APPIES 2019 Quick Chat: Lai Shu Wei, VP Marketing & Comms, TM unifi

The second veteran marketer under the spotlight for the APPIES 2019 Quick Chat is none other than Lai Shu Wei. As a telco man for many years, it’s no surprise he got a new role at TM unifi; specifically, as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications of TM unifi in January 2019.

For the upcoming APPIES Malaysia Marketing Awards 2019 main event, Shu Wei expects a fair bit from the competing agencies. As this is the fourth APPIES, he expects to see a lot of strategic innovation. “More strategic and execution links are necessary, especially in the works that will be presented. Also, the presentation must be marketing led, meaning it cannot be solely on the agency to deliver,” he shared.

While he works with various service providers that enable technology and digital transformation, Shu Wei believes in their application more. For him, the word ‘digital’ is overused. “More importantly is how one demonstrates the use of digital technology to address pain points or bridging the communication and consumers,” he said.

That and sticking with the basics are what he’s looking for the upcoming pitches. This includes using proper work-flows, how tight they link-back to the brief, and understanding the brief’s objective.

For Shu Wei, this is paramount as it ties back to what the audiences want. “Always go back to the basics as they operate on the fundamentals of marketing: in-depth consumer understanding and insights,” he added. For him, that will be enough to wow judges as it shows the foundation of a pitch is strong.

Submission deadline for APPIES Malaysia Marketing Awards 2019: 15th March 2019.

Submit online here: https://appieawards.awardsengine.com.

More details on the event: https://www.appies.com.my.

For those who want to find out what the judges are expecting, do check out this year’s collection of APPIES 2019 Quick Chat.

Text by: Victor Yap