Asia Pacific Observations

Reputation for ethics and engineering excellence put German companies in the Southeast Asia spotlight

2012-01-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

For evidence of the success of German companies in Southeast Asia, one needs to look no further than the local media where German business is consistently creating positive news coverage about its growth and ambition in ASEAN’s emerging markets.

And now, with Germany’s dominance of European economic affairs through the euro zone crisis, the country’s global and regional reach continue to grow.

In Thailand and Vietnam, where we counsel several leading German companies, millions of consumers and businesses benefit daily from German technology and expertise.

Almost as soon as they can talk, the people of Southeast Asia are introduced to German consumer products, with global brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Porsche having enormous aspirational traction. Puma, Adidas, Braun, the list goes on.

Building on this awareness, German businesses have for decades sought to integrate themselves in the development of the communities they serve in the region, providing massive infrastructure investment, capital for enormous industrial developments and also intellectual property used in education and social upliftment.

One of the main drivers of the success of German companies in key markets in the region such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia has been the careful management of their reputations.

German companies are highly proactive in building and constantly enhancing their reputations in all walks of life, giving a consistent, ethical character to their communications and corporate messaging.

In one never publicized instance in Thailand a huge German company declined to invest in an energy project because of ethical concerns. Faced with sometimes violent opposition from the local community and fears that the local environment would be seriously impaired by the development, the company took a decision to forgo the very tempting cash windfall it would have enjoyed by going through with the project, and quietly withdrew.

For professional communicators the challenge in managing brand reputation for major German companies is to balance exposure and profile with the commitment to protect the brand from unnecessary scrutiny or even controversy.

One of the most compelling platforms contributing to the growing reputation of German businesses in the region is their focus on education and training of their workforces. Thousands of Asian students and employees have benefited from college, university and in-house training courses in Germany through exchange programs and scholarship opportunities.

However, while German companies are proudly German, they also largely seek to portray an international brand character that builds on the attributes of their home country yet is flexible enough to adapt rapidly and effectively to local business and social conditions.

Germany’s ties to the region are by no means limited to business and investment. For more than a century cultural ties have burgeoned between Germany and the countries of Southeast Asia. Right across the spectrum of the arts and entertainment and even cuisine, Germany is centre-stage in the capitals of the region.

These firmly established ties offer a unique opportunity for German corporations to further engage in their host communities and communicate their commitment to the long-term prosperity and sustainability of their ventures, not to mention promote the power of their brands to an avid and increasingly affluent target audience.

Vero Public Relations Brings in New Team Members to Leverage Future Growth

2012-01-09T02:06:00.000-08:00

BANGKOK and HO CHI MINH CITY, January 10, 2012 – As part of the plan to further expand its business in Southeast Asia, Vero Public Relations recently hired two new staff members for its Bangkok office - Ekarin Petsiri and Bhawat Anuwong.

Ekarin Petsiri joined Vero Public Relations as a senior account manager. Ekarin spent the first seven years of his career life as a business news correspondent at the Bangkok Post and Reuters. Afterwards, he switched to the PR industry and became an Account Manager for MDK Consultant (Thailand) where he was charged with PR and marketing communications for key clients such as FedEx, Rolls Royce, Sun Microsystems and Jim Thompson.

Ekarin was also an AVP for Financial Communications and Investor Relations at HSBC (Thailand) where he looked after A-list clients such as Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York, Sumitomo Trust and Banking, Temasek and various other global financial institutions. Prior to joining Vero, he was a Senior Consultant at Weber Shandwick Thailand, a discipline of McCann Worldgroup Thailand, providing PR consultancy service to General Motors and Chevrolet Sales Thailand.

Bhawat Anuwong has joined Vero Thailand as an account manager. A seasoned PR professional, he has designed and implemented successful PR/marketing companies for local and multinational corporations in a wide variety of industries such as aviation, FMCG, chemicals, healthcare, energy and IT.
Prior to joining Vero, Bhawat was a Consultant at Weber Shandwick Thailand, where he was in charge of several major accounts such as Adidas, GE, Hitachi GST, Bayer, Dow Chemical, Bangkok Industrial Gas, Microsoft Online Service Group, Schering-Plough, and Sanofi Pasteur.

Networking Event: PR, Communications & Marketing Vietnam

2011-10-27T01:29:00.000-07:00

Vero Public Relations is pleased to announce our 4th Communications and Marketing Networking Event, to be held Thursday, November 10th, 2011.

This is the leading event for Marketing, Communications and PR professionals to gather for sharing ideas and experiences about the communications industry.

We are excited to host our networking event at Chill Sky Bar – the hottest spot in HCMC with the best view of the city. We think that you would enjoy this event and enjoy the opportunity to network and yummy selections of free finger food together with a chance to win the lucky draw with many interesting gifts.

