I will be speaking at MIS on the following topic. Details will be filled soon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to integrate Social Media in our Marketing Campaigns?
We live in a world of rapidly expanding communications options and shifting consumer information preferences. Social media is a revolution and is conquering our lives in a fast and furious way. It has infiltrated into all facets of our lives before we even know it. Our lives have changed. So are our media habits and consumption.
Consumer behavior is defined as the behavior that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. Our consumer behavior has been altered with the advent of social media.
What are then the challenges faced by Marketers today? How do we better engage our customers and ensure brand loyalty in the long run? What are also some strategies we can adopt to leverage on social media in our marketing campaigns?
In this session, we uncover the latest on social media and how we can best use social media as a tool to engage existing customers and to reach out to a wider target audience.
Outline:
Updates on the social media developments
Understand how consumers buying behavior has changed since the advent of social media.
What are some strategies which Marketers can adopt to leverage on social media to promote their brands?
About Mr Dennis TOH
A mentor to young marketers & communications specialists, Dennis has been in the marketing & PR trade for more than 9 years.
Dennis is a lecturer with Temasek Polytechnic, Business School specializing in marketing, public relations, advertising & Promotions and social media.
Dennis is also a freelance publicist focusing on helping small business owners (professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs, SMEs, Semi-personalities) boost sales, build credibility and create a powerful presence using a low-cost, high impact publicity and social media methods.
Graduated with a Master Degree in Mass Communications from NTU, Wee Kim Wee School of Communications, he has a strong & burning passion for marketing, PR, media relations, events, & all disciplines related to communications.
Dennis Toh has worked for MNCs like Panasonic, MCYS, HTL & his greatest accolades include the attainment of No.1 market share for Plasma TV in 2004, the successful management of the Senior Citizens'Campaign in 2006 and his most recent stint managing Pacific Healthcare's marketing & PR initiatives.
He has travelled extensively to countries like India (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Shanghai, USA, Japan, Thailand, in the course of his work.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Augustman TOP 12
Thank you for your support. I got into August MAN top 12. As i said, I hope to use this competition to tell people about the work of lecturers, how we impact lives and make meaningful contribution to the youths and people around us.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
M3卓庆发 Dennis Toh
M3卓庆发 Dennis Toh
天生一副冒险家精神，凡是新奇事物都能引起他的兴趣。他的表达能力强，外加健康形象，可塑造成年轻人节目的新生代主持。
"比起演戏，我对主持更感兴趣，希望能成为年轻人的代言人，把流行和娱乐资讯带给他们。"
http://ch.mediacorp.com.sg/i-weekly/starsearch_sin.php
chanced upon this webpage which was published on 30th May 2001. How time flies!
天生一副冒险家精神，凡是新奇事物都能引起他的兴趣。他的表达能力强，外加健康形象，可塑造成年轻人节目的新生代主持。
"比起演戏，我对主持更感兴趣，希望能成为年轻人的代言人，把流行和娱乐资讯带给他们。"
http://ch.mediacorp.com.sg/i-weekly/starsearch_sin.php
chanced upon this webpage which was published on 30th May 2001. How time flies!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Featuring WENDY TOH, my beloved SISTER on MAXI Cash TVCF (Chinese Version)
This is one of her best TVCs, in my opinion.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Play your FACEBOOK Character well
Play your FACEBOOK character well.
Identify the social media character in you and explore the best way to leverage on your social media lifestyle.
The social media has conquered our life in a fast and furious way. It has infiltrated into all facets of our lives before we even know it. We spend more time on the internet than we watch television nowadays. We listen to the radio only when we are driving or on the mrt. Our telephone conversations with friends became lesser for some strange reasons. We do not have the time to read newspapers as we are too engrossed with our facebook updates. Our magazines and books are left untouched on the book shelves.
Admit it, we are all facebook addicts. We subconsciously log on to facebook first thing in the morning and the last activity before we sleep, is to have a last look at the notification page. We access facebook when we are in a conference and even over a meal. We want to know what our friends are up to and the food they have tasted recently. We also want to be updated with the latest gossips, who’s who and the latest happenings in town, all in the name of being concern about our friends, family and community.
Whatever it is, all of us have a stake to play in making facebook a better social playground. As we lead this ‘facebooking’ lifestyle, let’s study the various characters that exist in the facebook world. One or two of the characters might resonate with you. Know your role well and decide which types of facebook user you are and/or most keen to emulate.
The ‘Balanced user’
The balanced user access facebook once every two to three days. He leads a hectic lifestyle and is involved in many outside activities. He posts his updates once in a while, largely on his latest thoughts, updates and perhaps an event attended a couple of days back. He makes occasional comments on friends’ status updates and disappears thereafter. He joins groups and fan page based on his interests and if he chance upon them.
