The Singapore Marketer (Jan-Mar 2016)

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jan-mar’16

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14 Marketing in the Virtual World 20 Creativity vs Content- Which delivers business value?

26 Handling Negative Feedback on Social Media MCI (P) 129/06/2015 The Official Publication of the Marketing Institute of Singapore, the National Body for Sales and Marketing

Editor’s Note Once again, a whole year has gone by in a blink of an eye. But that only means we have a whole new year to look forward to! Let’s make 2016 a year of better business for everyone.

Needless to say, marketing is an essential element towards more sales and greater revenue.

This year let’s get sharper with our marketing. Generic tactics may not be enough anymore. Consumers are becoming savvier and expect more from your brand. We are all spoilt for choice. And with access to massive amounts of user reviews and information on just about every product there is in the market, you as a brand owner cannot just bet on quality alone.

THE SINGAPORE MARKETER

January - March 2016

Editor Dean Shams Contributing Writers Chris J Reed, Veronica Lind, Mohamed Fadhil, Ken Hudson, Jacky Tan, Seamus Phan, Robin de Rooij and Christophe Le Yoanc MIS EXECUTIVE COUNCIL President Roger Wang 1st Vice President Bhavik Bhatt 2nd Vice President Lee Kwok Weng Honorary Secretary Dean Shams Assistant Honorary Secretary Leonard Zuzarte

An important question to ask yourself now is, when consumers are researching about your category of product, do you have quality information to offer them? Today, this is the best way to draw them to your brand. Creating highly relevant content for your product, services or brand is the only real way to get ranked highly on search engines. In this issue, we offer you some great tips on content marketing. Pay attention, because it is the next big thing in marketing.

The key to content marketing is customising your communication to your specific target consumers. Did you know that men and women are motivated by different information when making purchasing decisions? You probably know this instinctively. But how do the marketing communications affect them emotionally? Robin de Rooij and Christophe Le Yoanc offer some insights into the science behind marketing to men.

But let’s face it, be it men or women, the collective online voice is getting louder and stronger, especially when disgruntled. Don’t let all your effort in building a positive presence online go to waste just because you handled one negative feedback badly.

Mohamed Fadhil shares good approaches to angry voices online.

Let 2016 also be the year you strengthen your personal branding. Chris Reed gives great tips on how your profile on LinkedIn can stand out from the rest of the crowd.

The choice of profile picture and the type of content shared can be done creatively and tastefully. You want recruiters to scout you out before they list the job that you deserve.

We are also excited to share an interview with the founder of Twelve Cupcakes, celebrity couple Daniel Ong and Jaime Teo, on their tips on keeping their cupcakes business ever dynamic. Also, get to know my fellow council member, Lydia Neo In a blink we are going to be at the middle of the year. But before that happens, I want to wish you a fruitful year ahead!

Embrace opportunities, keep learning and keep marketing better.

Honorary Treasurer Paul Lim Asst Honorary Treasurer Lydia Neo Co-opted Council Members Alex Lim Freddy Tan Gerry Gabriele Seah Design & Layout Kelvin Wang

Dean Shams

Editor Hon. Secretary, MIS Executive Council Dean is the founder and PR strategist of KinetiqBuzz PR He can be contacted at dean@kinetiqbuzz.com

Production, Advertising & Circulation Joreen Yee joreen.yee@mis.org.sg

The Singapore Marketer is a quarterly magazine published by Marketing Institute of Singapore. Printed in Singapore by Stamford Press Pte Ltd. 209 Kallang Bahru, Singapore 339344. Tel: (65) 6294 7227 MCI (P) 129/06/2015.

Subscription is available upon request; please contact Joreen Yee at joreen.yee@mis.org.sg.

Publisher Marketing Institute of Singapore 51 Anson Road #03-53 Anson Centre Singapore 079904 Tel: (65) 6327 7572 Fax: (65) 6327 9741 Email: singaporemarketer@mis.org.sg Website: www.mis.org.sg

The views expressed in The Singapore Marketer do not necessarily represent those of the Marketing Institute of Singapore. No responsibility is accepted by the Institute or its staff for the accuracy of any statement, opinion, or advice contained in the text or advertisements, and readers are advised to rely on their judgment or enquiries, and to consult their own advisers in making any decisions which would affect their interest. All materials appearing in The Singapore Marketer is copyright. No part of the publication may be reproduced without prior written permission of the Marketing Institute of Singapore. The Marketing Institute of Singapore welcomes contributions and letters. These might be edited for clarity or length. Articles, letters and requests to reproduce articles appearing in The Singapore Marketer should be sent to the Editor, Marketing Institute of Singapore, 410 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188726 or write to singaporemarketer@mis.org.sg.

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Content Page

04 Cover Story Creativity on LinkedIn

A Marketer’s Story

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Interview with Daniel Ong and Jaime Teo, Co-founders of Twelve Cupcakes

Focus

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6 Reasons Why Singapore Businesses Need Content Marketing

Business School

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Creativity vs Content – Which Delivers Business Value?

Learning site

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The Science Behind Marketing to Men

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Wrestling the Changes in Social and Mainstream Media

Feature

18

Handling Negative Feedback on Social Media

Guru Talk

24

Consumer-led Disruption

Getting to know our council member

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Interview with Lydia Neo, Assistant Honorary Treasurer of Marketing Institute of Singapore (MIS)

Marketer@work

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51

Interview with Mark Laudi

Spotted

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the singapore marketer jan-mar’16

Creativity

on LinkedIn - How it Can be Done Âť By Chris J Reed

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Cover Story

As a social media platform, LinkedIn is still one of the most underutilised tools in the world, especially when compared to Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

I know several people who think LinkedIn is a platform that is only used for job searches, and even then, most feel that as long as their CV is up to scratch, they don’t really need it. Several top leaders in the industry are missing out on LinkedIn action – Sundar Pichai, Google’s new CEO, doesn’t even have a photo on his profile and has less than 250 connections, which I think is amazing for someone who’s in charge of a tech company with so much clout.

And has anyone seen Elizabeth Holmes’ LinkedIn page? No? Neither have I, because it doesn’t exist! She’s one of the youngest CEOs and the founder of Theranos – a leading health-tech company valued at USD 4.5 billion.

I’ve built my business around extolling the virtues of LinkedIn, and Skeptics complain that LinkedIn lacks room for creativity. I disagree of course. One of the easiest ways to get creative often starts with changing the way one thinks, views and approaches things. Today, I’ll share with you why and how you can get creative on LinkedIn and bust a few myths while I’m at it, regardless of the stage you’re at – be it as a fresh graduate looking for a job, to a company or business looking for leads.

For the Job Seeker Myth – LinkedIn is only for professional job seekers and I should only update my profile when I’m on the market for a new job.

Reality – One of the quickest and most credible ways to build up your personal brand is through LinkedIn, and recruiters sometimes look at top profiles before they even list the actual job.

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... ensure you keep up your LinkedIn account and build your brand up with relevant and consistent content

How you can get creative – First, by realising that you need to start a “conversation” and engage people (recruiters, industry leaders who are potential bosses, etc.) regularly, before you actually need a job. Your profile page allows you to enter your own information such as a summary, a great profile picture (I showcase my signature hairstyle in mine), a great background photo and several media files, to help illustrate or support your experience. Next, ensure you keep up your LinkedIn account and build your brand up with relevant and consistent content – it’s a lot like Facebook, where you share and post updates.

DO: Ensure that you list all your achievements and past experiences clearly in chronological order, and use keywords. This ensures that you get found organically. For example, if you’re looking for an internship, bring this point across and use “intern”

or “internship” as keywords in both your summary and header.

