Listen to your PR advisors Andrew!
‘Fierce fallout’, ’nuclear explosion’, ‘baffling moment’, ’noxious interview’, ’national joke’, ‘car-crash’.
These are just some of the phrases used by the media to describe the BBC Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Short of absolutely not doing the interview, could Prince Andrew have done any better?
Regardless of his many questionable answers, the one and only thing his royal schooling obviously helped with was his ability to keep his cool in what was doomed to be a train wreck from the moment he agreed to do the interview. His PR advisor even quit after advising him against doing it, but could there have been a way around it?
As the prince rightly said, “there’s no good time” to talk about this issue. He did this interview thinking that if he answered the cloud of questions surrounding his friendship with Epstein, then he could move on with his royal duties. It also appears to have been sanctioned by the queen, as the interview was done in Buckingham Palace itself, so we must give both Prince Andrew and the royals credit for having the balls to expose themselves to such an obvious scandal. However the plus points for this interview, ends here.
The question now is whether he has just inadvertently given a deposition that can be used in the US courts and if he has exposed himself to a possible extradition to the US to assist in the investigations against Epstein.
So as a communicator, this interview is a journalist’s trophy; as a PR practitioner, this is a nightmare – a nuclear fallout with an ever increasing number of casualties and damage.
He really should have listened to his PR advisor, cause the Duke of Yoke may have just stripped himself of his royal title.
#PrinceAndrew #JeffreyEpstein #PRCrisis #RantauGolin
Written by Janitha Sukumaran, Founder of Rantau Golin
Milo Run: Where’s the 2km mark?
by Jfree
Preparation
27 May 2016 marked my first ever 5km run with my colleagues from Rantau. The first thing that went through my mind after paying RM30 to participate in the MILO Breakfast Day 2016 at Putrajaya was “What the hell did I got myself into?” as I have not run at all for almost 1 year. Am I gonna faint? Am I gonna roll? What am I going to do?
Here was a list of things I planned to do to prepare myself for the 5km run.
- Wake up at 5.30am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a 1.2km run around my neighbourhood.
- Go for a jog at 6.30pm after work on Tuesday and Thursday.
But this was what I did instead:-
- 5.30am, still sleeping.
- Went jogging for ONE day only.
Come 24 May, I realised there was only two more days left to the D-Day (Doomsday) and I was not fully or even half prepared for the run. There I was while enjoying my chicken rice lunch, thinking that I’ll be dead after the first kilometer. After much thought about what will happen to me, I finally came to the conclusion to - Mati pon matilah!
D-Day
It was 5.45am when Daisy and her husband, Eric picked up my brother and I to Putrajaya - just in case I decided to give up and forfeit the RM30. Knowing the Chinese in me, I have been planning to get my RM30 worth of Milo drinks on that day itself rather than planning on how to keep my pace during the 5km run.
We then met up with Tania at the start line while waiting for Julia and Brigitte whom we did not met until 1 hour after the race. As we were waiting for the run to start, Tania pushed us (Daisy, Martin and me) to approx. 13th row from the starting line. I have never been that close to the start even during my previous fun / night run. Why? To avoid getting langgar from the back laaaaaaaa….. (wasn’t that how Mufasa died?)
Anyway, the run started and Tania ran ahead until we were unable to even see her shadow anymore. After 1.5km, I was then left alone when my brother ran ahead of me, telling me that he would wait for me at the 2km mark. I replied to him,“Proceed” thinking that there was only 500m away and I was sure to catch up with him.
I kept running, walking, jogging and running but never did the 2km mark appear. Then guess what appeared? A sign stating “1KM LEFT TO GO”.
With that, I managed to finish the entire route with one main thought in my head, “Where’s the 2km mark?”.
A special shout out to my colleagues from Rantau for inviting me to join the MILO Breakfast Day in Putrajaya with them. Based on my experience, here are some feedback and thoughts after completing the race:
- Great pre and post run activities organised by Milo
- Kids went missing on that day and several ‘Lost & Found’ announcements were made at the event. Parents, please take care of your belongings (kids).
- Milo from the Milo truck is proven the BEST!
- Daisy lost her banana. We’ll make sure at our next run, there will be extra banana for her.
