YAY! I hit my target of 10km under 50mins! My personal best so far. Have been training for it and psyching myself in preparation for this. One week I even did 3 x 10kms just to build the endurance.
Andy from office joined me and because I was a Sundown with Love Ambassador, we could flag off right at the front with the elite runners. Felt really weird because they look so pro, but both of us looked so normal. lol.
Ashik from office also have been spurring me on as one of my practice runs, he was pacing me. His 10km is already sub 50mins, so perfect run partner for me.
Andy is also a Sundown with Love Ambassador and he is attempting his 1st ever Marathon! Respects. I’m so inspired by his journey. You can read more about it at his blog. Glad to have caught him before he started his run.
After completing 10km with Andy, Linda and Ashik was getting ready for their 21km, so all the best to them. Till the next run!
So I’ve decided to create a new Instagram Account @nickpan.runs to document my runs.
I loved running when I was in Secondary School and I continue to like it up till today. You can read more about my running adventures here in an Interview with Sundown Marathon Organisers as I’m one of the Sundown with Love Ambassadors this year.
In 2016, 43,101 entries were submitted at one of the most coveted advertising awards arena – the Cannes Lions 2016, and out of the submissions, which were an increase of seven per cent from the previous year, 1,888 actually won something. This figure represents just four per cent of the entries, an alarming figure indeed. But does this mean the remaining 96 per cent that were not recognised were bad ideas?
Today, in a world where brands are fighting for the attention of consumers, ideas are the ones that make or break businesses. The reality is that ideas are not hard to come by, but many die, making good ideas rare and great ideas even rarer.
In advertising, we constantly chase for good ideas that depart from the status quo, in order to help the brands we work for stand out, meaningfully. Ideas that are interesting and fresh, that have never been executed before. Ideas that are innovative and yet pulls at the heart strings of our audiences.
Despite this oft-stated hunger for creativity, how can we make sure our ideas are actually viable, especially when it is not fully sketched out in the initial stages? Is there a formula to derive good ideas? And is the term “there are no bad ideas†really true when we are brainstorming? There are many articles online sharing best practices on how best to conduct a brainstorm session, but this is not about brainstorming, rather, we need to know what to do with the ideas derived from brainstorms.
A good brainstorm session will get us loads of ideas, but the difficult part is separating the wheat from the chaff. I’ve been to numerous brainstorm sessions and have seen first-hand, the ugly side of people defending their ideas and egos being hurt in the process.
As advertising is notorious for its long hours, I’ve developed a simple yet efficient way to group ideas up and move forward quickly – in hopes that this process can benefit teams everywhere in our industry.
All we need to do is plot two simple axis. One on how interesting the idea is and another on how insightful the idea is.
How Interesting – When something has been done too many times, it’s no longer fresh and can get boring. From Drones, to Vending Machines, and the recent viral Mannequin Challenge, jumping on a trend 6 months later can get way too late. Fresh ideas capture our audiences’ imagination and they want to know more beyond the latest obsession and be entertained.
How Insightful – If an idea lacks insight, it will just be an idea that does not re-examine any existing conventions and thereby fail to deliver any value. As marketers, we always need to ensure that our ideas are founded on powerful human truth so that we will pull at the heartstrings of our audiences and hit their raw nerve.
So with these two axis, we get four quadrants where we can then start bucking our list of ideas.
Out of these two axis we get the 4G quadrants:
Garbage Ideas – Firstly, let’s be brutally honest and call out the garbage ideas. These are uninteresting ideas that most likely have been done to death or are simply outright boring. To make it worse, they are based off absolutely no insight. Toss them out right away.
Gimmicky Ideas – Sometimes an interesting technology comes along and provides new ways to powering our communication objectives. Radio, Television, Internet, Virtual Reality, Bots – the evolution continues. However, if like garbage ideas, they have no real insight, then it’s just purely a gimmicky idea. The temptation to be the first to execute something, or utilise new technology in a fresh way is very real, but usually they get a spike in attention and can’t contribute to long term brand value as people start to forget once the novelty wears off.
Good Ideas – Good ideas are based on powerful human truths, and will be relatable to our audience. They may not speak to everyone, but at least our intended audience will respond positively to it. Even if the idea is not ground-breaking or have been done before in other categories, it is still good business to have an idea that our audience relates to well.
Great Ideas – Now great ideas are what propels businesses and also win awards. These ideas are based on powerful insights and go the extra mile to communicate with audiences in a fresh, new, creative ways. Not only are they very relatable to our audience, they also intrigue those beyond our target audience and become a viral sensation.
So as a planner, being the consumer advocate, whether it is devising campaigns to encourage progressive behaviour, to drive behavioural change, or to champion a social cause, the age old principle of uncovering powerful insight while marrying creativity and technology is what I believe truly brings us great ideas.
I’ve never ran in the Zoo before and am excited to do the Safari Zoo Run 2017 with my wife 18 Feb 2017! I’ll be running for Team Ah Meng in support of the rescuing and relocating of Orangutans to safer forests in the Gunung Leuser National Park of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Get a 10% discount off registration with Promocode “SZR2017AMNICK10“. Good things must jio!
