Potential wedding tie?

What a good wifey (in waiting)

Check out what Clare has prepared for dinner tonight! Beef and vegie stew!

Saturday night Bangkok beer garden

What I do (2)

Whilst I didn't work on this award-winning campaign, this is a really great example of the kinds of ideas that my compatriots in the industry dream up whilst reclining in a fluro bean bag and tucking into their 4th coffee of the day.

• Cultural relevance? Tick.
• Development of emotional connection between customer and product? Tick.
• Memorable tagline? Tick.
• Clear brand-campaign link? Tick.
• Easy campaign admin (distribution etc)? Tick.
• Simple, digestible idea? Tick.
• Strong partner? Tick.
• Practical customer engagement? Tick.
• Ability for campaign to be broadened into other media channels? Tick.
• Measurable? Tick.

I reckon their figure of $11 million of free publicity is a bit short though...I would have thought they could have gotten a lot more out of the campaign, however they may have been limited somewhat by budget. Be also good to know what the sales figures were, as well as the invaluable brand recognition and residual goodwill.

By the way, this YouTube clip is doing nothing for my quest to limit my pre-wedding chocolate intake...

Which way wool it go?

Interesting article here from today's SMH online about the current state of Australia's wool and sheepmeat industry.

The tonic, minus the gin

This is just what we needed.

We checked into Iudia last night and were welcomed with a breathtaking view over the Chao Phraya from our residence - Wat Phuttaisawan, the 14th century former digs of King Ramathibodi I, founder of Ayutthaya.

Fronting the Ayutthaya World Heritage Park, Wat Phutthaisawan was cast in a wonderful glow last night. Separated by a mere 100m of water, I felt quite humbled as I looked toward the 'old' world from our chic surrounds.

I was reading only the other day about Robert the Bruce, the great Scottish King, who would have been a regal contemporary of King Ramathibodi. Around about the same time big Bob was smashing the English, Ramathibodi was establishing the structural ingredients of Siamese government. (It's sometimes useful to try to put Asian history into a European context - I often find it hard to find a conceptual anchor.)

Right now, it's dawn and I'm overlooking the Wat Phutthaisawan again, this time cast in a more natural light, listening to the melodious combination of morning birdsong, Islamic call to prayer and monks chanting - a really special opportunity.

There's also a bloke up river in a small boat who's just cast his nets for this morning - made me think of being out in the tinnie with Dad at first light.

This place rocks.

And there's not a Cosmopolitan Bride magazine anywhere in sight.

Something for the Man Room

Every man needs a Man Room.

I'm slowly converting our spare bedroom into a shrine of all things man - my rugby balls, jerseys and tour kit; trophies of adventures conquered; golf clubs; and now, my new bike, a Trek 4300 Disc.

Clare's loving it.

Set to chill in Ayutthaya

With the invitations posted on Monday and a whole heap of stuff locked in for the wedding, Clare and I are heading away for a well-earned romantic long weekend away to Ayutthaya this Friday night.

We’re going there to chill out Thai-Falang style - read, cycle, relax, get massaged, drink coffee…generally distance ourselves from anything resembling a wedding budget or crazy printing ladies named ‘Prawn’.

Clare’s organized for us to stay in some pimping hi-so-hippie hotel called Iudia…the design elements look really cool and I’m very much looking forward to finding out more about their ‘in-house cultural programs to acquaint guests with the secrets of Buddhist meditation, Siamese history, antiques, yoga and traditional Siamese music’.

Where on earth does Clare find these places!

Ayutthaya is a terrifically spectacular old-day city, spotted with 14th-century temples and a relaxed riverside atmosphere. Clare and I were there last year around the same time, and absolutely loved riding around the different Wats and back streets. More on Ayutthaya later.

Loving Rugby 10's

I'm out at the Bangkok rugby 10's - unfortunately I still can't play at the moment, but it's great to see my mates get amongst it! Clare's having a great day with the girls as well!