The ‘Silent Killer’
These are friends who don’t utter a word on facebook. If they do, then it will be something serious or thought-provoking. ‘I can’t stand the way Mr Lee preaches his stuff’ or ‘always sad to see guys standing in mrt waiting alone with flowers in hand. So embarrassing. Does it delight ladies to put them through this?’ People who are silent killer cannot have their character assessed on social media. The real identity of silent killer is difficult to be determined due to the sporadic nature of messages and frequency of updates.
The ‘Complainant’
As the name implies, this is someone who complains, curses and swears about everything under the sun. Common sentences are ‘I hate you’, ‘Arrrrgh, why is this happening’, ‘feels sooooooooo alone now’ etc. These people inject a lot of negativity and pessimism into the social media environment. The complainant uses the facebook as a channel to vent their anger and frustrations. I say get a life and turn the angst into something more positive.
The ‘Business minded’ entrepreneur
There are a lot of facebook users who are using social media as a platform to promote themselves, their products and services. There are two ways of doing it – forming a group or creating a fan page. Both are equally effective as the objective here is to segment your catchment and to ensure that people who join your fan page are your possible target audience and the more fans you have, the bigger the net you will be casting for yourself.
I know of a renowned photographer who posted his photos and updates on his fan page – in a way promoting his work and reminding people about his services. A speech coach used his fan page to promote his latest book. A prominent business owner of a fashion chain has also used facebook to communicate promotional details of her stall, her whereabouts, spiritual views and philosophies in life.
You can turn the social media into a market place filled with business transactions, networking and business ideas. It is how far you want to go.
The ‘Opinion leader’
These are people who are early adopters and trendsetters in their respective fields. More often than not, the opinion leader should have more than 1,000 friends in the friend’s list. And since reach is all about numbers, having more friends will translate to having more power and influence.
There are a few celebrities who are very active on facebook with friend’s list running by the thousands. Some bloggers also do have very strong following and are powerful opinion leaders.
Opinion leaders will share views and elicit several responses, whether good or bad. The point here is that the posts engage people and will garner responses due to the relationships built over time. Some strategies used by opinion leader include ‘retweeting quotes used by prominent figures or churning personal thoughts that are controversial and though-provoking. The strategy is to evoke responses using out of the box ideas and seek participation from other users.
The ‘Gamer’
Gamers are people who don’t like to express themselves but the only activity they love is gaming. Bejeweled used to be extremely popular but the craze has since died down. Games that are popular amongst gamers are Farmville, Zoo world and Café world, to name a few. Gamers do comment and communicate once in a while. But with most gamers, once their gaming mode is switch on, you can hardly find them.
The ‘CAM whore, aka attention seeker’
Cam whore is a person who likes to post profile pictures as status updates. He or she likes to upload nice makeover pictures and perhaps group pictures taken over a meal or outing. This user would have at least 10 photo albums with tons of pictures uploaded. To the Cam whore, pictures paint a thousand words.
The Cam whore is likely an attention seeker as well. He or she will post about everything. ' i am eating ice cream', 'Avatar is a great show', 'love my sunday', etc. The cam whore just wants YOUR ATTENTION!
The ‘Social butterfly’
The social butterflies are extroverts who will initiate a conversation with you. These are people who go around adding strangers as friends, initiate chats, and make friends along the way. In their status updates, you will often see ‘so and so is now friends with xxx and 25 other people’. In social media, our natural defenses are down and we are more open to making friends with people we do not know.
When a social butterfly add you on facebook, do review the authenticity and sincerity based on his message to you, profile pictures and whatever info you can draw from. Ignore the add if you are not comfortable. As a social butterfly, you do need to be careful for not being seen as too contrived. While it is good to be friendly, some people might be put off by your actions.
The ‘Campaigner’
There are people who lobby certain causes via facebook. Some causes include ‘Save animals with just a click. Muilee.com donates to SPCA Singapore’ and ‘I’m pissed that my prime minister’s getting $3.1million this year’. Basically these are people who have a passion for certain causes and aspire to make a difference by rallying people to join them. Be a change agent by campaigning causes which you strongly believe in.
The 10 social media characters are interesting psychographic attributes which you can study in the facebook environment. Whichever character you choose to play, remember that social media is just part of our lives and we should not take it too seriously. Use social media to strengthen relationship and keep up with friends whom you have lost contact with.
Make a clear distinction between real and virtual life and lead a healthy lifestyle by staying connected with your friends, family and loved ones.
Article by Dennis Toh, a publicist with Flaunt PR & Communications, a public relations agency that provides communication services to help business owners boost their sales, create public awareness and build credibility with media publicity.
Dennis Toh is also a lecturer with a local polytechnic.
