Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

Brand discovery is changing, whether most organisations are ready for it or not. As large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity become default starting points for questions, visibility is no longer about who ranks highest on a search results page. It’s about who shows up inside an answer. Adweek* recently described LLMs as the new information gatekeepers, synthesising content rather than pointing users to links. What matters to these systems isn’t volume or optimisation tricks. It’s whether information looks trustworthy enough to repeat. That distinction is subtle, but it changes everything. Globally, Reddit has emerged as one of the most-cited sources across major AI platforms. Not because it is polished, but because it is messy, opinionated, and visibly human. The conversations there follow real questions, real disagreements, and real consensus-building. That’s how models learn what “helpful” looks like. But Southeast Asia doesn’t have a Reddit equivalent. And that’s ...

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...

TikTok isn’t just a dance app anymore -- it’s where Southeast Asian consumers discover products, engage with communities, and drive purchasing decisions. For some brands, TikTok has overtaken Facebook and Instagram as the top channel for reach and engagement. But governments from Washington to Jakarta are increasingly questioning the platform’s data practices and national security implications. Bans aren’t just hypothetical; they’re already happening in India, Nepal, and parts of the U.S. If the hammer falls in Southeast Asia, brands heavily reliant on TikTok could see their audience pipelines collapse overnight. So the question isn’t “Will TikTok get banned?” It’s “If TikTok gets banned, will your brand be ready?” The Risks on the Table Audience over-dependence: For some consumer brands, 70–80% of digital visibility now runs through TikTok. That’s dangerous concentration risk. Algorithm reliance: Unlike YouTube or Instagram, TikTok’s “For You” feed is hyper-dependent on a...