Suburban sunset soccer

A bunch of young fellas kick the soccer ball around in front of National Stadium as the day wanes...

What I do

“So, what do you do for a crust?”

It’s a tough question for me to answer because I work in such a varied and undefined profession.

When I say I work in “communications”, people think I work as a technical engineer for Telstra or True.

When I say I work in “public relations, mainly for a bank”, people think I’m in some customer service role at their local branch.

When I say I work “for an agency”, people think I’m either a male hooker or am about to subject them to some intelligence-gathering waterboarding exercise.

It can be utterly confusing to the average punter, without a 10-minute, thirst-quenching explanation…

If they show some interest, I usually tell them I write plans (and sometimes administer parts) for pretty much anything that involves my client’s ‘brain’, ‘voice’ and ‘face’.

I tell them my job is to figure out the best way for my client to chat to customers en masse, the government, the business community or anyone other group that may be affected by, or affect, my client’s business decisions.

I give advice on what my client needs to say (or not say) in general, who specifically they need to say it to (including the decision makers and influencers) and the best method(s)/medium(s) to reach and persuade that person/group.

I also tell them my job tends to have many political considerations, in that it’s important to take into account and act on the views of my client’s many business/industry partners - be they an industry association, sponsorship recipient, charity or a key opinion leader.

Then I might explain that ‘conversations’ can happen via the media (and the many iterations of), the client’s website, online channels, via advertising, the annual report, special announcements, an employee incentive program, speaking engagements etc.

They usually latch onto the media. Media is probably the least sophisticated element of the profession, however the most easily understood. Regardless, I would talk about how a column like this one I write on behalf of my client is a good example of how we help position them as a leader in Asian and Thai business. Circulated throughout a number of other regional national daily newspapers and online news sites the column is a small tactic built into an overall plan. We might also suggest meetings with key Chinese government officials, trade seminars for SME businesspeople or awards submissions and interviews with international industry media.

By the time we're finished, both conversation and beverage tends to be pretty dry...

If only I could be a doctor, policeman or fireman!

Sophisticated marketing

Sales down? Struggling to find traction amongst your target markets? Need something 'hot', 'new', 'jeng mak' to cover up your cyclopic marketing nous??

Sounds like your company needs a panda.

Chuck one into the marketing mix. Everybody's doin' it.

Because everyone loves a panda.

It's black, white AND vegetarian.

Considering Kevin Rudd reportedly performed quite poorly amongst Gen Ys on the ABC's Q&A program this week, perhaps it's high time his mates in China started sending something a bit more practical than the wads of cash for iron ore...

Just don't count on Australia Post to deliver it on time.

Wedding band

Clare and I, like a lot of people, enjoy listening to Jack Johnson’s music. His approach to life also seems pretty spot on, supporting a number of great charities - he seems to be a bloke with his head well and truly screwed on.

That’s why we flicked off an email last week to his management, to see if him and his wife would be able to make it to our wedding…here’s the result:

From: "Me"
Date: February 3, 2010 11:08
To: " Tom Chauncey"
Subject: Wedding

Hi there
My fiancé and I noticed that Jack has a bit of time off from touring in between the Kokua Festival and Tempodrom in Germany, which is great, because we’re getting married in Byron Bay (Australia) on 7 May and would love for Jack and Kim to come.

They could stay down the road at their place in Lennox Head, or alternatively, they could roll out the swag in our apartment for the week. Totally cool either way. Just let them know I cook a mean blueberry pancake, so they’d really be missing out if they don’t sleep over.

If they’re free, Jack should probably bring his guitar – I’ll pack the maracas and bongo so we jam. He can also borrow one of my surfboards as
well to save him getting his boards through the airports, we’ll be surfing most days the week of the wedding.

Are you able to pass on our message? Be great if they could make it. Also, is there an appropriate address we’d be able to send him and Kim a formal invitation?