For details, email FlauntPRdennis@gmail.com
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Facebook Fan Page
Dear All,
Please help me grow my fan base. I know it's shameless, but guess Singaporeans are a nice and compassionate bunch. :)
www.facebook.com/pages/Dennis-Toh-Publicist-Lecturer/370549928106
Saturday, April 3, 2010
In the Driver's seat published on ST CATS, march 27, 2010
This piece is targeted at all marketing executives/managers who are in the midst of changing jobs. The stress and anxiety in taking on a new role is high and hence you need a sound game plan, entering into the new environment. These 10 tips will help you survive better.
These photos are supposed to be submitted to Mind Your Body. MYB is doing a feature on my sporting lifestyle. However i was told that their newsroom policy stipulates that all photos must be taken by their in-house photographer.
Photos are taken last sun by Sam (from Ah Sam Photography), an up & coming photographer in Singapore. Message me if you need to engage a photographer for your business.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Local Marketer says ‘its time to get more publicity for himself’
Local communication specialist joins Temasek Polytechnic as a lecturer and and became a freelance Publicist
Dennis Toh aims to help small business owners build credibility.
Dennis Toh hopes to educate people about the work of a publicist in Singapore.
SINGAPORE, 1 April 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A local marketer with more than 9 years of marketing & PR experience has made a bold career move amid the current tight economic conditions and job market. Dennis Toh, who worked for MNCs and agencies like Panasonic, MCYS, Pacific Healthcare, has joined a local polytechnic as a lecturer in the Business School. He has commenced work since 8th March 2010.
Graduated with a Master Degree in Mass Communications from Nanyang Technological University, Wee Kim Wee School of Communications & Information, Dennis has a deep interest for marketing, PR, Media relations, events & all disciplines related to communications.
With an entrepreneurial mindset and spirit, Dennis became a freelance publicist with the aim of helping small business owners (professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs, SMEs, Semi-personalities) boost sales, build credibility and create a powerful presence using low cost, high impact publicity and social media methods.
He recently acquired clients like Exquisite Magazine, Anthony Furnisshen, Energia Fitness club and personalities like ex-national bowler Lee Yu Wen and model Wendy Toh.
Dennis Toh says ‘I am extremely excited about the career switch. Being in academia allows me to impart my experience and knowledge to the younger generation. I have a great passion for marketing and I hope to inspire marketing students to take pride in this profession and to be effective marketers when they enter the workforce. The business landscape in Singapore is not very conducive for entrepreneurship but of late, I have witnessed a lot more people coming out to strive on their own. I believe this is the way to go as we progress in life. As an entrepreneur, I hope to build my personal brand name and get more publicity for myself’.
Dennis said that he is ‘tired of helping others get publicity’, as his last employment involved getting media coverage for doctors & services for Pacific Healthcare, among other things. He is trained in media relations, issues management, campaign management, product PR, social media PR and event PR. ‘Having been in the PR trade for 9 years, I have always focused in getting publicity for the company I worked for. I think it’s time I get my fair share of media limelight after so many years. Having said that, I will still focus on helping my clients get the publicity they need’, Dennis quipped.
Dennis explained that the concept of a publicist is not widely understood in Asia. In the US, publicists are people whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album. Dennis hoped to generate more awareness for this profession and how the practice can add value to our every day life.
Local communication specialist joins Temasek Polytechnic as a lecturer and and became a freelance Publicist
Dennis Toh aims to help small business owners build credibility.
Dennis Toh hopes to educate people about the work of a publicist in Singapore.
SINGAPORE, 1 April 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A local marketer with more than 9 years of marketing & PR experience has made a bold career move amid the current tight economic conditions and job market. Dennis Toh, who worked for MNCs and agencies like Panasonic, MCYS, Pacific Healthcare, has joined a local polytechnic as a lecturer in the Business School. He has commenced work since 8th March 2010.
Graduated with a Master Degree in Mass Communications from Nanyang Technological University, Wee Kim Wee School of Communications & Information, Dennis has a deep interest for marketing, PR, Media relations, events & all disciplines related to communications.
With an entrepreneurial mindset and spirit, Dennis became a freelance publicist with the aim of helping small business owners (professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs, SMEs, Semi-personalities) boost sales, build credibility and create a powerful presence using low cost, high impact publicity and social media methods.
He recently acquired clients like Exquisite Magazine, Anthony Furnisshen, Energia Fitness club and personalities like ex-national bowler Lee Yu Wen and model Wendy Toh.
Dennis Toh says ‘I am extremely excited about the career switch. Being in academia allows me to impart my experience and knowledge to the younger generation. I have a great passion for marketing and I hope to inspire marketing students to take pride in this profession and to be effective marketers when they enter the workforce. The business landscape in Singapore is not very conducive for entrepreneurship but of late, I have witnessed a lot more people coming out to strive on their own. I believe this is the way to go as we progress in life. As an entrepreneur, I hope to build my personal brand name and get more publicity for myself’.
