jakarta are increasingly questioning the platform’s data practices and national security implications. Bans aren’t just hypothetical; they’re already happening in India, Nepal, and parts of the U.S. If the hammer falls in Southeast Asia, brands heavily reliant on TikTok could see their audience pipelines collapse overnight. So the question isn’t “Will TikTok get banned?” It’s “If TikTok gets banned, will your brand be ready?” The Risks on the Table Audience over-dependence: For some consumer brands, 70–80% of digital visibility now runs through TikTok. That’s dangerous concentration risk. Algorithm reliance: Unlike YouTube or Instagram, TikTok’s “For You” feed is hyper-dependent on a...