Marcus Osborne

Branding in Industry 4.0

We had a great time today with creative writing, advertising and journalism students at the International Islamic University Malaysia. The discussion revolved around “Branding in the era of industry 4.0” and we talked about what Malaysian brands must do to to thrive in new economy and more relevant perhaps to these guys, how the advertising … Continue reading

Overtourism is coming to a destination near you

Overtourism is putting immense pressure on destinations around the world. From Bali to Phuket and from Venice to New Orleans and Ibiza, popular places are creaking under the weight of millions of visitors. 28 million people visited Venice last year, swamping (excuse the pun) the local population of 55,000. Venice has for years considered limiting … Continue reading

‘Think Big’ yes, but first Malaysian business owners must stop thinking cheap

There’s a thought provoking piece in the business section of freemalaysiatoday.com that reports more Malaysians buying Chinese made goods ‘out of economic necessity’. The article says that Malaysians look past the stigma of Chinese products even though there are concerns that they of inferior quality and possibly even dangerous compared to products from other countries. … Continue reading

SIX tips from Fusionbrand on how to avoid the same fate as Tourism Malaysia

Yes it looks like an irresponsible adult allowed a petulant child with a grudge against the creative fraternity loose on a very old software programme and yes, it should never have made it past the idea stage. It’s the creative equivalent of a train crash featuring trains carrying toxic chemicals or nuclear weapons. But does … Continue reading

Tesco’s bold TV commercial features Muslims celebrating Christmas

Hot on the heels of the Marks and Spencer and John Lewis Christmas ads comes the Tesco one. And it’s winding up a few people in the UK. But despite the controvery, it’s not getting the viewing numbers. In a week it’s only had 132,000 views while the M&S ad has generated more than 4 … Continue reading

Watch the John Lewis Christmas 2017 TV commercial

Back in my day we knew Christmas was coming because the thick woollen shorts we wore through the winter term, yes shorts despite going to school in the wettest, darkest, coldest (well it felt like it in those shorts) part of England, began to rub the skin off your thighs because your legs were so … Continue reading

Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airports sign an MOU – in London

At the World Travel Market in London recently, Tourism Malaysia & Malaysia Airports met and signed an MOU to promote domestic tourism. A fund will be created (not sure where the money will come from but I have a hunch it’ll be the tax payer) to support marketing campaigns by airlines and travel industry players … Continue reading

The Luis Suarez Tourism Malaysia deal leaves more questions than answers

The big news yesterday was the low key announcement (contradiction deliberate) of Tourism Malaysia’s tie up with Luis Suarez, the Uruguay centre forward, once of Ajax and Liverpool who reluctantly sold him to FC Barcelona three years ago for about €81 million. After scoring 88 goals in 3 La Liga seasons, he signed a new … Continue reading