Case Study: Blogger KT Challenging OCBC Advertisement

From time to time, I occasionally pick up a copy of local daily/weekend newspaper to read be it chinese or english. But normally, I read my daily fix of news from the internet nowadays... Anyway, saw an article (pg8 of weekend TODAY Jan9-10) about a blogger Kitchen Tigress demanding to get her cake from OCBC bank outlet @Marine Parade and well she did get her cake. =O But whats the point of her doing that anyway?

Probably, she may want OCBC to know that their bday cake ad is too realistic to make a person like her to believe it is true? What if she did not get her cake in the end, will she go around and tell everyone that OCBC is not sincere? (Mayb tats what the supervisor in that OCBC outlet that day is worrying about and therefore pleased her with a cake anyway.)

The OCBC Bday cake advertisement itself probably is not conceptualised well enough, as such it will misled minority people like blogger KT to dare to challenge OCBC bank outlet for a cake. Opportunity wise, OCBC is able to identify but unable to illustrates it in their ad well. So is OCBC bank's definition of giving a bday person a bday cake means OCBC is able to really delight their customers?(some may see it that way) Isn't banks supposed to make customers feel good and cared for whenever any banking transactions take place at all times? (This should be what OCBC probably want to relate to in their ad, but it does not show clearly in their ad though.)

This ad may give an impression that OCBC only makes customer feels good on important occasions. Therefore, using cake to delight customers in this instance is not a wise choice as smart ppl like KT try to exploit any loophole which she found but disgraced herself instead. Maybe she thinks that OCBC is really sincere in buying her a cake since the advertisement feature a logical gesture. (Giving a cake to a customer is possible whenever a bank outlet is open and a cake shop is nearby.)

The ad should probably include simple or impossible things that illustrates usage of creativity well as people generally will be sure whether it can happen in real life or not. For example, u dun see people challenging redbull's company at all for not granting them wings upon drinking their products, don't u? Thats only possible if u are dreaming about having wings though.

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Conclusion: Blogger tries to pull off a stunt(but fails to certain extent) and draws 'unexpected' visitors to her blog. (Mayb she did anticipates that, who knows?)

OCBC bank should have come out with a more simpler or out-of-a-box idea for their ad that will not cause any slightest misintepretation. Especially those who try to exploit any loopholes that may embarass the client to any degree. Ads for any banks in future will probably not feature likely scenarios that is actually not expected to happen. Lucky in this case, its just a cake and not something more expensive. =P

Note: No pics are posted here due to out of respect for both parties involved.

IPPT - Test of endurance only?

IPPT... a fitness 5 stations (before that was 6) test made compulsory since pri sch for healthy & medically able bodied males to be taken at least once annually until when they aged around 34years old in singapore. (Thats when reservist days for guys usually end nowadays, just dunno if we guys still need to go for IPPT after that. Haha) For females, dun ask me cos I am a male. =)

While Shuttle run and Sit ups are my best 2 performing stations, i had mixed results in Standing broad jump, Pull ups and 2.4km Run.

What's difficult in Standing broad jump? Isn't it standing broadly and then jump far? Well, there are techniques to jump far as some of my friends have told me, but I believe ultimately improving leg muscles can help alot. So far I notice whenever I have been cycling regularly before IPPT, I can jump better with much ease. (I can jump anywhere from 210cm - 235cm) Hmmm... Jumping over 215cm can be tricky at times as i often retake my IPPT partly because of this simple station. *Damned it, got to fine tuned my techniques... =X

I wonder if I try to reach for the sky, will
I be able to jump further?

Then comes pull ups - test of strength and muscular endurance in my upper body. I can only manage at best 8 pull ups count at one go when i am fitter during my NS rather than now. For now, i think at best a borderline 6, therefore I should go train my upper arm power soon if not i confirm will fail... Somemore, gym cost about $2.50 per trip. Nowadays, cannot afford it (Its not as if 1 gym session will guaranteed you a pass in IPPT), have to think of other creative ways then...

Running has by far been quite ok for me if i do run/cycle regularly from now till my IPPT date. (Maybe it will be one of the days during last week of Jan if i managed to book a day, else it will be held at a "much difficult to run" track during 1st week of Feb when i go for my reservist!) Best timing so far in my life is only 10:30mins, which is also attained during my NS period. =( Shall currently aim to run better than 11:40mins if i am gonna get at least a bronze award hopefully...