- Future run organisers, please do me a favour and put a 2km signage? PLEASE LAH.
Pitch Perfect
Striding through the corridors of Rantau’s Petaling Jaya office, Chief Executive Officer Gogulan Dorairajoo cuts a tall, trim figure with legs up to his eyeballs.
Kitted out in a smart blue-and-white small-check shirt and not a hair out of place, you’d think the dapper CEO wouldn’t be getting himself dirty and sweat-soaked at the end of his working days being head honcho of the boutique PR, communications and consulting powerhouse.
You’d be mistaken. At the end of the same day that I managed to squeeze an hour out of his packed schedule for our chat, he was at bootcamp.
But it gets more hardcore.
He’s completed the Viper challenge, the Spartan race and a host of other runs and endurance events, come rain, impossible Malaysian heatwave or mud underfoot.
“I’ll run till I can no longer walk,” he laughs, while he casually brushes off my open-mouthed wide-eyed gape at the golden trophy perched on a table in his office. It is the size of a small child (the trophy, not the office.)
“Oh yeah, that’s one of the trophies we won,” he says. For which team?
“For KL Galaxy,” he smiles.
Ah yes. The football team of which he’s a part and in which he plays, when he’s not fielding off good-natured ribbing from friends for Aston Villa FC’s recent relegation from the Premier League. (Gogzta — he jokes some find his name hard to pronounce so he makes it easy for them, like a champ — is an ardent Villa supporter.)
So. Running a company, running in all weather, football (playing and supporting, in equal measures of enthusiasm) and fatherhood.
What else, I think. Running for president? Saving a small nation? (“If I weren’t doing this,” — he gestures around the office — “I’d be teaching kids how to play football.”)
Not yet. The calm and cheerful fortysomething (must be all those endorphins) also elbows three other blokes for chair and air space at BFM’s studio every Friday between 7 to 8 pm while host Ross Yusof captains the four of them as they dissect and talk about — a guess, anyone? — football. He’s only been joining in on-air the last five years. No big deal.
I jest. And he knows it, for he takes a lot of things in good humour, except when it comes to common sense. Or the frustrating lack thereof.
Don’t ask him about what’s needed to best groom the next generation of empire-builders for he has a lot to say, and he doesn’t sugar-coat his words.
(Rightfully so. He’s only clocked up 23 years of working experience, 15 of which are with Rantau, and the rest, as he says, covering the “gamut of communications and media disciplines, from 3D animation, production, events and PR to digital billboards.”)
You cannot always be a fully hands-on CEO, he believes, for good reason.
“You need to entrust people with work,” he explains, “and through experience you realise they can do their jobs.”
“You need to take the shelter off them and that’s when they grow up.”
The final authority rests with him, obviously, as the CEO, but as he reminds me, even when critical decisions need to be made, “I am just a text away.”
In these contemporary times of cloud computing, he asserts, you don’t even need a laptop to check on your work: you just need your phone.
But (and there is always a but) “I’ve seen a lot of newbies — I interview them, I work with them — and what’s missing is common sense.”
“If you don’t know how to take a bus or a cab when you’re 22 to attend an interview….” and he is shaking his head to conclude the observation.
He has a point. In an age where there is a multitude of public transportation and ride-sharing services, there really is little need to be driven and hand-held when you’re asking someone to hire you when you have no work experience.
“Don’t think you’re entitled to anything,”
he says, the emphasis on the word ‘entitled’ making me think if it stays on his tongue a second longer it might scald it.
He is not alone in thinking this. After speaking with dozens of CFOs, COOs and CEOs, this seems to be a common lament.
“I would throw them in the deep end and see how they survive. That’s when their instincts kick in. And that’s when you know when the person is worth keeping.”
He’s not being vicious — that’s not his style at all — he’s simply imparting valuable nuggets of CEO-level insights that cover both ends of experience, as an employee and as a business leader. CEOs are not exactly born the minute they exit the varsity campus gates.
But like Rantau, he has a youthful appreciation for innovation and fluid market responsiveness.
