The Marketing in Asia Speaker Series aims to create a forum where business leaders, academics and students can discuss important issues around business and marketing in Asia.
This blog hopes to extend the discussions beyond the speaker events by providing with updates from speakers and articles on the latest academic research and industry trends.
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ASB EventsBelow are some selected photos from the Marketing in Asia event on Wednesday 1st of October 2014. The event was a success with marketing academics, MBA and Masters students, ASB alumni and industry professionals hearing from Ms. Christine Holgate, Chief Executive Officer for Blackmores. Ms Holgate shared with us her insights into the challenges and rewards in penetrating the Asian health supplements market.
Photography courtesy of Rita Khouri
In 2014, we invite you to attend our Marketing in Asia Speaker Series where Christine Holgate, Chief Executive Officer for Blackmores will speak about ‘The Challenges (and rewards) in Penetrating the Asian Health Supplements Market: The Case of Blackmores’
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Wednesday 1 October, 2014
Time: 12.00 to 1.30 pm, followed by lunch for attendees from 1.30 – 2.30pm
Location: Business Lounge, Level 6, ASB Building, University of New South Wales (UNSW)
Cost: Free
Places are limited, so please register ASAP to secure your attendance by emailing Jeffrey Zhou at jeffrey.zhou@student.unsw.edu.au
LECTURE SUMMARY
Blackmores has been an industry leader in Australia for some 70 years, and is perhaps best known amongst consumers for its extensive range of vitamin, herbal and mineral supplements (VHMS). With a vision based on founder Maurice Blackmore’s beliefs, Blackmores is passionate about natural health and inspires people to take control of, and invest in, their health and wellbeing. It is a leader in the region in developing and marketing innovative products and services that deliver a more natural approach to health, based on their expertise in vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutrients. Listed on the ASX in 1985, Blackmores is a market leader in Australia and New Zealand. More recently it has gained a growing position in Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea) where trust in the brand, consumers desire to take a greater responsibility for their health, and a growing acceptance of complimentary medicines has been instrumental in gaining a foothold in these markets. However consumer behaviour, the registration process and regulatory environment in each market is unique, meaning that Blackmores cannot sell a homogeneous product range throughout the region.
Christine Holgate, CEO will discuss the entry strategy and challenges Blackmores faced as they entered South East Asia markets with their range of health supplement products.
MARKETING IN ASIA SPEAKER SERIES INFORMATION
Recognising the growing importance of Asia, the School of Marketing at the Australian School of Business, UNSW, introduced the Marketing in Asia Speaker Series in 2009. The program offers a unique opportunity for academic experts, business leaders and marketing professionals to get together and engage in an inspiring dialogue and share new ideas. This program highlights the most important economies in the Asia-Pacific region. As Asian countries secure an increasingly significant role in shaping the world’s economy, it is imperative that companies and business players stay informed of different consumer trends and marketing issues in the region. In the first few years of our speaker series we invited highly qualified speakers from India, China, Vietnam and Indonesia to share their valuable insights on the different marketing issues and trends in their respective countries, and to evaluate the importance of these markets for Australian companies. The speakers have also examined specific strategies taken by successful companies in their markets. The Speaker Series is attended not only by academics and business leaders, but also by Australian School of Business alumni from various industry backgrounds.
SPEAKER BACKGROUND
Christine has over 29 years of international sales and marketing experience in highly regulated industries, including telecommunications, finance, media and healthcare. Christine was appointed to her current role as Chief Executive Officer by the Board in November 2008.
She has held numerous board and senior management positions, working in Asia, the Americas and Australia. Christine’s prime responsibilities have been leading teams through significant change, growth and start-up. Christine has three post graduate diplomas in Management, Marketing, and Purchasing and Supply; and a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA). Christine is also currently a Non-Executive Director for Ten Network Holdings Limited. Christine was awarded the 2011 (inaugural) International Executive Study Scholarship by Chief Executive Women and the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia, and was honoured with the Rotary Paul Harris Award in 2013.
Below are some selected photos from the Marketing in Asia event on Tuesday 25th of March 2014. The event was a success with marketing academics, MBA and Masters students, ASB alumni and industry professionals hearing from Mr. Edward Tu, Director of Public Affairs for Uni-President Enterprises Corp. Mr Tu shared with us his insights into marketing opportunities and strategies in Taiwan.
Photography courtesy of Bhuminan Piyathasanan
In 2014, we invite you to attend our Marketing in Asia Speaker Series where Edward Tu, Director of Public Affairs for Uni-President Enterprises Corp will speak about ‘Innovation in Asia: 7-Eleven Taiwan’s Strategic Transformation from traditional convenience store to service centre’.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Tuesday 25 March, 2014
Time: 12.00 to 1.30 pm, followed by lunch for attendees from 1.30 – 2.30pm in AGSM courtyard
Location: Boral Theatre, AGSM building, University of New South Wales (UNSW)
Cost: Free
Places are limited, so please register ASAP to secure your attendance by emailing Xin Na Zeng at x.zeng@student.unsw.edu.au
LECTURE SUMMARY
Asia is fast becoming a hub for worldwide innovation. Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan rank among the ten most innovative markets, according to the Boston Consulting Group. In this session, Edward Tu will outline the challenges 7-Eleven Taiwan faced as it reached saturation point in terms of revenue growth. While Taiwan may have the second highest population density in the world behind Bangladesh, it also has the highest density of 7-Eleven stores and faces aggressive direct competitors. Edward Tu will share with you the challenges and opportunities associated with their strategic transformation from traditional convenience store to community service centre. This transformation was not a simple services-adding exercise, but involved building more efficient operating systems, forming strategic alliances and gaining staff buy-in.
