Walter | Cooler Insights

Who Should We Compare Ourselves With?

July 4, 2010 • Blog • disabled comments

Don’t just benchmark Google for its technology – it also has one of the best corporate cultures in the world. (source)

Yesterday morning, I had an interesting conversation with my wife (an organisational excellence whiz) on the question of benchmarking and best practices.

First, we spoke about how global liveability indicators like this (from Mercer), this (from the Economist), this (from Monocle), and this latest one (conceived in Singapore), are used as top-line outcome measures in the Balanced Score Card – a universally accepted system for strategic management. Such measures provide objective assessments of a city’s efforts to position itself as a beacon of success.

Does Product Sampling Work for Juices?

July 1, 2010 • • 3 comments

A few weeks ago, at the kind invitation of Coca-Cola’s agency Fulford PR, my colleagues and I were given a juicy treat of about 3 dozen bottles of the new Minute Maid Pulpy juice. I also received a brightly coloured package which came in cheerful splashes of orange.

Apparently, this was part of the new launch by the world’s number one fruit & vegetable juice brand, Minute Maid, which incorporated pulpy fruit sacs into their new juices. Part of the Coca-Cola company’s stable of products, the beverage giant has undertaken its largest sampling promotion campaign ever for Minute Maid.

Has Bali Lost Its Allure?

June 27, 2010 • Blog • 3 comments

Ibu Oka’s Babi Guling at Ubud

Bali has always held special meaning to me and my wife. It was on this tropical island that we had our honeymoon way back in January 2003. Back then, I was so inspired by the holiday experience and customer encounters that I wrote an article that was published in the Straits Times on the legendary hospitality of Balinese.

Sadly things have changed, even at Ubud (Bali’s cultural heart) which is supposedly less mercantilist than Kuta, Uluwatu or the coastal cities. While its verdant and pastoral landscapes have largely remained, the ugly effects of commercialisation and gentrification have left major scars on the island.

Off to Undulating Ubud

June 19, 2010 • Blog • 3 comments

Source

To recharge, refresh, and relax, my family and I are heading off to Ubud this afternoon for a short break. Considered one of the more scenic and rustic spots in Bali, Ubud is the cultural centre of the island dotted with numerous art galleries, craft markets, museums and temples. From what I’ve seen and read, the Ubud region is full of picturesque scenes – rustic rice terraces, swaying coconut palms, charming temples, and healing resorts.

Of course, we will also be travelling to other parts of the island like Kuta Beach, Tanalok, and the Mara River (we’ll be staying a night at the Mara River Safari Lodge to experience lions upclose and personal). Hopefully, we’ll be able to catch a procession or two – those are quite spectacular from what I’ve seen and heard.

Do take care during the interim and see you all next week!

NTUC Income Scores with Flooding Ad

June 17, 2010 • Blog • 1 comment

This morning, I was alerted to this full page advertisement in The Straits Times by Tessa Wong, one of its journalists on her Twitter account. Created by NTUC Income, a leading general insurer in Singapore, it caught the eye of many on Twitter who retweeted it to their friends and followers.

I applaud NTUC Income for scoring several goals (this being World Cup season) with this:

Digging Deeper To Find Gold

June 14, 2010 • Blog • disabled comments

Finding treasure requires a lot of investigating and digging. Just ask Indiana Jones! (source)

In any successful marketing endeavour, one must be willing to think, live and breathe like one’s potential customer. This also means that preconceived notions and prejudices must be tested and thrown out the window if they are proven untrue.

What are some of these common misconceptions and myths? Let me offer some examples.