Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

When crisis hits in Asia-Pacific, speed and nuance decide whether a brand sinks or swims. Social media storms in Jakarta. Regulatory crackdowns in Singapore. Consumer backlash in Bangkok. It’s a volatile region where reputations are built -- or shredded -- in hours, not weeks. And now AI is in the mix. Tools that can scan sentiment in real time, predict reputational flashpoints, or even draft holding statements are reshaping how brands respond. But here’s the kicker: AI doesn’t replace crisis communications. It simply raises the stakes. Brands that misuse it risk amplifying the very chaos they’re trying to contain. So, what lessons can we take from APAC brands already navigating this AI-crisis intersection? Lesson 1: Speed Is Useless Without Context AI excels at velocity. It can monitor thousands of conversations across Twitter/X, TikTok, WeChat, WhatsApp and niche local platforms like Line or Koo. But speed without cultural context is dangerous. Take an example from a consumer e...

In tech, product-market fit (PMF) has always been the holy grail. For SaaS, hitting PMF often feels like crossing the finish line. You’ve nailed retention, customers are sticky, and growth follows. AI? Not so simple. Here, PMF isn’t a milestone. It’s a treadmill that only speeds up. Models evolve weekly, expectations shift daily, and hype fades fast if products don’t deliver trust and real-world value. This matters even more in Southeast Asia’s AI market , which is second only to North America in generative AI adoption. Indonesia and Vietnam are leading the charge, with 42% of ecommerce sellers already using AI. Governments are rolling out AI strategies, and by 2027, AI could pump $120 billion into regional GDP. Big numbers. But here’s the catch: without sustained value, AI ventures burn out fast. SaaS Product-Market Fit vs. AI Product-Market Fit SaaS has always had a playbook: build an MVP, launch, iterate, and once you’ve got PMF, you’re pretty much set. Retention is the golden ...

You’ve seen the excuses. You’ve heard the myths. “PR is fluffy.” “We’ll just wing it when we need to.” Now comes the deadliest delusion of them all: “We can just do PR ourselves.” On paper, it looks like a money-saver. In practice, it’s a brand grenade with the pin pulled. This is the in-house PR myth --  and here’s why it costs more than any agency retainer ever will. The Squeeze: Where PR Projects Go to Die Your internal team already runs on fumes. PR gets shoved to the side; somewhere between inbox zero and that budget report that was due last week. That press release you swore you’d send? Still sitting in Drafts, growing cobwebs. An agency lives and breathes this stuff. For us, PR isn’t a side hustle; it’s the main act. That’s why opportunities don’t slip through our fingers, because catching them is the job. The Relationship Deficit: Why Media Trust Isn’t Instant Let’s get one thing straight: journalists don’t owe you airtime. They’re drowning in hundreds of copy-pas...

A few years ago, a regional brand we worked with found itself in the middle of a fast-moving online storm. A minor service error had escalated into angry tweets, then media pick-up. Their instinct? “Let’s wait it out. If we don’t feed the fire, it’ll burn out.” But silence doesn’t look neutral. In today’s environment, silence looks like guilt. Within 48 hours, the narrative was out of their hands. By the time they finally issued a statement, the damage wasn’t just about the service error -- it was about “a company that doesn’t care.” This isn’t a one-off. We’ve seen it across industries in Asia-Pacific : brands that equate silence with safety almost always dig themselves deeper . The public doesn’t interpret silence as strategic restraint ; they interpret it as evasion . And competitors or activists will happily fill that vacuum with their own version of the story. The lesson is clear: crisis management is not about hiding; it’s about speaking quickly without losing control . That’...

Most crisis management plans fail the moment reality hits. Here’s why your playbook is probably useless - and what actually works when reputation is on the line. Crisis management plans look great on paper. Thick binders. Colour-coded tabs. Executive signatures on the front page. But when the fire alarm goes off? Most of those plans are about as useful as duit pisang. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the majority of crisis plans fail the second they’re needed. Not because people don’t mean well, but because the plans are written for boardrooms, not for the chaos of real life. The Big Flaws We See Over and Over 1. Too Slow to Matter Plans are often thick binders or pretty PDFs that require endless approvals before anyone can act. By the time the press statement is “perfected,” the damage is already viral. 2. Too Sanitised to Be Believed Crisis templates are full of jargon and corporate-safe language. But in a real crisis, audiences crave honesty , not clichés. If your response...

Crisis doesn’t knock politely. It barges in. One minute you’re trending for a clever campaign, the next you’re trending for all the wrong reasons. In Malaysia, where culture, community, and the court of public opinion move fast (and sometimes unforgivingly), managing a crisis is about more than issuing a statement. It’s about protecting trust when it matters most. So What Counts as a Crisis Today? In Malaysia, a “crisis” isn’t just a product recall or a shareholder scandal. These days it can be: A social media pile-on that starts with one unhappy customer. A regulatory slip-up that attracts headlines and ministry eyes. A cultural misstep that sparks outrage faster than you can say “delete tweet.”                                           Just look at the recent myBurgerLab incident (link below): a senior exec’s careless remark about Friday prayers didn’t just stay on Facebook; i...

Crises rarely announce themselves in advance. They arrive unexpectedly, and when they do, the strength of your brand reputation is immediately tested. The pandemic offered a clear reminder of just how quickly circumstances can shift. Many organisations found themselves unprepared at every stage - from initial response through to long-term recovery. The lesson? Preparation is not optional; it’s essential. Ask yourself: Is your organisation truly ready to handle an unexpected crisis? Are your spokespeople trained to communicate with empathy and authority? Do they reflect your brand values and inspire trust when it matters most? At Orchan, we provide bespoke crisis advisory, training, and consulting for C-suite executives and crisis response teams. Our focus is to ensure your leaders and representatives are equipped to manage challenges with clarity, credibility, and confidence. Preparation today can make all the difference tomorrow. Connect with Farrell at farrell@orchan.as...