The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Michael Tio wants his people connected
- DDB wins Creative Network of the Year
- Traditional media going strong
| Michael Tio wants his people connected Posted: 22 Mar 2013 05:23 PM PDT PKT Logistics group chief executive and managing director Datuk Michael Tio wants his work force of 356 on Facebook. He reckons that since separate email accounts for personal use and work are possible, the social networking website should be similarly utilised for improved communication and efficiency. It is a blisteringly hot Saturday afternoon at the company's sprawling headquarters in Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur, and a sprightly Tio has just done some Yoga and running with his workmates at the gym upstairs. It's about taking control and knowing what's happening in every facet of the business, he says, pushing the door into his spacious two-room office. Award trophies and certificates deck the first hall, and the second room where he works houses an eight-seater conference table facing a flat screen on the wall, and so Tio keeps his workspace relatively spartan; just his laptop and some snacks. PKT's public Facebook account flashes on and displays a whopping 15,091 likes, which is a rather unusual high for a corporate business that's not in the retail nor entertainment industry. In fact, PKT leverages on its online following for branding and promotion purposes, even job advertising as the responses are quicker. Tio garners interest via student talks and organising field trips to his office headquarters. To date, throngs of secondary school and tertiary students, in particular those from politecnic institutions, have visited the warehouse and gladly "like" the company page for a free tee. "I want a 15,000 man strong sales force in the next two years," Tio says. He hopes to achieve what he calls the "Milo phenomenon, where the beverage company trucks have shown up at events and schools and branded the chocolate drink so well that kids remained faithful to it well into adulthood." That's the ensuing result he desires from the branding efforts, some of which include good human interest angles. Earlier this month, the social media team posted up a tear-jerking video of a proposal that took place in the office. Staffers hid a female colleague's significant other (not from PKT) in a room when she returned to her desk from lunch and found on it helium balloons, confetti and other memorabilia from her relationship. He emerges, she weeps tears of myrth, co-workers cheer, and amid the excitement, there is a whisper of a yes. It's romantic alright, and a warming glimpse into the support system and ties that bind in that office. Internally, every staff is wired via a closed network and every single department is connected, even security. "See you at the gym tomorrow," Nawaraj, a young Nepalese guard posts on Tio's "wall". Easy banter and process updates udates are happening all the time. "Their being on Facebook does not impair efficiency. In fact, it enhances workflow," Tio says. "Efficiency has gone up 30% since implementing social media and these recreational facilities." A quick tour of the office building is a further insight into Tio's mind and his motivation in creating a relaxing environment for his employees. People stay if they like the place, he says, gesturing at the three-acre pineapple plantation flanking the three-building compound, where quarterly farming is done by dozens of willing officers. The harvest goes to clients. Tio leads the way into a floor lounge where staff can kick back on sofas and help themselves to the bar snacks. There are no accessibility issues here; workers from every rank are entitled to a breather. An honest system governs the place; there's a price list and in the permanent absence of an appointed cashier, munchers deposit their dues into a little wooden chest on the counter. On Mondays, delicious breakfasts are distributed to woo unwound staff back to work. "People who work for me improve their health," he says in reference to Gymmax, the company annual weight loss competition that rewards the first three winners with RM10,000 each for a trip for four to any Asean destination. In their first season, 26 of 29 challengers participated and seven achieved their ideal weight goals. Only three persons gained weight, but overall, it was a heartening result for candidates considering the fact that the competition stretched over the Christmas and Chinese New Year holidays. "We're seeing less medical certificates than ever before," says Tio, who finds inspiration from travelling and checking out foreign sites. Once, he'd visited a major warehouse in Japan and found it strange that all the workers looked like housewives. "We found out that they were indeed housewives, as their employer had worked out a schedule for homemakers who wanted to work part-time. Similarly, we've made arrangements for mothers in our office. There's a plan for young mothers and another for mature ones whose children have grown up," he explains. Ultimately, Tio wins by capitalising on the people element in his business. "To stand out, we make our concept strong. Everything we have implemented works for that purpose." |
| DDB wins Creative Network of the Year Posted: 22 Mar 2013 05:12 PM PDT AFTER a final judging session in Singapore last week, Campaign Asia-Pacific has announced that DDB Group Asia Pacific has won the coveted Creative Network of the Year award. Naga DDB Sdn Bhd says in a statement that this achievement allows the DDB Group Asia Pacific to be recognised as the leading creative agency by the entire industry, its competitive peers, and prospective new client partners in Asia-Pacific. This recognition comes off the back of DDB Asia Pacific's stellar performance in the Agency of the Year Awards in December with the group registering 29 wins and finalist positions. DDB Asia Pacific's footprint covers 13 territories including Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea. Naga DDB chief operating officer David Mitchell says "this is an incredible achievement that would not have been possible without the creativity, drive and tremendous talent of each and every one of our teams in the region." "On the local front, Naga DDB is pleased to have contributed towards this win by way of having won 32 local and international awards in 2012 our most notable being that we were the only agency in Malaysia to be awarded a gold for our Dear Malaysians campaign for DiGi at the Malaysian Effie Awards," he adds. He also says that Naga's "do good" creative philosophy, coupled with the formation of its new creative department under the leadership of Alvin Teoh and Tim Koomsorn, are examples of ensuring that the agency remains relevant and at the forefront of change. |
