Being interviewed outside the Wellington City Council building. Photographed by Stephen Olsen.

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Media

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to be interviewed on everything from my opposition to the Wellywood sign to growing businesses in New Zealand. Even without public office, I’ve already been interviewed by CNN, The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, The South China Morning Post, and others: I’ve always been happy to speak about how great our city and country are. I was also a regular on al-Jazeera English. Here is a non-exhaustive list of coverage. For recent press coverage about my companies, visit the Jack Yan & Associates press room.

C. Park: ‘Creative profiles: Jack Yan, a man with many hats’, NZ Style Collective, July 16, 2013
Chris Park interviews Jack Yan on his experience in the creative sector and his view of the industry.

O. Oaariki: ‘Mayoral candidate Yan would “unite council to get things done”’, Newswire, July 12, 2013
Oren Oaariki interviews Jack Yan, who believes he is more capable of uniting councillors at the Wellington City Council if elected mayor.

L. L. Liang: ‘地方選舉開跑 華裔問鼎首都市長’, Chinese News, TV8, New Zealand, July 5, 2013, 8 p.m. NZST
Ling Ling Liang follows up with an in-studio interview with Jack Yan on his 2013 mayoral campaign, in which he responds in Cantonese.

Asia Report, TV9, New Zealand, July 5, 2013, 11 a.m. NZST
Julian Nixon and Bev Chuang interview Jack Yan on his mayoral campaign, in a comprehensive, live broadcast. This is a particularly detailed interview, lasting 16 minutes.

L. L. Liang: ‘華裔競選首都市長 打造創新國際之城’, Chinese News, TV8, New Zealand, June 12, 2013, 8 p.m. NZST
An item on Jack Yan’s mayoral bid leads the news on World TV’s Chinese-language channel in New Zealand.

H. Peng: ‘天维人物：惠灵顿市长竞选在即 Jack Yan 再上征程’, Skykiwi, May 1, 2013
An in-depth interview by Hao Peng with Jack Yan on his mayoral campaign and policies

N. Papatsoumas: ‘Jack Yan running for mayor again’, Cook Strait News, April 29, 2013, p. 2
A brief piece on Jack Yan announcing his run for mayor in a local newspaper.

E. Ramos: ‘Latinos in the age of influence’, Huffington Post, June 3, 2012
Jack Yan quoted in his role as co-founder of California’s Multicultural Brand Consultancy on individual identity.

S. Sly: Kiwi Summer, Radio New Zealand National, New Zealand, December 30, 2011, 11.20 a.m. NZDT
Jack Yan interviewed on his work at Lucire, the Medinge Group, his plans for India and his judging at Miss Universe New Zealand.

A. Sansom: ‘Easy readers’, Viewpoint, issue 28, autumn 2011, pp. 96–9
Jack Yan, Stanley Moss, Philippe Mihailovich and Thomas Gad among the interviewees for Anna Sansom’s story on cognitive fluency.

Midday News, C96 FM, Christchurch, New Zealand, May 23, 2011, 12 p.m.
Jack Yan interviewed by Shani Annand-Baron for Christchurch radio station on ‘Wellywood’ sign.

Morning Report, Radio New Zealand, New Zealand, May 23, 2011, 8.20 a.m.
Jack Yan campaigns against the ‘Wellywood’ sign in an interview which also features Wellington Airport’s Steve Fitzgerald

S. Powell: ‘A font of wisdom’, Salient, May 1, 2011
An interview on Jack Yan’s typeface design work for his Alma Mater

D. Robert: ‘Author, designer, branding consultant and director of Medinge Group Jack Yan discusses humanistic branding’, Celsias, February 21, 2011
Jack Yan interviewed with his Medinge Group hat on, regarding CSR and corporate citizenship

B. Jamnadas: ‘Wellington would be’, Asia Down Under, TV1, New Zealand, June 6, 2010, 11.30 a.m.
Bharat Jamnadas talks to Jack Yan about his Wellington mayoral bid

Newstalk ZB, Wellington, New Zealand, April 15, 2010
Justin du Fresne talks to Jack Yan about the fund-raiser he plans to have for his mayoral campaign