Ok, there isn't much motivation for me to excercise these few days due to massive spring cleaning operation. But I can still find motivation somehow, though I feel its more productive if i do train with a friend. Maybe I shall start cycling again to find my excercising momentum, or maybe I shall devise some unique healthy excercising plan... At any costs, I have decided on doing different excercises to really motivate myself to excercise various parts of muscles, else impending IPPT failure awaits me...

One of the better sunrise shots taken few years back by my friend... Hope my future will be brighter soon... Within 1 - 2 years, I suppose...

P/s: Sorry for lack of relevant photos for this post. (That shows how busy or rather slack I am in training, but I will be sure to increase training soon to keep fit in time for tough challenges ahead...) Who take pics of IPPT stations anyway... =P

KittyLab 35th anniversary - An unique experience for me

Okay dokie, to start the new year on a bright note, i think everyone wants to read about something refreshing and adorable rather than something that is scary and nothing special right? So without typing a whole lot of irrelevant nonsense to welcome the start of a brand new year, I shall straight away start off with an amazing experience of mine in late yr 2009. (I know its yr2010 now, but its only Jan 3 to have any conclusive awesome experience in a new year yet ya? =P)

So anyway, why would a young guy like me be @ KittyLab Expo instead of @ IT fair on 27Nov09 for? Good question right? Well not that I am free enough to go there (need to have a break in midst of exam prep stress!) and also not because I 100% like Hello Kitty okay! (Jus curious to know whether is there Dear Daniel also or not, but sadly only got other friends of Hello Kitty) Hmmm, maybe got Dear Daniel hiding somewhere but i just cannot locate it. Okay anyway, that's not the main reason but it is still a sub reason. =X

Who is cuter? Definitely not me for sure =P

The main reason is actually my friend got an extra booked ticket with no taker for it. Since every other friend seems to be either uninterested about the exhibition to go with 2 young friendly ladies or busy on that day itself, i am invited to go at the expense of $42+-(includes online booking fee) which i am willing to go and see for myself why would Hello Kitty come visit Singapore when there are better locations to visit elsewhere. Merchandise are cute but a little overpriced for most students, popular products are sold too fast(understocked somemore) and unpopular products are aplenty just outside the KittyLab exhibition!!! (A survey beforehand on what local kitty fans do prefer buying will likely help boost sales.)

Thats not really important to some people I believe. Move on... ... My experience is still unique despite any of the above shortcomings. =) Firstly, the three of us happily explore the KittyLab exhibition admiring all the small bitsy wonders of it. But REALLY, the intro story plot at the beginning is just too brief and could be made alot more mysterious to make all Kitty fans squealed in more delight. (I am not a Kitty fan as yet, I only find that Kitty and friends are interesting sanrio characters though)

Where is the story plot???

All the stations for our adventure inside actually do test whether any of us are observant, fast in reacting, how well we performed various tasks, etc... (Don't ask me how i know, it is just what I feel as to a certain extent, it is logical enough to derive at the eventual personality of the kitty in gold-printed Kitty ID card that each paid visitor really do deserve.) Other than that, the mini locations around the kitty tower do look stunningly cute and a little too real not to imagine how living in such a dream place would turn out to be. (But its only a few steps from location to location)

After a supposedly fast completion of all tasks & exploration (50mins compared to the limit of under 35mins or so to attain a good citizens badge), proceeding to the KittyLab customs to check out is also surprisingly unique. Its basically handing over the KTA reader at the counter which we used it to record our choice of kitty costume progress at the various stations as we complete the tasks with curiosity!!! It is also then that i found out that i did not achieved my "maybe too ambitious" target of getting a kittyLab good citizen badge. I do get a nice Kitty ID card as a consolation though. (I am not that depressed over not receiving a good citizen as it does not really matters! Seriously, its the experience that counts!!)

Am I a Kitty in disguise? heheh

Overall, my simple verdict would be that it is an exhibition worth to visit once because you don't really experience such cutesy thrills locally often. Not that it is really value for ticket price though(nothing much to explore), which is a little disappointing indeed... =)

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***Food for thought Qn: How would you feel if you went through the above same amusing adventure in place of me?

