Troy Lee

"We are seeing an increase use of LinkedIn by politicians, why is this so and what does it indicate?" This was the question posed to me by Rezwana Manjur and Camillia Dass. Indeed, in the last two years, we are seeing an increase use of LinkedIn by politicians and C-suite (will need Adrian Tay to share the statistics to back my claim!). Many of them are starting to spend time on LinkedIn for sharing of professional news and knowledge. It is also a platform that is able to bring together older workers and those who are starting to join the workforce as it becomes the preferred platform for job searches. As such, many have separated their social media lives into 'personal' vs 'professional'. It can mean posting about policies and work issues on LinkedIn, and keeping personal posts to Facebook, Instagram and/or TikTok. It is interesting how I have been involved in many conversations in recent months about the use of LinkedIn, with both for-profit clients and where in the non-profit groups I serve voluntarily in. What is the role of social for you? Have you been using more LinkedIn in the past one year?

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Reflecting on a conversation with Mirza Mohammad at our local mamak spot, I realized how much our mundane 9-5 routines can be transformed by a spark of enthusiasm. Over a cup of teh tarik, we delved into the hustle, not just as a means of income generation but as a catalyst for reigniting our passion for our careers. Our chat, flavoured with the age-old saying "duit bukan segalanya" (money isn’t everything), touched on the essential truth that while money does settle many issues, it's the journey and the drive that truly enrich us. With the rising cost of living and stagnant wages in the private sector, the conversation couldn't have been more timely. The heart of our discussion lay in the potential side hustles suitable for salaried workers. It's a reality check that many of us need to embrace. Are we ready to learn new ways to earn, or are we content to complain about economic challenges without seeking solutions? This dialogue left us with lingering questions: Are Malaysians willing to embrace the hustle? Do we merely lament the negative news impacting our economy, or do we break free from stereotypes and seize opportunities to learn, improve, and innovate? It's time for us to reflect and act. Let's turn our struggles into stories of growth and resilience. #CareerGrowth #SideHustle #EconomicReality #PersonalDevelopment #MalaysianWorkforce

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141 creative agencies are gunning for a place in WOG. Having spent my entire career in Singapore with network agencies, this is always a constant topic. 1. It doesn't make money 2. It is propaganda 3. It is not creative The fact is that in Singapore, a lot can be done to improve how we communicate policies, engagement, recruitment, and whatever else needs to be done to improve the lives of Singaporeans and those living here. The government will always need our expertise to distil policy into effective communications. We make money by operating and working with the right government clients, just as we review our other commercial clients. You have the power to still say,"No." It is not seen as propaganda but how we give ourselves a greater sense of purpose. It has to mean more. Creativity is a journey and a balance of what needs to be achieved and be accountable for. Why 141 and not just 10? Well, we all know that part of WOG's function is to provide another source of revenue for agencies of all sizes, granted that we all start at different stages and circumstances. My advice is to do the work, be part of WOG, and give yourself a chance to produce work that matters.

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CEOs only get paid when results actually materialise – rightly so, I guess. Still, it’s nice to see Singtel finally getting its act together. Here’s the latest #MarkToMarket column, which ran in today’s edition of #TheBusinessTimes: https://lnkd.in/gDD4bHyr

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Navigating PR Realities: The Crucial Role of CMOs For CEOs to appreciate the value of PR, CMOs must articulate and defend the unique contributions of PR to the broader business strategy. This involves setting realistic expectations about deliverables and timelines and explaining how PR complements other functions like sales and marketing. A well-executed PR strategy enhances brand credibility and trust, which in turn supports long-term sales and marketing efforts. #bzbeeians #communication #publicrelations #IntegratedStrategicCommunication #PRAgency #bzBeeConsult https://lnkd.in/gQZRMdYK

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If you work in the media industry, have you ever wondered how to manage Singapore's evolving media landscape effectively? If so, our Managing Director, Madina Kalyayeva, will host a media panel discussion at Mandala Club on 24 April 2024. The theme: Navigating the New Frontiers: How to Manage the Evolving Media Landscape in Singapore Effectively". She, along with 3 panellists, Janice Sim from Vogue Singapore, Rahat Kapur from Campaign Asia, and Bettina von Schlippe from RSVP, will be discussing: → Major global media developments and specific trends in Singapore's media landscape. → The importance of localised content production. → PR landscape's evolution to more than just Media Relations. At Tilt, we offer actionable insights, share best practices, and provide strategic approaches to help everyone succeed in this media environment. If you're trying to carve a niche in this dynamic media landscape, reach out for a chat. #TiltSG

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Thanks Jeremy Lim for sharing my commentary on one of the gaps in Singapore's startup ecosystem. I have to thank many anonymous market players for the perspective here -- anonymous because most players don't want to openly criticise government policy. I do believe diversity of thought is important in order to surface the best ideas, though. This piece aims to promote such discussion. You can read it here: https://bt.sg/g/MCDC

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AI is here to stay, whether we like it or not. And the only way to deal with it is to embrace it, experiment with it, push it to its limits, and harness it to make it your ally!