‘The Panel’, Afternoons with Jim Mora, Radio New Zealand, New Zealand, March 11, 2010, 4.30 p.m. NZDT
Jack Yan interviewed over his bringing in the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to stop the unpopular ‘Wellywood’ sign near Wellington Airport

3 News, TV3, New Zealand, March 10, 2010, 6 p.m. NZDT
Interviews with Jack Yan, Allan Probert and Mayor Kerry Prendergast over Wellington Airport’s plans for a ‘Wellywood’ sign

Radio Live, New Zealand, March 10, 2010, 3.30 p.m. NZDT
Jack Yan interviewed on Radio Live over his moves to stop the ‘Wellywood’ sign

‘“Hollywood” owners alerted to Wellywood plan’, Voxy, March 10, 2010
Jack Yan, seeing a gross infringement of intellectual property rights, alerts the Hollywood Sign Trust on Wellington Airport’s ‘Wellywood’ plans, as covered by NZPA. Carried also by TVNZ.

J. Nylander: ‘“Jantelagen” holds Swedish brands back’, The Swedish Wire, January 25, 2010
Joham Nylander interviews Jack Yan: Swedish brand managers could boost sales by being more proud of the company’s Swedishness

N. Bateman: ‘Long-distance call’, Sunday Morning Post, January 11, 2009, ‘Post Magazine’ supplement, p. 6
I was very proud to get coverage from my home town. There’s a satisfaction in not being forgotten back in Hong Kong, and Nadine Bateman made me the subject of her recent ‘Long-distance call’ section in the leading English-language daily there.

‘Cultural identity and confusion’, The Golden Tide, part three, Radio New Zealand National, New Zealand, December 28, 2008, 3.30 p.m.
I candidly discuss being a Chinese immigrant in New Zealand and the stereotypes confronted there. Presented and produced by Sonia Yee. I also featured in the fifth part of this series.

‘Transparency, cordial relations assets of Indian service industry’, Free Press, December 27, 2008
English-language daily newspaper in Indore summarizes my keynote speech at the Proton Business School, which detailed how Indian brands make companies there ready-made international partners.

‘New Zealand’s Jack Yan addresses Global MDP’, Dainik Bhaskar, December 26, 2008, p. 1
Front-page news in Indore, India, for my forthcoming speech on branding and marketing strategy at the Proton Business School.

A. Te Kanawa (ed.): ‘Previously in Tū Mai’, Tū Mai, September 2008, p. 6
Piri Weepu, Miriama Smith and I are profiled in Tu Mai’s special 100th edition. We had all been in previous issues and Ata Te Kanawa, the editor, updated readers in a “where are they now?” feature.

Asia Down Under, TV One, New Zealand, August 26, 2007, 8.30 a.m.
Pushpa Jabin interviewed me at the close of the Bananas New Zealand Going Globalconference about being a Chinese New Zealander and about Lucire.

Cadbury Dream Model Search ’07, C4, New Zealand, July 28, 2007, 7 p.m.
It took over a year before my next domestic networked prime-time appearance as a judge for the Cadbury Dream Model Search ’07, New Zealand’s biggest modelling competition.

Listening Post, al-Jazeera English, July 6, 2007
By invitation, I was asked to comment on Tony Blair’s new job as a Middle East envoy by al-Jazeera’s English-language TV service.

‘Greens and Yan think same’, Apparel, September 2006, pp. 7–8
I’m at odds with Jeremy Moon’s calls for changing the definition of ‘New Zealand made’, an issue that made the headlines in new Zealand. This was close to my heart as the original campaign by the Green Party’s late co-leader Rod Donald was meant to promote local manufacture and jobs. However, the Prime Minister backed Jeremy, for reasons unknown. The matter went the Greens’ (and my) way.

‘Five minutes with Jack Yan’, The Dominion Post, June 22, 2006, p. D3
A quick Q&A interview conducted in April—on Hitler’s birthday, no less—written in a humorous style. The original had a humorous Hitler reference but I have omitted it here for reasons of taste (it never made it into print, either).

