Potluck

In the final interview of Potluck's first season,  Scott and Drago are joined by Amanda Lim, Senior Strategist at BBH Asia Pacific.  We discuss Amanda's experience in Strategy from all angles...

Launching a career: what drew her to the role, what it actually entails and the perceptions of being a Strategist in Singapore

Converting cultural-awareness into effective-ness: dissecting her experience in delivering an EFFIE-award winning campaign for NTUC Income; from thinking to execution to measuring success

Hunger for insight:  the ongoing challenge in understanding real people and the 'hacks' to get there
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Watch 'The Best Gift': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkZMahAi3Q8
BBH Singapore: https://singapore.bartleboglehegarty.com/

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

Here's how his CV begins... Austen Zecha has a lifetime of humor and more than 55 years of working experience in Southeast Asian journalism, American political speechwriting, international oil companies’ PR counseling and Asian marketing communications...

We're talking to a true legend of marketing and advertising in Asia and beyond. Has anyone ever managed to put Austen in a box? Or two, or five? Has anyone ever managed to keep him quiet? Find the answer to these questions and more in this episode of Potluck. Some of the themes here:

. McDonald's arrival to Malaysia in 1981...winning a pitch against Madison Ave, celebrity tennis events, the king eating burgers, etc...
. ...and from burgers from California, to the potluck that is Asia: the history behind the 1999 campaign 'Malaysia Truly Asia': its legacy and its future
. ...as well as, most entertainingly and inspiringly, talking about the personal brand - larger than life man himself Austen Zecha, Co-founder & CEO of K&L ISC
. ...and lots more...

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

Potluck returns by cooking up a storm with Korean journalist, Mina Sohn. In fact, journalist doesn't quite cut it as a descriptor for Mina's inspiring range of skills and passions.
Scott & Drago sit down to trace Mina's amazing professional and personal journey through the metaphor of language - 5 of them in fact!

1) Where it all began: the language of mass media and traditional broadcasting, from Mina's days as a KBS news and prime-time anchor

2)  Spain: how she fell in love with a lifestyle, forged her own path, and published a best-selling book that opened hearts and minds in Korea and beyond

3) Korea meets the world:  the experience of the new world of digital content, news and education through her roles with Huffington Post Korea and Alain de Botton's 'The School of Life'

4) Out of body: how a near death experience in Hawaii put old habits to bed, and brought fresh perspectives to life, particularly around a quest to promote mindfulness and personal well-being

5) Embracing social: reflecting on Mina's recent focus on sharing her life and connecting with a community of followers in a more candid and personal way

Plus some thoughts on how to get a better flavour of Korean culture.

Check-out Mina's Youtube channel @
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgpXhc6CbkFmcLK_S4nu_kw

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

For our first guest interview under lockdown, Scott and Drago are joined by Eight Inc's Regional MD for Asia, Andrew Au.

With big questions arising on how our physical and digital worlds will co-exist going forward, Andrew sheds light on a range of pressing topics including:

- The evolution of the Experience Economy
- Leveraging the legacy of the Apple Store
- The risk in over-estimating the longer term impact of COVID-19
- Return on Experience (ROX) = successful human + business outcomes
- Why thinking design isn't necessarily design thinking
- Translating cultural understanding into meaningful experiences

...plus we touch on Andrew's career transition from media to design, and some closing thoughts on the growth of podcasting.

Andrew Au: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewtcau/
Eight Inc.: https://eightinc.com/
Potluck: https://www.potluckpodcast.asia/

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

In the 3rd and final part of our global research on the human impact of COVID-19, the debrief wraps up with two more themes:

- Fresh Appreciation for the Way Our World Works: who is essential (and who is not) and the rise of the local

- Learning To Trust Again: the end of implicit trust and the need for brands to engage in trust-building 

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

In part 2 of our global Covid-19 investigation, the debrief continues...

This time, turning our focus on two new themes:

- Re-framing Social Connections: how distancing may be bringing us closer, but not without friction

- The New Old: how looking backwards is also helping people look forwards...

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

Since 'lock-down life' began around the world, Scott and Drago have embarked on a broad-ranging set of interviews with people across 5 continents. 

We wanted to push aside all the 'big picture' noise, and focus on the human impact of Covid-19; how people are feeling, the way they are living  and the new perspectives that have been forming. Of course, it's too soon to say what the new, or rather next normal will be, but we've been searching for clues along the way...

In the first part of our 'debrief', we kick things off by exploring two big themes:

- Nowhere like Home: the inconvenient truths of our habits and the new rituals that are helping us feeling more 'at home'...at home

- Alone Together: the need to tackle a loneliness pandemic, but also to celebrate the liberation of the Introvert

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

Part 2 of our discussion with Siim sees us delve even deeper on all things social, including:

-        Hard realities of becoming a mature marketing channel

-        The mess that is influencer marketing, yet there’s still hope…

-        China’s advances in social and how this fuels new paradigms in e-commerce

-        The rise of P2P selling 

-        Super apps: perhaps not all they’re cut out to be?

-        Siim’s love for experimentation, and why it matters

-        The role of social media analytics in the modern researcher’s toolkit

 …and rounding things off with a blast of bullshit bingo!

Some useful links:
https://brandhero.co/2020/02/02/dont-engage-fake-influencers-check-these-3-metrics-first/

https://brandhero.co/2018/12/07/research-average-engagement-rate-of-top-singaporean-instagram-influencers-is-2-65/

https://wwd.com/business-news/technology/louis-vuitton-trials-live-streaming-with-china-xiaohongshu-1203545595/ 

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

Drago & Scott are talking to Siim Saiinas this week. Siim does work for Google and is the founder of BrandHero, and we spoke on a wide variety of topics:

- Our Morsel of the Week: TikTok & the algorithm of addiction: how it's creating stickiness & ignoring the calls for well-being?
- The post-Communist experience & planting the seeds of entrepreneurship
- Defining Social Media in 2020: moving from connection to entertainment consumption
- AI Ethics: how can the algorithm become a force for good?
- The Human Experience of Social: social as an opportunity to leave your bubble and reach to the other side
- Beyond the Passive Broadcast: how does a social platform incentivise the audience to become the creator?
- Context v Creative: artificial distinction; marketing effectiveness is about both having punchy content in the right space; e.g. Wendy's Fortnite campaign

...and we ended up having such a good time, that we spoke for longer than expected. :)) We're dropping the rest of the content in a few days' time.

Some useful links:
https://brandhero.co/author/siimulation/
http://www.digitaltrainingacademy.com/casestudies/2019/07/cannes_lions_winner_wendys_wins_social_top_prize_for_keeping_fortnite_fresh_campaign.php

www.potluckpodcast.asia/

In the second part of our discussion with Kevin, we reflect on his varied experiences around new ways of doing business.

Hear how his views have evolved on the relationship between business model and brand, the perhaps unhealthy fixation on the 'new and shiny', and how large brands are embracing start start-up culture to accelerate growth.

www.potluckpodcast.asia/