For several months now, Upstream has been banging on about a concept we call Viewpoint Communications. It's both a marketing initiative for us (you may have seen and already be bored by our own points of view in the regional media), and a way of looking at marketing communications in general. The impetus was that on the one hand, traditional public relations is becoming more challenging throughout our region. On the other, there are lots of clear opportunities to use new, digital tools to communicate with corporate audiences, but very little true thought leadership on the subject, particularly from the perspective of public relations in Asia. We see these two challenges as being closely linked, and as having a common solution. As we say on our site: To get attention in the crowded, noisy, constantly-changing environment of the Internet – or, for that matter, the traditional media newsroom – each viewpoint must be insightful, objective, relevant and original.
Many have told us this way of looking at communications is useful. Others have said it's nothing really new. Others still have completely misunderstood it! We’d like even more feedback – particularly constructive criticism – so we can further refine our thinking. If you have a strong point of view about how communications in Asia is evolving, please let us know and comment here.
