Yong Ping Loo’s Post

'A strong vision combined with a willingness to embrace and pivot around change is crucial in order to keep up with not only competitors but more importantly, consumers and brands.' In her latest article for Top Interactive Agencies - TIA, our Account Hero Beatrice Miu uncovers SuperHeroes' recipe to make great campaigns come to life, as well as some insider perspective on finding inspiration in Singapore! Read the full article in the comments 👇

As international marketers, we know the value of a strong, global brand truth. But how practical is it when each market is unique? We've seen the fallout from campaigns that were copied from one market to another, only to fall flat, or worse, offend. Mistakes that lead to significant damage for the brand. So, how to ensure local success for our international campaigns? Here's a few rules we stick to at Freedman International. 1. Preparation is key: Do your homework. Consult local market teams as early as possible. 2. Creativity must respect culture: Understand the cultural context of your audience to ensure the message lands. 3. Choose words and visuals wisely: Invest in quality translation and be aware of cultural sensitivities around images and symbols. 4. Handle broadcast clearance carefully: Take account of local regulations early to avoid delays and missed local media deadlines. Any other tips you'd add for successful international campaigns?

We are 24. For 24 years, we’ve stayed rooted in who we are—fiercely independent, proudly Malaysian, and passionately committed to creating work that matters. This journey has taught us to redefine success, embrace growth, and stay grounded in what matters most: our purpose, our people, and the clients who trust us to bring their visions to life. We’ve had a lot to celebrate, from the milestones to the challenges that have sharpened our edge. But this isn’t about staying in the past. It’s about the promise of what’s next. Our journey has been defined by resilience, innovation, and the incredible people who have joined us along the way: our team, our trusted partners, and the clients who inspire us to do amazing work every day. Thank you for being part of our story. Here’s to year 25 – and the many chapters yet to be written. #BRANDTHINK24 #WeAreStorytellers #brandthink #brandthinkmy #brandthinkmalaysia #LifeAtBrandthink #InsideBrandthink #communications #pragency #socialagency #publicrelations #socialmediaagency #socialmedia #digitalmarketing #design #marketing #influencermarketing #agency in #kualalumpur #Malaysia #branding #pr #brand #branding #contentmarketing #digitalpr [www.brandthink.com]

Just recently a respected senior Hong Kong creative leader said something to me at a reception that nearly caused me to choke on my shandy. She said “Ideas don’t matter anymore” That’s a pretty sweeping statement and had me mulling this over for a few days, at the end of which I concluded “Nonsense.” In advertising, in driving brands, I think ideas are as important today as ever. Whenever we see people sharing good work in social media (the irony) it’s nearly always something founded on a great idea, not an execution. Ideas are what get our attention (not pop-ups FFS). They entertain us, intrigue us, make us want to know more. We all love great ideas. The problem today is not that they don’t matter, it’s just that in this world of technology-driven and data-reliant mass marketing, a whole generation has grown up not knowing what ideas are, or how to have them. Most advertising these days tries to get attention through execution alone. But great work does get done and does stand out. So with my AdCademy presentation and workshop on ‘What’s the big idea?’ I set out to try and get to the bottom of all this. Where ideas come from (some great direct and surprising examples), how they lead to great campaigns, how to evaluate ideas at concept stage beyond just personal taste. It does get a bit Carl Jung in places, but it’s an entertaining journey. Here’s the link to the site if you want to know more: www.kcadacad.com

This is such an amazing breakdown where you can learn more about the differences between Western cultures and Asian cultures in marketing and see exact examples to understand easily. It was not only good to understand how people who live abroad see Korean marketing itself, but the comparison among countries was so amazing. The 7 key parts that you can check here in the article: 1. Celebrities In The Spotlight 2. Narrator Models Grab Your Attention 3. Sexy Still Sells – For Just About Anything 4. Bodily Functions? No problem 5. Supernational Office Chairs and a Clever Pun 6. Mockery Makes Its Mark 7. Confusing Destination Branding As a Korean marketing specialist myself, I also take full responsibility for tackling some issues in our advertising – sexism is still a part of our advertising, as well as poor localization from Korean to English. For more information, please check out the article below! You can even watch fun advertising examples to understand it at a deeper level. https://lnkd.in/gn9bHiug #KoreanMarketing #Korea HY MARKETING