Choose a professional photo (for the last time, a duck-face selfie is not a hot professional look). I have a purple Mohawk which brings across some idea of my personality.

I do not however, have a silly pose, cute expression or outlandish outfit.

Remember, this is all about personal branding, and you do not want to be remembered for the wrong reasons.

DON’T: Put up posts as you would on Facebook – this is still a professional site, not a place for you to rant or share mundane things.

Use fluffy terms such as “Sales Evangelist” or “Business Ninja” – they may sound harmless or work for certain industries, but they often aren’t good for anything other than to induce eye-rolling.

Cover Story

For the Non-Seeker / Industry Leader Myth – LinkedIn has no value for me even if I’m looking for a job; it’s all about who I know personally.

Reality – Yes, while it’s true that it’s about who you know in the industry, especially when you reach a certain level in your career, LinkedIn has the ability to increase who you know, give you a broader, professional reach and the ability to “namedrop” without really doing so, and develop your own personal brand.

How you can get creative – Approach LinkedIn as your digital networking platform. This is particularly great news for the introverted bunch who prefer correspondence to share ideas, as opposed to face-to-face interaction.

Lay your foundation and “qualify” your connections before adding them to your network.

DO: Further to the do-list of the “Job Seeker,” you should also up your game with the following –

Ensure that your summary is up to date with your latest achievements and current industry or business interests – this makes it easier for you to connect with the “right” people. If you have had a career or focus change, then ensure that your keywords change accordingly as well. Spend time on choosing keywords to appear in your header so you climb up the rankings under organic searches.

Join relevant groups and start discussions – if you’re a top contributor, people are more likely to listen to you and view you as a thought leader. People are also more likely to follow you as a personal brand.

Write blogs and bring your opinions and ideas across. Again, it’s about messaging and managing your personal brand. Allow people to get into your headspace.

All of the above should help in ensuring that you get viewed by your target audience – whether you’re looking to recruit, be recruited, or engage in business with – with groundwork that is set and solid. The main takeaway as always is that keywords are your best friends when it comes to personal branding.

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DON’T: Naturally the don’t-list of “Job Seekers” also applies here, as does the following – Spam groups with sales pitches – there’s a certain decorum that’s expected to be adhered to in order to maintain professionalism on LinkedIn. You wouldn’t want someone forcing an idea on you, and neither should you.

Connect with every Tom, Dick and Jane – be discerning in who you connect with. While it’s true you never know where one door might lead you, some doors should obviously stay closed from the onset.

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Footsteps to follow – Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and James Caan. These leaders have managed to seamlessly integrate their LinkedIn with their high level PR game.

For the Company Myth – I have a company website, I don’t see why I should have a company page on LinkedIn. Reality – You may have a company website, and it’s great to direct potential client traffic to, but there’s an untapped, internal market you’re missing out on. Your staff. And who they know. Also, imagine if someone is organically searching you on Google – your company website appears at the top, followed by (hopefully, if you’ve followed the points above) your own personal profile. If you don’t have a company page on LinkedIn, chances are your competitor’s page might come up next. Why share free premium ad space when you can dominate with your company’s own LinkedIn page?

How you can get creative – People are often extremely private with their social media, such as Facebook and Instagram where they sometimes choose to vent about work and life in general. The nature of LinkedIn however, ensures that most people “clean up” their act and pose their professional front. This is a market you should tap in on, especially as a business owner.

DO: Ensure that you’re regularly posting quality content – share the latest developments within your company, such as CSR initiatives and events that may be taking place, or a new product or service launch.

Have Showcase pages – each company page allows you to have up to 10 showcase pages. This ensures that you get more reach and are able to streamline your content into sub-groups, so if your audience only wishes to look at specific content, they can. It also helps you with specific messaging.

Make it a team effort – get staff on board to follow, share, like and comment. It’s a numbers game as with everything else. If you’re a small start-up with 25 staff and they each have an average of 200 connections, that’s (in theory) a 5000-captive audience reach. And if you are good at curating quality content that gets shared, that number is increased exponentially.

Cover Story

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... LinkedIn is one of the best ways to help you with your personal branding.

DON’T: Post only in-house content.

I’m not saying post things about your competitors, but rather industry news, to stay relevant with a larger group of people and avoid coming across as self-serving.

Let your page lag with zero or static content. Mix it up. Use infographics, videos and more. Make it interesting for your followers so that they want to engage with you.

Footsteps to follow – IBM, P&G and Tesla Motors. These companies show you how it’s done by ticking all the right boxes, from engaging with both internal and external audiences, and serving up a plethora of rich content.

As I mentioned earlier, LinkedIn is one of the best ways to help you with your personal branding. It’s less fluffy than Facebook, and with the potential to keep growing in numbers, it makes sense for you to jump on the bandwagon and take advantage of its features now. Plus, with the right use of keywords and clear, concise messaging, you’re able to up your personal (and company) brand organically, for free.

Be creative in the way you approach and view it, and coupled with the best practices outlined above, you’ll be creatively ahead of the pack in no time.

About the writer

Chris J Reed is an official LinkedIn Power Profile and has one of the world’s most viewed LinkedIn profiles with over 30,000 followers. He is also a serial entrepreneur having created marketing businesses in both Europe and now in Asia Pacific with Black Marketing - enabling LinkedIn for you.

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the singapore marketer jan-mar’16

Interview with Daniel Ong and Jaime Teo Co-founders of Twelve Cupcakes

The celebrity couple, Daniel and Jaime, ushered in the whole cupcake revolution and craze in Singapore since 2011. Their passionate project, Twelve Cupcakes, has emerged as the most common cupcake store in Singapore, and they pride their cupcakes in being moist, fluffier and less sweet with a light smooth frosting that is pleasing to the palate. Is their roaring success a result of their celebrity status or due to other secret recipes? Let’s hear the couple spill the beans.

10 Tell us the story of Twelve Cupcakes and why did you start this business?

What is Twelve Cupcake’s brand promise and how do you keep to it?

Twelve Cupcakes started because of Jaime’s love for baking and Daniel’s love for doing business.

DC Cupcakes was airing on food network one evening when Jaime wistfully said, “wouldn’t it be nice to own something like that?”. Daniel immediately set about making it happen. We combined our skills (and fortunately we had many complementary skill sets!), and our flagship Twelve Cupcakes outlet opened at United Square on the 13th July 2011. We were sold out in two hours on the first day and the rest was history. We can be found in five countries with 42 locations across Asia.

Our focus is very simple – a good product! We aim to make the best cupcakes around using only the finest ingredients and to consistently deliver a delicious cupcake experience. We also continually come up with new flavours to excite the taste buds of Twelve Cupcakes fans!

A Marketer’s Story

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We hold contests, share social posts on our various platforms and we are open to feedback on flavours and how to improve.

Where and how did you build brand awareness for Twelve Cupcakes?

How do you engage with your customers?

When we started out, we had the benefit of our social media base and were able to get the word out quickly. However, the product spoke for itself and people love sharing good food! Word-of-mouth would be our primary method of brand awareness. With Daniel’s radio and promotions background, he made sure that our social media platform showcases Twelve Cupcakes as a lifestyle product and continually engage people who became fans of the brand.

We hold contests, share social posts on our various platforms and we are open to feedback on flavours and how to improve. This helps customers to feel closer to the brand. Being hashtagged on every celebratory event also helps greatly!

A Marketer’s Story

Do you think cupcakes are fad? In what ways do you ensure a constant stream of regular customers?