Dennis said that he is ‘tired of helping others get publicity’, as his last employment involved getting media coverage for doctors & services for Pacific Healthcare, among other things. He is trained in media relations, issues management, campaign management, product PR, social media PR and event PR. ‘Having been in the PR trade for 9 years, I have always focused in getting publicity for the company I worked for. I think it’s time I get my fair share of media limelight after so many years. Having said that, I will still focus on helping my clients get the publicity they need’, Dennis quipped.
Dennis explained that the concept of a publicist is not widely understood in Asia. In the US, publicists are people whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album. Dennis hoped to generate more awareness for this profession and how the practice can add value to our every day life.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Choose your first marketing & communications job wisely (part 2 of 2)
Part 2 of 2
Choose your first marketing & communications job wisely
In part two of this series, we will discuss about the various entry level jobs available for marketing & mass communications graduates, the job functions, challenges and traits required for each position. In part one, we discussed about how we should prepare ourselves for our first job. Once we have a clear direction and strategy in place, it is time to study and evaluate the various types of position that are more suitable for you.
These are 10 positions available in the market for fresh marketing and mass communications graduates to consider:
Marketing Executive.
This is a typical position for business and marketing graduates. You will be part of the marketing arm of an organization, whether MNC or SME, and will be in charge of planning and executing marketing activities. Depending on the trade, the marketing activities will vary. Fashion marketing is done very differently as compared to consumer electronics marketing. By and large, there are two types of marketing positions – marketing & marketing communications. In marketing, you look at the entire process and explore pricing, distribution, products and promotional issues. In Marcom, the scope is mainly on utilizing the A&P budget and how to more effectively plan an integrated marketing communications plan for the services or products for your company.
You need to be creative, resourceful and be able to handle stress. Most marketing people are extremely outgoing and able to relate very well with people. You need to have strong communications and presentation skills as well.
Account Servicing Executive
Do not misunderstand the term account servicing with accounting. In the advertising world, account servicing, a.k.a suits, are people who manage client’s advertising portfolio. They are people who bring in the bread & butter for their advertising agencies. Account Servicing executive look into client’s advertising needs and work with creative team to develop the creative concepts, strategy and plan. The executive is also required to work closely with media planners, buyers, traffic executive in the course of his/her work.
This position is a stressful one as it is extremely fast paced and demanding. However, ff you enjoy a less bureaucratic environment, agency life could be fun & enlightening as you are surrounded by people who are creative, light minded and free spirited. In advertising, you need to have good PR skills when it comes to managing the expectations of your clients, creative team and also suppliers.
Public Relations Executive
As a public relations executive, the buzzword is publicity, publicity, publicity. On the broader level, you look at public relations initiatives to build corporate reputation, employee relations, government relations, crisis communications and media relations, etc. If you apply for a position in a public relations agency, you will be exposed to different industries and the plus is that it forces you to be a broad based PR practitioner as you learn about the multi-faceted issues faced by different industries. Your exposure will increase since you are on the ground working with stakeholders like media, government, NGOs, corporations etc.
Some companies hire in-house PR executives to manage their public relations activities. However do clarify with the HR representative about the roles expected of you. Your expectations might not be met if all the company wants from you is to maintain the company’s corporate website and newsletter.
As a PR executive, you’ll be expected to find platforms to get publicity for your company. The publicity tools are largely press releases, media kits, corporate video, website, newsletter, etc. In addition, you’ll need to have a flair for writing and a nose for the news.
Journalist
As a mass communications graduate, working in the media will be an exciting and challenging task. As a journalist, you will be expected to meet deadlines and to cover news assigned by the news editor. A good journalist needs to be objective, conscientious, resourceful yet critical in his or her work. There are many types of journalists – print, broadcast, internet, radio – all of which have different work demands and newsroom style. If you are keen to take on this career, you need to have a thorough understanding of current affairs and news. Other traits include a nose and eye for a story, legal knowledge, an aspiration to accuracy, impartiality and the passion to always search for the truth.
Assistant /Producer
In the entertainment world, the work of the producer is always a challenging one. The primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking. It is often the producer who is responsible for the show's overall quality and survivability, though the roles depend on the particular show or organization.
For a start, fresh graduates will always take on the assistant producer role. The learning curve is steep if you are suddenly thrown into the dead sea and expected to perform. The entertainment industry moves in very fast pace and desired traits of an effective producer include time and resources management skills and the ability to work with multiple stakeholders.
Event Executive
As an event executive, you will help your clients plan for their company’s events. Depending on the type of event company you joined, the events could vary from company’s dinner and dance, family day to high level events like forums, exhibitions, road shows.
As an event person, you need to be able to work with partners like performers, lighting and sound people, advertising agencies, contractors, etc. Your basic task is to ensure that the event is running well and minimize hiccups as much as possible. Multi-tasking is hence a desired trait since you might need to be at several locations making sure things fall in place and are well executed.
