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Lynette Chiang, aka Galfromdownunder was hardly a model Chinese student. Instead of relishing Calculus IV she preferred designing posters to promote the monthly middle school dance. But Chinese dads don't take 'starving artist' as a career option, so she dutifully got steered into ... Computers. After spending a thousand nights on a computer science degree and thrice that as an ORACLE analyst/programmer designing unfashionably maintainable systems, she asked the burning question "so who writes ads?" She enrolled in the Australian Writers and Art Directors School to find out, was top student honors, and launched a new career in ... Advertising. Mentored by Australian advertising guru and entrepreneur Siimon Reynolds, she became a diligent student at last, winning numerous Australian advertising awards and a Cannes Lion in one of its toughest judging years. She then threw it all to the headwinds and started ... Bicycling. On the long and potholed road from Australia to Zarcero (a town in the Costa Rican boonies) she worked as a senior copywriter at Saatchi & Saatchi (Ireland) and Creative Director (Tribu, Costa Rica); she declined the corporate ladder for work that keeps you out on a windy ledge and learning about the mind of the customer: waitress, trainee chef, cook and manager of a Costa Rican eco-reserve and spending a freezing winter outside Windsor Castle dressed as an Edwardian Lady. Then, Bike Friday, maker of her trusty travel bicycle, invited her to America to work in ... Customer Evangelism. Starting in phone sales, then quickly progressing to Chief Online Content Creator, she filled the company's formerly static website with prolific, adventurous multimedia content that readers say "makes them late for work". Revenue doubled and site traffic regularly surpassed that of more famous bicycle brands. Seeking to draw this 25,000-strong (as at 2010), cult-like community even further under the Bike Friday spell, she hit the road as the card-carrying Customer Evangelist, "taking relationship marketing to the nth degree" staying in customers' homes as an ethnographer-reporter:
(Someone has since bequeathed her their prized bicycle bell).
Lynette's prolific social networking skills brought the relatively obscure Bike Friday brand to the attendion of Saatchi & Saatchi Lovemarks.com where it topped the poll and 2004 and was featured in CEO Kevin Roberts' book, The Lovemarks Effect: Winning in the Consumer Revolution. CustomerEvangelists.com listed her beside renowned word-of-mouth mavens like Guy Kawasaki, Steve Jobs and Mark Cuban; Jim Clash featured her as a Forbes.com Rugged Individualist and FastCompany.com invited her to be an she became an Expert Blogger. Along the way she wrote a book... The Handsomest Man in Cuba. Her travel memoir, The Handsomest Man in Cuba (published Random House Australia, Glove-Pequot USA and National Geographic Adventure Press Germany) is an award-winning account of the Lynette's solo trip across Cuba. In 2007 it was favorably reviewed in the New York Times Book Review. After fiddling with the video button on her digital camera she started ...
Handelbar Moviemaking. She single-handedly shoots and edits feature-length adventure movies from the saddle.
Public Speaking. The Galfromdownunder is a sought-after keynote speaker on customer evangelism, multimedia, travel and "the marketing you do when you're not doing marketing". Her unusual career path inspires women, seniors and minorities of all ages and stages to "break up the concrete". Balanced with experience as a Vipassana meditator and certified Vinyasa yoga teacher , her motto is: "Be not afraid of moving too fast, but only of standing still." Read more about Gal talks | Gal books and movies
Contact The Galfromdownunder via email: galfromdownunder at gmail dot com, phone 541-513-7711 (USA), 0420 968 967 (Australia). |
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Blogging and ghost blogging:
Lively and opinionated posting and paraphrasing, any topic. Bullet points and preferred angle are all I need.
Copywriting and Advertising: Say it straight, then say it great
Multimedia Event Coverage: I'm the cat among the pigeons, filming, interviewing, catching people off guard. The goal: make readers late for work.
Community Building: Using social media tools, new and old, to create sprited, loyal community. Facebook and Twitter aside, content is still king.
What's wrong with my Business? I nail the niggling things that get in the way of making money. Your friends won't tell you what you're doing wrong; I'm not your friend (yet), I'm also Australian, so I will.
Letter writing/email campaigning: Did I mention, say it straight, then say it great?
Advocacy, PR stunts and B2B Collaborations Multimedia coverage to inform, inspire - the right kind of attention-seeking behavior
Reviewing: A love of design, technology and creativity inspires my informative and entertaining critiques of everyday events and technology.
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