Langham's apology

So maybe by now you've seen the apology from Shaun Campbell, general manager at Langham Place, if not here it is.



Last week, I was invited by Langham's new public relations agency Weber Shandwick to interview Campbell and grill him about the disastrous online campaign launched a few weeks back called "Big Deal".

The brief was pretty simple. Come in, ask a few questions and try and find out what happened. It's quite an extraordinary series of events, which for a relatively small marketing team is even more surprising (it seems no one outside the Langham Hotels International e-marketing team knew about the videos). But generally the view from inside Langham is one of total embarrassment, made even more painful that the hotels are locally owned.

Unfortunately Langham was quicker than me at getting its footage edited and online, but I'll get my video up as soon as I can. Stay tuned.

Analogue Sunday

When was the last time you spend a day without the internet or TV? How many of us suffer from Facebook or Twitter withdrawal even though it's only a few hours of not being able to get wifi or net access?

I came to learn about Analogue Sunday from davko1 who graciously guided me when I just started out in the Twittersville.

If you check out the picture from left, you'll see that the whole idea of an Analogue Sunday is to get away from your devices or screens and sit down to read a book instead!

Now, what book to read? I've got a good recommendation to you especially those in the PR and Advertising industry.

Hot off the printers -Public Relations in Asia Pacific - Communicating Effectively Across Cultures by Mary Devereux and Anne Peirson-Smith.

The book starts off by debunking the common misconceptions or negative labelling of the PR profession as "spin doctors", (disclaimer to journos: This is a book about PR for PR professionals what else do you expect them to say?) the following chapters go into detail on how to connect with the media, its co-relation with branding, corporate reputation, crisis communications and corporate social responsibility supported by case studies in the region.

Of course it includes the hottest topic that every marketer whether you are in PR or not wants to know more about - an entire chapter dedicated to the Digital Generation from the rationale of using social media for companies, tips on having a corporate blog and how to engage bloggers using a range of digital media tools.

Why did I say those in Advertising should read this book too? An underlying theme of this book seems to suggest the title of another book that's been quoted "The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR" by Al Reis & Laura Ries.

Quick Tip: If you have no time to read the whole book, at least read the section on "Public Relations and Marketing Battle It Out"

One of the quotes by marketing PR expert, Thomas L. Harris said "Advertising and promotion are about salemanship...Consumers know it and are on the defensive about being sold something they don't want or need. By providing information to consumers directly or through trusted third parties, PR makes advertising more believable, and promotion more actionable. That is why it [PR] is the secret weapon of integrated marketing."

This seems to support a story Marketing has reported in May on PR more sought-after during the downturn and Jet Airways, which told Marketing in March this year that "PR is far more important than advertising in marketing our brand".

To our readers working in the Ad industry, I would be very interested to hear if you agree with the statement that your peers are suggesting -"The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR".

I mean if PR folks are 'spin doctors', you know You can Trust Me, I'm a Journalist.

Wedding checklist : Tweet of Honour? Tick!

Twitter's been getting extensive media coverage already and if you are in the marketing industry still skeptical about the merits of how this micro-blogging platform could reap potential benefits to your brand, please let me show you using the Wedding analogy what you're missing out for not jumping onto the Twitter bandwagon.

PR professional, Melvin Yuan from Waggener Edstrom recently became the protagonist in what is said to be Singapore's first Twitter wedding, which he coined as #Twedding.

A couple of his friends who weren't able to attend his wedding in Singapore were eagerly anticipating the live updates via Twitter.

If you follow his #Twedding, you would now know about Hort Park if you hadn't already known and might consider it as a possible venue for future events.

What I'm implying here is how your brand could "casually" pop up in such social chatter (whether you choose to or not) and the opportunities to associate your brand in such occasions.

Gretchen King, vice president of business development for Darizi, a luxury wedding portal said the company is open to creative and innovative platforms and will be keen to explore how they could engage brands in future 'twitter weddings'.

She said the Darizi portal currently offer newly weds a platform on its website called 'Darizi World' to put up their wedding albums, blogs, videos and journals to track their wedding preparations leading up to the big day.

Getting married is just one such occasion that involves a lot of emotional decisions and very often, people rely heavily on word of mouth from finding a good venue, picking the right wedding gown to having a reliable make-up artiste to ensure that very important day run smoothly and be remembered as a memorable one.

While it could be time consuming to engage your audience through the various social media platforms, you can no longer ignore how your consumers are talking about your brand in these spaces.

For those of you who're getting married and flirting with the idea of a twedding, make sure you explain to your Tweet of Honour what role he or she's going to play. And choose someone who's tech savvy please.

If you're a geek like me who keeps getting passed over to be maid of honour, you could now flaunt your geekiness by volunteering yourself as the Tweet of Honour. *geeky grin...