Time: Thursday, November 10th, 2011, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Venue: Chill Sky Bar - 26 & 27th Floor Rooftop, AB Tower - 76A Le Lai, Dist.1, HCMC.

This event is invitation only, please confirm your attendance via email or contact us
Ms. Ngân, +84 9 0204 7999, ngantram@veropr.com or Jessica +84 9 8924 8595, jessica.le@veropr.com

Welcome New Team Members

2011-08-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

Vero Public Relations is pleased to welcome three new, outstanding members to our team.

Warangkana Tempati joined Vero Public Relations as a communication strategist and media advisor in Thailand. A Master’s degree holder from Winchester University, England, Warangkana developed her career concentrating on communications, media and story-telling. She was a staff writer for Dow Jones newswires and the Bangkok Post. Her articles have appeared in The Asian Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Associated Press, Living etc, HELLO! among others. She also worked as an editor and regional program coordinator at the U.S. Embassy’s media-monitoring Open Source Center and regional communications manager for Southeast Asia at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Vi Nguyen joined the Vero Public Relations team in Vietnam. Formerly on the Park Hyatt Hotel’s public relations staff, Nguyen is graduate of Boise State University, USA. Also in Vietnam, Clara Ly-Le is the new creative manager for Vero Public Relations. A public relations graduate from Truman State University of USA, she has worked as an independent consultant and contributed to American Red Cross - North Central Missouri chapter's crisis management plan and Kirksville Missouri Economic Development's persuasion campaign.

BuzzCity appoints Vero Public Relations for corporate communications remit in Thailand and Vietnam

2011-08-18T04:18:00.000-07:00

BuzzCity, a global mobile internet advertising network, has assigned Vero Public Relations to grow awareness of its expanding network among advertisers and publishers in Thailand and Vietnam.

In South East Asia, BuzzCity serves more than 2.2 billion advertisements on mobile devices every month. Worldwide, BuzzCity’s monthly delivery of mobile phone advertisements has surpassed 10 billion ads.

BuzzCity is seeking to form agreements with brands in Vietnam and Thailand, among other countries around the world. The self-service advertising platform is equipped with detailed targeting functions, providing local and international businesses with an efficient, measurable means of reaching Thai and Vietnamese consumers.

In the second quarter of this year, mobile internet advertising in Thailand grew by 82% and by more than 200% in Vietnam.

Facebook signs new deal in Vietnam.

2011-04-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

Facebook signs new deal in Vietnam.
What Does this mean for Vietnam’s Marketers?

By Son Nguyen

HO CHI MINH CITY, April 18, 2011 – With the announcement last week that Facebook signed an agreement with Vietnam’s largest publicly traded telecommunication and software company, there are expectations that Facebook will gain additional momentum as the social media tool of choice in Vietnam.

By the end of 2010, the number of Facebook users in Vietnam reached 3 million and generated 1.1 billion page views.

But with Facebook’s new agreement in place with Vietnam’s Corporation of Finance and Promoting Technology (commonly known as FPT), many expect these numbers to grow significantly in the coming years.

Nonetheless, making use of the digital platform is not as straightforward as it appears. Below are some issues which each communication practitioner needs to think through before starting their own online campaign.

1. Nationwide vs. urban campaigns
First of all, of Vietnam’s population of 88 million people, 24 percent are online with most living in big cities. Thus, public relations and communications experts who are planning to execute communication campaigns on a nationwide scale should think twice about the effect of social network. Using public relations to embed client messages in traditional media remains among the best ways to reach out to Vietnam’s hinterlands.

2. Which channel?
After Yahoo 360’s closing in July 2009, Vietnam’s social network universe became divided. Within only 2 years, social network users have witnessed a surge of local players such as ZingMe or YuMe. Thanks to strong local insights, these websites rapidly gained favor with Vietnamese users, surpassing both Facebook and Yahoo in term of followers. To make it more complicated, Vietnamese also rely on local forums as a source of information. Webtretho, Phunuvaxehoi, Eva and YAN are a few examples, covering a wide range of topics from automobiles, houses to lifestyle and music.
With such a vast and fast-changing market like this, the very first thing every communication experts need to do is figure out which channel will reach their target the most effectively.

3. International vs. local
Thirdly, not all international social network sites work well in Vietnam. While Yahoo, Facebook, WordPress, Flickr and Blogspot have successfully set up their foothold, others such as Twitter or Tumblr are still struggling to penetrate the market. Thus, successful integrated online campaigns elsewhere might have to adapt themselves to thrive here.

4. Keep your conversation going
Another good point to consider when conducting online communications campaign is the responsiveness. Many Vietnam companies and organizations have launched their own micro-sites or web pages in recent years. However, only a few of them have managed to maintain those platforms as an effective channel to communicate with their target audience. Common mistakes include lack of a long term strategy for online communication, failure to attract enough traffic as well as tardiness in responding to comments or questions.