“This,” he declares, tapping on the screen of his smartphone, “is the screen now. In the 70s, it was the TV, billboards, and then other media came along and everyone was competing — media managers were telling advertisers, tell me what your message is and we’ll tell you where to put it. Then the job fell to corporate communicators. Now, in this day and age, it is the age of PR, and now the phone is the screen that people cannot live without.”
It might seem obvious to a Gen-Y or Gen-Z, but saying this out loud sounds like (another) clarion call for business evolution — specifically, the business of PR, for Rantau and for its clients, some of whom may be stubbornly insistent that their digital presence is a by-the-way rather than a we-need-to-do-this pressing matter.
He’s equally comfortable reiterating the importance of the old-school ways of the business (“Taking editors out for drinks and building relationships with them — does anyone do that anymore?” he wonders out loud,) as he is learning about new ways and lightning-fast developments.
“I’m a paid-up member of the relationship management club,” he says, without a trace of apology. Even though he recognises the liquid nature of media ownership and media presence in 2016’s capricious economy.
“Everyone who has a Facebook page is a media owner,” he says, not unkindly.
He also understands part of his job is to manage a client’s aversion to change. (Such as making space for digital branding and communication amidst the thick undergrowth of traditional communication.)
But change is what his team of 12 manages well, and not just crisis management.
Rantau, founded by his wife Janitha and her friends in 1992, can now include Big Blue Marble in their family as the new addition takes care of strategy-based consulting. Give me a ‘for instance’?
“If a bank has an internal comms team, it needs senior leadership to guide it. Instead of hiring an entire agency, which is the more prevalent route with SMEs, we at Big Blue Marble will come in and provide strategic and policy guidance, and the execution can subsequently be carried out by the internal comms team.”
This is when his wife — now Consulting Director, after taking a sabbatical in 2008 to spend more time with their children — steps in, fully armed and loaded with expertise, to help clients figuratively look their best in the marketplace.
“We help you identify where and why you need to speak to which people,” he smiles confidently, “and what messages you need to craft.”
Of course. Because, as most of us know, messages can get lost in translation.
Original article written by the B Tribe (link)
Blogger Review - Logitech M280 Mouse
This post and its photos was sourced with permission from original blogger. (Original Link)
Written from the perspective of someone who relies heavily on her mouse, the blogger of Sugoi Days shares her review on the new and colourful M280.
****
After 4 years of faithful servitude, it finally happened. My laptop's touchpad lost its touch. Like literally. I can barely control my cursor with the touchpad now and on top of that, whenever the laptop is plunged in and charging, the cursor runs amok and just starts clicking at random, causing me to accidentally erase my work multiple times. Several times, I have come very close to chucking my laptop out the window...
It's amazing how something as simple as a touchpad could be taken for granted. Then fortunately, I managed to get my hands on the latest Logitech M280 mouse. Compared to the M235 mouse, this one had a more ergonomically form for comfortable use. In other words, it fills my palm much better this time, making it perfect for long hours of usage.
It even has side curves for me to rest my thumb and pinky while gripping it and the soft rubber grips makes it so much more comfortable to hold it.
Much like the M235, the M280 is a wireless mouse with a plug-and-forget nano receiver which is now permanently plugged into one of my laptop's port holes. I can just leave it in there, stuff my laptop into my bag and head off to work without worry of loosing it. In fact, I have even left the mouse at home by accident once instead of the receiver. When not in use, the bottom of the mouse features a small storage pocket just for it.
One AA battery can supposedly last for over a year but depends on its usage of course. Another plus point is its ability to put itself to sleep or standby mode when not in use. This saves the battery life and me the hassle of turn it off should I need to leave it idle on my desk or bag.
And most impressively is its precision tracking that allows the mouse to be used on even a bed (which the M235 could not be used on) thanks to Logitech's Advanced Optical Tracking. Its Advanced Optical Tracking allows smooth cursor control, precise tracking and easy text selection. Very convenient for a person who works at a desk and then on her bed.
This is perhaps the ideal solution to my touchpad-less state as it is as simple and hassle-free as a mouse can get with all the added benefits of a cordless, energy saving device. Not to mention, I really love the way the red mouse just stands out so vibrantly alongside my apple green laptop. It's so ideal for light, non-competitive gaming and is compatible with major operating systems. 