Customer Support Executive
As the name implies, customer service staff are supposed to provide front-line customer support particularly on feedback and complaints received. Different companies have different customer service quality standards and processes to follow. By and large, as a customer service support executive, you will need to follow a standard operating procedure on how customers’ feedback and complaints are channeled, resolved and taken into consideration for further improvement.
As a customer service person, the mantra adopted should be ‘Customers is always king’ and more often than not, this is an area that is most disputed and discussed upon.
Market Research Executive
Market Research executives collect, analyse, interpret and present information in order to explore the potential market for a product or service. This may involve organizing surveys or opinion polls, analyzing statistics and/or negotiating with clients. Typical research on behalf of a company manufacturing consumer goods might include assessing national purchasing trends, the performance of major competitors or the effectiveness of current advertising methods.
As a market research executive, you'll need excellent organisational skills in order to budget, plan, research, analyse and interpret market research information. You should be resilient, self-motivated, and prepared to liaise with others in the decision making process. Strong report writing and presentation skills are desirable, as you will be presenting the findings to both managers and clients.
Social Media expert
This industry is still new and grounds are not entirely tested and ventured. There is however a few social media companies that provide internet related services to help clients better manage their online marketing strategies. Search engine marketing, search engine optimization, google marketing, facebook and twitter marketing are new areas used by corporations to market their services and products. If you have a strong interest in social media, joining a young start up social media company will be a wise and refreshing choice.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. If you are prepared to take risk, start your own business, perhaps providing marketing related services to professionals in this industry. The risk is high, but what you will learn is a never say die attitude, the passion for work and values of perseverance and determination.
Article by Dennis Toh, a publicist with Flaunt PR & Communications, a public relations agency that provides communication services to help business owners boost their sales, create public awareness and build credibility with media publicity.
Dennis Toh is also a full time lecturer.
For details, email FlauntPRdennis@gmail.com
Choose your first marketing & communications job wisely
In part two of this series, we will discuss about the various entry level jobs available for marketing & mass communications graduates, the job functions, challenges and traits required for each position. In part one, we discussed about how we should prepare ourselves for our first job. Once we have a clear direction and strategy in place, it is time to study and evaluate the various types of position that are more suitable for you.
These are 10 positions available in the market for fresh marketing and mass communications graduates to consider:
Marketing Executive.
This is a typical position for business and marketing graduates. You will be part of the marketing arm of an organization, whether MNC or SME, and will be in charge of planning and executing marketing activities. Depending on the trade, the marketing activities will vary. Fashion marketing is done very differently as compared to consumer electronics marketing. By and large, there are two types of marketing positions – marketing & marketing communications. In marketing, you look at the entire process and explore pricing, distribution, products and promotional issues. In Marcom, the scope is mainly on utilizing the A&P budget and how to more effectively plan an integrated marketing communications plan for the services or products for your company.
You need to be creative, resourceful and be able to handle stress. Most marketing people are extremely outgoing and able to relate very well with people. You need to have strong communications and presentation skills as well.
Account Servicing Executive
Do not misunderstand the term account servicing with accounting. In the advertising world, account servicing, a.k.a suits, are people who manage client’s advertising portfolio. They are people who bring in the bread & butter for their advertising agencies. Account Servicing executive look into client’s advertising needs and work with creative team to develop the creative concepts, strategy and plan. The executive is also required to work closely with media planners, buyers, traffic executive in the course of his/her work.
This position is a stressful one as it is extremely fast paced and demanding. However, ff you enjoy a less bureaucratic environment, agency life could be fun & enlightening as you are surrounded by people who are creative, light minded and free spirited. In advertising, you need to have good PR skills when it comes to managing the expectations of your clients, creative team and also suppliers.
Public Relations Executive
As a public relations executive, the buzzword is publicity, publicity, publicity. On the broader level, you look at public relations initiatives to build corporate reputation, employee relations, government relations, crisis communications and media relations, etc. If you apply for a position in a public relations agency, you will be exposed to different industries and the plus is that it forces you to be a broad based PR practitioner as you learn about the multi-faceted issues faced by different industries. Your exposure will increase since you are on the ground working with stakeholders like media, government, NGOs, corporations etc.
Some companies hire in-house PR executives to manage their public relations activities. However do clarify with the HR representative about the roles expected of you. Your expectations might not be met if all the company wants from you is to maintain the company’s corporate website and newsletter.
As a PR executive, you’ll be expected to find platforms to get publicity for your company. The publicity tools are largely press releases, media kits, corporate video, website, newsletter, etc. In addition, you’ll need to have a flair for writing and a nose for the news.
Journalist
As a mass communications graduate, working in the media will be an exciting and challenging task. As a journalist, you will be expected to meet deadlines and to cover news assigned by the news editor. A good journalist needs to be objective, conscientious, resourceful yet critical in his or her work. There are many types of journalists – print, broadcast, internet, radio – all of which have different work demands and newsroom style. If you are keen to take on this career, you need to have a thorough understanding of current affairs and news. Other traits include a nose and eye for a story, legal knowledge, an aspiration to accuracy, impartiality and the passion to always search for the truth.