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Yesterday I moderated a lively Roundtable in Singapore in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors and Ruder Finn Asia, where we focused specifically on how senior marketers and communicators are gearing up for the AI era, amid widespread caution and concern. Unlike previous discussions I've participated in on this topic, this was a group of executives who are already relatively immersed in the technology. So their insights in terms of experimentation, usage and evaluation were very timely and topical, even if they also raised issues in terms of of public trust, misinformation and ethics. The feature will be out next week. For now, here is the advice each of them offered when it comes to adopting and deploying generative AI across communications and marketing departments: 🧪 "It's important to continue experimenting, but it's also important to maintain that human oversight because I don't think the capabilities of AI are quite there yet" - Ramya Chandrasekaran 🧐 "Stay curious. I think as comms professionals, we need to be on top of what's around us, what we can use to our advantage — drive not be driven" - Pia Tyagi ❤️ "Revisit your values that underpin your organisation and have that be the center of how you pivot on this. Because you might lose people, emotionally. And I think that's a risk" - Lauren Myers-Cavanagh ⚖️ "Be fearless and fearful at the same time. Fearless in terms of experimentation, be open to the potential for transforming the way that we work, live, learn and play. Fearful in being very deliberate in thinking about the dark side and the dangers" - David Ko 🎨 "You can positively use AI to do almost everything (well), but stay creatively flawed to make it even better" - Shruti Gupta 🧰 "Use these tools shamelessly because unless you use them, you'll not know the limits of where their value ends and your value begins. I would also hope for all of us is to bring others along, so that collectively we can benefit" - Sanjay Nair A huge thank you to the participants for a great discussion. Elan Shou Pamela Phua Phoebe SHEN Brian Witte

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Reflecting on the ongoing digitalisation of traditional media channels 💡 In my role at OPR media Asia, I help brands to strategise campaigns encompassing both traditional & digital out-of-home (OOH) and linear TV with CTV (connected TV). Over recent years, these channels have undergone significant transformations, with a growing portion of marketing budgets being directed towards their digital iterations. Brands frequently inquire about the dilemma between opting for linear TV versus (CTV), or choosing between traditional OOH and programmatic approaches. My consistent response is that generally, there's no need to make a choice. Analysing media consumption data, and despite some regional nuances, I strongly believe that the integration of both old and new channels within the media mix is essential. They complement each other in ways that enhance campaign effectiveness and reach diverse audiences across various platforms. ✔ Linear & CTV Linear TV remains the top choice for achieving massive reach within households, particularly in the USA or Australia. It continues to be an affordable option for brands aiming for broad audience exposure and long-term brand-building initiatives. On the other hand, CTV now empowers advertisers with audience-based targeting, enabling them to reach their buyer personas across multiple devices, primarily on large screens within households. By integrating both channels, advertisers benefit from the strengths of each: extensive reach combined with granular targeting and robust measurement capabilities ✔ OOH & Programmatic DOOH OOH is one of the oldest media channels in the world, dating back thousands of years. Interestingly, it only began to evolve with the digital transformation that occurred in the 1990s. Today, traditional OOH still offers many benefits. It remains one of the most trusted media channels. It cannot be blocked and is generally considered safe for brands. Additionally, it provides the option to achieve 100% share of voice (SOV), making it highly favoured by luxury brands. With the inception of programmatic in OOH just a couple of years ago, brands now have the opportunity to (re)target specific audiences in the real world. Forward-thinking, innovative companies such as Vistar Media have connected media owners' DOOH inventory to their demand-side platform, allowing marketers to plan and execute audiences' skewed OOH campaigns in a few clicks. Just like combining linear TV and CTV, integrating traditional and programmatic OOH in a single campaign can yield multiple benefits for brands. Traditional OOH (especially static) is highly relevant to elevate one's brand image or make a statement. Combined with the smart targeting offered by programmatic OOH, it allows brands to reach specific audiences with lower budgets in a more tactical way, for instance to support a retail activation. The advertising industry is spoiled with choice, and it's a great time to be in the media planning business 🙌

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Leadership. Yes, a seemingly talked-to-death subject, but it is still a vital and evergreen topic in our society. Singaporeans are now going through a period of leadership change. With PM Lee Hsien Loong passing the baton to DPM Lawrence Wong, people are still wondering what kind of changes will this leadership transition bring about to our nation. Would the new set of leaders be more holistic in their leadership approach? Would we be still getting scholastically brilliant leaders with little or no private sector or commercial experience? Would Mr Lawrence Wong be able to pull together a team of leaders with multi-faceted talents, skills or expertise and perspectives? Questions abound, but when it comes to answers, the jury is out. Perhaps we should take advantage of this period to speak up and spell out what we like, what don’t like, and what we earnestly hope to achieve for the future, so that the new leadership can take heed of our concerns, and put in place well-thought-through policies and new initiatives to fulfil the sustainable needs and aspirations of Singaporeans.  #leadership #VUCAleadership #Sustainability #innovationleadership