The Logitech M280 mouse comes in three colours; red, blue and black and is priced at a suggested retail price of RM59. For more information, visit www.logitech.com.
The Logitech M280 mouse comes in three colours; red, blue and black and is priced at a suggested retail price of RM59. For more information, visit www.logitech.com.
Porki Society Boat Noodles
WARNING: Non-halal. May induce cravings and hunger pangs.
Boat noodles seems to have taken off in the Klang Valley. Within a span of six months, two boat noodles places have opened up within Petaling Jaya alone but they are in no way each other's competition. Simply because one of them serves pork.
Oh yes. A huge majority of Rantaurians are pork lovers and there was no way we could not say no to pork. Living up to its namesake, Porki Society in Seapark was the pork version of boat noodles, keeping true to its Thailand counterparts.
BTS: Rakuten Blogger Session@Gardens Cafe Midvalley
Give two girls free reign of an entire floor of the Garden's Cafe, Midvalley and within an hour, they have reshuffled every table and chairs to suit their seating arrangement needs. Can't get anymore hands on than that.
At T-3 hours to Rakuten Malaysia's first ever Blogger session, Senri (the intern) and I arrived at the venue and immediately started setting up for the event. Client was due to arrive in a couple of hours for a meeting and to see the set up and we wanted something to show for it.
Hence the dragging and moving of tables and chairs. Mind you, it wasn't an easy task as the tables were of different shapes (and heavy!) and the chairs were taking up more space than needed. But we managed. Somehow.
And when the client arrived at 4pm, we were more or less set and ready. With the venue arrangements. There were still clothes to be steamed out, bags and shoes to be laid out, stickers to be stuck everywhere....
At 6pm, bloggers started pouring in. Well, tickling in like the rain outside that evening. Taken in by the airy and garden-like theme of the cafe, they started doing their thing which were OOTD (outfit of the day) and mingling amongst each other. All the bloggers wore something from Rakuten and each and every one of them looked fashionable. Rakuten offers all sort of fashion wear to suit any fashion style and with every purchase you make, you gain points too!
The event kicked off with a few words by yours truly followed by Rita from Rakuten before we made way to fashion photographer and stylist, Alexio Yeoh. Needless to say, the bloggers were drawn in by his explanations and tips on the latest fashion trends.
Dinner was served throughout the event, kicking off with Garden cafe's delicious wild mushroom soup and followed by a choice of either Coffee-braised lamb shank or seared salmon. Having tried and tasted the food before the event, Senri and I both agreed on the lamb shank for its juicy succulent meat. As for the coffee-braised part, we couldn't really get a taste of it. Rita agreed with us. The salmon would have been great had it not lost its heat. Note to self: salmon looses its heat fast.
To end the night and the event, tiramisu and hazelnut cake was served. While the hazelnut cake was dry and ended with us picking the nuts off the top, the tiramisu was a win with its soft spongy layer that were rich in espresso. Yummy!
Our dear bloggers shared our sentiments too, thanking us again for the lovely event (if we may say so ourselves) and the interesting talk by Alex. Well, bloggers, we are glad you had fun and look forward to working with you again.
Again, thank you Rakuten for letting us be a part of this fun campaign that brought out the fashionista in all of us.
Signing off,
Tania 'Fun Size" Wee
DIGI CFC5 #IdeaJam
"I wish I have an app that could...teleport me from one end to another because that way, I can skip the jam!" Okay, that is not logic at all. Anyways, the existence of apps has made everything so much easier. For example, Waze ensure people don't lose their way (although they still do), Instagram encourage the trend of #asianatwork.
The industry still believe there are still many possible ways to create more creative apps for the society in the future. Digi CFC5 #IdeaJam is where the top 60 contestants pitch their idea to the mentors, in hopes of developing a real app for the future. The event was held at The Genovasi Space, Section 13.
It was this *point at self* intern's first time attending an event as the company's representative, not as a blogger. Hence, she was blur and confused while standing there watching her seniors mingling with the media. But it was alright afterwards because the seniors explained to her on the do's and don'ts in such events. *started writing down notes*
Not too long after, the members of the media were led to the press conference. Joachim, the Head of Communications from Digi then gave his speech as well as the nutshell about IdeaJam during the conference.
