This PR guru’s a big reason why Singaporeans love their international fashion brands
If you have read news almost international brands such as Alexander McQueen, Boucheron, Diageo or Loewe in Singapore'south media recently, chances are that PR veteran Tay Liam Sze had a part to play in this.
The 53-yr-onetime is the managing partner of one of Singapore'due south virtually prominent luxury and fashion PR agencies, Directions Group Inc.
These are just some of the international clients that the well-regarded communications and strategy firm represents in the country.
"Our forcefulness is in providing an end-to-end solution – from marketing and communications to being able to accomplish out to and appoint direct with the terminate consumer – as nosotros help build make equity for some of these brands," said Tay.
From a one woman show in her earliest days, she now runs a company with 20 employees, of which 75 per cent are permanent staff.
Tay had started every bit the founder and possessor of boutique marketing communications visitor Bridge Cavenagh & Co, which in 2014, merged with Directions and luxury event specialist Kitch Event Concepts to grade Directions Grouping Inc.
This merger, Tay reflected, created an integrated communications agency that plays up the strengths of the iii founders to maximum effect.
Its spectrum of clients in luxury, fashion, retail, beauty, lifestyle, hospitality and F&B work with them to arts and crafts business strategies, cutting border digital campaigns and even exclusive events that appeal and cater to the local market.
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But while life in the glam lane may announced to be all about designer duds, fancy facials and swanky soirees (in the pre-pandemic days), Tay's feet are firmly planted on the ground.
Professing her love for the field of marketing communications, she says information technology is her work with local firms prior to founding her ain bureau that has truly helped her refine and hone her craft.
While she has over 20 years of experience in various industries, she pointed to her time as head of marketing for Sincere Scout Limited, where she spearheaded the strategic plan to raise the brand'south visibility and profile, as one of the most formative periods of her career.
"Sincere is a local name so a lot of things were built from scratch from the marketing campaigns to the stories that we told. Many of the independent luxury watch brands nosotros represented such as Franck Muller and A Lange & Sohne were not actually known to the local market place and then so that gave me a lot of opportunity to work with the make owners to establish them here," she said.
Her efforts contributed to Sincere Sentinel Express winning various accolades such as The Nigh Valuable Make Award past IE.
Doing luxury communications is very specialised and the client must feel that they are placing their make in good hands and that at that place is a level of chemical science and trust.
Following her time at Sincere Lookout man Limited, she returned to a corporate banking concern job but ultimately decided she wanted a job which she could take ownership of.
"Honestly, running my own business organisation was non something I dreamt of only I felt I needed to do something that gives me more motivation and inspiration. I was also at a juncture in my life where the kids were starting to go to school and I wanted to have ownership of my time," said Tay.
And then, she decided to return to her truthful calling by launching Bridge Cavenagh & Co in 2008. It took her a year to get her large suspension when she clinched Burberry every bit a client. "I did not have any luxury fashion experience at that point," she recalled candidly. "But afterwards that commencement coming together, I was awarded the business relationship."
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The key to acing a meeting, Tay said, is to do sufficient prior research. "Detect out what their needs are and ask the correct questions to discover the problems you lot need to solve for them. Doing luxury communications is very specialised and the customer must feel that they are placing their brand in adept easily and that at that place is a level of chemistry and trust," she said.
Tay says the by year has been i of the nigh challenging to weather with global lockdowns and travel restrictions having impacted business. With its events arm significantly afflicted by social distancing requirements, nearly half of the company'southward business concern "technically disappeared", she said.
So, the company focused on using its reserves to tide itself through this menses and worked swiftly to pivot to meet the new needs of its clients.
Y'all need to honey what you do to thrive in it and know that you will merely get improve with time and experience.
"COVID-nineteen was a much needed impetus to push anybody forward to go digital in order to find new ways of connecting brand partners with customers. And with edge closures, brands that did not have local operations saw the need to have us on board. We often had to go the extra mile to help clients reconnect with their clients," said Tay.
Fortunately, a "great percentage" of Directions' portfolio of partners remained with them, she added.
This purposeful hustle is an essential attribute that anyone trying to interruption into luxury PR should equip themselves with.
"Marketing communications is a very deadline driven function and nosotros are constantly fighting to become things done. Besides good writing skills and having a developable interest in a subject affair, one needs to hone skills in fourth dimension, project and people management to become what y'all need on time and exercise your task well. Y'all demand to love what y'all practice to thrive in it and know that you lot will only become better with time and feel," she said.
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The satisfaction though, can exist very rewarding. "For us, the goal is to ultimately get the story out, hear people talking about it and responding to it. From an events perspective, building up to an event tin can exist and then painful but seeing attendees enjoy themselves – it is near like childbirth," she added with a chuckle.
Speaking of motherhood, she said candidly that striking a work-life residue with her children, who are now 19 and 21, did non really exist. "I did miss out a lot of the kids' childhood in the early on years of working but I have a proficient back up system in terms of my mother, a skillful helper and an entourage of siblings, aunties and uncles that helped to dote on and entertain them," she said.
Now, my goal is to support them in what they want to practise in their lives and help them make decisions.
Instead, she would brand time to go on long holidays with the children where she could put her work bated for and focus on total fourth dimension mothering during vacations. And now that the kids are grown up – one is in academy while the other is serving national service, priorities have once over again shifted. "Now, my goal is to support them in what they want to exercise in their lives and help them brand decisions," she said.
While family getaways remain a cherished memory, unlike many people who are busy dreaming of where they will fly to when restrictions elevator, Tay'south vision is firmly assail the present.
She said, "I don't desire to waste my fourth dimension thinking of my next holiday, instead I am spending my time usefully strategising virtually what to practice finer and productively in this continuing pandemic state of affairs."
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/style/singapore-fashion-luxury-directions-tay-liam-sze-pr-marketing-235326
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