Assistant /Producer
In the entertainment world, the work of the producer is always a challenging one. The primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking. It is often the producer who is responsible for the show's overall quality and survivability, though the roles depend on the particular show or organization.
For a start, fresh graduates will always take on the assistant producer role. The learning curve is steep if you are suddenly thrown into the dead sea and expected to perform. The entertainment industry moves in very fast pace and desired traits of an effective producer include time and resources management skills and the ability to work with multiple stakeholders.
Event Executive
As an event executive, you will help your clients plan for their company’s events. Depending on the type of event company you joined, the events could vary from company’s dinner and dance, family day to high level events like forums, exhibitions, road shows.
As an event person, you need to be able to work with partners like performers, lighting and sound people, advertising agencies, contractors, etc. Your basic task is to ensure that the event is running well and minimize hiccups as much as possible. Multi-tasking is hence a desired trait since you might need to be at several locations making sure things fall in place and are well executed.
Customer Support Executive
As the name implies, customer service staff are supposed to provide front-line customer support particularly on feedback and complaints received. Different companies have different customer service quality standards and processes to follow. By and large, as a customer service support executive, you will need to follow a standard operating procedure on how customers’ feedback and complaints are channeled, resolved and taken into consideration for further improvement.
As a customer service person, the mantra adopted should be ‘Customers is always king’ and more often than not, this is an area that is most disputed and discussed upon.
Market Research Executive
Market Research executives collect, analyse, interpret and present information in order to explore the potential market for a product or service. This may involve organizing surveys or opinion polls, analyzing statistics and/or negotiating with clients. Typical research on behalf of a company manufacturing consumer goods might include assessing national purchasing trends, the performance of major competitors or the effectiveness of current advertising methods.
As a market research executive, you'll need excellent organisational skills in order to budget, plan, research, analyse and interpret market research information. You should be resilient, self-motivated, and prepared to liaise with others in the decision making process. Strong report writing and presentation skills are desirable, as you will be presenting the findings to both managers and clients.
Social Media expert
This industry is still new and grounds are not entirely tested and ventured. There is however a few social media companies that provide internet related services to help clients better manage their online marketing strategies. Search engine marketing, search engine optimization, google marketing, facebook and twitter marketing are new areas used by corporations to market their services and products. If you have a strong interest in social media, joining a young start up social media company will be a wise and refreshing choice.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. If you are prepared to take risk, start your own business, perhaps providing marketing related services to professionals in this industry. The risk is high, but what you will learn is a never say die attitude, the passion for work and values of perseverance and determination.
Article by Dennis Toh, a publicist with Flaunt PR & Communications, a public relations agency that provides communication services to help business owners boost their sales, create public awareness and build credibility with media publicity.
Dennis Toh is also a full time lecturer.
For details, email FlauntPRdennis@gmail.com
Choose your first marketing & communications job wisely (part 1 of 2)
Part 1 of 2
Choose your first marketing & communications job wisely
These 10 tips will help communications and marketing graduates make the right decisions during the early stage of their marketing career. So you just graduated with a marketing or mass communications diploma or degree and is clueless on where and how to find your dream job. The decision you make regarding your first job is important as it will influence and shape the rest of your career life. The good news is, there are many opportunities out there for a marketing & communications graduate. The basket awaiting is one full of life, zest, surprises and rewards to come if you work hard, follow your heart and persevere your way in the corporate ladder pursuit.
Here are 10 tips to help you better prepare yourself for this challenging role.
Know your strengths and weaknesses
Understand your strengths and weaknesses. List them down and evaluate the types of job function that suits you most. Are you a good writer? If you are, you can consider positions which involve writing, editing or scripting. Some of these positions include copywriter, internet journalist, editor, script writer, etc. If you think you have difficulty in time management, avoid jobs that demand you to watch timelines closely- by and large positions like marketing executive, project manager, assistant producer require you to be extremely meticulous, detailed and task oriented.
Your first job is the most critical
Remember your first job sets the pace for your entire career life. Do sit down and evaluate what you really want in life. The general rule of thumb is to get yourself a job in a reputable MNC. Once you are associated with a good company for your first job, this will give you good mileage and leverage for your subsequent jobs to come. Another area which you need to consider is the job nature. Are you interested in venturing into advertising account servicing, client marketing, public relations, research or journalism, etc? All these issues need to be sorted out early in your career. Once you embarked into a client marketing position, the chances of you switching into an advertising role, in the later part of your career, is very small.