10km Race Route5km Race Route
More Info on the Event Site www.safarizoo.run. Let me know if you are going too. See you there!
Right from the time the school was first opened, babies were left abandoned at its gate (fondly known as the ‘Gate of Hope’) in Victoria Street (where the current CHIJMES is located). Ever since then, the IJ Sisters founded a service to care for these abandoned and at-risk children.
Over the years, this service evolved with the changing needs of the social landscape of Singapore. While the residential care for children continued, day care service such as learning support/out-of-school hours care programmes, Sounds of Providence (music, dance and speech) programme, Headstart programme for pre-schoolers, were offered alongside.
Today, the IJ Sisters, together with the lay partners, remain called to the service of the poor.
All my 3 daughters are in CHIJ schools and even my sister is from CHIJ schools too + being a father, it is unthinkable for me to know that babies are being abandoned so I’m fundraising for IJHCC. All kids should have their childhood and have an equal chance in life.
So donate generously this year end festive period and support this very meaningful non-profit.
Since Sundown with Love is an initiative by Sundown Marathon, I’m also going to be running 10km to support this cause. Come join me by registering with promocode “SDM2017NICK10” at sundownmarathon.com.
I’m also accompanied by fellow daddy bloggers Isaiah Kuan (J Babies’ Dad) who is running the half 21km and Andy Lee (Sengkang Babies) who is running the full 42km. I salute them and am will also be rooting for them.
I did a short interview with them and you can check it out originally at sundownmarathon.com
I have loved running since secondary school, and always asked my PE teacher if the class will run 2.4km at every lesson. Recently I gave myself a challenge to run 5km for 30 days straight, and although I almost gave up half way, I managed to conquer it with encouragement from friends over social media.
I started blogging since 2000 and am part of the Daddy Matters network of Daddy bloggers advocating active fatherhood. I married my childhood sweetheart, and we have three daughters together. When not running or parenting, I work as a Digital Strategist at a global marketing agency and have been online since owning my first modem in 1995.
It’s the first time you’re coming on board as our Sundown With Love ambassador. Tell us more about yourself!
I’m a family guy and I like to believe I’m a fun daddy / friend to my three daughters. I have many interests ranging from Extreme Sports to Lindy Hop, EDM to Jazz, Calligraphy to Photography, Science Fiction to Online Culture and many more.
In the day I work as a digital strategist at a global marketing agency. I have been super active online since 1995 when I got my first modem.
How do you get your family and kids involved in running?
You participated in Sundown Marathon previously. How was your experience like?
My last Sundown was actually in 2013. With my hectic work schedule and parenting commitments, I can only run casually and have not been joining many organised runs. I’m glad to be part of OSIM Sundown Marathon 2017.
Which category will you be participating in OSIM Sundown Marathon 2017?
I will be running 10km, alongside the many other Singaporeans who bow down in respect to those who can do half and full marathons.
What will be your goal at OSIM Sundown Marathon 2017?
I’ve always done 52mins to 55mins for 10km, and hope I can go under 50mins this time. I’ve been training for it, so I hope I can break my personal best.
What advice would you give someone who is participating in Sundown Marathon for the first time?
Running at night is really comfortable and there is no need for sunglasses, so that is already an advantage. But in all seriousness, if you’ve not been running at all or have not been running for a very long time, do train a bit to get your body slightly more conditioned for the run so that you will have a safe and injury free run.
Get wireless headphones and start building your favourite music playlist for running.
How do you divide your time between blogging, family, and ensuring you lead a healthy lifestyle?
Having no time is very real when you have to juggle work, family and exercise. I really think it is all about your mind set. If you decide to do something, you should make time to do it. I do however have certain timeslots in the week for some activities. For example, free evenings are set for blogging; and nights and weekends are dedicated as family time. For runs, I usually run before dinner or after everyone has gone to bed on weekdays, and on weekends at Sunrise.
What tips can you provide dads who are considering on participating in OSIM Sundown Marathon 2017, but have yet to sign up?
As a dad myself, I think it is a responsibility to exercise and stay healthy for my family, so regular exercise is necessary. If you have not signed up, ask a few friends to join you. You are also welcomed to join me and a few fellow daddy bloggers for OSIM Sundown Marathon 2017. Andy Lee will be running 42km for the first time, Isaiah Kuan will be running 21km and I’ll be running 10km, feel free to join any one of us.
What’s your favourite food and why?
BEEF, CHEESE and WINE. I have one too many of these session with my friends at home and I’m looking forward to the next one all the time. It’s not just good food, but also great company.
How does the theme ‘Sleep Can Wait’ resonate with you, and why?
From young, I’ve always seen my mom sleep late and she never insisted that we sleep early. She thinks sleeping is a waste of time, but what she really means is that there is so much we can do in life that sleep almost feels like wasting time. I agree with her. I sleep because it is needed, and if I had a choice, I would rather stay up and do stuff or wake up early to go for a run.
