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...

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...

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...

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...