The six teams of finalists taking part in the third Classified Post Young Marketer of Tomorrow competition demonstrated a clear understanding of marketing strategies, and made innovative use of the data tools, and the social media platforms needed to launch a successful marketing campaign. This is no mean achievement in the changing world of marketing, where social media and digital strategies continue to drive one game-changing scenario after another.
Run in tandem with the 10th edition of the Classified Post Career Forum, the Young Marketer of Tomorrow contest was organised by Classified Post in association with premium partner Sun Life Financial. Teams of two to four university students were challenged to come up with a comprehensive promotional and marketing plan which incorporated different aspects of direct, digital and data-driven marketing aimed at the younger segment of the insurance market.
More than 100 teams registered for the contest, which was divided into two groups. Each group was assigned a specific brief that covered one of two topics – social enterprise or financial planning – with both topics incorporating the theme of entrepreneurship.
Cpjobs.com
If marketing messages are to have the intended impact, fresh strategies are essential. Kat Cheung, sales and marketing director, circulation and syndication business, South China Morning Post Publishers, says the six teams of finalists demonstrated their marketing projects were well prepared, and presented a polished marketing pitch. “The finalists showed a lot of ingenuity interpreting the essence of the brief, and delivered well-structured presentations,” says Cheung. “Some of the projects reached a professional level,” she adds. Cheung was also impressed by the number of participants that requested feedback on ways that they could improve their projects and presentations.
The Young Marketer of Tomorrow judges, who were all experienced marketing professionals, evaluated each team’s marketing plan based on its campaign concept, business case, and feasibility study, as well as their budget, legal and outcome goals. Each team’s plan was assessed on seven different factors, including its operational and technological viability, the effectiveness and business-results driven nature of the plan, the team’s creativity and innovation, and the attractiveness of the marketing opportunity. The team’s market sense and insight, their ability to visualise concepts, and the skill with which the marketing plan was presented, was also assessed.
Sun Life
Steven Fong, chief agency officer at Sun Life Financial, says that despite the tight deadline, the finalists made good use of their data and analytic skills, demonstrated a collaborative approach to teamwork, and made confident presentations which delivered feasible marketing project protoypes. “It was evident that a lot of team effort was put into analysing the market needs to design realistic solutions,” says Fong.
Fong also notes that creative, technical, and analytical skills are prerequisites for a successful career in marketing, in addition to a sensitivity to the marketplace and strong communication skills. Fong says the finalists caught the judges’ attention with an innovative use of slogans, visual presentations, animations and videos — all of which are necessary tools to raise environmental and financial planning awareness with a young, tech-savvy, target audience. “The participants presented some interesting ideas that could be worth further consideration,” notes Fong. He said the Young Marketer of Tomorrow competition provided a unique opportunity for participants to showcase their capabilities, and to receive valuable feedback from professional marketers.
In the lead-up to the competition, Sun Life organised a presentation workshop, while the company’s marketing professionals provided participating teams with tips and insights. “Working under the guidance of mentors to understand ideas and opinions from a professional perspective allowed participants to realise the importance that an entrepreneurial mindset plays in marketing,” says Fong. To maintain their interest in marketing from a career perspective, Fong advised the students to follow marketing trends across all industry sectors. Also, to gain a feel for the real-life business environment before graduation, students can apply to join the Sun Life GROW Internship programme, he says.
The three-member winning team of Catharine Lee Yik-man, Ryan Ho Wai-yam and Gordon Wong Ho-shing delivered their presentation under the name of Serendipity. The three business and marketing students from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), combined their passion for environmental sustainability to create a “WeDefine Recycling” app. This was designed to raise the level of recycling awareness and participation in Hong Kong. Ho says that, by using global positioning technology (GPS) on recycling bins to identify items for recycling, and artificial intelligence (AI) to create a “penny auction” site, the public, businesses and the government would be able to work together to make recycling more efficient.
“Our aim was to design a project that provides tangible benefits for Hong Kong,” says Ho, who notes that as a business student with entrepreneurial aspirations, he is motivated by working on projects that benefit society, instead of personal financial gain. It took less than two hours to decide on the concept and app capabilities, Lee said, noting that the primary goal was to highlight the feasibility of the “WeDefine Recycling” app. “That is why we included a lot of transparency, such as the risks and possible pain-points,” says Lee. Wong says it was important to include a recycling gamification app function to enhance the experiential, engagement, and enjoyment associated with recycling. The judges also awarded Serendipity the best presentation award for their lively, informative and professional pitch.
The second runner-up, University of Hong Kong (HKU) double-degree law and business student Anne Lui, and HKU School of Professional and Continuing Learning (HKU-SPACE) marketing and management student Michelle Wong, designed their health and financial well-being app “Game of Life” around the younger generation’s ubiquitous use of smartphones. The duo competed under the name of Ambition. Wong says the app allows students and new graduates to tap in their preferences for an instantly connected world primed for short bursts of information and visual communication. “Game of Life” creates a funnel to financial and well-being features.
“Creating the app from scratch meant we had to pay close attention to our time management to make sure we had a working product to present to the judges within the deadline,” says Wong. Lui adds that comparing creative ideas with other competitors, and presenting the marketing pitch to the judges, proved valuable. “This provided experiences that can be applied to future situations,” notes Lui. Both team members add they benefited significantly from attending the pre-event presentation workshop organised by Sun Life Financial.
Third-place runner-up Inno-voice, consisting of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) students Yuki Lam Yu-ki, Iris Wong Tsz-ling, Nancy Hung Tik-chung and Oscar Wan Kwan-ho, to develop an app designed to bridge employment needs between fresh graduates and employers. Like any good marketing team, Inno-voice used a combination of skills
Using blockchain technology as a platform, the four teammates focused on developing an app that provides a real-world link between fresh graduates exploring career options, and employers seeking “best-fit” graduate candidates. Citing themselves as examples, Hung said the key aim was to eliminate the pain points that soon-to-be-graduates experience. Hung says that once Lam had suggested the “big-picture concept,” the responsibility for technological development, marketing strategy, and project management was led by individual team members.