Many thanks for your help!

Steve

From: "Tom Chauncey"
Date: February 4, 2010 22:17
To: "Me"
Subject: Wedding

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your email.

As you might imagine, Jack receives tons of requests to perform at private events and weddings and he’s not able to accommodate them all. On this particular date his schedule is already committed.

Congrats to you both and thanks for listening to Jack!


Best regards,
Tom Chauncey

We’re devastated Jack and Kim aren’t able to make it. ;-)

Great work from Mr Chauncey though with his prompt reply. A good look for Jack Johnson’s profile. Good management...

Hot date!

A pic of Clare out at breakfast...loving it.

A tale of two Thailands

Clare and I are currently trying to align all the planets to ensure the various elements of invitation design, stock sourcing and printing come together into a celestial proposal to rival the big bang.

Doing it in a foreign country has proved somewhat challenging, with the language and cultural barriers yet again providing us with the kinds of experiences I look forward to looking back on and laughing about in the years to come.

Clare has been bearing most of the weight, so I can't complain too much.

Which is why I'm sitting here blogging from the comfort of a supple white leather couch in an innercity beauty parlour, while Clare's face is morphed into something resembling an overripe mango.

The yin and yang of Asia...

Money money money

I'm at Money Expo in Pattaya, 2hrs south of Bangkok. Money Expo is like the Las Vegas of banking where everyone but Tom Jones himself looks to entertain the masses with deals on home loans and mutual funds.

Riveting stuff.

I was able to do a few cool things this morning though. Like meet Thailand's Finance Minister. And get a personalized debit card mocked up by one of my client's rivals.

Loving the panda in the tutu...

Dad - my flight details

Hi dad - flight details: Thai Airways TG457 arriving Sydney 1320hrs.

SMS not working, would call but it's 4am. Thank Christ for 3g...

Hope you get this...

Locked & loaded baby

I'm at Suvarnabhumi airport, just hours away from my family and mates in Australia!

And I can't wait to get on this flying bus, get into Sydney, and finish the year off with a couple of bottles of plonk with the old man, Mum and Cass.

Emotional.

Next stop, immigration...the lines look epic...

Incoming!

My sister Cass kindly gave me a US$100 Amazon.com gift voucher for Christmas this year - a cracking gift that will give me hours of enjoyment!

So I went shopping for books today...here's what will be coming in the mail in January...

Soft reading

• The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do - Samantha Ettus
• How to Build an Igloo: And Other Snow Shelters - Norbert E. Yankielun

Space

• Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon - Buzz Aldrin
• First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong - James R. Hansen

Doing crazy stuff in the snow

• High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest - Edmund Hillary
• Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home - Nando Parrado

Emo, life

• Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson - Mitch Albom
• It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life - Lance Armstrong

Money

• The Aussie Expat - The Luckiest Person on Earth - Steve Douglas

I'm particularly looking forward to Norbert E. Yankielun's classic about igloos.

...and Christmas is getting loose

So we like apple martinis...

Christmas!

Currently at the Four Seasons Hotel smashing Bellinis with the other Bangkok 'orphans'...

The 'Australia Post are useless' post

I'm really, really pissed off with Australia Post right now.

I sent a Christmas package last week to my family in Australia, paying a fair bit of cash to have it sent express delivery so it would get there with a 4-5 day buffer.

Thailand Post did their bit - they had it processed and out of the country within 8hrs.

Australia Post however are too busy bludging to do anything about it. The package has been sitting somewhere between Sydney airport and its final destination now for a week. A week! Useless.

I'm bang up for workers rights, making sure all is fair and equitable, but really, a week to get a parcel delivered from the airport is ridiculous.

Workers pay a lot of money each year to be a member of a union. Why then, does it so often get to this point in Australia - where striking "is the only option"? Are the people negotiating at the top of the union food chain doing their job properly?