Cupcakes are not a fad because of their proven longevity. In the United States, the cupcake “fad” has been going on for the last 20 years! We think that the cupcake is the new cake because of the ease of consumption, portion control, huge variety of flavours, fuss-free consumption, pretty appearance and the list goes on. Consistently producing good cupcakes is the only way to ensure that your customers come back. We also have special flavours launched monthly that get people excited about trying them.

You went into product diversification by setting up Dulce & Sucre that offers wider range of pastries and even coffee. Why this move?

It was an outlet for our baker’s creativity as we have many talented bakers who have much more to share. Our most recent product, the honeycake, is creating waves on social media with tremendous positive reviews and feedback. With Twelve Cupcake stores island wide, we now have a vehicle to allow customers to try more varied baked goods.

What is your expansion plan in the next two years?

We are now consolidating stores, closing off older ones and opening up in brand new exciting locations.

We have moved to a central kitchen location that allows us to monitor quality as well as better our production / inventory management / manpower needs. We also hope to begin reaching out to more new regions like the Middle East, China and Japan.

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Focus

6 Reasons Why Singapore Businesses Need

Content Marketing?

Âť By Jacky Tan Content marketing is a very simple marketing strategy that involves the creation of branded content related to your targeted consumers. In content marketing, businesses are more like a brand publisher (a magazine in simpler terms) than just an advertiser. The businesses will not only share their products and services but also publishes interesting and relevant articles which their consumers may like. Take for example, a beauty product company shares about make up tips or an interior designer shares an expert opinion on decorating the home for the festive season.

The Content Marketing Opportunity in Singapore Content marketing is currently at its infancy stage in Singapore (and most countries in Asia), where small-medium sized enterprises or even the large corporate brands lack the time and expertise to produce and distribute branded content on a consistent and massive manner.

This gives rise to a huge competitive advantage for companies that are already doing some form of content marketing today.

While you are deciding whether your business should start content marketing or not, here are the six reasons why you should start content marketing - immediately!

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The more branded content your business share, the more confident your consumers will see your brand as the expert or thought leader in your industry.

#1 Establish Your Brand Credibility

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The more branded content your business share, the more confident your consumers will see your brand as the expert or thought leader in your industry. People like winners, consumers like to buy from brands whom they see as the industry experts. This is because consumers feel that companies who are doing content marketing can understand more about their needs from their perspective. Hence, the number one reason to jumpstart your content marketing strategy today is because it can build up your brand credibility!

#2 Give Consumers The Reason To Know About Your Brand!

#3 Most of Your Competitors Aren’t Doing That!

In our “information blasting” age, consumers are being bombarded with too many advertising messages everywhere. You can find advertisements on the internet, social media, outdoor media, print media, TV, radio and many more.

Such phenomenon gives consumers the reason to ignore as many advertisements as possible. Content marketing influences the consumers in a non-intrusive manner that subtly topples that ‘defensive wall’ between the brand and the consumers.

Therefore, giving the consumers more freedom to choose your brand, know your brand, and follow your brand.

As mentioned earlier, many businesses in Singapore have not yet adopt content marketing practices. This is a very good sign especially for content marketing starters because they can leverage on their branded content to define themselves as industry thought leaders quickly. While winning their competitors in the marketing game who are not doing any sort of content marketing, they can therefore establish market leadership quickly in no time.

Focus

#4 Get Found Exclusively!

Content marketing attracts more and more consumers to your business in the long run. If your business consistently produces 120 branded content a year which will then being indexed by internet search engines, it will mean that your brand will have at least 600 pages indexed on the global search engines in five years’ time. This will give rise to more targeted consumers to your business who have found you through your indexed articles via the internet search engines. #5 Low Cost, Maximum Return Okay, let’s do the maths! Using the above example that your business had invested five years into content marketing which produced about 600 branded content eventually.

Moreover, these 600 articles had also been indexed by the search engines. Even if you have to stop advertising or marketing completely on the sixth year, your archive of indexed articles will still generate consumer traffic and potential new

businesses to you, on a non-stop basis. And what will be the cost per marketing lead by then? Zero, right?

Therefore, the key to maximise the return on your content marketing strategy will be your brand’s consistent effort of archiving relevant content online. #6 Establish Media-to-Expert Relationships As your business gets the hang of content marketing, your brand will also start to gain media attention.

This is because, by reading your branded content, the media people will also look up to your business as the expert in your industry. This is because your business’ opinion carries more weight than your competitors who do not do content marketing. Therefore, the more branded content your business can produce, the more media exposure your business will receive. Moreover, the more media exposure your business receives, the more brand credibility, consumer confidence and market revenue your business will get.

In Summary So there you have the six reasons why your business should start content marketing right now.

Though content marketing can be a simple strategy that any business can do, many businesses give up content marketing halfway before they can realise its full potential.

To see that full potential, you need to give yourself at least a two year time frame to see the results. Within that timeframe, continue to produce consistently, as many outstanding branded content as you can.

Happy writing!

It is as simple as that.

About the writer

Jacky Tan is the principal brand strategist of Jack And Chaz Pte Ltd, a boutique content marketing agency in Singapore. He is also a professional marketing writer, brand strategist, speaker as well as published book author of “Social M – How Your Startup Can Take On The Big Boys Today”.

Jacky is contactable at biz@jackchaz.com.

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Feature

H and li n g N e g a t i ve Fe e dba ck on

Social Media

Âť By Mohamed Fadhil

Social media is a powerful tool for many brands and organisations.

It helps them connect, engage, and establish trust with current and prospective clients, increase brand awareness, website traffic and ultimately increase sales.

Connecting and engaging with clients and fans is a great way to show the human side of your brand to establish trust and loyalty.

Social media management, however, is not for the faint-hearted.

When you have a large following, people can be ruthless and insensitive, although sometimes, with valid reasons. It is a unique public environment that has its culture, language and expectations.

Traditional customer service and public relations may not be adequate to handle fiery feedback and negative comments. It is impossible to keep everyone happy and social media is the one-stop destination for disgruntled and dissatisfied users.

Nevertheless, social media has become an indispensable ingredient

to attract and retain support and even customers. Although this interaction can significantly benefit us and our organisations, it can also harm if not managed well. On the other hand, with the right response, a negative comment can be turned into an opportunity to not only retain as well as to gain the attention and support of new ones.

By and large, the two-way communication of social media is a good thing — businesses can form more personal relationships with customers and customers can become part of a community around the brands and businesses they want to support.

Dealing with negative social media posts can be uncomfortable, especially if you rarely handle them or do not have a policy to respond to such posts. Rather than waiting for disgruntled customers to show up and complain in your social space, it is best to have a plan for handling these situations when they arise.

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Determine the Type of Feedback The first step to dealing with negative feedback is to determine the type of feedback received.

Negative feedback comes in a myriad of forms, in which each one is best dealt with using a different type of response. Determining the type of feedback you are dealing with is an essential step in figuring out the appropriate response.

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• Straight Problems - Someone has an issue with your product or service and has laid out exactly what went wrong. This type of feedback is negative in the sense that it puts your business in a poor light, but it can be helpful in exposing real problems that need to be dealt with. It is important to respond in a factual manner and indicate the recovery action that will be taken.

• Constructive Criticism – It is also more helpful when the comment comes with a suggestion. Many customers will use social media to suggest ways in which you can improve your product or service.

While this type of feedback may point out your failings, and is thus negative, it can be helpful.

• Merited Attack - While the attack itself may not be merited, the issue that catalysed it have caused the negative feedback.

Essentially, the organisation or company did something wrong, and someone is angry. Hence, it is essential to calibrate a response and act immediately to address this unhappiness. This will also improve the organisation’s services or products.