My latest blog provides 9 top tips for those attending Cannes next week and those watching from afar. See you on La Croisette! PRWeekUS Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity #creativity #communications #earnedmedia #advertising #PR #marketing

Often in corporate culture, we tend to veer towards control, and convenience. But blindly doing that with creative communications can be massively harmful to the brand. A positioning that can be anything is convenient for a brand team, in the short term, since it would lend itself well to everything they're doing. But that grows no moss, and gives little direction to the next people. Similarly, it's easy to pepper the ad with the elements you want, so that you're sure the audience sees them, but every ad is a relationship between symbols and meaning. If you overload the symbols, the ad won't have any meaning. A strategy needs sacrifice. A creative needs possibility. And therefore how an agency handles divergence and convergence in its ranks makes all the difference in the world.

Which brands makes you think of a specific city or country and vice versa? 🍫💄🚗🌎 Recently attended a seminar about branding and connecting it with geographical origin. There’s so much “free storytelling” that comes with that territory. It’s important to really have put thought into the why’s, the pros and cons before going down that path though. Ask yourself questions like: 📍 Does it make sense for the brand and does it feel genuine to connect it with a specific place? 📍 Are you contributing to the city/country or are you just coasting on the reputation? 📍 Are you ready to face challenges and bad pr connected with the city/country? 📍 Reminder: Reevaluate the geographical ties regularly as the brand grows Picture is from my first trip back to South Korea 🇰🇷 #branding #storytelling

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has finally arrived! Here are some remarks you will hear every day around the Palais: 1. “Why the hell hasn’t anyone thought about this before?” – proven fact: great ideas make a lot of sense when they are mature and successful. The challenge is appreciating them when they are still young and fragile. 2. “I once had an idea just like this one!” – can I tell you a secret? The person behind this idea probably said that many times as well, about other ideas. So, keep trying until someone else says it about your idea. Also, remember it’s not just about the idea, it’s also about execution and delivery. 3. “Wow! How did they come up with that?” – answer: they weren’t afraid to look for it. They believed in it even when others didn’t. They found a way to sell and/or produce it. 4. “So simple, so smart!” – so hard to come up with! 5. “We would never be able to approve something like this at our agency / for our clients / in our market” – from my experience, people with a long-life span in advertising love the creative thinking process, not just the creative outcome. So… if you still enjoy the thinking part – you are fine. Also… maybe it’s time for you to decide: are you OK with thinking about solid ideas in a more conservative environment (which is not a bad thing) or is time to move to another agency or another market which can cater your hunger for more creative freedom (which is not a bad thing)? 6. “That’s a scam. It was aired maybe once.” – Creative Excellence is about real work for real clients which made a real impact. No argument here! However… there is a difference between “Creative Excellence” and “Creative Thinking Excellence”. “Creative Excellence” awards should celebrate effective creative ads which were approved by clients. “Creative Thinking” awards can also celebrate amazing original disruptive thinking in general. What if… Cannes Lions added a category for exceptional creative thinking? NO RULES. Pure creative thinking. About ideas which a jury believes should be produced, not necessarily ideas a client will approve. The prize: financing the winning idea and bringing it to life. And a Lion. Of course… 7. “Maybe next year…” – YES. There is always next year! Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity #CannesLions2024 #CL2024 #LIONS2024 #Creativity #CreativeThinking #CreativeExcellence MindscapesCreativity

I get asked this a lot. With a client base that is 80% international - from Toronto to Dubai to Singapore - how do we maintain that all-crucial authenticity? Managing multiple time zones, languages, and cultural nuances can certainly be challenging. However, we’ve figured out a little ‘hack’ that helps put the personal in personal branding... We follow a Japanese concept called > Wabi- Sabi To find the beauty in imperfection. "All things in life, including you, are in an imperfect state of flux, so strive not for perfection but for excellence instead" We encourage our clients to step out of their comfort zones and share their unique journeys. Why? Because no one is perfect, and our unique traits, personalities and passions make us who we are. As much as creating content and managing connections are instrumental in our work, the secret sauce comes from them. From their uniqueness. Our process is deeply collaborative, involving continuous feedback loops with our clients, ensuring that every post and interaction reflects their true voice and objectives. More than this, we gently guide our clients to tap into these vulnerable, human moments and leverage them to create genuine connections. At the end of it all, we don’t manage profiles; we build personal brands that their audience can relate to. If you’re looking to give your personal brand a truly global and authentic touch, let’s connect.