Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

We recently came across a brilliant ET BrandEquity piece that stopped us mid-scroll. Amid all the noise about micro-moments and 8-second attention spans, the author dropped one perfect analogy: the humble travel neck pillow. Yes, really. In a world drowning in flashy gadgets and “disruptive” tech, the neck pillow category is quietly exploding not because it went viral on TikTok, but because it solves one tiny, universal pain point. You’re tired, your neck hurts on a red-eye flight, and this ridiculous U-shaped cushion just… works. No hype required. But travel isn’t the only friction point. The same dynamic shows up in daily life across Malaysia and the region e.g., the shop that tapes your takeaway drinks tightly, so they don’t spill in the car; the café that puts a charging station at every table; the courier who drops you a WhatsApp before arriving. Different setting, same principle: small, thoughtful friction removers build disproportionate goodwill. And that got us thinking: th...

AI search promised a simple bargain: create great content, earn visibility. That era is ending fast. Platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity are starting to monetise answers. Soon, being discovered won’t just be about credibility; it’ll require strategy and budgets. Not a bidding war. A visibility war. If Google’s ad-heavy search results already feel exhausting, brace yourself: the next wave of AI search may feel like Google on steroids. Paid AI visibility isn’t coming. It’s already here: Google: “Sponsored” cards appear in AI Overviews. Many users barely notice the difference. Think of how “hotel booking” queries now blend organic and paid listings. AI may do the same for service recommendations. Perplexity: “Sponsored Follow-ups” insert paid prompts directly into conversations. A SaaS tool, for example, could appear as the “next suggested question” for productivity queries. OpenAI: Testing commerce ads inside ChatGPT responses. A cosmetics brand might ...

Every week, a new “miracle” lands in someone’s WhatsApp group: A Chinese virtual human sells a million dollars’ worth of lipstick in minutes. A Korean digital idol earns more than half the celebrities on your billboards. A virtual girl group racks up 300 million views on Douyin before lunch. And of course, someone forwards it to the boss: “Why don’t we do one of these also?” We get it. The numbers are dazzling. The production looks flawless. But here’s the thing: East Asia has developed very specific playbooks for virtual influencers. Southeast Asia is experimenting with its own mix of humans, AI, and stylised characters, and that’s what actually works here. Why East Asia Can Sprint While Southeast Asia Is Finding Its Own Pace 1. Budgets shape the game A top-tier hyper-real virtual human costs between  RM3.5m–RM20m to build, RM200k–RM600k monthly to maintain. In China or Korea, scale and platform support make it work. In SEA, that level of investment is mostly for supe...

Your audience discovers your brand, engages with it, and even buys something all without leaving a single app. That’s super apps. By 2026, they’ll reshape how PR and marketing work across Asia. However, when you play inside someone else’s ecosystem, are you winning? Or are you just giving them control over your brand? Platforms like WeChat, Grab, TikTok, and Instagram are becoming all-in-one ecosystems: social, commerce, entertainment, messaging. For brands, this is a massive opportunity and a trap if you’re not careful. Being present isn’t enough. You need to play smart. Why Super Apps Matter for PR and Marketing Super apps aren’t just convenient; they’re controlling the entire customer journey. In China, South Korea, and parts of SEA, apps like WeChat and KakaoTalk already run the show. Soon, most Asian consumers will experience brands primarily through these apps. The benefit: reach, speed, engagement. The cost: ownership, visibility, and control. Key Features You Can...

Most PR today is noise pretending to be strategy. Endless press releases, “viral” bets, and scattershot campaigns -- you’ve seen it. Audiences ignore it, algorithms punish it, and budgets disappear faster than a LinkedIn trend. In 2026, being louder won’t get you anywhere. Winning brands are smarter. They focus on the people who actually care, the stories worth telling, and the channels that actually move the needle. That’s where niche media and Slow PR come in. Not fluffy ideas, but tools for building trust, engagement, and measurable impact --  whether you run a 10-person startup in KL or manage a regional marketing team in Singapore. Niche Media: Stop Wasting Attention Context Beats Reach Asia is messy: languages, cultures, subcultures everywhere. A campaign trying to reach “everyone” usually reaches no one. Niche creators and vertical media reach audiences already interested in your message. That alignment builds trust, and trust drives decisions. Reality check: payi...