Potluck

Objects: things we covet, collect, display, share and utilise. But what do they mean as ‘stuff’ increasingly integrates with our digital lives, or even morphs into virtual worlds?Who better to ask than Justin Peyton from Wunderman Thompson, whose BRAND N3XT platform explores the people and ideas that are working to make Web3 and Metaverse a positive force for people, business and society.In Potluck’s latest episode, hear Justin’s thoughts on…· How he defines the Meta...

This time, it's Chris Arning who's come to stir the pot with Drago and Scott. Chris runs boutique consultancy Creative Semiotics, teaches an online course titled How to Do Semiotics in Seven Weeks and is the co-founder of Semiofest, and more...What did we get up to stirring up:- We start off with that perennial question of what is Semiotics.- Chris shares some examples from applying Semiotics to work in Asia; Chris is an unashamed Japanophile, so of course he mixes in Japan examples, too- Th...

Potluck returns for our 3rd season, and the first episode of 2022.Pei Ying Loh is Head & Co-Founder of Kontinentalist, an organisation dedicated to telling data-driven stories about Asia. As a collective of writers, designers, developers and data-visualisers, they tackle topics connected to Culture, Politics, People and History through various creative approaches.Our discussion charts:- The parallels between Pei Ying’s background in History and storytelling, and Kontinentalist’s ori...

Before Scott and Drago hang their aprons and ladles for the year, they sit down to stir the pot one last time in 2021.The two hosts discuss their favourite parts of the conversations they've had throughout the year with Katie Dreke, Ambrish Chaudhry, Charlotte Wilkinson, Ajay Jilka, Jocelyn Tse, Simon Chadwick, Vasuki Shastry and Peter Smyth.Among other things, they're discussing...- If Asia's not overhyped, then what is it? ...and some words of caution about the future of Asia in a digest of...

Hear the full feast of our conversation with Peter Smyth, a man of many talents, analogies and stories! We follow his cycle from Toronto to Hong Kong, onwards to Tokyo – and now back. Where his career has spanned both big agency life (BBDO) and the world of luxury marketing with Louis Vuitton and latterly Van Cleef & Arpels.We lift the lid on Asia and particularly Japan via his deft tips for navigating Japanese culture (it’s all about finding your role in the play), the Darwinian approach...

In the third and final part of our conversation with Peter Smyth, we have the usual conversation for this segment around three main areas:Flavour of the Month, where we travel back in time to Honda motorbike's entry into the US in 1962.In Brand Bullshit, Pete takes on the linearity of decision making in business and marketing strategy.Fortunate Failures draws the curtain on Pete's experience as a young account exec carrying boards for the BBDO creatives in Toronto and how that experience had ...

In Part 2 - ‘Hacking Humans’, we fold in the next layer of our conversation with Peter Smyth.This time, Drago and I enjoy hearing his modus operandi for understanding people and culture…· ‘Thinking in bets’, and how life is far more poker than chess· How great insight boils down to great people illuminating the opportunity ahead…· Balancing gut instinct vs. ‘what the data is saying’, both-ism and the art of integrat...

Drago and Scott are stirring the pot - with Peter Smyth, Head of Marketing & Comms at Van Cleef & Arpels Japan.A strategy legend in Japan, Peter is with BBDO for 16 years - in Toronto, HK and Tokyo. He then moves to client side to become VP of Comms and Marketing at Louis Vuitton Japan before joining Van Cleef. Peter has been in Japan for 16 years until his recent move to Toronto with his family.In part 1 Lifting the Lid on Asia you can hear: - How far Pete can take a dish ...

Settle down to hear the full feast of our conversation with Vasuki Shastry, author of 'Has Asia Lost It? Dynamic Past, Turbulent Future'. Vasuki is an inspiring writer, thinker and leader; formerly of the IMF and Standard Chartered Bank, building on his earlier experience in journalism and academia. Today he’s an Associate Asia Pacific Fellow at the thinktank Chatham House, and Senior Fellow for the US Chamber of Commerce.We discuss his book through our usual three segments...Lift...

From Dante's inferno, to Brand Burns...rounding off our conversation with Vasuki is our quickfire segment... Flavour(s) of the month: on a lighter note, we touch on the eclectic range of literature that’s on his summer reading list, and how fiction can play an important part in grasping cultural realities.Brand bullshit: how the decoupling of the US and China markets is far from inevitable, and why the related talk of conflict is thrown around with too much abandon.Fortunate failure: how...