Coffee addicts were in luck that night because there was coffee specially made by The Mad Alchemy. The intern had always wanted to try out their coffee and finally she had hers last Friday. They were pretty good! She had TWO cups. (Don't worry, she still snooze straight away when she got back home) Wanna know how good is the coffee? Look at the picture below.
During the event, we can see not only the contestants are having their exciting moments but the mentors are having their great time as well. The weird intern was attracted by the 12 commandments frame before she realized it was on sale for RM30.
A short briefing was given to the ideators on currency that they need to get from the mentors based on the creativity of their ideas. Facilitator will then collect the total currency each ideators and tally the scores. Top 5 from each category will move on to the Top 20.
Let the jamming begins!
The floor was filled with ideators, mentors, passion and motivation. The participants are getting so excited, cracking their brain and pitching their inventions to the mentors to share those dedication of theirs.
That is the sample of cheque that the ideators need to get from mentors. After two rounds of pitching session, the scores are being counted. Some of us took the opportunity to interview some of the ideators to know more about their ideas.
The night ended with the part where everyone is waiting for ---- Top 20 announcement.
It was a nice experience working as behind the scene person although I don't do much except taking pictures and interviewing the ideators. So, see you again in the next post?
Yours truly,
Intern Senri aka Ning aka Hello Kitty aka Kickapoo aka.... (the list of nicknames go on and on and on)
About Hello Kitty
Senri studies at IACT college at Jaya One, adores her dog Boy Boy, volunteers at adoption drives on weekends and would die for Moo Cow yogurt. She is also a blogger who takes and edits her photos at www.senrining.com. Do check her out :)
Logitech sponsored League of Legends Tournament
Held in conjunction with the biggest Anime, Comic and Game convention in Malaysia, Comic Fiesta 2013 for the first time ever, the League of Legends tournament was held in KLCC and for the first time ever, Logitech was one of its main sponsors.
The event saw fans of the game from Malaysia, Singapore and the neighboring countries crowding the main stage early for the launch. It was so crowded that passerby had to hug and creep along the hall walls to get passed.
Rantau PR was fortunate to have been able to attend this event for the first time. While China man, Yin Kiat was in awe at the Comic Fiesta setup and the massive attendance, our senior consultant Daisy experienced....culture-shock. Her face was priceless when several cosplayers strolled past her with a group of photographers behind them. It took our resident blogger who was actually at the event as an official blogger for Comic Fiesta to explain the concept of cosplayers and the popularity of Comic Fiesta to Daisy, claiming that this was in fact normal.
The launch of League of Legends kicked off with a cosplay contest with cosplayers dressing up as their favourite game character.
Soon after the cosplayers had strolled off (only to be jumped on by eager photographers), the emcees took over to announce the start of the competition and display the coveted trophy.
The game was displayed on the big screen up front where the audiences got to watch the team battle it out using their tactics and teamwork to take out their opponents. The winners of the day would then advance into the finals the next day. 
And like any sporting event, two entertaining commentators kept the game alive by provide their feedback and thoughts on the game play.
Why LOL was so popular was beyond our understanding but Logitech sure understood as one of the main sponsors for the grand prize winners. Expanding into gaming, Logitech offers gamers an enduring and comfortable gaming experience with their highly specialized hardware.
Strictly for gamers.
For more photos, check out our Facebook album here and don't forget to like to follow us for more updates and whacky misadventures.
Subaru's Car of 2014
With 2014 just around the corner, Subaru has debuted their must-have car for fans of the brand at the recent KLIMS 2013. The Subaru XV Crosstrek edition comes with asthetic enhancements such as the mesh front grille, roof spoiler, daytime running lamps, customized sporty leather interior amongst other things. In top of that, the car also comes in Tangerine Orange Pearl, a eye-catching unusual colour suited to welcome the new year and to ensure you never mistaken your car for someone else's car ever again.
Only 55 united of the Subaru XV Crosstrek is available in Malaysia. For more information on Subaru, log on to www.motorimage.net
Related articles
- Subaru XV Crosstrek KLIMS13 introduced to Malaysia(inautonews.com)
- Automotive News - Subaru XV Crosstrek KLIMS13 Shown Sweet(technologyka.wordpress.com)