• Trolling/Spam - The difference between trolling and a merited attack are that trolls have no valid reason for complaining.

Spammers, who will use a negative comment about your product or service (whether true or not) to promote a competing service.

In this case, it is best not to be lured and take the bait. Spammers or trolls should be ignored and removed from your organisation’s social media account or page.

Feature

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Most people are looking for connection and rapport and when we listen sincerely, it is likely that these customers make great long-term customers.

Honesty and Sincerity

Connection and Rapport.

CEO Tony Hsieh an American internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist and CEO of the online shoe and clothing shop Zappos who wrote a book on delivering world-class customer service, suggests:

There are many social media analysts who find that most complaints come from people who like your company and are likely to stay a customer. They believe that most customers are frustrated and looking for avenues to vent that frustration and be heard. When you appear as a person who cares enough to listen, they get most of what they are looking for. Most people are looking for connection and rapport and when we listen sincerely, it is likely that these customers make great long-term customers. It is therefore crucial to remain calm and avoid being defensive. This allows us to analyse the complaint with a clear mind and promote a healthier and calibrated response. By treating them like valued friends, it will form the human relationship while at the same time establish a positive business connection.”

“We truly care about our customers, and when there has been a loss of service, we bend over backwards to understand exactly what has happened, take strides to make improvements in an effort to prevent future losses of service, and can honestly identify with the experience our customers have reached out to let us know about. We are customers too, and we always try to put ourselves in their shoes. “ Hence, it is quite evident that being honest and sincere when dealing with customers will help build a positive relationship with them.

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It is crucial to remember that every customer is different and the underlying reason for a complaint is different each time.

Avoid the ‘Non-apology’ Apology.

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This is a common fallacy for many organisations and businesses. We have often heard or read of how companies apologise for an error or a service lapse yet remain defensive and in some ways, appear aloof and distant from the issues the customers is facing. For example, we might have read this – “Our company has been supplying our product to our customers for more than 50 years and have an impeccable record.

However, we are sorry that your experience did not match your expectations.”

In this response, there was no real apology, and the lack of sincerity was obvious and the response is merely a feeble attempt at deflecting blame. It is likely that many customers will dismiss such response as ‘a standard reply’ and one that will only serve to widen the crack in the relationship between the customer and organisation.

Feature

It is crucial to remember that every customer is different and the underlying reason for a complaint is different each time. Being calm and compose will go a long way in turning a conflict into a positive experience for everyone involved, and at the same time, it is imperative to craft out a personalised response for each complaint or feedback received. The impression we need to give is that each and every customer is important and the fact that their grievances are addressed individually will highlight to customers that each and every relationship is highly valued.

Social Media is ‘Social’.

Another point often forgotten is the simple fact that social media is called social for a reason. It is about socialising and establishing social relationships and connecting with your customers—in both positive and negative situations.

It is impossible to avoid negative feedback and hence, it is best to embrace it, see it as an opportunity to connect with customers, and possibly gain new ones. The act of socialising naturally involves the human touch and when responding to a customer, it is important to ‘socialise’ with them on social media by using the right words, the right tone and with the right attitude.

About the writer

Mohamed Fadhil is currently a Communications and Literacy Lecturer with the Marketing Institute of Singapore Training Centre. With over ten years of experience teaching in training institutions, higher education institutions and welfare organisations (VWOs). He currently conducts WSQ programmes, communications, soft skills and literacy courses at various institutes. Fadhil has successfully worked with both adults and children of different nationalities and cultures in his teaching career.

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Consumer-led Disruption Âť By Dr Ken Hudson

Guru Talk

Disruption is everywhere. The press is replete with stories of the next Uber, Netflix, Whatsapp or Airbnb. Even perennial technology darlings such as Twitter or Facebook seem well so, yesterday.

It’s intoxicating, heady stuff as one digital business can seemingly transform an industry and lead to growth rates going through the roof.

But is this disruption driven by giant leaps in technology, as the IT guys would have you believe?

Or in fact, is the disruption a result of an unmet consumer need or problem, as the marketing people would suggest?

Let’s consider the perennial favourite Uber for example.

For those people who have not heard of Uber, it’s an on-demand car service operated through a mobile app. From its humble beginnings in 2009, it now operates in 58 countries and is valued over $50 billion.

Now let’s try and better understand the success of Uber using a consumer rather than technology led prism.

To do this, I have developed a 3-step process, which any marketer can apply to their brand or business.

My 3-step disruptive thinking process is as follows: 1. What is a widespread consumer frustration?

2. What is the ideal or perfect solution?

3. What might a breakthrough digital solution look like?

As the story goes, the two founders of Uber, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp met at a conference in 2009 and the problem of finding a taxi came up. They both instantly started swapping stories of how frustrating this experience is, particularly if you are in a hurry, it is raining, you are burdened by heavy luggage or you are in an area where you don’t feel safe.

Do these frustrations resonate with you?

Of course, they do – it’s a global problem.

Step one is satisfied – a large and ever-present consumer frustration.

Now a leap of imagination is required to create an ideal or perfect solution (step 2).

You can bet the Uber founders asked themselves these types of ‘what if’ questions.

What if, we could create a service where consumers could find a car wherever and whenever they wanted one?

What if, we could create a service, which did not rely on an existing taxi fleet, but the drivers could use their own car?

What if, we could make the ordering process faster, easier and simpler?

And lastly, what if we could introduce a rating system so that both drivers and users could be recognized and rewarded for outstanding service.

These types of questions would never occur to the existing taxi industry because they do not want the world to change. They are stuck with an entrenched mindset and business model.

The entrenched players start from a position of ‘what exists’; disruption starts from a place of ‘what could exist’.

The taxi industry will keep winning as long as the game and the rules of the game don’t change.

All of which, made this industry ripe for disruption.

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Disruption can happen at any time, in any industry by anyone.

Now for step number 3 – a digital solution.

Enter the Uber mobile app.

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The mobile app is quite addictive.

And like all great products it quickly becomes a habit (let’s Uber it).

• It’s fast, simple and easy to use the mobile app (there are no engaged phone call signals for example)

It’s interesting now that the competition for Uber is now coming from ‘Uber-like’ firms such as Lyft.

• You enter your credit card information so there is no cash involved

My key point from this case study is that many disruptive brands, businesses and apps start with consumers.

• The user can see where the taxi is and how far away they are (this is a cool feature) • You can rate the driver and he/she can rate the passenger.

• These ratings are available for all to see • And finally the app is free and you can have a choice of various levels of Uber services

They start by focusing on the existing consumer experience. And in particular what frustrates them.

The key word here is frustration.

It’s a word that tries to capture the emotion of the consumer experience.

A widespread consumer frustration creates a fertile ground for disruption to emerge.

Guru Talk

The key lessons for marketers are these:

• Disruption can happen at any time, in any industry by anyone.

• Disruption is less about a breakthrough digital solution but more about have an individual and collective disruptive mindset

• Marketers have to constantly be on the look-out for disruption.

They have to disrupt the market and at the same time be wary of being disrupted themselves.

As Bradley Jakeman, president of Pepsi Co recently noted, “I try and drive this notion in the organization that unless were constantly thinking about how we disrupt ourselves someone will come along and disrupt us.”

• Any brand-owner can disrupt their market or category by following the 3-step process outlined here (i.e. a widespread consumer frustration, a leap of imagination and a digital solution) • Much of the technology today is open-source this means that anyone can use an existing (cost-efficient) platform to disrupt anyone else.

• The two Uber founders even with such a great idea tested it first by building a prototype and began with a few cars. This testing, pivot and iteration process can easily be copied and used by any brand or marketing leader.