5. Back-up plans
Finally, social network sites are always a very sensitive topic when it comes to censorship and governmental intermittence. For example, in the months prior to the agreement with FPT, access to Facebook in Vietnam was extremely difficult. More precisely, it sharply decreased 70% of page views and one million users in January 2011. Therefore, when we talk about social network sites here, we must at the same time talk about back-up and crisis management plan.

6. On top of trends
Just like the economy, Vietnam’s social network sites evolve in a very fast pace. An effective channel today could be soon a fad by tomorrow. That is why public relations practitioners and marketers have to be sensitive with the way they leverage news and information. Instead of following current trends, they should speculate what will be the trend in the future and put together their strategic plans based on that. Or at least, they should plan flexibly.

(Son Nguyen manages campaigns for Vero Public Relations in Ho Chi Minh City. For more information visit www.veropr.com)

Vero Public Relations Wins Best Practices Award

2010-11-15T19:20:00.001-08:00

The Business Software Alliance presented Vero Public Relations with a best practices award at a meeting in Hong Kong last week. The award, presented by the Business Software Alliance CEO, is for best practices in public relations and marketing, and was awarded to Vero Public Relations for campaign management in 2009. It's always great to be recognized for hard work. We thank the Business Software Alliance for their partnership!

Public Affairs Asia - Columm by Vero Public Relations

2010-10-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

Vietnamese hot bloggers interviews

2010-07-12T22:56:00.000-07:00

With more than 24 million internet users in Vietnam today, a number of bloggers have developed a strong following for their web log entries about business, life, technology, travel, fashion, sports and a host of other subjects.

For businesses seeking to grow brand awareness and deliver messages about new products and services, reaching out to Vietnam’s leading bloggers has become a”must have” activity for members of corporate marketing and business development teams. In addition to global social networks and blogging tools such as Twitter or Wordpress, there is also immense development of Vietnamese social weblogs targeting young people, primarily 18-34 year olds.A few examples include Clip.vn, 360plus, Zing, Vietspace, and Yobanbe.

In this context, some people have become famous by sharing their entries on blogs. These highly popular bloggers—known as “hot bloggers”—attract thousands, and in some cases, even millions of viewers. These bloggers become well-known in many different ways. Some post sensational news from the world of entertainment or society. The blogs TacKe and OnlyU fit into this category. Some bloggers just share their experiences and feelings about every aspect in life such as Cogaidolong and Hà Kin.

Despite many different opinions about “hot bloggers” and their effects on society, there is no doubt that they show the readers various aspects and issues in daily life which can not be published on other mass media. Thanks to trust from the readers, “hot bloggers”, in general, have had a strong influence on many people who view their blogs. With just some words and pictures on their blogs, the information from their blog can be spread widely and rapidly. That is the reason why many companies have cooperated with hot bloggers as a marketing strategy to popularize their products or services.

With the aim of having deep understanding of the relationship between blogs and the business, we carried out interviews with the twofamous bloggers, Robbey and MeoAc.

Robbey used to be a student specializing in Literature at Ho Chi Minh City Gifted High school and Highland Regional High school in the USA. He has achieved a good command in both written English and Vietnamese. Robbey started his blog with reviews of music and performances, especially American Idol and Vietnam Idol competitions. He soon acquired a good reputation thanks to his wide knowledge of music and his access to celebrities.
Robbey Wordpress : http://robbeydeptrai.wordpress.com/

1. How do you become famous on online community? What do you write about?
It occurs really by chance. Writing is my habit since I was just a child and when I studied in America, I started to write in English and just gave my friends to read. Then, when I came back to Vietnam, I began to write in Vietnamese. Vietnam Idol 2007 is a big step. When I saw Phuong Vy’s performance in this competition, I liked her immediately and wanted to write something about her and this competition. At that time, I realized that Vietnamese music is also great, and I started to listen to and reviewed some albums, artists and shows. Many people paid attention to and read these reviews and entries. In fact, art is my passion, so I also observe and expresses my thoughts about fashion, movies and music shows.

2. Who are your main blog readers? What do they think about your entries?
The majority is certainly the young generation with the similar portion of male and female. Moreover, 61% of people are from the age between 18 and 24.
As a matter of fact, people certainly have different opinions. But the most important to me is that they must respect each other. They can disagree or dislike my opinions and thinking but they must converse in a civil manner.

3. What are advantages and disadvantages of becoming a hot blogger?
There are many advantages. I have more friends and relationships. My opinion becomes valuable to artist managers when they need ideas or feedback. I even become famous, sometimes I walk down the streets and some teenagers run to me and asked to take photographs with me. It’s funny.
Besides, when becoming famous, you also have to face bad rumors from bad people who try to damage you. Sometimes I even do not know what’s going on with them. I am also disturbed by spam on my blogs or bad messages from anonymous people.

