The Blair Which Project ?

A year tomorrow and Tony Blair (plus New Labour) will have been in power precisely a decade. So has Blair been a success or failure ? Is he a saint or a sinner ? Which Blair and his New Labour project will be remembered ? Well frankly I don't know, so I asked my team here in Singapore what they thought instead (after all this blog is meant to be about a different perspective from the other side of the world right ?).  

So will TB be remembered for 'war and waste' ? (as Sir Menzies Campbell described it today). Or will he be recalled as an astute leader who aligned himself (and the UK) with the US to strengthen his (and the countrys ?) aspirations to be at the top table ? (aka Team America : World Police).

Well, the attitude amongst my team over here is a mixture of the two. The war in Iraq was considered rash. No WMD's. Oops. The first time he showed signs of not knowing when to draw the line, as one of my team put it.

The general consensus is that Tony is a powerful 'political performer'. Clearly he is well known on the international stage and respected as someone who can 'hold his own'. At least that's what I think they meant.

As for domestic policy, no-one over here seems to know (or care). Cash for honours ? Stealth taxes ? Violent crime doubled ? NHS in meltdown ?

None of that raises the merest blip on the radar out here. But his dodgy looking wife and 'appearance' in The Queen both rated pretty highly though.

Shanghai Surprise

No I'm not referring to the celluloid excrement starring Madonna, rather the use of Minority Report style presentation screens in our Shanghai office.

I have seen them demoed (is that a real word ?) a few times now (the first time at our annual conference in Hong Kong a few months ago). But today I had a go of one. In a word ? Awesome.

The latest technology is fully embraced when it comes to delivering cutting edge presentations in APAC. And it's an investment well made methinks as it helps to frame the content in a much more engaging and interesting manner.

However, if you are a technophobe, then be afraid. Be very afraid. It's coming to a (presentation) screen near you soon...

Bite Me

I've stopped using Issey Miyake aftershave and taken to using Tiger Balm Mosquito Repellent. I might not smell quite so fragrant but at least I'm not getting eaten alive by mozzies any more. Which also means I don't spend half my time in meetings scratching like a dog with mange.

It appears that the mozzies out here have a particular fondness for my sweet Mancunian blood (the only sweet thing about me contends the wife... I can't tell you how funny she is sometimes... seriously, I just can't tell you...).

I'd only been here a few weeks when I was bitten on the finger at a garden centre. The next day it resembled a cumberland sausage. Actually it looked quite comical, even to me, until I was told about how a certain black and white striped mozzie carries a rather nasty virus called Dengue Fever. So when my 'sausage finger' started turning purple and looking quite angry, it was agreed by all that I should probably have it looked at.

I guess you know it's not good when the Doctor looks at your affliction and even he winces.

Anyway, since then I've avoided garden centres (not difficult, trust me) and started wearing spray-on repellent. I only need that for the mozzies though according to the wife as I apparently do a pretty good job of being generally repellent all by myself. She really cracks me up that one...

Zap ! Pow ! Kabam !

Holy schedules, Media Man ! What's this amazing new communication method employed by publisher SPH ? What's that you say Strategy Boy ? ZapCode ? Off to the Comms Cave to investigate...

So what is Zapcode ? Basically it's a unique colour barcode which is placed on ads. The consumer then has to take a picture of the ad using the camera on their mobile phone. Then through er, magic, it links into a microsite which can deliver more information. Simple.

Essentially it brings a 2D ad to life by offering more information to consumers in the form of streaming video, music downloads, trailers, special offers etc.

The technology has already been trialled by media owners (mainly outdoor) in South Korea and Japan. SPH have brought it to Singapore and advertisers such as BMW are already using it here to promote the new 3 Series.

So, is it any good ? Well, the demo I saw was a little clunky to be fair. Took about 4 goes to make it work. Possibly just a few teething problems but it did make me think that (as a consumer) I would probably have given up after a few attempts. Also it hinges on the fact that consumers need to be aware of the technology and are willing to download the free software onto their phone. In fairness, SPH have covered the awareness angle pretty well in the pages of the The Straits Times. But are people actually downloading the software or, more importantly, zapping the code ? Too early to say just now.

Still, you have got to applaud SPH for their innovative thinking. Publishers in the UK (for example, those boys at the Telegraph) are clearly thinking ahead of the curve right now in terms of what they sell and how they sell it, so expect to see ZapCode (or something similar) coming to your shores very soon...