Musings from Dennis #267. I caught up with Claire O'Connor (my former boss) just last week - we’ve stayed in close contact all these years - and it reminded me how much I learned during my time reporting to her at Viacom Nickelodeon CP APAC from 2016 to 2021.
As we
chatted, a memory clicked into place - like that moment a coin finally drops
into a vending machine - of a project that quietly became the catalyst for my
writing journey: these musings, and my Facebook page and blog reflections on
‘Our Bedok Kampong House – Singapore’.
It was
during the WFH period of the COVID restrictions when Claire called. We needed
to deliver a script - complete with media, marketing, and licensing plans - for
a new Nickelodeon IP debuting at Brand Licensing Europe that year. And we were
racing against time.
Claire was
already seasoned in crafting scripts for the APAC markets, but I was completely
new to it. I remember asking her for 30 minutes to pull together a rough draft
from every source we could find on this new property. Normally, our global team
would provide the first draft, but because this IP originated in Asia, we were
starting from scratch.
She refined
the copy, polished it, and the script went on to BLE and was shared widely.
That experience gave me the confidence to write future trade presentation
scripts — shaping global messaging for local nuance and adding insights unique
to Asian markets. From then until the end of 2023, I produced scripts for
Japan, China, and Southeast Asia, all stemming from that first “deep end of the
pool” moment.
And now,
hearing that our former “protégé,” Eric Ong - who supported us on so many of
those productions - is writing trade scripts at Sanrio Southeast Asia feels
like the baton has been passed on. A full-circle moment we’re genuinely glad to
see.
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