4. Bloggers become famous by sharing their own thoughts with public, why would they be valuable to PR strategy, in your opinion?
In fact, traditional media like magazines or newspapers are biased and provided one-sided information. Sometimes, they do not provide the true or sufficient information to the readers. But blogging is different. I want to emphasize the interaction of blogging. Readers can interact with writer and express whatever they are thinking right away. Moreover, in some cases, when I write about some artists, they also make comments on my blogs.

5. What kinds of projects do businesses offer you to work on?
I work with many different kinds of businesses.
Occasionally, I write entry on my blogs or press release for them. I am also a copywriter for some brands.

6. There are many famous bloggers now in Vietnam, why do you think they chose you to cooperate?
Frankly, I have excellent writing in both English and Vietnamese and the significant thing is that when people read my entries, they feel familiar and can find themselves in it.

7. What are difficulties when working with PR specialist?
Straightforwardness is important. Some companies do not have clear vision or plan when working with me so I always express my thoughts.

8. How do you satisfy your clients but still keep your own opinion?
I do not write about what I do not like. I just write when I am interested in and feel good about it; otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. My blogs are not commercial pages; I link everything to my daily life naturally.

9. Will you change your content of your blog or any plan to attract more people to your blog?
I will upgrade my blog’s designs and I also have my own team to do it for me. Moreover, I have different teams to write about various sections or fields on my blogs.
10. what do you think of the future of blogging in Vietnam?
The strength of blogging is interaction and this is what people need now. People can exchange various information, ideas online. Furthermore, not everyone can make decision by themselves; they must look for extra opinions from other people. And these are reasons for blogging to prosper in the future.

MeoAc becomes famous in Vietnam’s online community by her sharing insights about her daily life, especially about food and good restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. As a freelance journalist working in the entertainment field, she has good relationships with celebrities. She also shares her experiences and feelings about the entertainment business, and musical shows or events in which she took part. MeoAc is now studying the second diploma about Marketing Management in Kent College. She also can speak English, Japanese and Chinese.
MeoAc webpage : http://meoac.info/

1. How do you become famous on online community? What do you write about?
It is quite hard to answer. Actually, I just write about my daily life but try to put more pictures for each entry on my blogs. ‘MeoAc’ (Cruel Cat) is famous because I share my own thoughts about common concerns; my entries are short but expressive. Maybe, eye-catching pictures of food and good recommended restaurant addresses on my blog seize the readers :D. Moreover, my life is colorful so people love it because I am a real person with a real interesting life, no exaggeration, no bad words, no ‘hot picture’ to increase page views as others. Also, I often update news about entertainment because I am a journalist working in ‘entertainment’ field.

2. Who are your main blog readers? What do they think about your entries?
Teenagers, officers, entertainers, journalists, artists also Vietnamese people working in foreign countries. They are interested in food, entertainment, technology, parties, new products … The majority of my readers are in the ages of 15-40, and 70% are female.
They think that my blog has private but useful information for daily life.

3. What are advantages and disadvantages of becoming a hot blogger?
I have extended my relationships, cooperated with many companies and gained interesting experiences with them.
In terms of difficulties, my blog becomes less personal. I can not write about anybody frankly as I used to because it may have influence on their lives.

4. How does your life change after becoming famous online?
I have to face slander. Many people like my blogs and many people dislike it, also. Moreover, I must balance my work and blogging. Sometimes, I am really busy but still have to spend time updating my blog not only to maintain the number of readers but also to share my living information with friends who are busy and work far away.

5. Bloggers become famous by sharing their own thoughts with public, why would they be valuable to PR strategy, in your opinion?
When an interesting individual shares their thoughts and feelings people become trust them, this person will have big influence. When the readers believe in bloggers, what bloggers say on their blogs will be widespread. It is the power of blogging, online social networking as well as word-of-mouth which help to spread information faster. And that is how blogging becomes value to PR industry.

6. What kinds of projects do businesses offer you to work on?
So many, I can not remember all.
Mostly, I introduce their new events, products or services on my entries. Or I become an image for a short-term campaign, create testimonal, or simply experience their product/service and write about my feelings.

7. There are many famous bloggers now in Vietnam, why do you think they chose you to cooperate?
There are many bloggers but not many HOT bloggers. Many bloggers focus their content and writing style on just one topic, same individuals, or become too professional and unfamiliar, which limit the number of readers. For instance, they focus on films, poetry, photography, music … not diverse contents as MeoAc. Furthermore, it is also possible that my regular viewers are the target customers of their products. Or, MeoAc already becomes well-known to many people.

8. What are difficulties when working with PR specialist?
Writing style. Many companies provide information insufficiently while I want to mention them naturally in my entries for the best effectiveness. I can not satisfy clients 100% every time but I always try my best to provide essential information.

