21 Aug 2012

Ordinary Consumers as Brand Ambassadors

We normally associate Brand Ambassadors with actors and actresses, models and sports personalities. However, you might be surprised to learn that Edaran Tan Chong Motor, the official distributors of Nissan cars in Malaysia have recently selected four lucky people out of hundreds of applicants as Nissan LEAF Ambassadors. These lucky guys are using the Nissan Leaf for six weeks and are sharing their experiences.

However, when I looked at who these lucky ambassadors were, I noticed a few familiar names. they are definitely not ordinary - at least two of them are well known bloggers in Malaysia. Jason Goh who blogs at Smashin' Popstar and Daniel Yap who blogs at Eternal hobbyist.


It does make perfect sense and is not something new as companies have been using bloggers to review (and promote) their products (and services) for a while. Bloggers are opinion leaders and several blogs have readerships that run into thousands. Studies have shown that they are perceived as more credible than even traditional media, including newspapers and may be the reason that websites of newspapers are increasingly looking like blogs. And unlike other celebrities, they do not require you to pay them millions to become a brand ambassador. Plus you get fantastic original and creative consumer generated content followed by online word-of-mouth marketing.

However, it can be risky as well. Many bloggers are known to be quite independent and speaking their mind. They might end up rubbishing your product and your brand name, if they had a bad experience using them.



8 Aug 2012

DPR reviewee workshop

DPR AC - Reviewee workshop

DPR is the acronym for Development and Performance Review and it's something that all employees have to face in most organisations.

This workshop was Run by the Learning and Development Team of Coventry University.
On the 27th of July 2012 from 09:30 am - 12:30 pm at the TechoCentre, room: CC2.1

The session was run by Anna Chapman, HR Learning and Development Adviser.

As this is going to be my first DPR at Coventry University, I thought it might be useful to understand the key areas to consider in completing my DPR form. I have been evaluated before but I guess each organisation has it's own unique way to review the performance of their employees.

I was not disappointed and learnt that my objective would need to be SMART:

•S: Specific
•M: Measurable
•A: Achievable (and Agreed)
•R: Relevant (or Resourced, or Realistic!)
•T: Time-linked

There were some examples of not so "SMART" objectives. However, I would have liked some good examples of good objectives.

I also found out that if we get an "Outstanding" in the DPR, we get to jump 2 levels on the payscale - a really good motivation.

Events in January 2024

The first event of this year was an online seminar for staff and PG students at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Techn...