Striking is not a form of negotiation. Striking is a last resort because your negotiations have collapsed, for whatever reason. In this case, at Christmas, the union knew it had extra power, and decided to wield it - they didn't strike at New Years. They didn't decide to strike in the middle of January. They are holding a helpless public at ransom, because their leaders have been too useless to pull their heads out of their asses and figure out a constructive solution.

Jeez I'm pissed off right now.

Thinking of Penny

With Clare and I going back to Australia at the end of this month, we've got a small opportunity to do a bit of pre-research and potentially lock in a date for the wedding without needing to come back for another trip. So it's all wedding planning systems go at the moment.

I couldn't help but think of my good friend Penny tonight, and of when her and Josh got married a just over two years ago.

Their gorgeous wedding was held in a small country church in the Hunter Valley, near Josh's family farm where the reception was later held. On the way to the church we were halted ever so slightly not by a herd of cows or an overzealous country policeman, but by a billy cart race.

Yep, three/four wheels, MDF, spray paint and lop-sided oversized helmets all round.

And just a heads up, but it may happen again...

The Bangalow Billy Cart Derby, last year held on 17 May 2009, will be held again this year around the same time. We're looking at May 2010 in the Byron Shire as a possible time to get married.

Potential clash? Potential opportunity.

Bridal billy cart anyone?

Anatomy of a proposal - THE QUESTION

Saturday, 5 December
Nai Harn Beach, Phuket

It’s hot. Real hot. 34 degrees.

And I’m nervous. Real nervous.

After the golf, the four of us – Gearing, his girlfriend Amanda, Clare and I - head out to the nearby Nai Harn Beach, just down on the South-Western tip of Phuket. It’s generally a bit of a rockstar beach, with a few surrounding flash resorts and plenty of Germans wandering around in far too little clothing. The beach has been well looked after, mainly due to a Buddhist monastery camped in behind the beach - thankfully a beautiful piece of Phuket hasn't gone the way of Patong.

Clare’s enjoying being able to swim in the sea. Each time she’s away in the water, I can’t help but sneak a look at the bling I’m about to give her. Jeez I hope they go down OK.

Because it’s high season, the beach is quite busy with umbrellas, deck chairs and the shrills of European kids on holidays. I make a mental note that the rocks at the northern end of the beach look to be a relatively quiet spot to head to if need be.

I keep dropping hints to Clare to perhaps go for a walk…she’s not biting…

We've been here for 3 hours now. The day is getting on. I’ve got to seal this deal. I try again.

“So, I’m thinking of going for a walk later. Want to come?”

“Sure, where to?”

“I'm thinking the rocks - maybe check out the crabs, take some photos.”

“Sounds lovely!”

Yes! 3pm. Go time.

Clare is looking absolutely stunning. Dressed in a white and pink striped bikini and a new flowery sarong she just bargained at the beach for 150Bt.

I look a little like Puff Daddy in a bad Floridian music video circa 2002 – sunglasses and white linen fisherman pants, not so much for symbolic reasons, but for the fact that I burn easily and they provide good protection from the sun. Sometimes practicality raises above any sense of style.

“Why are you bringing the bag though? You really don’t need that, you should just leave it with Dave and Amanda…the zip will get salt in it.”

“Oh, no it’s got my camera and stuff in it, I’d prefer to keep it all nice and dry.”

Clare is not pleased. I try to bust out an innocent look. Crisis averted, can take the bag. Little does she know there’s some other precious cargo in there…

We wander along the gorgeous frontage of one of the nice resorts toward the stairs down to the rocks. I can’t help but blurt out a cheeky, nervous laugh, knowing that I’m only a few minutes short of asking Clare to marry me.

Stepping down onto the rocks, there’s a small surf rolling in and a number of yachts anchored just off shore, in preparation for a big regatta tomorrow. A couple of Thai guys are fishing off the rocks too. No-one else is around. Perfect.

Right, how am I going to do this?