9. How do you satisfy your clients but still keep your own opinion?
It depends on the deal. Moreover, the content must be well-prepared before being public, I do not post an entry with some random careless information. In some cases, the content must be sent to the client for their checking and approval.

10. Will you change your content of your blog or any plan to attract more people to your blog?
Honestly, blogging is not my main job. Currently, I am studying Marketing Management and Chinese simultaneously. Therefore, I do not have a plan to updade my blog. However, I will update information that I feel people want based on their comments on my blogs, for examples, fashion, weekend entertainment, new trends.

11. What do you think about future trend of blogging in vietnam?
According to every marketing material I read, blogging is the fifth most powerful tool in public relations, so, blogging in Vietnam undoubtedly has a bright future.

A tribute to food in Ho Chi Minh City

2010-07-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

After a hard day of work, Vero Public Relations team members like to unwind. Saigon has many places to relax after a busy day with friends and to enjoy a bite to eat. This clip is a tribute to Saigon’s food scene created by our digital team.

Hope you guys like it!

An interview with Nhieu Huy journalist

2010-07-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

There are many different opinions about development of online social networking. To understand deeply about these trends and its effects to the traditional press, we have an interview with a journalist – Nhieu Huy – an editor of Culture and Art section of Vnexpress.net.

Vnexpress.net was founded in 2001 and since then it has received many awards for its news coverage and contributions to society. According to third-party analysts, Vnexpress.net ranks at 189 of top online newspapers in terms of size of readership. As an editor for Vnexpress, Mr.Huy is well-known for his writing about Art, especially music. He is also a judge for prestigious awards such as: Lan Song Xanh Music, Top Artist of the year and Top Stylish Artist of the year.

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of social networks (such as Facebook, Twitter etc)?
Social networks can spread the information speedily and significantly. Topics mentioned are also plentiful and diverse.
On the other hand, these strengths create some weaknesses. Information which is subjective, reactionary is also spread widely and has bad influences on the society.

2. What are the advantages of social networks to your works?
Obviously, it helps me to relax and unwind after hard working. More than that, I can share my feelings and socialize with other people on online social networks. I can also find many information and news on these pages.

3. Many experts think that recently social networks spread information better than traditional media such as Television and newspaper, what do you think about it?
This opinion is right but not sufficient. The ‘non-traditional’ information on online communities is not censored closely. Therefore, it can not be considered as a mainstream information channel as other communication tools.

4. Nowadays, a number of bloggers have become famous and influential in online communities with their entries, what do you think about this trend?
It is a good way for individuals to express themselves in the society. There should be some training or supports for these individuals to develop and contribute to the society.

5. What do you think about the future of blogging in Vietnam?
Development of online society is a demand, an essential which goes along with global trend. However, to attract Vietnamese people to join and interact frequently, we need to enhance every aspect professionally in terms of content, design, tools and complimentary services.

An interview with television producer - Harry Nguyễn

2010-07-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

We have conducted an interview with a Television producer – Harry Nguyen. He works as a stylist for many magazines, for examples, F magazine, “Dep”, “Mot va Cuoc song” and as a producer for broadcast programs such as “Suc Song Moi”, a really popular show on VTV3. Currently, he is the producer for “Are You Stylish?” on HTV7, a new reality show about fashion trend and lifestyle which has gained high ratings thanks to its interesting content and familiar situations.

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of social networks (such as Facebook, Twitter etc)?
It is obvious that social networks can spread information widely, easily and speedily. Just by some clicks, in a few minutes, hundreds of people can read it.
Besides, the weakest part is the private information security. There are many celebrities whose clips and photos are stolen, also, many unreleased albums or singles of famous singers have been leaked and then spread on the Internet.

2. What are the advantages of social networks to your works?
I have more relationships with suppliers and collaborators, especially many freelancers who work in the public relations industry. I also try to make online relationships become friends in real life. Moreover, exchanging and sharing feelings with people on online communities help me to reduce stress from working.

3. Many experts think that recently social networks spread information better than traditional media such as Television and newspaper, what do you think about it?
It is true in global context. However, because information is spread speedily and uncontrollably, online social networking becomes a two-edged sword, therefore, it can not develop as expected. In Vietnam, online social networking has just been familiar to the urban youth while traditional media such as television, newspaper or magazines are still preferred by the majority.

4. Nowadays, a number of bloggers have become famous and influential in online communities with their entries, what do you think about this trend?
Public relations sometimes needs individual ‘stories’ to spread information. Hot bloggers can build up their stories from every source in their daily lives such as poetry, photography, short story, celebrity information. Therefore, it is not strange when they gradually become famous in online communities. However, their influence is more from personal contacts.