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Raising the daily minimum wage to 400 baht, to lift domestic consumption, is one of flagship policies that Thai government implements to incentivise the economy. While the government vows to deliver this policy by this October, several organisations have been worried about negative impacts. the Chairwoman of Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, Vibeke Lyssand Leirvag, told me that the majority of chambers are not against the policy, but the minimum wage needs to be increased gradually. As SMEs in poorer provinces cannot absorb the increase, some might close their companies eventually. Coverage: https://lnkd.in/gBKD_xpw Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) #Thailand #400baht #economy

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Interesting twist in tale for KFC Malaysia! Whats the right move for them? In my opinion, KFC should release a statement finally clarifying their situation. The BDS statement is a great endorsement by a neutral and respected 3rd party particularly in this nature of the situation. KFC should leverage the authority of BDS to back up its own narrative of not being involved in the boycott movement to unequivocally clear its name. Be transparent and be genuine! Read more of my thoughts that I shared with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE and A'bidah Zaid Shirbeeni here https://lnkd.in/gbDKSZWp #TriOnandCo #issuesmanagement

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While it’s long been known that Singapore endeavours to be a green finance hub, ensuring that those in the financial services sector has the requisite sustainable skills have not been discussed as much. The Job Transformation Map study commissioned by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore found that more than 50,000 people in jobs from sales to risk compliance and legal, and product development, will have new sustainable finance-related job tasks added to their critical work functions. This comes as the sustainable finance market in Asean is expected to amount to $4 to $5 trillion in the next decade, with financial institutions playing a key role in helping to catalyse the transformation needed. The report, by KPMG also anticipates that about 4,000 to 5,000 new sustainable finance-related jobs will be required over the next decade, ranging from sustainability risk to sustainable strategy. To help develop these sustainability finance specialists over the next three years, MAS said it has set aside $35 million in the Financial Sector Development Fund to support professionals in acquiring these new skills. More than 65 dedicated courses in sustainable finance will also be offered in various local institutes of higher learning, like Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) and Singapore Green Finance Centre. At the same time, a new Asia Centre of Carbon Excellence was also launched, as part of a collaboration between GenZero and South Pole, which will help bring together a group of international experts focused on innovative and novel carbon project development, carbon policy and capacity-building. This includes supporting the rollout of early coal plant decommissioning through the implementation of Coal to Clean Credits Initiative methodology for transition credits on viable regional coal plants. Verra It will also look to develop methodologies that can help scale up the use of green #hydrogen projects through #carbon financing and credits. More in my story here from the final day of Ecosperity: https://lnkd.in/gRwUpeSP Key measures at a glance:

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As part of its brand and strategic refresh last July, OCBC laid down a target to capture fund flows from Greater China towards Asean and log $3 billion in cumulative incremental revenue between 2023 and 2025. OCBC achieved the first part of its three-year additional revenue target by logging $500 million in FY2023. But has the bank’s other wish on capturing fund flows out of Greater China materialised? China is a very dynamic market, says Ang Eng Siong, CEO of OCBC China. “When one door closes, another door opens. That's our experience so far.” Speaking at a May 29 briefing in Hong Kong, where OCBC unveiled a $1.5 billion investment into modernising its Greater China operations, Ang acknowledged a slowdown in China’s domestic consumption. “But on the other hand, we are also seeing the emergence of new industries; we’re also seeing a pick-up in exports.” According to Ang, many Chinese corporates are considering the suitability of expanding into Malaysia and Indonesia — where OCBC has a “much bigger presence” — and not just Vietnam and Thailand, their immediate neighbours to the south. A May 29 report by OCBC's economists says foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the Asean-6 economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam have been gaining traction and rose to US$236 billion ($318.58 billion) in 2023 compared to annual average of US$190 billion between 2020 and 2022. Ang claims that his team will soon collaborate with local authorities “to promote Chinese investments into these countries”, without specifying any of the four Asean countries in particular. Read the full story on The Edge Singapore.

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While I was doing this story, I found out that some of them were actually assistants in a clinic back in their home country. Some of them have also had backgrounds in caregiving for the young and old. And so, some aspire to be nursing aides, after upgrading themselves. I also found out that as much as this is a good progression for them, it may not sit well with some employers because it could mean losing a good worker and ensuring they have time for their Sunday classes and any work they have to do for it. #singapore #manpower #domesticworkers #upskilling

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🎊 Exited to announce new partnership with Wavemaker Partners 🎊 Wavemaker Impact Fund I (WMI) is an emerging impact venture builder active in Southeast Asia. The primary objective of the fund is to effectively reduce CO2 emissions within specific sectors that have been identified as the largest polluters, these include: ⛏ Land-use and carbon sinks 🌾 Agriculture & food 🚂 Transport & fleet ⚙ Industrial processes 🔋 Energy for buildings & industry The objectives of the WMI are closely aligned with DGGF - Financing Local SMEs's climate approach and through this investment DGGF - Financing Local SMEs contributes to the sustainable transition in Southeast Asia. Do you want to know more about this investment❓Check out the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/dGemveKw Image: ©Wavemaker Partners

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MALAYSIA has emerged as the most significant country within Asean for businesses to venture into, as shown by the UOB Business Outlook Study 2024 (SMEs & Large Enterprises).

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