Thursday, July 19, 2007

Re-branding for Iskandar, already?

Foxy moves. Shahrir Samad, it seems, is expected to propose to the government that the Iskandar Development Region be renamed Iskandar. The blogger Cuit-Sikit says Fox Communications, the pr outfit created by two ex-editors close to the PM, could be given a lucrative contract for the re-branding.
If that is so, other pr agencies can eat their hearts out. Like they have been doing over quite a few projects ranging from the Monsoon Cup to Synergy Drive.

I heard also that Fox has landed a job to re-brand and revamp our National Service programme. We'll be getting quite a bit of Australian and Singapore inputs here.

Update 6pm
According to Johorean blogger Ruhanie Ahmad, a Malay professional body has submitted a memorandum to King and Prime Minister demanding the resolution of 20 issues before the Government presses ahead with Iskandar. Read the posting here.

25 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:26 pm

    i am sorry...? inputs from the Ozzie and the Red Dotters?

    well, the ozzie can tell our kids how to be pirates. believe me, they can and they will. because thats what they are. opps.. sorry, i mean they were.

    and, ahh..the dotters. hurrm.. they might give our kids something to know about globalisation and 'how to sue your oppositions with hefty summons'..

    you might turn to 007 theme song, 'diamonds are forever'. this fox cleopatra firm is always forever.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:54 pm

    i still remember vividly that 3 of us were having drinks and one of the subjects that crop out was the appointment of Badawi as the PM. two of us were of the same view that at last we see the end of the excesses, cronyism economics and abuses of the police and judiciary under Tun. However, my opposing friend ( who is a staunch Buhhist) told me that his master from Nepal tells him that based on the PM's features and profiles, Badawi will be even worse than Tun as the PM of the country. We gave him a good piece of our mind as how can an uncorrupted and religious person such as Badawi be that bad. That was 4 years ago. Now, probably we see the true Badawi.
    God bless M'sia and keep her safe from extremism and bigotry.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1:04 pm

    Why? Not getting enough investor ka? Carrot is being dangle to pccw. does it mean that government dont trust maxis anymore?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous2:12 pm

    FOR those not familiar with Fox, the two Editors the Bru meant are - 1/ Datuk Wong Sulong 2/ (soon-to-be-Datuk Brendan Pereira.

    Datuk Wong has an Australian PR, I am sure. He worked in Australia for many years, including a radio station there.

    Mr Pereira is said to have a Singapore PR, worked (or still works, some said) with the ST.

    Both of them resigned last year from STAR and NST, respectively. They are both close to Datuk Seri Kalimullah, who is close to Nor Mohd Yakcop and the PM. They were rival editors who quit their newspapers and joined forces to serve their masters as their PR people.

    This country, ALL BOLEH.

    ReplyDelete
  5. it's all about contacts..nothing else but contacts.

    -The Man Who Sold The World-

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous3:11 pm

    Yeah, yeah right, mr no pr.

    In this Boleh Land, semuanya BOLEH.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous4:21 pm

    Hi there Bro,

    My 2 cents worth. Let the sharks play with the sharks as we small fries eat whatever is left. Afterall, through my own experience, after leaving the corporate world, there are still lots of opportunity for small people like me to do and make forture out of it, with God blessings.

    Take care.

    ~THE SIMPLE LIFE~

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous5:55 pm

    First what they do or say, they think that they are right. But when point out to them what they said or did is wrong or illegal..they will tell you "SO WHAT!! what can you do about it?
    these are the true motherduckers.

    d4f

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous6:17 pm

    This is a pitching from UonlyLiveOnce PR LLC agency
    And some more it's free!

    we shall now declare IDR officially renamed:

    Please come-bah! (PCb)

    Short & simple & to the point!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous7:41 pm

    Rebrand Iskandar?

    Hmmmm. The Sultan might get mad.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous7:52 pm

    This is hardly a rebranding exercise. A brand is more than just a name or a logo. It is an expectation, and they can hype as much as they want but if there is no delivery then it is quickly found out, e.g. MDC, MSC, Malaysian Biotech etc.

    A name change itself is not a bad idea given our tendency to give bland descriptive or functional names to nearly every initiative. These invariably end up being abbreviated, further accentuating their blandness, (e.g. IDR and the above examples). Bear in mind the purpose of a brand is to differentiate.

    A great name therefore, needs to be based on a positioning strategy, as would everything else that goes to meeting an expectation, from the other elements of the identity, to the products and services offered.