The winners in this new disruption era are of course - consumers.

As the Uber and taxi industry prove, consumers that are getting a ‘bum deal’ will increasingly look for and be open to better, faster and easier alternatives.

About the writer

Dr Ken Hudson has a PhD in Organisational Creativity and was a former Marketing Director at American Express. He has written 3 books on Idea Generation and Speed Thinking which have been published in 9 countries.

He is contactable at ken@drkenhudson.com.

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Cre ati vit y vs

Co nte nt

Business School

Creativity vs Content

Which Delivers Business Value? » By Veronica Lind

Every marketer is expected to be highly creative and to create highly creative content. For several years, there was a huge hype on Content Marketing which Content Marketing Institute defines as ‘a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.’

But what can go wrong with Content Marketing? There are 27 million pieces of content shared daily1 with 62% of marketers thinking that their content marketing efforts are ineffective because 74% of online consumers get frustrated. This is simply because the content is either not relevant or provides little or no value to the customer.2

Worse, if you deliver content through disjointed marketing efforts, the effects become adverse.

Bad content and disjointed digital marketing can result in loss of customer interest, loss of customer loyalty, confusion and mistrust, and a loss of market share.3 Shift from ‘Easy to sell” to “Easy to buy” business model Due to increased competitive pressures resulting from the rapid advances in technology, the continued growth of the service sector, and the escalation of global competition, businesses are beginning to move away from the strategic, bottom-line, cost-cutting focus of the 1990s to a renewed top-line focus on revenue growth

via organisational innovation and creativity. As a result, businesses are embracing the challenge of integrating creativity and innovation into their organisations, clamouring for creative breakthrough ideas, products, and services that provide significant competitive advantages.4 In an IBM CEO study, it was identified that “creativity is the single most important leadership competency for enterprises seeking a path through this complexity”.5 Creativity, after all, is not valued as an end in itself but as a critical means to that end.

In this age of accelerating complexity, Marketing can make the process of buying, using and getting value from your products as simple and productive as possible.

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True business and marketing leaders embrace uncertainty and complexity as creative catalysts that invite and, in fact, demand innovation.

Moving from a business model of “easy to sell” to “easy to buy” shifts the marketing paradigm and the creative response that’s required.

It also begs for the kind of creative leadership that marketers are uniquely equipped to provide.

The Internet of ME6 is driving B2B marketers to leverage digital channels to create highly personalised experiences that engage and exhilarate customers and inspire advocates.

The big shift towards an easy to buy business model requires every company to be highly customer centric. This requires each digital business to move towards creating a broader digital ecosystem tapping into an array of other digital businesses and customers to improve operations, business processes and shifting towards a customer centric model - processes, personalised product and services and personalised marketing models.

Delivering visible business value Beyond content, marketer needs to focus on applied creative marketing. Applied creative marketing requires a holistic creative approach to solve business problems and/or ignite business growth.

Marketers should also devise new pathways in uncertain environments by taking a company’s unique differentiation and transform it into a visible business value.

Business School

The easiest way to approach applied creative marketing is to think of the role of creativity as a vehicle for building relationships between your brand and your prospects while accentuating your brand’s differences.Yes, take a company’s unique differentiation and transform it into a visible business value.

At the tactical level where you are driving business pipeline and sales— use a brand-led and personalisation marketing strategy along each customer’s journey to help them buy easier from a brand.

Leverage an agile, responsive framework that includes an integrated mix of content, analytics, mobile and social engagement techniques powered by marketing automation and supported by CRM. (see diagram 1 – Framework)

Diagram 1 - Applied Creative Marketing Framework Source: Vermilion Marketing Australia

Through this strategy, marketers and communicators can guide companies and stakeholders in developing their unique brand value proposition, earning the respect of their stakeholders and peers.

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What is key in applied creative marketing?

It requires a strategy with high dependency on marketing technologies, research and analytics, the power of emotion and strong alignment with business goals, metrics and customer facing processes.

What does it mean? It means…

• Providing relevant content with consistent brand messages to customers BEFORE they think of contacting your sales teams.

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• Marketers have to motivate customers to move to the next stage of their lifecycle faster than they would on their own • Needing creative marketing elements i.e. messaging and content + visual expression and campaign assets + engagement techniques that result in personalised differentiated experiences to WOW the customers. (see diagram 2 – Personalisation) • Requiring deep understanding of your customers and their digital behaviour - where they engage, their communication preferences, channels, frequency and what message, content and marketing activity appeal to each persona at each stage of their lifecycle

Diagram 2 - Personalisation requires 3 main creative marketing elements Source: Vermilion Marketing Australia

• Having easy-to-assess metrics and how you use collected marketing data (analytics). Metrics help you assess whether your marketing dollars are allocated correctly. If your efforts aren’t sufficiently supporting your goals at each stage, you should modify your budget or your tactics.

Business School

Through all these, it is important to remember that knowledge is power in customer relationships. Have an automated engagement marketing platform that enables a 360-degree view of your customers across channels, and by aligning your data, technology, processes and people and keeping your customers in the loop on all that you are doing, you can build trust and create strong alignment to help the company achieve their goals.

Transforming customer experiences In marketing, strong emotional connections between the brand and its customers will deliver business value.

For experienced marketing professionals, the real need is not Content Marketing but in Applied Creative Marketing which focuses on WHAT your customers want and HOW best to deliver the experience during each stage of their lifecycle.

By making the buying experience easier for customers, you will need to take the brand’s unique differentiation and transform it into an entity of visible business value to its target customer. Just how to do that? We recommend using Applied Creative Marketing approach involving strategy, content, analytics, mobile readiness and social referral, powered by marketing automation and supported by CRM.

References: 1 AOL Nielsen Content Sharing Study 2013 2 2016 Inbound Marketing Predictions - Impact 3 Oracle 4 Forbes 5 IBM CEO study 6 Accenture’s Internet of ME report

About the writer

Veronica Lind has a solid track record in helping small businesses, large organisations and higher education institutions create multiplier effects in their business growth. She heads up Vermilion Marketing, in Australia.

Veronica will be facilitating workshops on driving business value through applied creative marketing, social media and digital channels on March 2016 in Singapore.

See www.vermilionmarketingau.com for more details.

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Learning Site

The Science Behind

Marketing to men » By Robin de Rooij & Christophe Le Yoanc

“Women are from Venus and men are from Mars” is more than just a catchphrase from the 1990s; to some extent, it accurately captures the differences in gender appeal when it comes to consumer behaviour.

Though men, in general, can be cutthroat competitive, goal-oriented, interested in power and, frankly, wired very differently from their female counterparts, marketers must focus first on aptly targeted emotional marketing and the relevant benefits that products can provide before focusing on who is making the actual purchase: the man in question or a woman in his life.

In this article, we will share four tips to keep in mind when creating claims and communications messages for men and the women

who buy for them. The four tips are based on a meta-analysis of messages tested across a range of categories, markets and genders in different studies.

Avoid extensions of feminine benefits, make benefits relevant to men Jill Avery, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School found that most men fear being interpreted as feminine, more so than women fear being interpreted as masculine.

Men like to hear benefits that are functional and relevant to them – body wash to wash away the dirt, or their face wash to cleanse their pores. Women generally prefer more descriptive articulations that bring the products to life – with moisturisation, supple skin,

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It is critical to be crystal clear to men as they are not browsers, which is why men’s products tend to feature stark contrasting colors so that benefits can be viewed clearly and immediately...

nourishment and other aspirational adjectives. Even when women buy for their men, they look for a promise of efficacy that produces a desirable result. “Leaves hair smooth and shiny” or “leaves skin lightly scented” are claims that can appeal to women for themselves, or bring to life how they would like their men to look or smell. Men would vouch for “flake-free hair” as it addresses a more relevant problem. Given the dynamics of shopping behaviour in households with couples, the balance between these is critical in determining motivation to buy.

