Former Bloomberg Asia journalist and editor Darren Boey has teamed up with Honner to deliver PR services for clients in Asia. We caught up with Darren to discuss the latest PR trends across Asia’s many and varied financial markets:
1. Tell us a bit about your career to date.
I’m a professional storyteller, with 25 years in journalism, public relations and digital marketing. I started my media career in 1998 at The Age in Melbourne, then moved to Bloomberg the following year to expand my repertoire into financial news. I always thought Bloomberg was going to be a six-month thing and then I’d go back to The Age. My dad worked there, I always wanted to work there.
I moved to Bloomberg Sydney in 2001, and then to the Hong Kong office in 2004. Most of my career, I covered stock markets and asset managers. I led Bloomberg’s Asia markets coverage during the Global Financial Crisis and we won an award for it. I can’t rightly claim credit: my team did most of the work, and I’m proud of them for it. I was banking editor for my final phase in Bloomberg, which led me to fintech and cryptocurrency.
I left in 2017 to join a crypto payments company as chief communications officer – just in time for the great Crypto Winter. My CEO at the time said my entry into crypto was a bear market signal. With him, I worked on much more than just comms. I led internal builds of blockchain and gaming apps. I built a sports app, which is still live on the Apple and Play stores (200,000+ downloads and counting). It’s been a massive learning curve, learning not just about crypto and technology applications, but about designing product and marketing those products. It really broadened my skillset.
But I’m a storyteller at heart.
2. What drew you to partner with Honner?
Philippa Honner was representing State Street Global Advisors when I was at Bloomberg in Sydney. I used to harass her for fund managers to interview. The way she went about her business as a media relations practitioner really made an impression on me. Simple things like calling journalists back. Being honest in managing expectations – and then delivering for the journalist and the client on those expectations. The simple things I put into practice today I learned 20 years ago from Philippa. Fundamental values. I imagine those values permeate the organisation she’s built. I want to be a part of that.
3. What are some of the big industry or communications trends you’re seeing in Asia?
Probably no surprise, but AI. This thing is fundamentally changing the way humans view and harness information, and our industry is no different. It can make life tougher for a consultant in an already competitive industry – but it forces you to focus harder on articulating what you’re really good at and not try to be too many things to different people. But in AI, there are also extraordinary benefits for communicators, which is something I’m trying to convince my peers of constantly.
4. How are financial firms in Asia getting their messages across – in ways that might surprise people?
Traditional media remains important – especially tier-one business outlets – but what’s becoming increasingly powerful is the blend of digital channels with more localised platforms. In markets like China and Hong Kong, you have WeChat, Douyin and Xiaohongshu. In Japan and some countries in Southeast Asia, you have Line. LinkedIn is still a critical channel for professional engagement. Short-form video platforms like TikTok are playing a growing role in shaping perceptions. I know one LinkedIn Top Voice in Singapore who is an ex-banker with a huge audience on LinkedIn and TikTok.
So the means for articulating a message are many and varied. For investment firms in particular, the key is not simply choosing a channel but tailoring the message to the cultural and regulatory environment of each market. What resonates in Hong Kong might not translate in Jakarta or Seoul. The firms that succeed are the ones investing in multi-channel, multi-market strategies that balance credibility with creativity.
Outside of work, what keeps you busy?
I play bass and I have a band… We have an album on Spotify. It’s folk rock and mostly amusing lamentations about mid-life angst. We have very realistic expectations over the limits of our talent. Beyond that, being an engaged father to my primary-school aged son and daughter, and supportive husband to a wife who is also in comms. We talk a lot about comms at home. The kids find it boring, but hey, we actually enjoy what we do.