I was recently featured in the MSC’s (Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor) campaign, promoting ICT and the benefits and impact it has on our lives;
Hello friends of Pulse – Hoping everyone’s had a wonderful April, and looking forward to winding down to a long relaxing weekend. It’s been an exciting and extremely busy month once again at Pulse, with lots of developments happening throughout our global network. I hope to share some of the updates throughout this blog in the coming weeks.
Last night however, I was invited to speak at an entrepreneurial event organised by TeAM or (Technopreneurs Association Malaysia). TeAM are now in it’s 6th year of operation, and have achieved a tremendous amount within that time in developing the ‘entrepreneurial eco-system’ here in Malaysia. I was proud to be invited to speak at their 6th AGM here in Kuala Lumpur, to share my experience on entrepreneurship, but also how we view 2009 and beyond. Here’s some snippets;
Some of the CSF’s (Critical Success Factors) that have brought Pulse to this stage;
The reality of 2009
an upswing
5. VC’s and PE’s will be tough to squeeze funds from. Exits are bleak
6. Cost of capital will be high…seek grants, debt funding, and low-
Interest loans
7. Leverage favorable FOREX if possible
8. Move fast
Closing Thoughts
Pulse expands VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) capacity in Malaysia and announces ISO intentions
Pulse today announced that it has opened its second facility in Malaysia, this time in the Multimedia Super Corridor zone known as Cyberjaya.
The new facility will expand the Company’s CATI (Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing) capacity by 45 more seats bringing its total capacity to 65 seats. The new facility will also act as a disaster recovery centre and will minimise the risk of down-time during the Company’s project schedule.
Pulse’s CEO, Bob Chua commented “While others in the US and Europe are closing CATI facilities, Pulse continues to expand its capacity in response to a steady and continuing growth in the demand for both multi-lingual CATI engagements and Online Research across the region. Pulse’s strength and expertise makes it a natural partner for research and media agencies who might be seeking to streamline their own operations in the region”.
Pulse has also announced that it will be embarking on the ISO certification of its operational centres, with the intention of further enhancing its operational standards and delivery mechanisms.
Pulse’s CEO, Bob Chua commented “Our quest towards delivering the highest quality data and service levels has never been more important, as we build our capacity to handle larger and more complex engagements.”
About Pulse Group PLC
Pulse Group plc is a holding company whose wholly owned subsidiary, Pulse BPO
Sdn. Bhd. (together, the “Pulse Group”), is a leading provider of research
process outsourced (”RPO”) services within the Asia-Pacific region
predominantly to market research and media companies, based anywhere around the
world, wishing to conduct research within the region. It also provides its
services to RPO companies based in other parts of the world who have a need to
conduct research within the Asia-Pacific region.
Please visit www.pulse-group.com for more information.
The Directors take responsibility for the content of this announcement.
ENQUIRIES:
PULSE GROUP PLC
BOB CHUA, CHAIRMAN
TELEPHONE: +6 (03) 2167 6666
EMAIL: bob.chua@pulse-group.com
CORPORATE ADVISERS
WHIM GULLY CAPITAL LLP
OLIVER COOKE, PARTNER
TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1488 608877
EMAIL: OCOOKE@WHIMGULLYCAPITAL.COM
I remember watching Sydney fall into total darkness two years ago, from my balcony facing the city. We used to live in Pyrmont, as suburb facing a backdrop of a beautiful Sydney skyline, the Victoria harbour, and the tip of one of the most photographed buildings, the Sydney Opera house. The phenomenon which I was experiencing, was the brainchild of Leo Burnett Australia, who had been briefed with building one of the most powerful campaigns today by the WWF, with the aim of creating environmental awareness throughout the world.
What started in Australia however, has now captured the hearts and minds of 50 million people worldwide, 74 countries, and more then 1 billion people voting against ‘global warming’ by switching their lights off for an hour between 8.30pm and 9.30pm wherever they were.
This weekend, I was particularly proud to be a part of the campaign right here in Malaysia, where 89 per cent of households said that they had participated in this national event. I had also experienced an awe inspiring view of the KL skyline, with the KL Tower, and the Petronas Twin towers shutting their lights at exactly 8.30pm..what a sight. It was a real fuzzy feeling to see that Malaysians took this effort seriously, but more so how the power of media, and particularly Media 2.0 created the viral awareness to make such a campaign as successful as it was.
Besides the various media campaigns by celebrities on TV, print campaigns in various publications, and some radio commercials, I truly believe that the largest multiplier effect came from the Web, in particular Facebook and Twitter. At a last glance, the Earth Hour Malaysia Facebook page boasted 66,158 registered users, with the fifth highest global ranking of Earthhour.org users, ahead of countries such as the UK, and the founders themselves, Australia.
As you know, one of the most talked about Web2.0 phenomenon’s right now is Twitter, the microblogging site which enables a maximum of a 140 character message. If you’ve read my previous articles, you would realise that I have been clinically diagnosed as being a raging Twitterholic, and hence my fascination with seeing Earthhour unfold via Twitter was almost an addiction. I managed to track keywords, or in twitter speak..hashtags via a Twitter application called wwwtwitterfall.com , a pretty cool application which allows for a concerted tracking mechanism of various hashtags to be tracked in one form.
Twitter attracted a huge following here in Malaysia, while a global chronology of events were unfolding with the hashtags #earthhour and #EHM. I found Twitterfall to be an amazing tool to track topics, brands, and people being discussed on Twitter, in a very user-friendly and simplistic manner, possibly a great tip to Marketers when deploying or measuring Media 2.0 campaigns.
All-in-all, I believe the initiatives and tools of any campaign today is experiencing a huge shift towards media 2.0, with Web 2.0 being one of the fastest multipliers, engaging, and user generated content enabling mediums that we will see more of in time to come. Thank you Leo Burnett, WWF, Facebook, Twitter, and all of you wonderful Malaysians who made this campaign an amazing success. Look forward to getting together again, in a virtual world, to create real impact. Until then, switching off…..http://twitter.com/BOBCHUA
ASIA PACIFIC 2009
COMPETING ON A WORLD STAGE
Asia is a mosaic of old and new, rich and poor, simple and complicated, artificial and natural, east and west and so much more. It has a young spirit with enough energy to produce innovative new approaches, ambitious thoughts, novel methods and innovative technologies within marketing and market research.
What are these Asian approaches? What are Asian insights? What are Asian secrets to sustainable growth? Can Asian methodologies be applied on a world stage?
Answering these exciting questions will be the engine which drives Asian economies and our research industry in the years to come. Those who understand their markets and can react quickly to change will be the big success stories of the future.
This conference explores what we can expect from Asia in the fields of marketing and marketing research from three perspectives:
Follow ‘LIVE’ updates via Twitter from our very own Pulse Group CEO at http://twitter.com/BOBCHUA