| Traditional media going strong Posted: 22 Mar 2013 05:11 PM PDT It remains relevant in the digital era DON'T discount the traditional media yet despite the emergence of digital media. That is the clear message from a panel discussion at the annual Malaysian Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) Conference on Thursday, which sought the answer to Is marketing now online marketing? Celcom Axiata chief marketing officer Zalman Aefendy Zainal Abidin, one of the panellists, says Celcom has increased advertising spending in the areas where it knows will make the biggest impact. While he says that digital is one of them, it is not the only area where it is spending a lot more on. "I think there's still a lot of room for some of the other traditional media," he says. "I don't think we can discount traditional media right away. One of the things about online marketing is there's a lot of fake advertising out there − there's a lot of spam. So traditional media have its own value in terms of endorsing what is seen in cyberspace." DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd chief marketing officer Albern Murty says DiGi also uses a mixture of traditional and digital media. "There's no magical number, and from time to time we adjust the numbers to reach the segments we target. I don't think it's all going to be towards one media in the future; I think there's still relevance of using both digital and traditional media. How they can complement each other is probably very key. And complementing them will be the job of the marketing services team," he says. Google Malaysia country head Sajith Sivanandan says Google spent more than US$1bil globally in advertising last year, including on offline media. "What matter are where the audience is spending most of their time and what do you (as a marketer) want to achieve. Why are we thinking (either) online or offline? All these distinctions are pretty much blurred right now." Zalman says Celcom is today structured by business units that mirror agency structure, with each head of an account having a person under him who manages the different mediums that can be used to engage with consumers. "We believe that right now, we have to look at it more on a holistic idea direction. We think of the ideas that would bring the best returns. It could be an idea that depends on medium. So the specialist must know more than just online," he says. "We used to split online and traditional media, but last year we merged them into the business units. When you look at a campaign, you look at reaching the customer from every aspect of the his (media) consumption habit rather than just from one point of view. The danger of doing the latter is your (messages in the) mediums could be disjointed in what they are doing and what they are saying to the consumers." Celcom Axiata regularly uses its consumer lab to understand consumer behavioural insights better. "We need to constantly learn about consumers, and we're not talking about simple focus groups. I believe in understanding consumers, be it using desktop research, focus groups or our own research and consumer behaviour studies. We also make sure we regularly check our mediums to see which mediums are still popular," says Zalman. Murty thinks the industry has to develop different ways of measuring the success of campaigns. "We're still very traditional. As we shift more and more to digital, and traditional is becoming digital, it'll be extremely challenging not only to do it but to find the right people that are able to." Meanwhile, The Star Radio Group deputy chief broadcasting officer Kudsia Kahar says in the country, five million people consume radio not by the traditional way and "we need to capture that (group) more and more so that we have accurate numbers." She puts radio content consumers into three categories, of which two are almost always engaging online. Firstly, there are the traditional radio listeners who listen usually 20-40 minutes while driving to work. "FM transmission in Malaysia is not great because there's a lot of valleys and high-rise buildings, but the emergence of smartphones has given radio a new lease of life and also created a new kind of radio content consumers: those who listen to us only by their smartphones or online via laptops and other devices. "Then you have the third type of consumers who only catch up on podcasts." She says The Star Radio Group and other dynamic radio companies are creating commercial options for clients where they don't just touch the traditional radio scenario of 30-second ads, but follow up with more engaging campaigns online. Kudsia says for radio, one can track online the listenership preferences and behaviours better than using focus group results. "This is great for us because listenership changes all the time." She says Star radio can also devise radio campaigns that are not necessarily on air. "In fact, that's one thing we discovered about Capital FM (Star's women-centric radio station). When they come to our website, they want to see a magazine', so it does not look the traditional radio website." The conference, organised by Matrade (the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp) and the International Advertising Association Malaysia chapter, also features Maxis Bhd joint chief operating officer Suren J. Amarasekera. Speaking on how to lead in the competitive telecommunications sector, he says that Maxis is focusing to be an integrated player by leveraging the cloud services. "Our vision is to bring the future to our customers and businesses; we want it to be simple, personalised and enriching manners," he says. "Today there are multiple layers of integration such as phone, tablet and television content such as Astro and Media Prima. They have the content and we have the capability to provide the experience. Nowadays, consumer demand is more on mobility and multiple screen services to view the contents," he adds. Meanwhile, CIMB Group head group marketing and communications Effendy Shahrul Hamid explains how the global financial crisis has changed the banking sector and how banks are adapting to this change. "Banks must continue to position themselves accurately amidst the evolving operating landscape, with a key focus on ensuring that its propositions continue to be relevant to its customer base," he notes. Unilever Malaysia and Singapore chairman and managing director Rakesh Mohan says having patience is a critical factor when engaging with the emerging market as well as building intimacy with the consumers, building local talents, corporate reputation and relevance. "It takes time to build consumption in this market," he says. He shares several marketing strategies on how to approach emerging markets such as India where there is a lack of media penetration. He says one of the strategies used was stamping messages on bread. "It's about leveraging opportunities in the market." |
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