How a Flashback to a Mural Secured a PR Pitch Win, Almost

Have you ever had that “Slumdog Millionaire” feeling when an answer to a question came to you as a flashback from an experience?

During a pitch meeting, the conversation was about murals around MRT stations. The presenter was trying to name the SG hero on the mural at Serangoon Circle Line station.

That triggered a flashback in me, and I answered with enthusiasm, “Lim Bo Seng!” If only this were the last question in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire!

The flashback occurred because while switching from the NorthEast train line to the Circle train line, I walked past the mural and saw this mural. I was wondering why Lim Bo Seng was featured. Curiosity got the better of me, and I stopped to actually read the description.

Lim Bo Seng and family lived around the Serangoon area prior to WWII. For foreign connections on LinkedIn, Lim Bo Seng joined Force 136 but was captured and tortured to death by the invading Japanese forces.

We did win that PR pitch. Maybe the spontaneous answer played a small part, but it did feel good to have the answer at hand.

The moral of the story is that sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses, in this case, stop and appreciate a mural. You never know when a question will be thrown at you, and all it took was just those 5 minutes to satisfy your curiosity.