Thorns and beyond : the story of the durian

• Main Authors: Moy, Martina Yanming, Foo, Peiying, Loh, Wanda Phieh Hsi
• Other Authors: Ferdinand de Bakker
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication::Cultural studies
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/63375
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper details and evaluates Thorns and Beyond, a three month public relations campaign that celebrates the act of storytelling in Singapore’s food culture. The initiative was targeted at local university students aged 19 to 26 and focused on advocating the durian as a medium through which stories are formed, recalled and shared. Discourse about local food in Singapore is often limited to preparation and consumption. As such, Thorns and Beyond delves into the oft-overlooked cultural aspects: the multitude of tradition, stories and human experiences that have arose as a result of one particular fruit – the durian. Storytelling informs the tactics and programming used in the campaign to spread awareness of stories about the durian and creating opportunities for the target audience to share their own stories. This paper presents the academic and formative research that led to the conceptualisation and execution of the campaign, as well as the key strategy and tactics employed. The results and effectiveness of the campaign are then evaluated and future recommendations are drawn. The appendices which follow contain the written, transcribed and pictorial documentation of the campaign process.