    This then, is nothing more than a renaming exercise, which seems to suggest they don’t have a proper brand positioning strategy. A name like Iskander indicates that there would have to be considerable investments in promotions/advertising,PR, ( hype), just to establish some context for their ‘brand’.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is what we got
    Peanuts in our pockets
    And we want to challenge global players
    A far fetched dream perhaps

    Even IDR can’t stay long
    After much publicity money spent
    Now the government wants to change name
    Giving business to PM close friends
    Former newspapers’ editors
    Lucrative contracts
    For a name change

    The fault lies with Abdullah
    If he couldn’t find a suitable name then
    He shouldn’t publicly announce the projects
    Then start to rebrand a new name
    Because prospective investors aren’t coming
    Najib went to sell in the lion city

    Now it isn’t successful, is it?
    No tender for this rebranding exercise?
    All tie in connections here and there
    The lion and the kangaroo
    The tiger stays silence in its jungle
    Disappearing specie dares not attract attention
    Living quietly sending out feelers

    IDR to Iskandar
    For an is(land) and (nasi) kandar
    The island of the Pearl of the Orient
    Aptly branded so it will sell

    ReplyDelete
  13. The Malay Professional Body which sent the memorandum, could it be PROWARIS, headed by one of Tun Musa's relative, Feriz Omar?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Will be discussing about Computer & Internet Security in couple of days time at:
    http://whisperingshout.blogspot.com/

    Do drop by

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous8:52 am

    I wonder who was given the RM9 million to do up some adverts for the agriculture ministry - same boys kot?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous9:41 am

    Let Shahrizat Sister, Shahmeen President of IPRM come up and "ban" the FOX from being a credible PR practice.

    PRCAM (Public Relations Consultants Association of Malaysia) does not also have FOX as a member, what does it tell you about credibility.....

    Corret, everything here in MALAYSIA is NOT CREDIBLE at all, all credible people are sent into "Siberia", just count the ones U know.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous11:53 am

    'Satu Kertas Tuntutan Mengenai WPI
    Dihantar Kepada Raja-Raja Melayu'
    we still have Raja-Raja Melayu to refer to, thanks to bloggers united.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous1:34 pm

    abang attan..

    saya dah dapat kapal terbang baru..itu sebab saya tinggal majlis perkebumian yang terkorban mangsa nuri.. . KAPAL TERBANG BARU TERUS TERBANG KE.. AUSTRALIA..

    NAJIB TOLONG SAYA JAGA KESUCI AL QURAN DI MELAKA..saya suruh najib rasmi majlis tilawah al quran.. bini saya tak suka majlis al quran ni..di suka shoping beli minyak wanggi... saya hanyal....

    siapa nak mati ke.. banjir,... dia punya pasal.."mahathir buat saya jalan kaki 3 tahun 10 bulan..itu sebab dedam kasumat saya..jam tu saya naib presiden.. "

    SAYA DAH MULA HAYAL...MAAFKAN SAYA ABANG ATTAN...

    ReplyDelete
  19. defeats the purpose of rebranding when the source is not credible

    ReplyDelete
  20. The National Service program doesn't need more spinmasters.
    It needs competent management.

    Why can't these thick headed fellas understand that ?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous5:42 pm

    Wong sulong and pereira are shameless mercenaries who have destroyed journalism. they have sold themselves by pandering to the powers-that-be under the guise of truthful journalism. What a joke. But the sad thing is that they are going to be rich by hawking Iskandar. Well done Sulong and Pereira, the gods of journalism.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous8:47 pm

    Wong Sulong also calls the shots in Star..asked their sports desk.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous2:08 am

    Who care whatever they want to name..
    a failure, it's always a failure

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous3:04 am

    Give me a break!.

    With a pm, having a brain as big as a testicle & testicles as big as a brain, do u believe in this WPI thing.

    WPI is a just a feel good thing... just a fiction.

    Much better to queue up & get thelatest harry potter.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous2:55 pm

    Rebrand Iskandar? Yes with lots of paint, condiments and stuff and come up with Nasi Kandar!!

    We just frightened off all the foreign investors by telling them we are indeed an Islamic State, always have been, so watch out.

    Maybe there is an uncovered, sinister plot by certain party members to undermine and destabilise the "leadership" of Pokemon who is currently overseas singing "I dream of Jeannie with sweet brown 'eyes' ".

    ReplyDelete