Breakfast, TV One, New Zealand, March 10, 2006, 8.40 a.m.
They called Lucire ‘New Zealand’s fashion bible’ and I get away, in the last frame, showing off the cover. I comment on the success of Vodafone ID Dunedin Fashion Week and my position on the Emerging Designers’ Awards’ judging panel.

Yan: ‘Chinese developing New Zealand’s fashion’, New Zealand Chinese Times, no. 46, September 23, 2005, p. 36
Lulu Yan (no relation) profiles me and my work on Lucire. This was probably the first Chinese print article on me. Interestingly, she used my English name throughout the article.

Fashion News Live, New York, September 8, 2005
A quick interview with Rocco Leo Gaglioti on the red carpet at the announcement of Lucire’s US edition. I did a similar interview for StyleZone TV and Al Hurra Television that evening.

H. Baxter: ‘“I see it as a way to fight terrorism”—an interview with Jack Yan on branding and ethics’, The New Zealand Business Blog, July 29, 2005
This was my first podcast, with Helen Baxter, whom I met on the EU’s Knowledgeboard many years ago. I talk about the Medinge Group and the Global Entrepreneurs’ Forum.

Fernandez: ‘Not your average CEO: Jack of all trades’, Wellington Today, July–August 2005, pp. 10–11
Juanita Fernandez interviewed me on my business theories, Lucire, Beyond Branding and race. This was my first cover story.

Good Morning, TV One, New Zealand, May 25, 2005, 9·43 a.m.
I love live TV, and Jeanette Thomas asks me about Lucire, after a busy morning where I had only had two hours’ sleep.

M. Nguyen: ‘Laying hands on the media world’, B&T Marketing and Media, April 22, 2005, ‘B&T New Zealand Report’, pp. 28–9
Maria Nguyen came across the Tasman to interview me, though eventually we didn’t catch up. Still, with email and phone interviews she put together this great piece. I couldn’t have said it better myself about what we’re trying to achieve with the print editions of Lucire.

Nightline, TV3, New Zealand, April 13, 2005, 10·30 p.m.
Natasha Utting comes to visit me two years (almost to the day) after her predecessor came to ask about Lucire’s Webby Award nomination. I’m just glad that they showed more of Doug Rimington, our Wellington photographer, and model Maya in the establishing shots. This time, it’s about the Romanian edition of Lucire—the print magazine, that is.

Mediawatch with Russell Brown, National Radio, New Zealand, February 27, 2005, 9·06 a.m.
Russell Brown was well prepared for this in-depth interview, which I thoroughly enjoyed taping a week or so before. Nice to get a journalist who had taken note of the advertising rates for the US. What was surprising is how many people talked to me about this—bear in mind it went out on radio on a Sunday morning (repeated that evening).

Simpson: ‘Man with a plan’, ProDesign, December 2004–January 2005, pp. 34–6
Emily Simpson, the new editor of ProDesign, came from a women’s magazine background and interviewed me about three days before the print launch of Lucire in Auckland. Starts off with the fact I don’t use a cellphone, and continues by saying I could still pass for 22. I like her writing. There’s also a nice full-page portrait of yours truly by Paul McCredie.

Asian Report with Suzanne Schokman, National Radio, New Zealand, December 1, 2004, 3·30 p.m.
Suzanne Schokman and Wayne Mowat interview me live on National Radio about Lucire. I prefer the live format, and Suzanne caught me while I was in Auckland. The tough part was hinting to listeners that my being “Asian” had nothing to do with what we were trying to do with Lucire, especially as my segment followed one about Merge, a magazine targeted at ethnic populations.

Tokhi: ‘Lucire magazine pre-launch interview’, Dot Com Women, August 3, 2004
Lata Tokhi interviews me on the upcoming launch of Lucire, its planned content, and why we waited seven years before starting in this second medium.

World TV, New Zealand, October 6, 2004
Frieda Yu from the New Zealand Chinese-language channel interviews me on the print launch of Lucire and its competition. As with my earlier responses on World TV, she allowed me to answer in Cantonese.

Geist: ‘Tourism is the only way’, Zeitgeist, no. 13, summer 2004, p. 2
Bill Geist’s tourism editorial champions my vision, as quoted in Thomas Mucha’s article in Business 2·0, for repairing the American brand.