(Don't say you will never go for such exhibition as if you are a person not curious enough to experience something unique =O )

My present life

Life as a 23rd year old so far gives me a feeling that i am up for some exciting challenges ahead. Designing stuffs may not be my forte, but recently i find conceptualising creative design ideas are quite interesting to me. Hmmm, maybe i can try create some D.I.Y designs next time and ask my friends what they think of it. Haha

Btw, Nowadays, I seem to be able to think of more ideas and that means i have more time to create an unique idea. Uniqueness is a quality most of us would appreciate especially if it will be able to make singapore a much vibrant country to live in, isn't it? Interesting customised stuffs will always make everyone's life interesting ya? Who says only money can buy unique items? =P

Ok, besides that, i find out that learning can be fun if you ownself wants to make your own learning process fun. For example, you can check out features in certain applications and see whether it is functionally useful (easy and fun to use to do what you want) or is it just another sore eye feature that could be improved. Sometimes, it could be just that certain applications lack aesthetic appeal or/and inappropriate features that makes navigation so user unfriendly. Those little things probably irritates some normal users and makes one interact less with what could be a good system. =(

Oh, before i forget, i have become a much better organised person just not long ago. I guess that is a good sign in the sense that i am able to get more things done in the upcoming year and can self motivate myself to do better. =) Only flip side to it is i may become a work a holic.(I would rather drink a glass of horlicks though) =X But with self control, Surely i can find good 'excuses' to free myself from the grasp of stress. Prevention is better than cure. =)


Ok, Take care peeps!! Enjoy the new year and be a better person!!!

23 songs of my life

Hi guys,hope u guys enjoyed urself on xmas & xmas eve.

I have become 23 years old today and that is boxing day. The 23 songs are quite meaningful to me, so do hear it if u are bored enough. Just scroll down the right side of my blog and u will find an interesting mixpod. From time to time though, i will update it if i find better songs that i like.

Now, happy bday to myself... have not really talk to my inner soul for a long time before my subconcious mind recently prompted me to do so. Lately, i have done alot of self reflection. Not tat i did not do anything like that, but its just that it is not that fruitful as the last few days had been.

Anyway, I will make 23 wishes for the new year before dec31 arrives...

1. Get a work or continue study ACCA with more focus and passion.
Or better still, probably do both at the same time.

2. Set realistic goals to achieve and aim to move further on in life.

3. Get a new smartphone. (But if i won M20, then porbably no need.)

4. Get to know more friends. (Build a better network of friends.)

5. Understand what girls are thinking about. (some girls definitely got substance!)

6. Discover where my interests are.

7. Design my own prince room. (wont be so classy as it sounds, of course.)

8. Think of more wiser ideas...

9. Challenge myself to do things better.

10. Be more professional.

11. Dress in nicer style.

12. Think fast, act fast, but dun over react.

13. Appreciate life rather than remain idle.

14. Keep on learning...

15. Be more active. play more badminton, go more gym, run more...

16. Be optimistic rather than pessimistic.

17. Read more and learn to write better.

18. Never say die and just do it. (Learn from failure too.)

19. Be more humble and tactful.

20. Try to be more unpredictable in new year.

21. More creative.

22. Try not be more emo in coming year. haha

23. Look out for a nice GF in my life. (well, mayb shall revise this wish into top 3? =P ) UPDATE: Maybe not as i shall leave it to fate.

Ok, lets see how remaining days in yr2009 will turn out to be. Hopefully it will not be too shocking for me although life can be unpredictable at times. Shall blog about life in present form next time... Cya, signing off now.

About me - not in general... (Past)

In the past, once in a really blue moon, some people would be shocked in awe... Not that there were an overdose of electricity, or suddenly kenna pricked by scattered needless. But because of a really unexpected innocent young chap who actually stunned people in a special style. (Actually his style is one that will allow every person who are young in heart to appreciate it. It will be as affordable as some may not be able to notice or imagined. Only the good people will appreciate what he has done, while others may look at it with only LOLS aplenty. >.<@#$+$%H%^|^&*S*)_(

As pure as he wanted to be, as lucky as he can get, he always managed to achieve most of what he expects but then fell short at some other targets.
While he often do well in subjects usually associated with numbers, he often thinks that appears to be his strong point and usually only some teachers will acknowledge his effort while a majority of students remarked it off as a one-off effort. Some years in between past and present, he often ace subjects associated with numbers. As some may not realised it which even himself did not knew it before, many dismissed him as a small normal little kid who exudes a 'stumped wood' appearance. What happens next, may not be anyone's guess...

