The Advertising Fight

The Advertising Fight workshop was held on the 7th of October 2022 and 14th of October 2022. IACT students had the opportunity to attend an 8-hour workshop with Mr. Ng Yew Leong, a media planner with over 5 years of experience in Malaysia.

Mr. Leong began by saying that a media planner is a specialist who efficiently arranges the correct media for the right audience at the right time. He also mentioned that media planners are expected to know what their competitors are doing. Mr. Leong then introduced the competitor analysis which includes 4 general steps including: data collection, data clean up, evaluation of data and forming insights. He recommended using what, who, when, where, why, and how to facilitate thinking processes. He added that advertising involves promoting products, analysing human behaviours, as well the use of technologies such as algorithm. 'Larger brands are inclined to building brand affinity or brand love to ensure that all segments in the market are addressed, and the brand isn’t disconnected with a specific group of customers,' said Mr. Leong.

In groups, students were given a task to select a brand of their interest and an appropriate competitor. Students were then asked to learn more about the competitor’s most recent marketing initiative and how the brand of their interest might respond to it. Students prepared 2 slides for this purpose and presented their ideas and findings to Mr. Leong. He shared valuable feedback for students to ponder, such as adding gamification to websites, amongst others. He also added a word of caution that creative content should abide by the rules and regulation of a country. Besides that, he highlighted the importance of keeping things short and simple for the clients. Before the end of the session, Mr. Leong shared that an advertiser should have an open mind and be up to date, as things are changing rapidly. Overall, students enjoyed the interactive session!