Last Day in KL...

Today we met with a local PR firm called TQPR, Top Quality Public Relations. Guy Chaplin and Angela Tan started this independent firm and have a different setup than we've seen thus far. Both had worked for big firms in the past and have had a great deal of experience in public relations. Their presentation on public relations in Malaysia was really informative. They talked about how they are "specialized generalists." Which pretty much means that they do all types of PR, the only stipulation is that they get paid. They do everything from event planning to crisis management. They talked a lot about crisis management and the program that they have designed to prepare organizations for crises. They said that in order to help an organization prepare for a crisis, they will actually run through a mock-crisis with them. They both agreed that this was the best way for an organization to see their weaknesses in preparation and get them ready for when the real thing happens. They talked about how saving face is such a big issue in Malaysia. Therefore in order to show a CEO how the organization is not prepared to deal with a crisis, they will stick a microphone in their face and start asking questions. It's a good idea that allows organizations to prepare ahead of time and also helps them to save face when actual crises occur. This PR firm has a number of different clients, all in various fields. Guy and Angela had set the organizational structure up where everybody works on every case. They talked about how in bigger organizations partners would essentially sell the pitch and then let the entry-level employees work on the cases. However, in their firm, everybody works on the cases, which seems to be working well for them. Another interesting thing that they talked about was how they have to cater to several audiences here, even with just one press release. Since Malaysia is comprised of many different cultures, they at least have to send out three different press releases, in three different languages, to reach all publics. I thought their presentation was one of the best that we had seen and I thought that it was very informative.

After our meeting, Meg and I had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. (yes I know it's very native!) However, we sat right next to an autographed picture of Elvis. So mom, I was thinking about you today and about how you would've like to have seen the Elvis memorabilia they had there.

So this could be our last day in KL. We may be headed out to Taman Negara tomorrow. If so, I may not be able to post something for a few days. I don't know if they'll have internet access in the middle of a Malaysian jungle. I will say that one thing I will miss here is are the cheap massages. You can't beat a foot massage for $7 and a back massage for $9. They're pretty tremendous! That's all I have for now. I miss everyone back home and I can't wait to get back and tell you guys all about my trip. Until next time...Cheers...