MARKETING IN ASIA SPEAKER SERIES INFORMATION
Recognising the growing importance of Asia, the School of Marketing at the Australian School of Business, UNSW, introduced the Marketing in Asia Speaker Series in 2009. The program offers a unique opportunity for academic experts, business leaders and marketing professionals to get together and engage in an inspiring dialogue and share new ideas. This program highlights the most important economies in the Asia-Pacific region. As Asian countries secure an increasingly significant role in shaping the world’s economy, it is imperative that companies and business players stay informed of different consumer trends and marketing issues in the region. In the first few years of our speaker series we invited highly qualified speakers from India, China, Vietnam and Indonesia to share their valuable insights on the different marketing issues and trends in their respective countries, and to evaluate the importance of these markets for Australian companies. The speakers have also examined specific strategies taken by successful companies in their markets. The Speaker Series is attended not only by academics and business leaders, but also by Australian School of Business alumni from various industry backgrounds.
SPEAKER BACKGROUND
Edward (Chung-Cheng) Tu is Director, Public Affairs for Uni-President Enterprises Corp. Uni-President Enterprises is the largest food production company (dairy products, beverages, snack foods, noodles) in Taiwan with subsidiaries in China, Vietnam and other south-east Asia countries. It also has the licence to operate 7-Eleven, Starbucks, Mister Donut and Carrefour supermarkets in Taiwan. Edward has an MBA from National Sun Yat-Sen University and is currently a PhD candidate at the same university. Edward Tu has worked for Uni-President Enterprises for the past 23 years (including 10 years in mainland China) in a number of management roles, including marketing, human resources and more recently as Director, Corporate Affairs.
Below are some selected shots from the event on Tuesday 26th March 2013. Marketing academics, students and industry professionals joined the MD of Axis research, Huynh Ba Chan Nhu for her presentation on the marketing insights and opportunities in Vietnam.
Photography courtesy of Bhuminan Piyathasanan
In 2013, the Marketing in Asia Speaker Series brings you a lunch time talk by the Deputy MD of Axis Research, Huynh Ba Chan Nhu, titled ‘Marketing Insights and Opportunities for Success in Vietnam’.
The event is on Tuesday 26th March at 12-2pm and is open to students at the Australian School of Business, academics and industry professionals.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
Places are limited, so please register ASAP to secure your attendance by emailing Melissa at m.ran@unsw.edu.au
Cost: Free
Date: Tuesday, March 26th 2013
Time: 12pm-2pm
Location: Boral room, AGSM building, UNSW
LECTURE SUMMARY
Vietnam is an emerging economy of some 87 million people in South East Asia with a growth in GNP of around 9% annually which places it second in terms of growth in the region, behind China. Moreover, Vietnam is still undergoing a transition from central planning to a form of market socialism. However as incomes increase and an emerging middle class consume more discretionary products and services, significant marketing opportunities exist today.
Huynh Ba Chan Nhu, Deputy MD of Axis Research in Ho Chi Minh city will present an overview of Vietnamese culture; pinpoint the emerging industries and business trends; discuss shifts in consumer media habits; before highlighting brand activation trends in consumer markets and illustrating this with two successful case studies. Finally she will provide an overview the emerging opportunities and key success factors
Axis Research is a leading, independent marketing and research consultancy covering all major cities throughout Vietnam. Established in 2001, it covers both B2C and B2B sectors. Axis not only works with local firms but major multinationals such as Nestle, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Fujifilm, Toyota, ANZ and Commonwealth Bank, Metro Cash and Carry, Bayer, Bluescope Steel, Unilever and the Danish Embassy.
SPEAKER BIO
Nhu hold an MBA from the Solvay Business School (Belgium), a Bachelor of Arts in economics and English ( Ho Chi Minh City university).
She is currently the Deputy Managing Director of Axis Research, heading the Research Unit. Her work has been highly recognized by her clients which include: Sojitz Corporation, Itochu Group, ANZ, and Commonwealth Banks, BlueScope Steel, Bayer, Nestle, Metro Cash & Carry, Mayora, the Danish Embassy and Vietnam Airlines etc.
Nhu has more than 15 year experience in marketing and marketing research for AC Nielsen, La Vie (Nestle oup), and Unilever in Vietnam, as a researcher, product manager, and brand manager. She has contributed a great deal to the success of Coca-Cola, Unilever Bestfoods in Vietnam by providing them with consumer insights; lead the remarkable renewal of La Vie brand; enhanced Cornetto and Wall’s brands in the Vietnamese market with various branding strategies.
