April 2016

Celebrating Its 20 Years in Asia — The Hoffman Agency’s Three Strategies in Digital PR

Established at Silicon Valley in 1987, The Hoffman Agency has provided comprehensive PR support to a variety of clients all over the world, and is now celebrating its 20th anniversary in Asia. Throughout its history, the Agency has actively responded to various industry changes to develop a client-centric business model.

“You Sir, You Have 30 Days to Prove You’re an Exec of a U.S. Company With a License.”

The first few months of my work in Singapore in 1996 were complicated because I had to leave the country every 60 days to have my passport re-stamped as a visitor. In addition to a few out-of-country business trips, and one trip home, that meant a couple of one-night sojourns on [...]

Did You Hear the One About the Nail That Stood Out?

The year was 2000. I had just arrived in Seoul after 13 hours in the air and contorting my frame to the dreaded middle seat. Normally, I would take the blue bus to the hotel. But I was two hours away from speaking at a conference staged by a Korean version [...]

It’s all about the PEOPLE at Hoffman

My time at The Hoffman Agency was regretfully short-lived, but so full — impactFUL and meaningFUL, that is. It represented a turning point in my career — from meeting the most amazing people and picking up important lessons in leadership, to learning the true art of storytelling. I joined the Singapore [...]

Intersection of East (Taiwan) and West (Silicon Valley) Transcends Business

I didn’t know it at the time, but the Hyundai Electronics press tour in 1994 saw the start of two special relationships in Asia. You’ve already heard from Young Sohn, founder of InComm and our partner in Korea for the early years. The second person was Olive Ting, whose firm Era [...]

A Startup in Asia Pacific No More

This stretch of Tanjong Pagar Road “showcases” our first office in Singapore. It turns out the very same shot appears in Wikipedia. Talk about a startup. In 1996 Hoffman Asia Pacific was a classic — roots spreading from San Jose to Singapore in one fell swoop, without proven leadership (me), little-to-no [...]

China and the Résumé that Didn’t Slip Between the Cracks

Photo Caption: My relationship with Zhong evolved into a friendship. This photo shows her with my kids (Diego and Pilar) in their younger days during a day trip to San Francisco. I had the good fortune of calling The Hoffman Agency my employer for more than 16 years, beginning my journey [...]

Talk About Being Truly Global

Malaysian girl in Silicon Valley. Who would have thought? Sixteen years ago, I made my way to San Jose. It was 1999, my 10th month into a great job at Intel, and I was loving every bit of it. Little did I know that things were about to change drastically and [...]

Team Spirit a Winner for Hoffman Asia Pacific

We first connected with David Frost, founder of Australian PR agency PR Deadlines, back in 2001 for an assignment involving Juniper Networks. The fit worked. We’ve been teaming with PR Deadlines ever since. David’s son Luke is now a big part of PR Deadlines. Even at an early age, Luke proved calm [...]

Twenty Years in a Changing World

I met Julian in 1993 when he was working in Silicon Valley for Cunningham (later sold to Citigate). Between his smarts, professorial air and British accent — still slays American audiences; just check out the ratings for Downton Abbey — I hoped to never encounter him in a new-business pitch. As [...]