Elephants and Tigers in the Room: Inspiration from Asia’s Evolving Communications Strategies

News and Insights

Elephants and Tigers in the Room: Inspiration from Asia's Evolving Communications Strategies

September 10, 2025

Asia is no longer just the developed world's growth engine; it's redefining how we approach trust and purpose.

Leaders from Singapore and India came together at the 2025 PRovoke Asia-Pacific Summit featured for a conversation on how communicators are turning the tensions brewing in the world's most dynamic region into opportunities for connection and credibility. This discussion probed the ways Asia is setting the pace for the future of strategic communications across health, corporate reputation, travel, and technology engagement.

Paul Holmes led the panelists, including FINN Associate VP Aanchal Agarwal, Senior Partner Agung Ongko, and DKSH's Reuben Ong, through a thought-provoking exploration of both the complex challenges and dynamic opportunities unique to Asia - ranging from geopolitics, operating realities, or cultural diversity. The trio offered counsel on how organizations can reframe these "elephants and tigers" into sources of business strength and community connection.

These three practical pivots anchored the conversation:

• Trust: The bedrock of credible messaging in sensitive sectors like health and travel, and the crucial starting point for any impactful strategy.
• Listening: Moving beyond old top-down or global directives - championing regional, stakeholder, and patient voices, and designing communication grounded in their real concerns.
• Local Relevance: Elevating brand and campaign impact by delivering messages deeply rooted in how decisions are made, community beliefs, and cultural norms- not simply language translation.

Businesses in Asia sometimes get distracted by the noise of US politics or Western headlines when the real growth lies in listening to local voices, responding to nuanced stakeholder needs, and embedding ourselves in the economic and social realities of the region.

The Evolving Communications Landscape in APAC

When we look at Asia, and whether it's healthcare, technology, or travel, real connection is built when people know they can rely on honest information. The ''elephants and tigers" - cross-cultural diversity, digital acceleration - aren't reasons to pause; they are engines for smarter strategy.

Real communication starts with listening-deeply and continuously. Localization follows; you must see the world through the community's lens. Only then do you earn trust, which is always the outcome-not the starting point.

In health communications, we've learned that trust is earned one conversation at a time, and it doesn't matter how advanced your technology or campaign is if people don't believe in you.

If the message isn't attentive and empathetic, it's just background noise. When grounded in listening and local context, it becomes a signal.

Listen Before You Speak

Everything in Asia is context-driven; it can't be lifted from a global playbook. Listening, really listening, to patients, employees, communities, and consumers is what transforms strategies from fragile to resilient.

• The days of global "copy-paste" are over; relevance means elevating unheard voices and co-creating, not dictating, stories
• Today's most impactful campaigns, whether for healthcare, sustainability, or even travel, start not with "what's our story?" but "whose voices are missing?" When story design is co-created, not dictated, outcomes are stronger
• When we run advocacy or disease awareness campaigns, we begin with focus groups, not just as a checkbox but to let patient concerns sculpt our decisions
• In our Alzheimer's campaign for Singapore, the data pointed us to focus on cognitive health and early detection; our plan adapted accordingly, instead of defaulting to generic awareness
• Social listening tools are not just for tracking, but for learning. A campaign that ignores actual conversations online is flying blind. Today's strategy must be tuned to public sentiment, not just internal targets

Make It Local

In Asia, "local" doesn't just mean using local language; it means seeing the world through the audience's eyes. That's how you move from communication to connection.

• Be curious about what's different: Family roles in healthcare, traditional medicine, community leaders - these matter more than any global script
• India's challenges with infectious diseases are very different from Singapore's innovation-driven healthcare system. Our communications need to reflect that
• Our tobacco control work in the region, which drove regulatory change, was successful because local cultural nuances and community values were front and centre right from the planning phase

Trust is Earned, Not Claimed

Trust is the keystone. You earn it through being responsive and locally grounded. Purpose and trust are twins-one can't exist without the other. It reminds us of that stakeholders in Asia are quick to call out inconsistencies between words and action. And it goes back to how purpose and trust are interconnected.

• When we work with healthcare stakeholders, we always start by asking: 'What are patients worried about?' not 'What do we want to tell them?'
• Great brands don't claim to know it all- they admit what's uncertain and show a plan. Saying "here's what we're learning" is more powerful than pretending certainty
• Sustainability comms is the same: It's not about perfection, but progress. When brands talk openly about eco-packaging or green supply chain challenges, they earn more credibility
• In a region as broad as Asia, trust looks different in every country- what builds trust in Singapore might not work in India
• Commit to progress not perfection people spot fakes a mile away

US "Noise" vs. Asian Signal: Staying True to Local Purpose

In today's volatile global environment, it's easy to get lost in the drama - trade wars, shifting tariff regimes, and unpredictable economic policies all make loud headlines.

Don't chase the loudest drama. Stay true to local priorities, needs, and values- especially when the world is distracted. Our job is clarity, not chaos. Ignore the noise, obsess over what inspires and concerns your audience now.

Noise is temporary; purpose is permanent. While the world's attention is glued to the next tweet or international crisis, the strongest organizations are the ones that remember their core mission: to serve local customers, empower communities, and create value that outlasts any trade cycle.

Similarly, Communication is about clarity, not chaos. If we listen only to the external noise, we risk missing what matters most: What are people here worried about? What inspires them? What do they really need from us now?

For us, as communicators, we need to act as a compass for organizations, staying focused on what's essential even when the international weather changes by the hour.

In the end, the real opportunity is to say, "Let's not get distracted; let's get to work." Asia's story isn't written by the world's headlines - it's written by those who stay grounded, informed, and relentlessly tuned in to local realities. That's the signal that cuts through.

Key Takeaways

Great communication in Asia means embracing the complexity, listening harder, localizing deeper, and remembering that trust is always the reward for getting it right.

Listen well, localize bravely, and let trust be the outcome. The brands and communicators who do this win credibility and impact that lasts.

• Share this page on Facebook
• Share this page on LinkedIn
• Share this page on Twitter