Tag: marketing

9 Elements of Japanese Aesthetics

December 4, 2012 Content Marketing 7 comments

9 Elements of Japanese Aesthetics

I love Japanese art and culture.

Almost everything about the country – from buildings to gardens, displays, products, advertisements, food, shops, train stations and people (especially people) – are enchanting.

While Japan does have its share of woes (don’t we all?), few countries around the world are able to balance age-old tradition with modernity in such a harmonious fashion. This is especially true in the field of aesthetics and design, where almost everything in Japan is well conceived. You could hardly find anything that is an eyesore there!


Book Review: Small is the New Big

September 15, 2011 Book Reviews no comments

Are you feeling the entrepreneurial (or intrapreneurial) itch lately? If so, Small is the New Big may be the right up your alley.

With 184 “riffs, rants, and remarkable business ideas”, Small is the New Big by uber marketing blogger Seth Godin is a collection of management mantras for entrepreneurs. Written in his usual snappy style, the book isn’t organised into sequential chapters. Instead, entries are written in an alphabetical manner without following any particular logic.


Cheap Advertising

August 2, 2011 Blog 1 comment

Singapore is not just a “fried rice paradise”. It is also a “hard sell paradise”.

If you flip through the papers on any single day, approximately 80% of the advertisements scream “DISCOUNTS”, “SALE”, “FREE”, “PROMOTION” and other words aimed at tugging at your wallets. Because we’re such avid bargain hunters, anything priced at the normal rack rates or list price will fail to trigger any immediate (or impulsive) purchase decision.

As I was about to enter my car a few days ago, I spotted this bright colourful flyer on my window.


20/20 Vision – 10 Wacky Ideas for Opticians

February 10, 2007 Business and Management 25 comments


Two out of three in my family wears specs!

I’ve never revealed it before, but I am a closet consultant. I love to provide business and marketing advice to people. After so many years working with entrepreneurs, media, lifestyle and tourism businesses, I do have some thoughts welling in my head. Whether they take it or not is another thing altogether of course.

Let’s start with the optical business. It is a booming business, with 80% of adult Singaporeans being shortsighted and us having one of the highest myopia rates in the world. What can opticians (like eastcoastlife‘s hubby Chris) do to make themselves stand out clearly from the competition?