Touch the emotional nerve behind the machismo persona Studies show that men focus on functional elements. A razor must be rust-proof; an aftershave must be cooling and eliminate razor burn. The common theme is a

mandate that marketers leverage an emotional connection to preventing a negative—like men’s fear of balding, razor burn or dandruff on shoulders.

A deeply emotional insight lies within their pursuit of the functional, and it can be tapped by showcasing how to avoid such negatives with claims that specifically target them.

Even with sensitive topics like hair loss, men perceive that products should “correct,” again implying a fix or alternative to a negative. Women aspire for products to revitalize and strengthen hair, and when they buy for their men, they continue to look for something that can be visualised.

“A fuller scalp” would appeal to a woman because she can envision this on her man. It brings the benefit to life better than “Clinically proven to stop hair fall,” which would negate the fear better if a man was buying the same product for himself.

Give men proof, validation of numbers It is critical to be crystal clear to men as they are not browsers, which is why men’s products tend to feature stark contrasting colors so that benefits can be viewed clearly and immediately: Nivea’s white packs with blue font or L’Oréal’s grey or black packs with neon accents.

Men also prefer facts and numbers over the lengthy descriptions of benefits; they are more inclined to purchase a product that cites clinical proof versus simply a promise of “softness.”

However, marketers should keep in mind that the numbers need to be relevant and credible. Extreme numbers, such as 100% blockage of a negative, dampen believability.

To the other extreme, saying that the product prevents 25% of something seems inconsequential. It is a

Learning Site

balancing act, but our research has shown that men are noticeably more driven to numbers than women.

A key distinction with women is that speed drives differentiation when they buy for their men.

Women know that men spend less time than themselves on grooming, and speed of a benefit and convenience of use are larger factors in searching for male grooming products. They want to ensure the product actually delivers what it promises with minimal hassle and a quick application process.

Men focus on specific attainable long-term benefits, not immediate and implausible gratification Men generally tend to prefer a long lasting benefit—for example, with hair styling products, a 24hour delivery of benefits is most

motivating, as it conveys a notion of being hassle-free. Women, however, regardless of whether they are buying for themselves or for men in their lives, are inclined to seek out the “right look.” They would rather invest in perfection as opposed to long-term “hold” and “staying power,” even for their men.

In fact, the long-lasting element is so assumed that they are often even turned off if the longevity of a beauty product is mentioned. Take “Stronger hair for up to two weeks” versus simply “Stronger hair,” women would likely prefer the latter as it implies timelessness.

On the topic of perfection, men are more likely to respond to healthy grooming messages than women, who seem to prefer products that amplify the beauty quotient. Case

in point, a woman is likely to prefer a body wash product that claims to “Nourish your skin with a rich lather and gentle cleansers” while an identical men’s product is likely to claim “Fights skin dryness to help maintain skin balance.”

Naturally, this research does not indicate that men are unemotional; just the fact that men and women emote differently, and women look for more aspirational gratification while men exhibit their emotions in overcoming a negative in their life. Which is why it is so important to understand what matters to your target group, and adjust your communication accordingly: Does your target group consist mainly of men? Or of women? And do you know which message resonates best with them?

About the writers

Robin de Rooij is the Director for the brand new SKIM Asia Pacific office in Singapore. He is responsible for building up the right team and ensuring high quality research is performed for all clients in the region.

Christophe Le Yoanc is the Director of client solutions for the SKIM Asia Pacific office in Singapore.

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the singapore marketer jan-mar’16

Wrestling with Changes in

Social and Mainstream Media

Âť By Seamus Phan

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Learning Site

For many practitioners and brand owners, going social seems like the most logical thing to do after the slow decay of mainstream media, where more and more people are shifting their reading and viewing habits away from traditional media, into the arms of mobile entertainment.

And yet, what many practitioners and brand owners hoped for by shifting their content outreach from mainstream media to social media, did not smile for long.

For many brand owners and communication practitioners, the reality of the decay of mainstream media is in full force. And increasingly at an alarming pace, the decay of social marketing seems to be setting in too.

According to venturebeat.com, social media ‘conversations’ are only whispers and any marketers who believe they are having a conversation with their brand fans on Facebook are delusional. In other words, the organic reach of social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Youtube can be very low. To be fair, Facebook in particular, does have a well-reasoned argument on why organic reach may decline drastically. Even an article on Facebook for business section has a well-reasoned argument on why organic reach may decline drastically.

To be fair to Facebook, it is not the only platform that will increasingly show your content less often, since every social and search platform faces the same challenges of an exponential increase in uploaded content around the world, every day.

Today, anyone with a smartphone or a tablet, can be a content creator, and such content, useful or otherwise, will populate the already crowded cloud of search and social platforms.

The more money you throw at a social platform, the more you can reach those fans you already have, and those you are trying to reach.

But the numbers are not necessarily happy numbers. Increasingly, clients and their management are grilling agencies and consultants on why they aren’t reaching out to real people, and why social conversations are abysmal. Real conversations are becoming rarer for commercial brands. Going controversial to get conversations is obviously not an option.

So, with the decline of organic outreach, social conversations and mainstream media due to the changing habits of viewers and readers, what can brand owners and practitioners now do to reach out a little better to people on any social or search platform?

In a nutshell, start writing, start filming, start chatting.

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Start writing

Start filming

It is no secret that content is still king.

Video, like YouTube or Facebook Video phenomenon, is the new thing in recent years.

He who owns content that people want and need, will get a slice of the pie. Brand owners and practitioners need to work harder at developing their own web properties based on educational and entertaining content, that may interest the public. Do not use controversy just to get quick views, because the online generation is much more vocal behind keyboards than ever before. Instead, develop genuine, enriching, uplifting content, that people will be happy to share, at the least, with their families and friends. Write short articles that readers can read within a minute, not long discourses that the impatient generation will ignore.

Writing is like martial arts. The more you write, the better you get.

Practice makes perfect.

More and more people are searching and viewing videos on their smartphones or tablets, when they are traveling in transit trains, sitting back in cafes, or even at home. The decline of cable and terrestrial television can partially be attributed to the rise of mobile streaming and on-demand video content.

Video is a medium that is much more complex to produce. It is easy to type out this article with nothing more than a simple laptop, or even pen it down on paper. It is very easy these days to use a digital camera or a smartphone to shoot a still image and upload online. But it is more demanding to shoot a video that has a good storyline, decent audio-visual quality and playback. The barrier to entry is much higher.

Brand owners and practitioners must embrace video. It is the current new media.

Some of the most viewed online videos are simple home videos shot on smartphones, with no or little post-production. What worked for these videos are their human quality, and usually a good dose of humour.

Brand owners and practitioners can explore this kind of video within reason and context.

To go a step up is to have videos shot on modern mirrorless cameras with good video quality, such as the Panasonic Lumix GH4 or the Olympus OMD EM. These, and many other cameras, including some POV (point of view) cameras, have decent quality audio recorded with appropriate microphones and recorders. Companies can use internal or outsourced teams with minimal technical and production resources to put together documentary-style videos or short films. This kind of films need not be too glitzy or polished, but just enough to have a similar feel as news stories. It is important to have good narratives and stories that engage people’s attention. These should not be blatant advertisements. Think like a filmmaker, except that your films will be short, from 30 seconds to a few minutes.

Learning Site

“

Share and learn with people.