Mucha: ‘Marketing the brand “America”’, Business 2·0 online edition, May 13, 2004
I was one of three commentators, alongside Tom Miller and Simon Anholt, on the American nation brand being in trouble and what the US can do about it.

Good Morning, TV1, New Zealand, April 7, 2004, 10·55 a.m.
This live interview with Lisa Manning discussed my virtual business, my co-authorship of Beyond Branding and my plans to extend Lucire into print—the first consumer-targeted announcement of this news.

Martin: ‘Jack Yan—inspiring speaker at ID Dunedin Fashion Weekend’, Thread, March 24, 2004
Katie Martin attended my New Zealand Trade & Enterprise speech in Dunedin in March and had some very nice things to say about it.

Paki: ‘Polyeurasian—the new breed New Zealander’, Tu Mai, February 2004, pp. 20–2
As the demographics of New Zealand change, I was invited by Tu Mai to comment on what it means to be an immigrant New Zealander.

Oliver: ‘Book reviews: Beyond Branding’, Argent, vol. 3, no. 1, January 2004, pp. 46–7
Malcolm Oliver reviews our Beyond Branding and, fortunately, spends a good part of it reviewing my chapter.

Te Kanawa: ‘Flash—but a culture clash, too’, Tu Mai, December 2003, pp. 20–2
I comment on the tangata whenua and intellectual property in a Maori context, discussing L’Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week issues.

Fletcher (ed.): ‘Brand ownership under scrutiny’, Food Technology in New Zealand, November 2003, p. 3
Julie Garlick and I speak on branding in New Zealand at BrightStar’s Pack and Brand conference.

The Wellington Region: Open for Business. Wellington: Positively Wellington Business 2003
I was featured on this CD-ROM promoting businesses in Wellington, New Zealand. It was on this project that I met photographer Robert Catto, with whom I established a very long-standing friendship.

George FM, New Zealand, October 22, 2003, 1 p.m.
Interviewed by Thane Kirby live on George FM, a national FM network in New Zealand, on L’Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week. This was one of the most fun interviews ever, because Thane was so relaxed. (Acknowledgements to Helen Baxter.)

L’Oréal Paris Presents L’Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week, Sky TV Channel 9, New Zealand, October 20, 2003, 12·15 p.m.
I hadn’t done live TV for a while. Interviewed by Francesca Rudkin live in the L’Oréal Paris Powder Room during L’Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week.

Vapnitchnaia: ‘Green fashion’, Late News, UN Radio Russian Service, New York, August 4, 2003
Elena Vapnitchnaia interviewed me about Lucire’s partnership with the UNEP. While conducted in English, I was ultimately dubbed into Russian. Word has it that the interview may have been used on the Chinese-language service on UN Radio and I was dubbed—the second time that month, if you count a smaller TV news item—into Mandarin!

Engeseth: ‘Swedenization of branding föreslår Nya Zeeländare’, Quo Vadis, nos. 38–9, August 2003, p. 6
My friend and colleague Stefan Engeseth interviews me after I do my second speech at the Stockholm Marketing Association (MIS) on ethical branding and corporate social responsibility.

Philpott: ‘World famous in the World Wide Web’, Debate, May 22, 2003
Kathryn Philpott interviews me for AUT’s student newspaper about Lucire and its Webby Award nomination. A very candid interview conducted over the phone and probably the first time I used the word balls in print!

Nightline, TV3, New Zealand, April 9, 2003, 10·30 p.m.
Clayton Anderson interviews me after Lucire won a Webby Award nomination—a brilliantly written intro and story. Anchorwoman Carolyn Robinson’s comments likening it to The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers were also appreciated.

Sinclair-Thompson: ‘From Wellington to the world—virtually’, The Buzz, no. 2, April 24, 2003, p. 1
Philippa Sinclair-Thompson profiles me in an article about why I choose to have my company HQed in Wellington and highlights Lucire’s success, including its recent Webby Award nomination. A beautifully designed cover story.

