BY VUITTON LOW
The Marketing Excellence Award 2022 was recently held on November 24.
This award was hosted by Advertising + Marketing to recognise outstanding work in Malaysia’s marketing industry, and a young person with a lot of potential has come to light by bagging two awards (silver in Excellence in Communications/Public Relations; and bronze in Excellence in Influencer/KOLs Marketing) with her team.
This is a significant achievement because this group of young people, dubbed “Jollibabes,” are able to win something in the highly competitive marketing industry.
The Jollibabes were part of VoxEureka, which was approached by Jollibee to help them in managing the advertising and marketing for the first Jollibee to open in West Malaysia.
On February 8, 2022, Jollibee officially opened its Sunway Pyramid store to the public.
“We couldn’t believe our ears when we heard we’d won the awards! As we stepped onto the stage, accepting the awards and posing for the cameras, it felt amazing to know that the Jollibabes had been appreciated and recognised for our efforts in realising the First Jollibee in West Malaysia — #JoyAtFirstBite Campaign. I am extremely proud of my team; our hard work has paid off fantastically, and what more could we ask for?” said Violette, on winning the two awards
One of the Jollibabes who stood out was Violette Low. “Who is she?” you may wonder. Well, let me tell you, she’s a hustler.
For starters, Violette developed a passion for social media marketing and content production.
Then, in October 2018, she decided to join a start-up integrated marketing agency as a Marketing Communications Executive.
She was largely involved in a number of marketing campaigns while also managing a number of social media accounts on her own.
She was only 20 years old when she realised that creative communications was her true calling.
She now markets herself as a creative strategist during the day and as a content creator at night.
She has been a media and digital executive for VoxEureka for nearly two years.
She has also taken on some crucial roles as a youngster in this industry, such as Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Engagement & Management Lead for Jollibee throughout the Sunway Pyramid Launch Campaign, Social Media Content Lead for Sunshine Bakeries Malaysia, KOL Engagement & Management for OnePlus Project Ovaltine & #NorwexJeLah Campaign, and Social Media Content Strategist for Y.O.U Beauty Malaysia & Megah Rise Mall.
She works tirelessly on her passion project, Kawaii Vio, a feel-good podcast on Spotify that examines contrasting opinions on subjects less frequently covered in Asian culture, when she is not at her day job.
With a good sense of humour and sibling banter, her co-host, who is also her sister, takes their listeners on a slice of life journey through their childhood memories, growing pains stories, casual coffee shop discussions, and unconventional catch-up sessions.
Aside from being a host, Violette is also the podcast’s Content Producer and Strategist, Social Media Manager, and Brand Manager.
It is clear from this that she is very interested in things related to social media.
She not only works in a job that revolves around social media, but her passion project also revolves around social media.
In addition to her achievements and interests, she said, “Beginning in October 2021, the Jollibee Malaysia and Philippines teams met weekly to discuss the work in progress (WIP).
“During the brainstorming for an effective 360 campaign, many questions were raised: Was our social media content creation strategy sufficient? Did our influencer marketing strategy deliver the highest possible percentage of engagement when the campaign went live? Will we target the appropriate media on the event day, and will they cover our launch?
“We needed the planning to ensure that every question posted received a resounding ‘yes.’
“Intensive planning took place over a four-month period, and we even worked over the holidays to ensure everything went as planned,” she said.
From here, it is evident how crucial it is for the strategies put in place to work in order to form a successful launch.
The Jollibabes worked tirelessly to ensure that every mechanism in their marketing plan was greased to ensure a smooth operation.
Violette is grateful that this Jollibee campaign has placed her in a fast-paced environment where she must demonstrate her flexibility, adaptability, and confidence in her abilities to support her team while meeting the campaign’s KPIs.
As she was new, she didn’t know anyone at VoxEureka. Thus, prior to the campaign, she had no close relationships with anyone from VoxEureka.
However, because of this campaign, she was able to form lovely friendships and a strong support network at work, and it is regarded as one of the joyful memories she was able to form while at work.
Violette was given the opportunity to serve as the KOL Engagement & Management Lead for this launch campaign by her key account manager.
Even though she was new to KOL marketing and was still learning the ropes, she persisted and gave the campaign her all.
Aside from the team award, this could be considered one of the most significant personal achievements in her career.
Last but not least, Violette also has some advice for young people in the industry.
“The communication industry is small but mighty (and highly competitive). It’s fun, fulfilling, and no two days are alike; it’s a diverse and exciting career. The best part about working in communications is that it is a skill-based industry, so prove to yourself that you were born to be creative.
“Adorn your portfolio with experience and have fun creating it. If you enjoy copywriting, you could start a blog and use it to express yourself. If you’re interested in social media marketing, start your own digital campaign on any social media platform and champion a cause that you care about.
“If you’re not sure where you want to go in the creative communications spectrum, consider joining internship programmes at local start-up agencies or internationally renowned consulting firms to get a true taste of the industry as a freshie.
“Who knows? Your seniors would be blown away by your fresh perspectives on strategic thinking and ideation! The main point is to be an opportunist! Live, learn, and explore, and I’m sure you’ll find the creative communications industry as exciting as I do.”
This article was written by a student from the Strategic Communication Programme at the Faculty of Language and Communication, UNIMAS.