5. What do you think about the future of blogging in Vietnam?
Obviously, it will follow the common trend of the world; online social networking will develop but can not replace traditional media, although the number of people using Internet now increases. They will support each other so that exchanging and receiving information in society will be more effective.

Vero Public Relations Vietnam - We'ved Moved

2010-06-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that Vero Public Relations has moved to bigger and better offices to meet the demands of our growing business. Our new offices are in District 1 along the Saigon River. We are glad to welcome all friends, old and new, to come for a visit.

The Landmark Building
5B Ton Duc Thang
7th Floor
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
P+848 6291 0462
F+848 6291 0462

Software Piracy in Asia - AFP

2010-06-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

Newspapers throughout the region have published a an excellent story about the plight of software developers in Asia who face impossible competition from piracy. Software developers from Thailand, Vietnam and India all express their frustrations with rampant theft of their intellectual property rights.

There are a number of misconception that surround software piracy. The first is that software piracy only impacts the multinational developers. The second is that piracy is due to pricey software products. But the Asian software developers quoted in the story dispel both of these notions.

The strongest quote in the article comes from BSA executive Tarun Sawney who says: "Piracy certainly stifles innovation. Why is it that we don't have any sort of global software company that originated from our part of the world? Yet in the United States, where the laws are very strong and the piracy rate is very low, we have idea, after idea, after idea taking over the whole world -- be it Yahoo, be it Facebook, be it a Microsoft operating system."

Check out the story by AFP here.

(Disclosure: The Business Software Alliance is a client).

Online News Consumption in Vietnam

2010-05-22T02:26:00.000-07:00

A story in today's Vietnam News contains a couple of interesting statistics based on a survey of people in Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho.

1) The proportion of internet users reading news increased from 89 percent in 2008 to 97 percent in 2009.

2) Home internet access grew from 66 percent in 2008 to 71 percent in 2009, making households the dominant access point for the internet, according to the survey. This contrasts with a decline in Internet cafe use, which, according to the survey fell by 11 percent in 2009.

The complete story is here.

Wire Service - Live Blogging

2010-05-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Reuters has organized a live blog with a steady flow of information on the political conflict in Thailand, including news updates and photos.

Launched: New Testing Lab in Vietnam

2010-05-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

TUV SUD, the global testing and certification company, launched a new lab in Vietnam this week with an event for clients, government officials, textile industy experts and the press. TUV SUD Asia Pacific President and CEO Ishan Palit and TUV SUD AG COO and member of the board of management Dr. Manfred Bayerlein led the company's celebration of their latest investment in Vietnam. The laboratory will be used to test garments, footwear, leather goods and textiles--ensuring that products made in Vietnam meet international standards for safety and quality.

Social Media and Reporting of the Thai Conflict

2010-05-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

With bullets pinging throughout central Bangkok, a corps of Thailand-focused bloggers are delivering information and analysis to an audience desperate for the latest news about the violence.

It isn't that bloggers are necessarily breaking news on the conflict. Mainstream media continues to play the lead role in delivering reporting and major factual themes about fatalities, troop movements and statements from the government. However, blogs are way in front of mainstream media in serving as a platform for analysis, sharing information and photos, opinion, maps of the conflict zone and as collection points for breaking mainstream media news and analysis.

Blogs are also serving as a forum for debate and as a barometer for public opinion. The New Mandela blog recently introduced a comment rating system, allowing members of its community to rate comments in reaction to blog posts. The impact is that those comments rated most favorably rise to the top of the page, offering a rudimentary gauge to the opinion of New Mandela's readership.

Blogs are also serving as unique collection point for news reports from Thai news media and international news media. In regular posts, the Bangkok Pundit blog provides summaries of key excerpts, links and analysis of news and opinion articles from The Nation, Bangkok Post, Matichon, Krungthep Turakij along with the New York Times, Reuters, AP, Straits Times, Bloomberg, CNN and the BBC.

Photography of the conflict zone is also an important feature of the blogs covering the Thai conflict. In addition to linking to photos in Thai and international news media, the Nation's State blog features original photos from the conflict, including from the government's designated "Live Fire" zones. Contributors and commentators are also providing original photography and video to their blogs of choice.

New Mandela, Bangkok Pundit and Nation's State have long been part of the routine daily download for people interested in Thai politics. But now, their servers are working at full-capacity to keep up with the traffic. What was once one or two visits per day to these blogs before the conflict, is probably closer to a dozen or more daily visits for the average visitor.

In addition, new bloggers have arrived on the scene. As the Bangkok Pundit notes today, military blogger Michael Yon is now in Bangkok, blogging and tweeting on the conflict with analysis of the weaponry and military strategy.

Media of all types are obviously playing an important role in this conflict. The mainstream media continues to deliver breaking information. But blogs are now serving as indispensable go-to outlets for people seeking a steady flow of information.