Garmin Asus M20, Experience Simplicity with 10 benefits

For months, i have been searching islandwide for my dream smart phone. Searching High & low and far to wide everywhere, I can't seem to find a smartphone that catches my attention. Oh my oh dear, where is it??? Deep within my thoughts, i believe it will appear eventually. =P

Anyway, I just need a smartphone that can achieve 3 objectives in one gadget. Firstly, it must be able to connect me to the world (WLan is great here!). Next, it must allow me to communicate well with my friends (As long as SMS won't get lost in transmission, I am able to receive images through MMS & there are no unwanted voice distorted phone calls, i am contented!!). Thirdly, navigation though estates or through smartphone functions must be made easy (Is there GPS? Easy to access what you want in your handphone?).

Here comes such an unique smartphone. Garmin Asus M20.



WLan with good HSPA speeds, check.

Geo-tagged SMS, MMS, Email, photo sharing with touchscreen somemore, check.

GPS with voice directions, 1 step navigation, check.

Of course there are other great features not listed above, but just seeing the above features do make me feel excited about it. :D

So, just what are the 10 benefits that will allow me to experience this smartphone's simplicity?
(Actually there should be more, but just illustrating 10 cool benefits are enough to make M20 appealing to me =X)

1.I can use WLan in Wireless hotspots to check some websites for free... ($ saved in GPRS charges = Happiness)

2.Receiving or/and sending geo-tagged SMS sounds good for me to check sender's location at the same time. (Not neccessary to send extra message to ask each other's location, can therefore save a msg for more important perhaps business purpose!)

3.Usage of GPS to find that weeny bit Ulu place that I want to go instantly.
(Save the time for checking how to go in street directory and furthermore there's a voice to guide me in case the road's structure is difficult to understand by looking.) :>

4.Sudden emergency to map the shortest nearest route to first aid point using "Where am I?" safety feature instantly. (Maybe I trip over some rock while cycling too fast and suffered cuts subsequently. I will thus need fast urgent treatment in nearest clinic/hospital to prevent possible infections!!!)

5.Ease of mounting gadget in car if I am driving or helping out my friend to determine shortest route to destination. (Exploring previous unexplored places are made easier, it helps to save precious time too!)

6.Before reaching my destination, I can select exact spot on map in smartphone and contact the place immediately for booking confirmation or reservation.
->Nice neat combo of locating and calling up the place's call receiver with only a GPS enabled smart phone!

7.Having a GPS enabled smartphone weighing just 99g in my pocket is better than carrying 2 separate gadgets.
-> I prefer to carry only 1 gadget since its lighter and caring for 1 gadget is less troublesome than with 2 gadgets.

8.I can easily store lots of photos in JPG/PNG/GIF/BMP format in this smartphone.
->If i last minute feel the need to show any photos to potential business client(s) during an impromptu informal gathering, quality resolution big size photos(PNG/BMP) will be able to impress client(s). If not, a potential business opportunity may not have a chance to materialize!

9.I will be able to enjoy my music/recordings in many formats without worrying whether my smartphone can play it or not. (MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, WAV, and AMR-NB ).
->Some handphones can only play Mp3 clips. This smartphone can enable me to play other formats of audio clips easily without me having to do a conversion of formats. ^.^
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Last but not least... ... ...

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- Actually 10th benefit is a personal one. Hehe ")

10. I would like to celebrate the upcoming new year 2010 with an unique lightweight smartphone. =X
->> It will be considered my 1st real reward after successfully crossing consecutive tricky hurdles. Looks like my life can only get better ahead. =)

CHEERS!!!

P.S Since Prize is a G60, I wonder if i can get a M20 instead? Willing to top up $50 from the prize money for M20 if i do win =)