On Fridy 26th October, Marketing and film academics, students and industry professionals gathered at the Australian School of Business lounge for presentations by Partho Sen-Gupta and Ashish Sinha on Bollywood Cinema. These are some selected shots from the evening.
Julien, Partho and Ashish chatting before the presentations
Attendees networking before the presentations
Partho before his presentation
Ashish presenting
On Tuesday 2nd October, around 50 UNSW Marketing students and academics joined James Parsons for his lunch time talk on the Myth of the Brand in Asia.
James’s presentation centred around the argument that the West’s conceptualisation of the ‘individual/the person’ and its relationship with ‘the Brand’ is very different to the Asian approach. The talk was enlightening, thoughtful and even generated some heated debate in parts.
The PDF of his slides can be downloaded here: Myth of the brand in Asia PDF
Julien introducing James
James presenting
Student and academic audience
Lunch and continuing discussions
Join us for an evening of film and discussion with award-winning Indian film-maker Partho Sen-Gupta and the Head of the School of Marketing at the Australian School of Business Ashish Sinha.
Date: Friday 26th October
Time: 5pm – 8pm
Venue: Australian School of Business Level 6 Business Lounge
Cost: FREE; finger food and drinks will be provided
Registration: Places are limited. Please RSVP by emailing Melissa at z3158178@unsw.edu.au
The second event in the Marketing in Asia Speaker Series 2012 will feature:
Partho Sen-Gupta, writer and director of the award-winning feature film Let the Wind Blow (Hava Aney Dey), will be speaking about his experiences of the Indian and international film industry, in particular focusing on financing and marketing the film and the many lessons he learnt as a result.
Ashish Sinha, Professor and Head, School of Marketing, will be speaking on the concept of the ‘vital few and trivial many’ and how the advent of alternative channels of distribution is radically changing the nature of Hollywood and Bollywood.
About Partho:
Partho Sen-Gupta was born in Mumbai, India where he started his career in 1984 as an apprentice in the art department in local film studios. In 1993, he was awarded a scholarship to study film direction at the FEMIS and in the following years, made four short films that took him to different European film festivals at which he won several awards.
After graduation, he wrote and directed his first feature film, Hava Aney Dey – Let the wind Blow’ that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival 2004. It was also selected by many other major international film festivals and won several awards. It screened at the MoMA in New York and the Guggenheim Museum in Berlin.
Partho’s second feature film, Arunoday (Sunrise), is slated to begin principal photography in Mumbai at the end of 2012. It has been selected at the Open Doors co-production market of the Locarno International film festival and the Pusan promotion plan co-production market. The film is an Indo-German coproduction.
He currently lives in Sydney.
About Ashish:
Ashish Sinha
Ashish Sinha — Professor and Head, School of Marketing, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia — obtained his PhD from University of Alberta, Canada. His major area of interest lies in developing models that help managers make better decisions.
He has consulted for many blue chip companies, including Kraft, Pepsico, Foster’s, P&G,Frito-Lays, Mckinsey Corporation and Campbell Soup Company. His work has appeared in journals such as Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Retailing and Marketing Letters, and he is also the recipient of several academic awards, including the Davidson Award for the Best Journal of Retailing Paper, Academy of Marketing Science Best Dissertation Award and AMA Best Market Research Paper Award. He is also a twice-finalist for the prestigious Gary Lilien Practice Award in recognition of his work in the areas of category management, assortment and disruptive innovation.
As a part of the Marketing in Asia Speaker Series 2012, James Parsons, MD of Flamingo Group Asia, will be presenting a lunch time talk on Branding in Asia, 2nd of October starting at 11:00 am. This event is open to students at the Australian School of Business, academics and industry professionals.
Summary:
Whilst the Western world has had at least 50 years to develop consumerism as we know it, the majority of the Asian markets have had nothing like as long. The role of brands and their communication in Western culture is at a mature stage. In Asia can the same be said? And how does this vary from India to China to Japan to the Philippines? This talk will suggest that issues of culture, media environment, psychology and others play a fundamental role in informing the significance of the brand construct. The implications for how brands and their progress are dealt with by brand guardians in Asia will be a fundamental part of the talk.
Bio:
James Parsons is Asia Managing Director of Flamingo, a consumer and cultural insight company with offices in Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo. He joined Flamingo in 1993 in London and moved in 2007 to Tokyo to set up Flamingo Tokyo. In Tokyo he developed business with multinationals including Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Nike and Allianz, relationships that have continued with his move to Singapore in 2011.
His work in Asia has taken him from delving into motherhood and laundry in the Philippines to ethnographic explorations of the diabetic patient experience in India to semiotic analysis of the notion of modernity as conveyed by toothpaste brands in China. His 20 years of experience – that have seen him research brands and the cultures they live in arcross North and South America, Africa, Europe and latterly, Asia, have convinced him that everyone is most certainly not the same wherever you go.
James lives in Singapore with his Japanese wife and 2 (bicultural )children.
Places are limited, so please register ASAP to secure your attendance by emailing Melissa at z3158178@unsw.edu.au
Cost: Free
Date: Tuesday, October 2nd 2012
Time: 11am – 1pm
Location: Boral room, AGSM building, UNSW