Reuters: "Thailand...Emerging Market Darling"

2010-03-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

A very positive portrayal of Thai markets and economic potential by Reuters reporter Viparat Jantraprap in a news story today.

A few key excerpts:

1) Renewed attention on Thailand, one of the biggest Southeast Asian economies, is drawing comparisons with Indonesia, the region's top economy and a long-time emerging market favorite.

2) Investors see the peaceful protests as a turning point, and the economy is rebounding quickly. "The demonstrations have by and large been peaceful and this is taken as encouragement Thailand will see relative political stability going forward, enough for an acceleration of growth," said Frederic Neumann, an economist with HSBC.

The complete story:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLNE62L02820100322

The Economist on Public Relations

2010-01-30T22:55:00.000-08:00

Good news

Other firms’ suffering has bolstered the public-relations business

Jan 14th 2010 | NEW YORK | From The Economist print edition

Illustration by Claudio Munoz

THE past year or two has tested the idea that all publicity is good publicity, at least when it comes to business. Undeserved bonuses, plunging share prices and government bail-outs, among other ills, have elicited the ire of the media and public—and created a bonanza for public-relations firms. The recession has increased corporate demand for PR, analysts say, and enhanced the industry’s status. “We used to be the tail on the dog,” says Richard Edelman, the boss of Edelman, the world’s biggest independent PR firm. But now, he continues, PR is “the organising principle” behind many business decisions.

According to data from Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), a private-equity firm, spending on public relations in America grew by more than 4% in 2008 and nearly 3% in 2009 to $3.7 billion. That is remarkable when compared with other forms of marketing. Spending on advertising contracted by nearly 3% in 2008 and by 8% in the past year. PR’s position looks even rosier when word-of-mouth marketing, which includes services that PR firms often manage, such as outreach to bloggers, is included. Spending on such things increased by more than 10% in 2009.

Not all PR firms did as well as IPREX, a global consortium whose revenues increased by 14% last year. Many had to shed jobs, and some estimates show the industry’s overall revenues declining, although not nearly as sharply as those of most of the businesses it serves. According to a survey by StevensGouldPincus, a consulting firm for the communications industry, nearly 64% of participating firms saw revenues slide in 2009 and only 23% saw revenues increase, perhaps because businesses put their faith only in the biggest and most established firms.

PR has done well in part because it is often cheaper than mass advertising campaigns. Its impact, in the form of favourable coverage in the media or online, can also be more easily measured. Moreover, PR firms are beginning to encroach on territory that used to be the domain of advertising firms, a sign of their increasing clout. They used chiefly to pitch story ideas to media outlets and try to get their clients mentioned in newspapers. Now they also dream up and orchestrate live events, web launches and the like. “When you look at advertising versus public relations, it’s not going to be those clearly defined silos,” says Christopher Graves, the boss of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. “It may be indistinguishable at some point where one ends and the other begins.”

PR has also benefited from the changing media landscape. The withering of many traditional media outlets has left fewer journalists from fewer firms covering business. That makes PR doubly important, both for attracting journalists’ attention, and for helping firms bypass old routes altogether and disseminate news by posting press releases on their websites, for example.

The rise of the internet and social media has given PR a big boost. Many big firms have a presence on social-networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, overseen by PR staff. PR firms are increasingly called on to track what consumers are saying about their clients online and to respond directly to any negative commentary. When two employees of Domino’s, a pizza chain, uploaded a video of themselves apparently sticking ingredients for dishes they were preparing up their noses, the firm responded by posting a video of its own online, of a senior executive apologising for the incident.

Blow-dried blogs

That sort of content is proliferating. A PR firm called Ketchum helped IBM start a blog about sustainability, complete with posts written by the technology firm’s executives. It also created cartoons on the subject that it uploaded to YouTube. Edelman recently worked with eBay on the launch of a web-only magazine, “The Inside Source”, which provides articles on shopping and tells readers what is selling well on the online retail giant’s website.

VSS forecasts that spending on PR in America will surpass $8 billion by 2013, with much of the growth coming from online projects such as these. According to Miles Nadal, chief executive of MDC Partners, a media holding company, investment in digital PR accelerated during the recession “and will go forward in perpetuity” because clients became more focused on measuring the impact of their efforts. The internet offers various yardsticks, from traffic to cheerleading websites to numbers of Facebook fans, whereas the number of people who see a conventional advertisement is much harder to gauge.

Perhaps the best indication of PR’s growing importance is the attention it is attracting from regulators. They are worried that PR firms do not make it clear enough that they are behind much seemingly independent commentary on blogs and social networks. In October America’s Federal Trade Commission published new guidelines for bloggers, requiring them to disclose whether they had been paid by companies or received free merchandise. Further regulation is likely. But that will not hamper PR’s growth, says Jim Rutherfurd of VSS. After all, companies that fall foul of the rules will need the help of a PR firm.

