The inaugural Nanyang Business School Alumni Breakfast Talk draws crowds with its stellar cast of speakers from the marketing and media fields.

Their mornings may never be the same again. The Nanyang Business School (NBS) alumni who attended an Alumni Breakfast Talk got acquainted to social media, although not without the help of some coffee and pastries.

The Breakfast Talk was the first such event held by the Nanyang Business School Alumni Association (NBSAA) in partnership with Nanyang MBA Alumni Association (MBAAA). A sold-out event, it was sponsored by SAS. 

Field experts
The Alumni Breakfast Talk drew crowds with its stellar cast of speakers. Among them was veteran media man, the former Editor-in-Chief of Singapore Press Holdings, Mr Peter Lim, who is also the helmsman of the book Chronicle of Singapore. Mr Lim is now Writer and Media Consultant of Plim HL, Singapore. 

He was joined by SAS technology guru, Mr Luke Soon; Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide Associate Director (Ogilvy 360o Digital Influence) Mr Shalu Wasu; and Google AdWords Singapore Account Manager Ms Nagalakshmi V.

Of campaigns, connection and integration
Backed by his 33 years of experience, Mr Lim, formerly from the Straits Times Press group, shed light on how feelings and connections must be established between the marketer and the target audience. That in essence was why some campaigns worked and some didn’t, he added.

Social media may offer businesses an efficient marketing tool, but it can just as easily deliver a blow to business or individuals if the marketing campaigns were not well managed.

Mr Soon, the second speaker and Principal (Customer Intelligence) of SAS Asia Pacific, shared how marketers can be empowered with data and analytics to deliver the right campaign at the right time to the right group of audience and markets. Even the choice of key words used could make or break a marketing campaign. 

Given that we live in a world of fast-moving online interactivities that offer businesses different angles and concerns, Mr Shalu titled his presentation thus: “I Cannot Create a Social Media Strategy for You”. Mr Shalu cautioned that the advent of technology had made it impossible to develop a static strategy when addressing tactical yet targeted messages aimed at influencing customers’ buying decisions. He suggested instead a nimble approach, incorporating social media across the strategic mission and vision of one’s company and integrating it into daily action plans and operational strategies.

Touching on blogs, website and Facebook accounts, Ms Nagalakshmi V stressed that these can be tapped to reach out to audiences from around the globe. To make a point, she related the development of her own blog, contents and how with only a few clicks of the tools from Google, she was able to track useful information like the number of views in a day, origins of visitors to her blog, and even how they found out about her site.

Other uses of social media
Following the presentations, Questions & Answer session ensued. Moderated by Mr Jon Chin, Managing Director & Head (Digital Strategy) of ClickMedia, the questions came fast and furious.

Some wanted to know how the ruling party and the opposition can tap social media to reach out to the voters in Singapore’s coming general elections. There were also those who wanted to learn how social media can be utilised in healthcare while taking legal obligations into consideration.

The inaugural Alumni Breakfast Talk was hosted by NBSAA’s 2nd Vice-President, Mr Andrew Tan (NBS/Class of 2001) and owner of atomi private limited. NBSAA President, Mr Sarjit Singh, also graced the ecent along with SAS’ Managing Director, Mr Bill Lee. Both set the stage for the Breakfast Talk when they shared on social media statistics, as well as consumers’ daily spending patterns and behaviour.

The inaugural Alumni Breakfast Talk was held at Lawry’s The Prime Ribs Singapore, Mandarin Gallery, located in the heart of Orchard Road.

© Nanyang Business School Alumni Association & Nanyang MBA Alumni Association