Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

AI is rewriting the PR playbook across Asia . From chatbots fielding customer queries to generative tools drafting copy in seconds, the efficiency is intoxicating. But speed without ethics? That’s a reputational landmine; and in Southeast Asia , where cultural trust is everything, the blowback can be brutal. This isn’t just about “using AI responsibly.” It’s about whether your brand earns or loses trust every time you hit publish. AI Ethics: PR’s Next Crisis Waiting to Happen The warning signs are already here: Singapore : A retail chain faced backlash when AI-personalised ads misused purchase data without consent. Malaysia : A telco’s chatbot accidentally leaked sensitive customer info, triggering investigations. Thailand : A travel brand went viral for the wrong reason after an AI campaign used culturally tone-deaf imagery. These weren’t just “tech glitches.” They were trust failures, magnified by APAC’s hyper-connected, mobile-first audiences. Compliance Won...

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...

In APAC , ESG is exploding, but audiences can sniff out greenwashing instantly. There’s no faster way to burn trust than to plaster “sustainability” all over your marketing while your operations tell another story. In Asia-Pacific , ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) has shifted from nice-to-have to non-negotiable. But the danger is clear: do it poorly, and your brand risks being dismissed as performative. Do it well, and ESG becomes one of your most powerful reputational assets. This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being real. Stakeholders across Southeast Asia , from investors to regulators to consumers, are sharper, more vocal, and more connected than ever. If your ESG story doesn’t add up, it won’t take long for someone to call it out. Performative vs. Purposeful: Spot the Difference The gap between performative ESG and purposeful ESG is obvious once you know what to look for: Tone: Performative comms sound self-congratulatory (“Look how good we are”). Purposef...

Let’s be blunt: a two-paragraph blurb in the back pages of a trade journal isn’t going to change how decision-makers in Southeast Asia buy. B2B PR has outgrown the era where media relations was the holy grail. The game now is relationship-building; and that means meeting executives where they actually discover, evaluate , and trust new ideas. The shift is happening fast. And the companies still measuring success in “number of press clippings” are quietly losing ground to those shaping conversations directly, in the right places, with the right credibility. The New Reality of B2B Decision-Making Here’s what’s changed: Executives buy through peers, not press. In industries from fintech in Singapore to manufacturing tech in Vietnam, decisions are being influenced in WhatsApp groups, closed-door peer forums, and LinkedIn comment threads -- not glossy magazines. A CFO is more likely to act on what another CFO posts on LinkedIn than on a half-page feature in a trade weekly. Though...