Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

Artificial intelligence has been called the future of communications. But in Asia-Pacific, the future comes with fine print. While brands are racing to embed AI into PR and marketing, the real risk isn’t the tech itself -- it’s the rules around it . Ignore Asia’s evolving privacy laws and ethical expectations, and your next PR win could quickly turn into your next PR mess. This isn’t theory. It’s happening now. And for brands operating across multiple APAC markets, the patchwork of regulations and cultural expectations can make the difference between building trust and burning it. The Patchwork Problem: Why One-Size-Fits-All Doesn’t Work Unlike Europe’s GDPR, APAC is far from harmonised. Singapore has the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) with strict consent requirements. Thailand’s PDPA only recently came into force, leaving brands scrambling. Malaysia is in the middle of overhauling its law, while China has the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which is  arguabl...

When Orchan first took on Plaza Phoenix (now known as Cheras Sentral), it seemed straightforward enough: announce the redevelopment, rally community support, and reposition the property for the future. But reality hit quickly. This wasn’t just a branding exercise - it was a rescue mission. The project was stuck because over 125 individual strata title owners couldn’t find common ground. Without their alignment, the developer couldn’t move forward. The Challenge of Many Voices Managing external PR campaigns is familiar territory. But navigating more than a hundred stakeholders, each with different concerns and vested interests, was something else entirely. The skepticism was palpable: could communication alone bridge the divide? Even for us, this was outside the usual comfort zone. “The hardest part of PR isn’t always public - it’s bringing people to the table behind the scenes.” This case became one of our most significant PR case studies in Malaysia;  proving that sometimes...

Strategic communications isn’t a “nice-to-have” anymore. In Malaysia, it has become a core business function i.e., shaping reputation, steering conversations, and helping organisations navigate a world where trust is currency. And here’s the reality: the brands that still treat PR as decoration will lose ground fast. The ones that view communications as capital will win. At Orchan, we’ve seen both sides of that equation -- startups that built credibility from day one and corporates that paid the price for silence when it mattered most. So, what’s next for strategic communications in Malaysia? Here’s what 2025 (and beyond) is bringing our way, and why it matters to your business. 1. Trust Will Be the Ultimate Differentiator Malaysians have always valued relationships but now trust sits at the heart of survival. Communities aren’t shy about holding brands accountable; one misstep can spiral across WhatsApp groups and TikTok in hours. The cost? Lost customers, shaken investor confi...

PR and communications get more bad takes than pineapple on pizza. People love to boil it down to lazy clichés, quick fixes, or dusty old rules; then they act shocked when their campaigns flop, their reputation tanks, or their competitors run circles around them. Time to kill the nonsense. Here are five of the worst myths that keep brands stuck on repeat - and why they need to be buried, fast. Myth 1: PR is just “getting media coverage.” Cute. But that’s like saying a Swiss Army knife is just a toothpick. The truth: Reputation beats reach - trust can’t be bought. Real PR is strategy, not just spin. Media is only one channel; the playground is much bigger. Results are measurable, if you know how to look. Sometimes silence is the sharpest move of all. If you still think PR is just clippings, congratulations - you’re running a 2025 business with a 1995 playbook. “PR isn’t just coverage — it’s chess, not checkers.” Myth 2: “Any publicity is good publicity.” Please. That g...

At Orchan, we’ve seen consulting at its best - and at its glossiest. Dirty Consultant is our no-nonsense series calling out the theatre, the buzzwords, and the shiny distractions that get in the way of real change. Because true consulting isn’t about polished decks or clever algorithms - it’s about rolling up sleeves, getting into the grit, and facing the messy human reality head-on. Six parts. One truth. Consulting has become too glossy. Too shiny. Too surface-level. Slides instead of substance. Algorithms instead of empathy. Platforms instead of people. That’s why we created the Dirty Consultant series - to call it out. And to remind leaders that real change isn’t clean. It isn’t easy. And it certainly isn’t click-to-download. Here’s the journey we took together: Part 1: She Was! The consultant who rolled up her sleeves, got messy, and truly understood context. (Link:  Are You a Dirty Consultant? She Was! (Part 1) Part 2: Death by PowerPoint Why endless slides d...

At Orchan, we’ve seen consulting at its best - and at its glossiest. Dirty Consultant is our no-nonsense series calling out the theatre, the buzzwords, and the shiny distractions that get in the way of real change. Because true consulting isn’t about polished decks or clever algorithms - it’s about rolling up sleeves, getting into the grit, and facing the messy human reality head-on. Data is sexy. Dashboards glow. Algorithms hum. Today’s consultants sell you the dream: “real-time insights” into how your people feel. Red dots for disengaged. Green dots for high performers. Charts that promise to decode human behaviour. But here’s the problem. People aren’t data points. They’re messy. Irrational. Emotional. And no algorithm in the world can tell you what it feels like to drag yourself into a night shift after a 90-minute commute. Numbers tell you what . But only people tell you why . When consultants replace empathy with algorithms, they miss the heartbeat of the organisation....