Use Social media to network
The social media has redefined how networking is done in today’s context. In traditional networking mode, a person needs to take the extra effort to make small talks, appear credible, strike and maintain relationships in the long run. With social media, making friends and building alliances is made much easier with lesser barriers to entry. Use your facebook to your advantage. Try to do a search and add people who are marketers and/or practitioners currently in the industry. Most people are very open to making friends on facebook and once you establish the connection, slowly weave in your recruitment interest to them.
Take on jobs in SMEs
If you can’t secure boutique jobs in big MNCs and cannot afford to wait for the dream job to land, consider taking an employment with smaller companies, design houses or event companies simply to get the experience first. We know that competition is steep and to land yourself in a reputable agency sometimes is all about luck. If a small company accepts you for a junior position, take it and treat it as a chance to learn more diverse skills. In smaller set up, you’ll learn to multi-task and pick up broad based skills like administration, logistics, secretariat and even human resource management. Smaller set ups are also more willing to hire fresh grads. If you find a good employer who is willing to groom you, don’t hesitate. Accept the job first.
Get Familiarise with the trade
Do get familiarize with industry jargons, practices, key industry personnel by reading trade publications about your industry. If you are into marketing, get hold of the Marketing Magazine, AdAsia and make sure you are updated with news reports, journals and editorial pieces in the magazine. As for PR folks, study the media industry in Singapore and analyze the intricacies of the different reporting styles, format of each journalist and media. The way Newpaper report their stories will defer from business times. In terms of the content, different papers have different focus and scope of coverage as well.
Get Recommended
Talk to your lecturers and see if they can give you some recommendations. Most lecturers are still in touch with the industry and will be able to link you up with their contacts. Of course, whether they help is a reflection of how you have built your relationship with them over your course of study. A lecturer will go the extra mile calling friends for opportunities and you’ll be surprised how these gestures will go the extra mile for you.
‘Mobile’ your CV
This is a given but the point here is to save your CV in a thumb drive and carry it with you all the time. If you are the active & assertive sort, you can turn every encounter and meet up into a possible employment lead. Do not just make friends with people of your same age. Go and find avenues to meet older people and chances are that one in 10 people might have a job or at least a lead for you. You need to keep your CV current and have it emailed quickly when you hit on a possible lead. Remember in the Marketing & Communications industry, it is all about speed, networking and referrals.
Start your own agency
If you have the entrepreneurial spirit with a good business foundation, perhaps you could consider starting your own company. You can provide services like translation, copy-writing, designing, media relations, web design or project management, etc. This is especially so if you cannot find a job but have a little more monetary resources and courage to step out. Begin slowly and take on customers that come along. You cannot afford to be selective in your clients unless you have the holding power. Build your base and slowly generate more awareness about your work.
Go for enrichment courses
Go and enrich yourself in the midst of your job hunting. Attend courses which will allow you to dive deeper into the realm of your study. Some courses which you might consider are media relations, negotiation skills, adobe photoshop, effective business writing, crisis communications, etc.
Join trade events
Enrol yourself in some important trade events and seek to get your employment leads from there. Marketing Institute of Singapore organises monthly gatherings and talks for marketers in Singapore. The Marketers networking night by MIS happens every quarter of the year and is well attended by marketers from the various industries. The Advertising folks also do have their monthly meet up but access is rather difficult. Join Alumni events and find all opportunities to talk to seniors who are present at the event as mentors or potential recruiters.
Remember to take charge your own marketing & communications career. While landing your first dream job is important, do not overly emphasize it as there will never be a dream job if you are not fully prepared for the job challenges ahead. We should constantly challenge ourselves, be practical about our expectations and take on a potential job offer when it arrives. Do not second guess yourself once you signed on the dotted lines, especially when you have a second offer on hand. Move on and believe that your first employment will be rewarding and remind yourself to draw as much experiences as possible from this journey.
Article by Dennis Toh, a publicist with Flaunt PR & Communications, a public relations agency that provides communication services to help business owners boost their sales, create public awareness and build credibility with media publicity.
Dennis Toh is also a full time lecturer.
For details, email FlauntPRdennis@gmail.com
Choose your first marketing & communications job wisely
These 10 tips will help communications and marketing graduates make the right decisions during the early stage of their marketing career. So you just graduated with a marketing or mass communications diploma or degree and is clueless on where and how to find your dream job. The decision you make regarding your first job is important as it will influence and shape the rest of your career life. The good news is, there are many opportunities out there for a marketing & communications graduate. The basket awaiting is one full of life, zest, surprises and rewards to come if you work hard, follow your heart and persevere your way in the corporate ladder pursuit.
Here are 10 tips to help you better prepare yourself for this challenging role.
Know your strengths and weaknesses
Understand your strengths and weaknesses. List them down and evaluate the types of job function that suits you most. Are you a good writer? If you are, you can consider positions which involve writing, editing or scripting. Some of these positions include copywriter, internet journalist, editor, script writer, etc. If you think you have difficulty in time management, avoid jobs that demand you to watch timelines closely- by and large positions like marketing executive, project manager, assistant producer require you to be extremely meticulous, detailed and task oriented.
