Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

Happening Hahndorf

June 8, 2009 • • no comments

Just a short 30 minutes drive away from Adelaide in South Australia, Hahndorf is a charming and idyllic little town imbued with historic German influences. Surrounded by picturesque farms (like the Beerenberg Strawberry Farm) and post-card perfect landscapes, Hahndorf offers a perfect blend of rusticity and authenticity in a suburban paradise. Considered as a leading tourist town in the Adelaide Hills region, Hahndorf appealed to one’s sense of nostalgia and longing for a simpler and pleasure-filled life in a bucolic Bavarian setting.

The colours of autumn were fully evident in April, tinting the landscape with glorious shades of red, orange and yellow.

Why I Think Obama’s Cairo Speech is Great

June 6, 2009 • Public Relations • 1 comment

I just watched the above speech made by President Barack Obama of the United States in Cairo (you can find the full text here if you prefer to read it) and was rather impressed by how Obama, one of the most eloquent and impressive political orator in this present age, managed to up the ante yet again. There has been numerous analyses of the political content of his speech so I shall not go there. What I am more interested instead is in the masterful way in which he embraced the art and craft of monumental speech making. Here are some perspectives on what we can learn from Obama’s speech which may be useful to bear in mind if we ever address a crowd or are tasked to draft a speech for somebody who will be doing so.

1) Rigorous Research. The first point in monumental speech making is to ensure that one’s facts and figures are in place. An example was this section made on the achievements of Islamic inventors and artists which contributed towards our progress:

How Disney Became the World’s Largest Entertainment Empire

June 4, 2009 • Business and Management • 1 comment

Statue of Walt Disney and his most famous creation (couresy of Michael Sult)

“Mickey Mouse management isn’t a joke. It’s the ticket to your business future.” – Bill Capodali and Lynn Jackson

Anybody who is into the world of entertainment knows how omnipresent the Disney brand has grown to be.

Build a Virtual Museum and Win Awesome Prizes

June 2, 2009 • Blog • no comments

As a museum and heritage buff who is also a geek at heart, I am pretty excited about this latest campaign by HP to build an online virtual museum of technology. They are looking for photographs and stories of old, outdated equipment that used to occupy a place in our hearts – a typewriter which has outlived its usefulness but not sentimental value, outmoded computers (anybody remember the old Apple II?) or perhaps even handheld games like the old Game and Watch which we loved.

The great thing is that you can stand a chance to win these droolsome prizes!

Why Nordstrom is America’s #1 Retailer in Customer Experience

June 1, 2009 • Business and Management • 3 comments

Courtesy of Fortune

The situation was tense. Time was truly of the essence.

A Nordstrom housekeeping staff at Connecticut found a customer bag together with her receipt and flight itinerary in the parking lot…

Sweet Strawberries at Beerenberg Farm

May 30, 2009 • • 1 comment

Located in the picturesque Hahndorf area just a short drive away from Adelaide in South Australia, Beerenberg Farm is a delightful strawberry farm which is a favourite haunt for lovers of that red and juicy fruit. Other than allowing tourists like us to pick strawberries and taste them out in the fields, it also offers lots of items like jams, chutneys, dried fruits, nuts and other products for sale. What’s cool is that this farm is also quite social media savvy, with a facebook page, youtube channel, flickr page and a link to a website offering cooking tips and recipes.

Here are some photos of our delicious adventure with our favourite Fragaria species, which apparentally is a false fruit. Well, they sure don’t taste fake to me!

Striking a pose in front of the Strawberry shopfront.

This Is How You Should Use Your Brain In Marketing

May 28, 2009 • Content Marketing • no comments

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In the hyper-competitive world of marketing and sales, it isn’t sufficient just to push out an ad or a sales letter and hope and pray for a response.

Consumers and corporate buyers are increasingly spoilt for choice. Selling based on price alone is no longer sustainable in the long haul.

Free Entry to 13 Museums on 31 May!

May 27, 2009 • Blog • no comments

International Museum Day or more affectionately IMD’09 is upon us yet again. This year’s nine-day celebration revolves around the theme of ‘Holiday Fun at Home’ and features 40 activities that promises lots of sensory pleasures for children of all ages. Specially catering to kids and families, it features a wonderful smorgasbord of entertaining yet enriching activities specially designed to pique the sense of wonder and curiosity of your little ones.

Even as I write, a couple of exciting programmes and events are already ongoing. Do check out Yesterday.sg to keep updated on what’s happening at our museums this year. Read all about Singapore’s last leopard, participate in the various children’s programmes at our national museums, or take note of the blow by blow account of what you can do in a week. Some of the cool stuff you can do this year include meeting Phua Chu Kang and his family at the Singapore City Gallery, learn about environmental sustainability at the Marina Barrage and Newater Visitor Centre, or reliving the genius and artistry of the legendary Renaissance artist cum inventor Leonard da Vinci!

Just in time for the opening of Angels and Demons (and Night at the Museums 2) I suppose… 😉