Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

I decided to join Orchan Consulting’s Directors, Craig J Selby and Farrell Tan for lunch this past week, to discuss a few ideas on the broad topics of change management, crisis management, and reputation management – core foci to Orchan’s areas of expertise. 1. What is your take on the importance of change management strategies within a business?  CJS: Having a strategy, even if it is fluid in its approach, is always important. Change is always going to be hard, and its important to be aware of ramifications of each possible action. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take that action; it just means that you are better prepared. The old saying, “you cant please 100% of the people 100% of the time” will always ring true; hence, ensuring that there is a strategy and a direction to changes being undertaken is essential. Do all strategies work out? No! That does not mean the strategy was wrong – resistance to change is often greater than one can imagine. It just means...

Building Brands | A Conversation with Farrell Tan With over two decades in advertising and PR, our Director Farrell Tan has worked on everything from Coca-Cola to Nokia. We sat down to talk about what he's learned about building brands that actually stick. 1. So, Farrell, you've been in this game for a while now. Take me through how you ended up doing what you're doing. Well, it wasn't exactly planned, I'll tell you that. I started as an intern - and honestly, I was just happy to get my foot in the door anywhere. The accounts I worked on... Reject Shop, Bank Utama, Sheraton Langkawi... not exactly glamorous stuff, right? But you know what? Best thing that could have happened to me. When you're working with smaller budgets, smaller brands, you can't just throw money at problems. You have to actually think. You have to be creative with RM5,000 instead of RM50,000. That discipline... I mean, it stayed with me even when I moved to McCa...

SEA:change [January 2022] Giving Life to Events Through the Pandemic and Beyond | Are Events Still Relevant? Whether in-person gatherings are coming back sometime soon or not, one thing is certain - virtual events have forever changed the way organisations will host and engage with their audience. Regardless of how long virtual remains the primary medium for events, it’s safe to say the quality of virtual experiences has drastically improved since the pandemic. However, in-person events are certain to come back eventually — as we as humans crave the in-person interactions. At the next interactive forum hosted by Farrell Tan, co-founder of Orchan Consulting Asia, he will be speaking to Joe Sidek about all-things events in Southeast Asia. Joe created the Georgetown Festival and the Rainforest Fringe Festival, which have become global attractions. They'll discuss how to reinvigorate the events industry as we move post-pandemic. This is a Mediaspace member-exclusive event. How to atten...

Interview | Orchan on Entrepreneurship We love being on this side of the camera too. A few years back, Orchan's Directors, Craig and Farrell, were interviewed by Business Admiral for their take on entrepreneurship, their business journey, and what it takes to  make it  in the Public Relations industry. Check out what they had to say during the interview, and let us know about your own entrepreneurial story.   #OrchanP R   #OrchestratingChange   #PublicRelations   #Entrepreneurship ________________________________________________________________________ Business KOL Video Series – Dr. Craig & Farrell From left: Our in-house interviewer, Louis Lai , Dr. Craig J. Selby and Farrell Tan of Orchan Consulting Asia Sdn Bhd

  Proud to be a Kiwi? We Like to do Things Differently I like this campaign. It ticks two very important criterion for me regarding communications during this pandemic; one, it is positive and showcases moving forward; and two, it’s just damn quirky, ensuring the right type of attention will be received.   Faced with a crumbling industry (tourism), but a long term optimise (or desperation), it is fantastic to see the New Zealand Tourism Board thinking beyond the sh1tstorm; ie; looking at generating interest where it can, in an upbeat and relevant way. International tourist numbers may have withered away to close to zero; but local tourists are sufficient in numbers to prop up the industry in the short to medium term.   The solution, bring a bit of cheer to the public, as well as to the industry. Rallying consumers to be proactive, almost competition like, and have a little bit of fun along the way (all of society is in need of that) not only helps to promote the i...

Sorry, No Comment Saying “No comment” is very conveniently used in denying questions, but is it the most suitable approach? Every situation will call for a different response. How you respond tells a lot about your character or about the brand you represent to the audience, so keep in mind the image you give when answering questions.     It is normal to be asked abnormal or unexpected questions in an interview? But about when you’re being interviewed, and the interviewer asks you an uncomfortable question or a question you can’t answer? Would it be considered rude when you answer with ‘No comment’? The awkward silence and your facial expressions are what makes the question seem more difficult than it is. It also makes it seem like you are unwilling to answer.   The responses you give will be circumstantial to the situation. When is it appropriate to just say ‘No comment’?   How would respond to an uncommentable question?   Read below about “How to Say ‘No Commen...