Poorly Made in China

2010-01-18T02:31:00.000-08:00

Today I had the opportunity to attend a talk by Paul Midler, author of Poorly Made in China.

Midler provides an insiders account of the manufacturing tactics behind China's rise as a manufacturing hub for the world. Many of Midler's comments focus on the challenges of manufacturing in China and the cultural aspects that he believes contributed to safety and quality problems.

Among Midler's observations were these tidbits he provided to the group.

1. Midler disputes the idea that China is going through the same issues as Japan did in the 1950s with regard to quality. Never in the 1950s, he says, did manufacturing companies need to send thousands of people to Japan to manage quality control. Moreover, he said Japanese manufacturers have traditional sought to improve quality, sometimes to the point of obsession.

2. Midler says Chinese manufacturers are experts in what he terms the "Quality Fade". After securing a contract and creating the initial production run, Midler says Chinese manufacturers will find ways to incrementally shave costs from the production costs. Part of this he attributes to an abhorrence of waste and a deeply ingrained saving culture. He compares this to a game of Jenga, whereby manufacturers continually shave costs and quality from product specs, until the product quality becomes low-grade or even dangerous.

3. "Made In China. Made in the World" is the tag-line of a new public relations campaign funded by the Chinese government to off-set some of the recent controversies surrounding manufacturing problems. The campaign was launched in November, 2009.

Midler says it is time that people begin to seriously question the logic of producing goods in China. He says the perception that goods made in China have the lowest possible price point of any manufacturing locale is not necessarily accurate. There is a mind-set that says "that if something is made in China then it must be a good value," says Midler. But this is not necessarily the case."

The "Eastern CNN"

2010-01-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the Nation published a news article about a new agreement between the Thai cable television company True Visions and the Phoenix TV group. The full article is here.

An executive commenting on the agreement stated that the Phoenix TV group is "like the Eastern CNN." Indeed, True Visions has positioned Phoenix TV's news programming and content on channels directly in between the channels carrying major sources of Western media, CNN, BBC, CNBC and Bloomberg. This would appear to be progress for the Chinese leadership's efforts to engage in a public dialog on an international level. The Phoenix news channels broadcast on True Vision are Chinese language, but we imagine that there may be some serious efforts underway among Chinese media companies to build English language broadcasts on a global scale.

Innovation Cluster in Thailand

2010-01-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

I attended a breakfast meeting yesterday hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce focusing on the Creative Economy initiative in Thailand. To kick-off the meeting, the U.S. Consul General provided an overview of the US government's efforts to sync with the Thai government's efforts to promote a creative economy.

Interesting to note that the U.S. government is focusing its efforts on Chang Mai, in northern Thailand. Also interesting to note that the U.S. government seems to focus its resources on a single industry--technology.

This appears to be an effort to create the kind of "innovation cluster" that David Brooks references in today's New York Times column. Brooks defines an innovation cluster as a place in which tech obsessives work in close proximity and feed off each others ideas.

Obviously, it takes years to develop an innovation cluster, but given the pace of technological progress, it could happen sooner than we think. This would be a great development for Chang Mai and Thailand.

The conference is called "Northern Thailand's Creative Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the IT sector." The conference takes place Feb 18-19 in Chang Mai.

Vietnam Milk Producers React to Pricing Charges

2009-12-29T01:16:00.000-08:00

VietnamNet has the latest progression of the ongoing "milk pricing" controversy in this article.

Nestle and Mead Johnson both push back against the idea that their milk products (both fresh and powdered) are over-priced. Both companies also reject the idea that marketing and advertising expenditures are responsible for allegedly over-priced products. Nestle argues that its infant formula products are not advertised at all as the result of an existing government decree. Mead Johnson says it spends less on advertising and marketing than competitors.

Obviously, given recent history, inflation is an issue that must be managed. But what seems to be getting lost in the debate is the rationale for why milk is such a desirable commodity in Vietnam. It would seem that Vietnamese parents are quick to link milk consumption to healthy, successful, prosperous children. If this is indeed the case, now would be the time for Vietnam's milk producers to band together to remind all of their audiences of the attributes of milk. It's curious that Vietnam's milk producers have not done this yet. Maybe this will be the next stage of the narrative? After all, as they say, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.

Thai Daily Newspapers Monetize Mobile News

2009-12-29T00:47:00.000-08:00

Both the Nation and Bangkok Post are offering SMS news subscriptions, which deliver breaking news to mobile phones users in Thailand. The Nation seems to be targeting the expat community in a tie up with a popular forum at 49 baht per month, while the Bangkok Post is offering the service in English and Thai language for 39 baht per month. Granted, this is a news-focused service that will be tough for marketers to crack. But the only organizations with a chance to expand their messaging through this SMS service will be those whose PR counselors can create hard news angles that are meaningful to the public at large.