Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

For years, the influencer playbook in Southeast Asia was simple: hire the biggest name you could afford, sit back, and watch the likes roll in. But the rules have changed. Today, audiences are savvier, regulators are catching up, and the real influence is shifting from the red-carpet “mega” stars to the smaller, hungrier, more authentic voices shaping communities online. If you’re still chasing follower counts as your north star, you’re not just behind the curve; you’re burning budget. The Shift: From Mega to Micro (and Nano) In markets like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, consumers are starting to tune out big-ticket endorsements. Why? Because they smell scripted, staged, and bought. Enter micro- and nano-influencers: creators with 1,000 to 50,000 followers, often laser-focused on niche communities e.g., parenting groups, gaming circles, sustainable living advocates, you name it. They may not have the lure or gloss of a celebrity, but their engagement rates are often higher...

Headlines don’t prove ROI. Discover why media coverage is a vanity metric, and how to measure communication by real impact: trust, behaviour, and outcomes. Agencies love to brag about “media coverage.” The number of headlines. The stack of clippings. The glossy PDF full of logos. But here’s the truth: media coverage without impact is just wallpaper. It looks nice, but it doesn’t fill the room. If your audience doesn’t think differently, feel differently, or act differently, all you’ve got is noise. Coverage vs. Impact: The Real Difference Coverage = visibility. Did the story run? Was the brand mentioned? Impact = outcomes. Did people shift their thinking, trust more, or act differently because of that story? One gets you attention. The other moves your business forward. Why Counting Headlines is a Vanity Metric No one remembers logos on a PDF. What people remember is how a story made them think differently. Volume doesn’t equal influence. Ten tiny pickups in ...