I had a few words rehearsed before this, but somehow my brain has started to go out the window. Self doubt begins to seep in.

What if she says she’s not ready?? What if she says a flat no? Don’t be ridiculous…you know she loves you…but she still might...

Clare’s looking at the bag, clearly worried. She asks whether it’s in the salt water. I try to get all jai yen. Salt really is the least of my concerns at the moment, but I oblige and move the bag to higher, less salty ground.

Right, the bling. How am I going to get it out?

What do I need to say?

Where should I stand?

How should I stand?

Should I stand?

I’m rehearsing the phrases I have had rolling around in my head now for the past few months.

Right, I think this should be a sit-down affair. There’s a nice level rock. Perfect. This will be perfect.

I sit down.

“Honey, want to come sit down with me?”

“Are you serious? Not there, no way, I’ll get a green dirty bum!”

OK then. So the plan may not be so perfect. Looks like I’ll need a plan B.

Standing might be the easier option.

Clare seems distracted at the moment by the view of all the yachts. A good opportunity to get the earrings. I go to the bag.

Shit. I can’t find the earrings in the bloody bag. Be cool, look cool. Jai yen. You don’t want her seeing you freak out. They must be in here somewhere…

I look over my shoulder, Clare’s still distracted.

Under the towel? Nope. That’s my camera.

Clare’s still distracted.

Shit. They must be in here somewhere. Yes! OK, found them. Phew.

I slip them into my pocket.

If she asks what it is, I’ll say my camera to buy me some time.

Clare looks so beautiful.

By now I’m shaking. Really shaking. I can’t help it.

Get a grip!

I can’t.

I wonder if she’s caught on. I need to do this quickly before I resemble some sort of epileptic jellyfish and she suspects something. Or has she already got a good idea of what's coming?

I wasn’t expecting this to be happening so fast. I’m really starting to shake now. This is weird.

I jump over to the rock near her.

Don't slip over and break your ankle. That would suck.

My mind is going a million miles an hour now. I lose my thoughts. I stand in front of her and put my arms around her. Clare smiles. I try to smile back, but I’m absolutely shitting myself.

Clare looks beautiful in the late afternoon light. We kiss.

This might be my last kiss with her as her boyfriend...now that's is a weird thought for a time like this...

Time for the question. My mind goes into auto-pilot. The script's been well and truly pulped by my brain. Not sure what to say. I just start talking.

"I love you more than anything in the world and would be honoured if you would marry me."

A bead comes out. Couldn’t help that one.

My proposal was in no way one of my most eloquent moments, but hey, I guess the key message was right?

Wrong. It looks like Clare’s confused.

She laughs awkwardly.

She’s going to say no!

She laughs again slightly, then her face changes as she realises I’m actually being serious.

She squeaks out a yes, and then a big smile!!!!

That’s a “yes”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shit. The earrings. I forgot to present the bloody earrings!

I pull them from my pocket. Clare opens them up. I explain why I didn’t get her a formal ring, knowing that she wanted to design her own, possibly using components from her grandmother’s ring.

Now it’s official.

Then I tell her the whole story of how I’d actually travelled to Australia to have a chat with her parents and that I’m really sorry for having to lie to her for the past few months.

It turns out through all my freaking out, she had no idea this was coming.

‘Operation Singapore’ - a success!

Then we start to get really excited, as the reality of our moment sinks in. We’re going to get married!!!!

Clare can’t stop saying “we’re engaged”. I can’t help but feel an immense sense of relief and happiness.

We enjoy the next 15 minutes or so talking through the whole story together, taking photos, loving being with each other at this very special moment, just her and I. We then call our parents to put them out of their misery, as they’ve held the secret for so long, take a few more photos then head back to tell Dave and Amanda...

Just a few minutes after I proposed to Clare...

Getting romantic, enjoying the moment. Note the elevation of the bag. No salt water at that altitude.

The bling. They look absolutely stunning on Clare.