Real relationships are formed face to face.

Start chatting No, I do not mean chatting on your regular social media platform. I am referring to creating conversations elsewhere.

For example, there are many forums that value good quality conversations. It may be good for brand owners and practitioners to start exploring such alternatives.

For example, if you are a content expert, you may consider lending moments of your time to share your expertise and opinions on the likes of Quora, a question-and-answer platform. There are many emerging sites similar to this in concept.

You may also explore setting up your own blogs to propagate and invite discussion, whether selfhosted on your own servers, or on platforms such as Medium. Even other social media platforms such as Instagram, can be good places to initiate conversations and increase interactions, especially in this part of the world.

You may also explore stepping out of the virtual world altogether, and start chatting with real people, face to face. You may participate in public forums, conferences and events, as speakers, or even guests, to voice valid and valuable opinions.

The advent of live streaming makes participation in such “live” events more interesting.

Share and learn with people. Real relationships are formed face to face.

With the last dotcom crash in 2000, many previously innovative technology firms collapsed and faded into oblivion. Digital technologies have evolved much faster than other technologies such as medicine or engineering, and obsolescence will invariably set in much faster too. Therefore, it is not necessary to fear the death of social media platforms in due course, as long as we are always prepared and ready for the next new wave, and certainly the next crash.

Copyright©2015 Seamus Phan.

All rights reserved.

About the writer

Seamus Phan, creative director and lead strategist, McGallen & Bolden Group, has nearly 30 years of experience. He is a professional speaker, meeting facilitator, marketing and branding consultant, creative director, artist (Chinese painting), journalist, photographer and filmmaker, web and app developer, and aviation enthusiast. https://seamusphan.com.

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Marketer @ Work

Interview with

Mark Laudi

Managing Director at Hong Bao Media Mark Laudi is a former CNBC television presenter and producer, who emcees and moderates many business events in the Asia Pacific region.

He is the Managing Director of Hong Bao Media (Holdings) Pte Ltd, which produces content marketing videos at their content foundries in Singapore and Malaysia. In this interview, Mark shares with us his tips on producing effective video content.

Please share three ways in which one can integrate video to their marketing strategy?

consumers the chance to imagine what owning or using your product or service will be like.

If a picture paints a thousand words, a video paints a million. In other words, use video where words would fail you. Always remember, video picks up where text leaves off.

Do you think humour is an important element in all sorts of videos?

Video adds colour to information that’s otherwise black-and-white, for example, an on-camera interview with your head of R&D or your data scientist explaining the background and share interesting insights into a research project they have undertaken.

Or rather, your head of communications talks viewers through quantitative survey results and adds qualitative comments.

Instead of wordy description in manuals, a video explains how to use your product or service, giving

All videos need to entertain.

However, that doesn’t mean you need to include slapstick humour or tell jokes. Even serious information is more readily absorbed - and the video shared - when it is delivered in an approachable, fun or witty style.

How far you take it depends on the subject matter, and whether the presenter can deliver it in a natural, uncontrived way. The bottom line is, at a time when consumers have millions of videos they could be watching, don’t bore them to tears with dry and emotionless information. If you take yourself too seriously, your viewers won’t.

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... focus on the content, and leave the production work to people who have the equipment and the expertise to use it.

A lot of brands struggle to create video content quickly. How can one set up their organisation for speedy content development?

In my experience brands struggle to produce content quickly because they want to do everything themselves.

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For example, I have come across a stock broking firm which wanted to turn their written research reports about stocks into videos. But they wanted to bring the entire production process in-house. They went out and bought cameras and computers for editing, and built themselves a studio in their office.

A year later, they hadn’t produced a single minute of video, and the studio was converted back into a storeroom.

There were many reasons.

First, the research analysts were decidedly unenthusiastic about adding television presentation and production to their job descriptions.

They received no media and presentation training and ended up reading from cue sheets. Apart from sounding wooden, it makes no sense to have one analyst ask his colleague what his recommendation is on a particular stock, when they both already know the answer.

Second, the quality of the recorded footage was low because the lighting and audio had not been done properly. No matter how you cut it, it just looked awful. Most of all, the editing took too long to get the video reports out on the same day as the written research.

Unless you have invested in a fully-fledged in-house television team, please do yourself a favour by focusing on the content and leave the production work to people who have the equipment and the expertise to use it. Work with a company that can turn the content around within tight deadlines.

I see similar things happening with events. Marketing managers put on seminars and bring their subject matter experts in to speak to clients and prospects. They use an in-house video camera to record it, with a plan to cut the presentation down into a short video.

The outcome is often undesirable as most marketing managers have neither the time nor the expertise to edit video in-house. Before long, the video file gathers dust, and by the time they get around to it, it’s already three months old. Apart from the poor picture and audio quality, the content is a bit stale. The project is dropped.

I repeat, focus on the content, and leave the production work to people who have the equipment and the expertise to use it. Work with a company that can turn the content around within tight deadlines.

Marketer @ Work

Is there an optimal length for social video content?

How has viral marketing changed over the past five years?

Forget about targeting an arbitrary length. A video should go for as long as it holds attention.

There has been a realisation that viral videos can’t be manufactured, but are the serendipitous result of the right content, the right chemistry, at the right time.

If a video is boring and poorly produced, 30 seconds is too long.

If a video is exciting and wellproduced, 30 minutes is too short.

How do you measure the success of video campaigns? What kinds of metrics do you use?

The word “campaign” in this question sets up the wrong expectations. Videos are never about finite campaigns, but about ongoing engagement.

That said, pay close attention to the time viewers spend watching.

YouTube already provides these metrics, showing you how many people actually watched your video to the end.

In general, think about producing programmes that create a “ground swell in awareness”.

Now, measuring a “ground swell” might be difficult, but what would you do without it?

Click bait video titles, such as “OMG, you won’t believe what he did next”, or thumbnails that don’t accurately reflect what the video actually contains, might get clicks, but are the fastest way for your viewers to feel cheated and think poorly of your brand.

How do you envision video marketing and television working together?

This could be the subject of a doctoral thesis.

How can businesses leverage on videos for branding and developing thought leadership?

Most companies these days pitch their products and services as “solutions”, which by definition means you must have an answer to the client’s problems.

This answer can be expressed by your subject matter experts on camera.

What advice do you have for small business owners with a limited budget in video marketing?

Start small and experiment on your own. Save your money until you have gathered some experience yourself.

Don’t launch into this in a big way until you know what you’re doing.

But, in short, if you see television as nothing more than a communications medium, then video marketing is the content that can be broadcast over it.

In fact, there are already channels available to distribute content through television by offering it to producers of TV news programmes.

This doesn’t guarantee carriage.

Only a big fat cheque to the advertising sales department will do that. But if your content is good enough it might get a run.

