I met Young Sohn for the first time in 1994 during the “infamous” Hyundai Electronics press tour. It’s hard to explain in words, but I felt an instant connection with this man. How can this be? Even today, I’m not quite sure. Here’s what I do know. What started off as [...]
Ray Schuster started our Asia Pacific operation in Singapore. It wasn’t easy. We didn’t have an international expansion department. No, I take that back. Ray was our international expansion department. He navigated the government regulations. He found our office space and oversaw the buildout as well as played interior designer down to [...]
We talk about the launch of Asia Pacific as if it were one launch. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Every single office had to be started from scratch. Behind every single office stands an individual who believed in our mission and worked 24/7 to make it happen. For the [...]
Some celebrities achieve one-name status. Adele. Ronaldo. Kobe. As the Agency’s first staff member hired in Asia Pacific, Maureen Tseng has achieved one-syllable status … “Mo.” Out of all the decisions Ray Schuster, who launched our AP operation, made over his stint in Singapore, I think he’d agree the hiring of [...]
Congratulations to The Hoffman Agency (HA) for 20 years in Asia Pacific. Lou, Ray Schuster and Maureen Tseng had one heck of a vision. It is great to see that their vision has materialized. From the outside, it seems like the company is as strong as ever having reinvented itself as a [...]
When Lou asked me to contribute some thoughts about the 20th anniversary of Hoffman AP, I told him I was truly honored because being involved at the beginning meant so much to me, not to mention providing an opportunity to hone my global communications chops. Moreover, it was such a stroke of [...]
The Agency opened its doors in Asia on Oct. 20, 1996. It has been an amazing, fun, torturous, weird, satisfying, frustrating and enlightening run. This blog celebrates the looming 20-year milestone, lending a voice to all the people who contributed to our success in the region. I made my first trip to [...]
The above photo depicts the front of a store in Shanghai called “Children’s Food.” I’m thinking such a store capitalizes on all parents’ quest to give their kids the best — the best education, the best nutrition, etc. Not quite. It turns out “Children’s Food” sells candy. Row after row after row of every type of candy you can imagine. I never thought of malt balls and gummy bears as children’s food. With that said, I admire the owner’s pluck in putting a positive spin on candy.
Global PR is more than just the dots on a map. The most important factor in the success or failure of an international PR campaign comes down to mentality. Two basic questions go a long way toward revealing the presence of a global mentality: Do the account team members collaborate in [...]