Your first job is the most critical
Remember your first job sets the pace for your entire career life. Do sit down and evaluate what you really want in life. The general rule of thumb is to get yourself a job in a reputable MNC. Once you are associated with a good company for your first job, this will give you good mileage and leverage for your subsequent jobs to come. Another area which you need to consider is the job nature. Are you interested in venturing into advertising account servicing, client marketing, public relations, research or journalism, etc? All these issues need to be sorted out early in your career. Once you embarked into a client marketing position, the chances of you switching into an advertising role, in the later part of your career, is very small.
Use Social media to network
The social media has redefined how networking is done in today’s context. In traditional networking mode, a person needs to take the extra effort to make small talks, appear credible, strike and maintain relationships in the long run. With social media, making friends and building alliances is made much easier with lesser barriers to entry. Use your facebook to your advantage. Try to do a search and add people who are marketers and/or practitioners currently in the industry. Most people are very open to making friends on facebook and once you establish the connection, slowly weave in your recruitment interest to them.
Take on jobs in SMEs
If you can’t secure boutique jobs in big MNCs and cannot afford to wait for the dream job to land, consider taking an employment with smaller companies, design houses or event companies simply to get the experience first. We know that competition is steep and to land yourself in a reputable agency sometimes is all about luck. If a small company accepts you for a junior position, take it and treat it as a chance to learn more diverse skills. In smaller set up, you’ll learn to multi-task and pick up broad based skills like administration, logistics, secretariat and even human resource management. Smaller set ups are also more willing to hire fresh grads. If you find a good employer who is willing to groom you, don’t hesitate. Accept the job first.
Get Familiarise with the trade
Do get familiarize with industry jargons, practices, key industry personnel by reading trade publications about your industry. If you are into marketing, get hold of the Marketing Magazine, AdAsia and make sure you are updated with news reports, journals and editorial pieces in the magazine. As for PR folks, study the media industry in Singapore and analyze the intricacies of the different reporting styles, format of each journalist and media. The way Newpaper report their stories will defer from business times. In terms of the content, different papers have different focus and scope of coverage as well.
Get Recommended
Talk to your lecturers and see if they can give you some recommendations. Most lecturers are still in touch with the industry and will be able to link you up with their contacts. Of course, whether they help is a reflection of how you have built your relationship with them over your course of study. A lecturer will go the extra mile calling friends for opportunities and you’ll be surprised how these gestures will go the extra mile for you.
‘Mobile’ your CV
This is a given but the point here is to save your CV in a thumb drive and carry it with you all the time. If you are the active & assertive sort, you can turn every encounter and meet up into a possible employment lead. Do not just make friends with people of your same age. Go and find avenues to meet older people and chances are that one in 10 people might have a job or at least a lead for you. You need to keep your CV current and have it emailed quickly when you hit on a possible lead. Remember in the Marketing & Communications industry, it is all about speed, networking and referrals.
Start your own agency
If you have the entrepreneurial spirit with a good business foundation, perhaps you could consider starting your own company. You can provide services like translation, copy-writing, designing, media relations, web design or project management, etc. This is especially so if you cannot find a job but have a little more monetary resources and courage to step out. Begin slowly and take on customers that come along. You cannot afford to be selective in your clients unless you have the holding power. Build your base and slowly generate more awareness about your work.
Go for enrichment courses
Go and enrich yourself in the midst of your job hunting. Attend courses which will allow you to dive deeper into the realm of your study. Some courses which you might consider are media relations, negotiation skills, adobe photoshop, effective business writing, crisis communications, etc.
Join trade events
Enrol yourself in some important trade events and seek to get your employment leads from there. Marketing Institute of Singapore organises monthly gatherings and talks for marketers in Singapore. The Marketers networking night by MIS happens every quarter of the year and is well attended by marketers from the various industries. The Advertising folks also do have their monthly meet up but access is rather difficult. Join Alumni events and find all opportunities to talk to seniors who are present at the event as mentors or potential recruiters.
Remember to take charge your own marketing & communications career. While landing your first dream job is important, do not overly emphasize it as there will never be a dream job if you are not fully prepared for the job challenges ahead. We should constantly challenge ourselves, be practical about our expectations and take on a potential job offer when it arrives. Do not second guess yourself once you signed on the dotted lines, especially when you have a second offer on hand. Move on and believe that your first employment will be rewarding and remind yourself to draw as much experiences as possible from this journey.
Article by Dennis Toh, a publicist with Flaunt PR & Communications, a public relations agency that provides communication services to help business owners boost their sales, create public awareness and build credibility with media publicity.
Dennis Toh is also a full time lecturer.
For details, email FlauntPRdennis@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)