The Great Rush…fasten your seat belts

the great rush ham singh weekender marketing magazine malaysia

By Prof. Harmandar Singh aka Ham

First, it was the great reset with the onset of Covid. Now we are busy falling over each other in its wake.

Established tracking methods and all other signals say advertising expenditure has gone through the roof, and we haven’t even factored in digital yet.

Chinese New Year is already in the rear view window, while Raya and Merdeka are quickly looming on the horizon.

Bundle that with a coming General Election, and we are looking at a boom year for the industry.

Marketers are understandably restless and everything is wanted last year. Nothing new here.

While things are looking busy, crazy and probably rosy, I want to say this is the right time to craft our work.

the great rush covid ham singh raihan hadi marketing magazine asia

Riding on the tide of countless creative possibilities, let’s not settle for “wallpaper advertising” or marketing mediocrity.

Let’s use this overarching wave of opportunities to bring back the shine in Malaysian creativity.

Spare a little more time thinking about your work, to make it meaningful, different and lasting.

Let’s not rush or get lazy – volume can never replace value.

Because no matter how many hundred times you alternate your messages on Facebook or Twitter (every 3 secs I hear, just to stay in the loop), don’t be caught up catching up.

Because the newly awakened consumer will sense your desperation.

And they are tired of being told they are first (they know marketing is about making money).

Advertising does not make the world go round.

Ideas that touch lives do.

This piece was the Editor’s Note for MARKETING WEEKENDER Issue 321


appies asia pacific gif

APPIES Asia Pacific 2022 is happening in Malaysia!

Campaign entries must have run between Jan 2020 to May 2022
(open to campaigns ran from any Asia Pacific market during this period)

Visit appies.asia for details, registration and submissions NOW!



MARKETING Magazine is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The Malaysian Marketing Conference & Festival 2024 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre is a TWO-day marketing event for all those in Marketing, Media, Advertising, PR, Digital, Data, and more….

The experience is on May 15 & 16, with Keynote Speakers, multiple tracks or Breakaway Sessions hosted by our booth partners who will show you the latest in the industry. 

Download Event PDF
Register Here




Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates in the marketing and advertising scene