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Salesgasm

in collaboration with

Your Sales, Our Passion

Presents

Out of the B x Sales Confex Singapore - Feb 2016

Few of the speakers at the conference:

- Mike Adams - Sales & Revenue Optimisation Consultant at M A Consulting Group - Mahesh Iyer - Monster Worldwide - Head Inside Sales - TS (SEA & HK) - Maneesh Sah - Aon Hewitt - Head of Marketing - Namrata Kapur - Softlayer, An IBM Company - APAC Senior Marketing Leader for IaaS, Cloud - Sunil Pakalpati - DHL Global Forwarding - Marketing & Sales Director - Kee Lock Chua - Vertex Venture Management - President/CEO - Michael Leung - EMC - Director of Sales Strategy, Sales Leader and Coach, Technology Evangelist - Nikhil Menon - Aurionpro Solutions - Senior Vice President & Sales Head ASEAN - Asit Kumar Saha - Deskera - Sales Director - Joel Choo - Publicitas - Sales Director Asia Pacific (Programmatic) - Hari Shankar - PayPal - Head of Paid Digital Acquisition - Amit Nagpal - Foodpanda - Head of Sales - Ben Shipley - Study Group - Head of Direct Sales - Peter Plaisance - L'Oreal - Commercial & Business Development Director (ASEAN + India) - Zeenath Kuraisha - AA-ISP - President - Singapore Chapter and CEO of Asia Pacific Sales and Marketing Academy - Han Sin Chia - Symantec - Director Sales Operations, APJ - Dhruv Shanker - Groupon - Head of Affiliate Marketing - Mark Maresch - Fuji Xerox - Head of Sales, Professional Services - Financial Services and Insurance - Keren Priyadarshini - Truven Health Analytics - Head of Business Development - APAC - Abhishek Singh - EdgeVerve, An Infosys Company - Head of Sales (Asia)

Few of the topics to be discussed:

- The 10 sure shot formulas to increase your sales by upto 10 to 30% shared by people who have done it.

- How to take No for an answer. The art of tackling rejection and being persistent.

- 15 multi billion dollar ideas to take your organization's sales to a complete new level.

- Marketing ROI - How easy is it now-a-days to calculate that value.

- How to create a robust B2B Sales team. The art of closing corporate deals.

- 12 proven ways to power your sales team to exceed expectations always.

- Sales and marketing innovation. The next generation of sales and marketing is here to eradicate the traditional way of selling.

- Motivation. How to teleport the fire inside you to your employees.

- Top 6 reasons why your sales are below average and how to fight them.

- Digital Marketing: How to use it as a weapon of profit for your company - How to groom yourself to be one of the finest sales professionals your organization has ever seen.

- The sales pitch. How to develop a perfect sales pitch that closes deals?

- 5 ways to find investors for acquiring your startup.

- Businesses in 2000 Vs Businesses in 2015. How technology has transformed the business landscape.

- The science, math and history behind SEO, SEM and social media advertisements. Why is it critical for you to be aggressive on social media and how to generate leads using the online network.

For information regarding speakership and sponsorship at the event, please email at info@salesgasm.com

Scan this QR Code to access the website or enter the following link: http://goo.gl/mv7dwn

the singapore marketer jan-mar’16

Interview with

Ms Lydia Neo

Assistant Honorary Treasurer of Marketing Institute of Singapore (MIS) Co-founder & Director of Business Development of Helios Media Design Lydia Neo is the Director of Business Development and Co-Founder of Helios Media Design Pte Ltd, an IT & Marketing agency that combines business technologies with creative developments.

Deeply passionate about design and business, Lydia believes that effective design isn’t just about aesthetics appeal. Understanding of customers’ behaviour and development of brand equity are critical aspects of the overall marketing plan as well.

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Let’s get to know more about Lydia as she shares about her work, struggles and inspirations.

What are your greatest accomplishments in work?

What’s the most difficult feat you’ve accomplished in your career so far?

Where do you draw your inspirations for creative ideas?

I generally feel a sense of accomplishment in my daily work.

Being able to provide clarity to my clients and delivering effective solutions that help their businesses gives me a sense of satisfaction and drive. A more tangible accomplishment on the other hand, is seeing Helios Media Design enter its 10th year with Swatch Group as our longest standing client and Microsoft and Singtel as our business partners. We are growing our presence in the UK and Australia, and I will be spearheading the opening of the Australian office in 2016.

I find it hard to recall the most difficult feat that I’ve accomplished because I don’t really keep scores on such things. For business owners like me, meeting different kinds of challenges is a part and parcel of everyday life. What I’ve learnt to do is to toughen up and work through today’s problem because bigger challenges are yet to come.

Good ideas are everywhere! I believe that inspiration is a matter of gaining a new perspective, making new connections, solving challenges and even catching up with old friends provides me with a wealth of ideas and rejuvenates me every day.

I enjoy observing consumer trends and gathering insights about what my customers in different industries look for. A typical day out in town conducting business meetings gives me a lot to think about. I am usually deeply inspired through the conversing with my clients

Getting to know our council member

and business partners, and I enjoy spending hours on the ideation process which often lead to exciting new opportunities.

How is a typical day for you?

I’m usually at my work for about 15 to 17 hours daily. Every waking hour is work time for me, so it’ll be accurate to say that between 3am till 10am when I am sleeping is the only time that I am not working.

The truth is, when you run your own business, you can’t really take your mind off work. Work is not only done sitting at the desk or meeting customers. When I eat, travel, meet friends or play, any of these moments can be conducive for discussing work. It may sound quite extreme and many people would ask me if I have a work-life balance.

But who takes a break from their passion?

How do you keep yourself updated on latest business or marketing trends?

I read on the go. I pick up the latest industry news from LinkedIn and Hootsuite, which are very useful for social-media multitasking. My co-directors also share with me their latest findings related to our industry, in which case makes the company more efficient and insightful as a whole.

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Understanding consumer behaviour is essential for the fact that this informative and emphatic process is required to construct the ideation of the marketing strategy.

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How do you view the statement “Forget branding and positioning, once you understand customer behaviour, everything else falls into place”?

The only thing in this statement which is untrue (in my opinion) is “everything else falls into place”.

Understanding consumer behaviour is essential for the fact that this informative and emphatic process is required to construct the ideation of the marketing strategy.

Subsequently, the marketing strategy provides the framework for the brand message and positioning, which contributes to the development of brand equity.

Your brand equity is the value of your brand in the eyes of the customer, which brings us back to understanding your customer’s behaviour and the way they perceive your brand.

Therefore, I think it is safe to say that branding and positioning are closely related to your understanding of your customer.

Which company or business do you admire the most?

I like the way Google works. It is lean and efficient as a corporation, and it enables its employees to take ownership of their work, develop a sense of initiative among themselves and operate with independence.

SPOTTED Brand Finance Forum 2015 30 Sep 2015 STI Auditorium, Capital Tower

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Brand Finance Asia Pacific and Marketing Institute of Singapore.

They were among the top 10 award recipients for Brand Finance League.

Panel Discussion with panelist members (L-R)

The forum was well-attended by close to 200 C-suite executives

• Bhavik Bhatt (Moderator) • Professor Gemma Calvert, Director for Research & Development Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI), Nanyang Business School, NTU • Ajay Kushwaha, Manager — Client Technical Sales, Commerce, IBM ASEAN • Nick Fawbert Nick Fawbert, Managing Director (Asia), Brand New Media • Damien Cummings, Global Head — Digital Marketing, Standard Chartered Bank • Samir Dixit

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SPOTTED

jan-mar’16

Adopting a Data-Driven Marketing Approach to Customer, Context and Conversion – A MIS-Starhub Joint Seminar 1 October 2015 The Working Capitol, 1 Keong Saik Road, The Commons

Dr Lim Woo Lip , Vice President, SmartHub, StarHub Ltd shared his tips on data driven marketing.

Panel discussion was part of the programme and participants were encouraged to ask questions

52 Using Analytics for Smarter Business Decisions – A MIS-Singtel Joint Seminar 27 October 2015 i.cube, Pickering Operations Complex

The eager-to-learn attendees at the seminar.

One of the speakers, Mr Ivan Wong of QCG.

Starting April 2016

We’re going Digital!

Starting from Apr-Jun 2016 issue, The Singapore Marketer ceases its print edition and goes digital.

It is complimentary and available online via www.magzter.com or Magzter mobile application.

the singapore

marketer knowledge for marketing excellence