• What Malaysia brands have to do to attain global acclaim status.
• Branding and excellence go hand in hand - capturing new markets with Brand Malaysia.
• The new CMO has to think like the CEO - examples and challenges.
• Who is responsible for the success of a brand and increased shareholder value.
• The future of Marketing is universal - digital challenges..

Marketing Strategy in Action - Case study from Prudential

• Listen to understand: characteristics vs. needs
• Find your target market and engage with them
• Developing a communication strategy that builds affinity
• Leveraging on strengths for effective execution
• R U Ready?

Real-life case-study presentation on Prudential’s recent Youth Campaign - R U Ready which has taken brand engagement to a whole new level. As Brand & Communications Director for Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad, her role is to develop, implement and monitor brand communication strategy and activities to support the company’s sustained drive to be the Number 1 life insurer in Malaysia.

Fiona has been instrumental in building the Prudential brand through innovative advertising, brand building and revenue generation activities. A true success story.

• CMO typology on marketing information usage.
• Marketing information reality in practice.
• Is it purely all facts?
• Marketing research Unusual.
• Mitigating risks in marketing research.

• Are you tracking visits or visi tors to your web sites?
• How marketers can leverage knowledge from online customers as a platform for marketing optimisation.
• New possibilities from advanced marketing attribution models.
• Latest benchmark practices to streamline your marketing plans with ROIs.
• Learnings that will springboard your online presence plus help you win in the boardroom.

• Can a CMO become a CEO?
• What does it take to get to the top?
• How marketing skills and competencies can be used in the corner office.
• Challenges for a marketeer to move into general management.
• Practical tips and advice.

• Is measurement or intuition critical to Marketing?
• How do you train Marketing people when change happens every day?
• Does competing means having to ‘battle it out’ or ‘managing the ecosystem’?
• Is there a Zen to Marketing?
• Are you enjoying the magic of Marketing?

Distinguished Panelists:

• Fiona Liao - Director of Brand Communications, Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad
• Kevin Mackin - Marketing Manager, IBM Marketing Solutions (EMM), Growth Markets Unit
• John D.Chacko - Director, Group Marketing & Branding, Proton Holdings
• Eric Chong - President, Branding Association of Malaysia
• Henry Tan - COO, Astro
• Rahul Colaco - MD, Dutch Lady Milk Industries

Growing year on year in attracting the crème de la crème from over 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region to compete and be recognised for their brilliance in marketing strategy, creativity in execution and performance in delivering real business results, the APPIES continues to be a prestigious annual awards festival.

Organised by the Institute of Advertising Singapore, it is also one of the most invigorating and inspiring knowledge exchange platforms for marketers in the region.

Tan Thiam Hock, founder of the Silky Girl brand, is a self-made entrepreneur. A weekly newspaper columnist in recent times, Thiam Hock started in business with capital from Ang Guan Seng of Petaling Garden (same group with Tan Chin Nam, Ipoh Garden and Mid Valley developer), and with sheer hard work and good timing, grew the business to a RM200 million enterprise.

Today private equity funds namely Navis and Ekuinas own 80% of the company. He is a true marketing maverick with great stories to share?

• Making design vital in your company - Is your CMO also your CDO (Chief Design Officer)?
• The Power of Design - Breaking down design into its powerful component parts
• How are Companies using design to power their brands to success?
• Painful lessons – some design ‘flubs’ worthy of examination
• Brand Strategy vs Communications Strategy – what’s the difference and how do they fit together?

Craig lives at the heart of brand building driving it through the lens of Design. He talks about ‘authentic interaction’ and his global awardwinning team has worked for leading brands like China Airlines, Van Cleef & Arpels, SkyTeam, Godiva Chocolatier, the French Open and more... His scope ranges from brand identity, industrial design, packaging, graphic, interactive, retail and architecture. No one speaks more eloquently about the power of Design in marketing than Craig!

• Is the Chief Marketing Officer is a growing player at today’s boardroom level discussions and decisions on corporate and brand directions?
• The New Rules of ROI
• The Talent Crunch - are there enough good people out there?
• Relevance of the CMO in trying economic times
• Knowledge capital in the marketing space, future directions

Distinguished Panelists:

• Tan Thiam Hock - Founder, Alliance Cosmetics Group
• Dr Wong Lai Sum - CEO, MATRADE
• Craig Briggs - MD, Asia Pacific Brandimage - Desgrippes & LAGA, HK
• Ranganathan Somanathan - President, Media Specialist Association (MSA)
• SK Wong - Advisor, QSR Brands
• Ahmad Izham Omar - COO, Media Prima Television Networks
• Amirullah Haji Abdullah, PMP, Executive Chairman of Al-Meswak Mu'min Sdn Bhd

Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly is the quintessential firebrand. His personality, business acumen and strategic thinking have been embedded in the fabric of Malaysia’s telco industry today. Celcom had a record breaking 16 quarters of uninterrupted consecutive growth, outperforming its nearest competitor in 3 out of 4 quarters in 2008 and 2009.

Recently, PC.com awarded him its inaugural CEO of the Year Award for his discerning leadership, business aptitude, and larger-than-life character. He says if he had not made the cut as a successful corporate figure, he would have been a drummer with a band playing in a club. His ascension from marketing man to corporate icon is a tale of true inspiration for all marketing professionals.

The fourth annual CREAM (Client Relationships And Experiences with Agencies in Malaysia) Agencies of the Year winners are decided from survey commissioned by MARKETING magazine amongst marketers, and conducted by TNS-RI using their world-famous TRI*M stakeholder measurement tool in collaboration with R3, one of the world’s leading agency evaluation and assessment specialist.