C. Scobie: ‘On top of the e-world’, Professional Manager, January 2003, pp. 20–2
Australian and New Zealand entrepreneurs make use of the ’net and build their brands. This article, in one of Britain’s respected management magazines, extensively quotes me along with Vanessa Palmer, Natalie Bloom and Peter Gifford (ex-Midnight Oil).

Scobie: ‘Jack Yan’, MAP Magazine, no. 38, December 2002–January 2003, p. 26
One of the best and most accurate—and to date the most personal—interview ever written about me. I was flattered and humbled by the in-depth nature of Claire Scobie’s profile of me in MAP, a Brisbane, Queensland-based media magazine.

Rydergren: ‘Go logo! Brand-soldaterna slår tillbaka’, Resumé, no. 34, 2002, August 22, 2002, pp. 22–3
Spread written about my participation at the Chief Brand Officers' retreat at Medinge, Sweden, and my humanitarian agenda for branding.
   Tobias Rydergren has a very accurate memory, quoting me on my idea for Nike to spend an extra Kr 25,– on education for its workers in Asia. This spread, written about my time at the Chief Brand Officers’ Retreat at Medinge, Sweden, along with some of my esteemed colleagues from the UK and the Nordic countries, features a prelude to the Brand Manifesto which I published in September 2002. A real honour to appear in Sweden’s most respected advertising paper—and thanks to both Anna Serner and Stefan Engeseth for letting me know about the coverage.

Baird: ‘Jack of all trades’, Unlimited, July 2002, ‘Transformers’ section, p. 11
Highly respected business magazine in New Zealand profiles me in a one-page special on “hot” entrepreneurs.
   I was very honoured to see this one-pager written about me by Unlimited’s web editor Zoë Baird. The level of research needed to get a piece past the editors of this magazine is very high, so the information is always authoritative and reliable. This properly scrutinized article is professional journalism (and, I must add, graphic design and photography) at work, naming me as one of the hot entrepreneurs in New Zealand.

Today Live with Susan Wood, TV1, New Zealand, November 13, 2001, 5·30 p.m.
Highest-rating programme in its timeslot. The seven-minute interview centred around my business accomplishments.

Vidal: ‘The web that Jack built’, The Evening Post, December 5, 2000, ‘Flair’ supplement, p. 8
Daily broadsheet’s fashion supplement interviews me on my work at Lucire, at the suggestion of Zambesi’s Neville Findlay.

Loubet del Bayle: ‘Jack Yan’, Les Temps Typographiques, September 2000
In French, a very enjoyable Q&A interview about my work in the font industry.

Off-site

Martinkus: ‘Font victims’, Desktop, April 2000
A state-of-play analysis for the Australasian type industry and latest trends, by Desktop editor Angela Martinkus.

Martinkus: ‘Type cast’, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, ‘Emag’ supplement, March 2000
This is an adaptation of Angela Martinkus’s piece for Desktop, but was much more widely distributed with two of Australia’s leading broadsheets during one day in March 2000.

Martinkus: ‘An open mind and a global company’, Desktop, August 1999, pp. 46–7
Angela Martinkus examines ‘Aussie all-stars’ and looks at my global strategy and the organic structure for Jack Yan & Associates.

OnTV, Saturn Television, April 1999
Kelly Davis interviewed me with Simone Knol and Rebecca Thorpe for a four-minute segment on Saturn Television’s OnTV cable channel about Lucire.

‘Jack Yan: a successful type’, The Voice, no. 7, autumn 1998, p. 2
Sales and Marketing Executives International profiles me in their quarterly newsletter. The interview was even typeset in a typeface I created. This was the first time my photograph (shot by Rebecca Thorpe) was issued.

Needham: ‘Aussie types’, Australian Creative, spring 1996, pp. 30–3
‘Campbell believes it is … Jack Yan who is achieving the most success locally.’ A report on the regional font industry.

Foxworthy: ‘I shot the serif’, Desktop, February 1996
This was the first time I was profiled in Australia, thanks to Richard Foxworthy, who did a bit of research to uncover me. I even got a client or two from this coverage and a few months later, Richard asked if I could replace Desktop’s typography columnist. I have been there since the June 1996 issue.