Jean Ng — Creative Group Head of Copy, SapientRazorfish Hong Kong
Jean talks to TheNextGag about the benefits of mentoring, adapting global work for Hong Kong, how collaboration leads to great work, becoming a creative group head and work-life balance.
Jean Ng is the Creative Group Head of Copy at SapientRazorfish Hong Kong in China.
In May of 2015, Jean joined SapientRazorfish Hong Kong as Creative Group Head/Copy, overseeing both English and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) copywriting. Jean is passionate about the challenge to create tailor made copy and campaigns for her clients. However, she is equally driven in doing her work filled with enthusiasm, endurance and a good portion of self-discipline. She is well known for her belief in ‘leading by example’. With this attitude of delivering the highest quality work, she was able to secure new clients such as Estée Lauder in December the same year, and build relationships with existing clients.
Besides delivering work and results, she is convinced about leading and managing her team through a mentorship system, which she’s passionate driving in today’s agency culture. She conducted company-wide trainings: TV-Back to Basics (TV Production) in November 2015; and Get Floored (Writing & Presentation) in May 2016. The next training is already in the works.
Jean Ng, a Malaysian national, has chosen the path as a copywriter after graduating from University Missouri-Columbia, USA, with a Bachelor in Journalism, majoring in advertising.
During her studies, she was confronted with life’s everyday challenges. She was a fulltime journalism student and working early mornings (university cafeteria) as well as late nights (IPI Journalism Magazine and VOX Magazine) to support her own living. Looking back, she feels that that was a time of great value, helping her in her onward career. Shortly after graduation, Jean returned to Asia to join JAS Brand & Communications Pte Ltd, Singapore. At that time, her job encompassed graphic design and English copywriting, where she clearly discovered a preference for the latter.
She then was discovered by Dentsu, Young and Rubicam Hong Kong, and was employed as the designated copywriter for their key accounts: Citibank, P&G, Sony and Huawei. Her expertise was able to bear more fruit, and her passion for writing continued to grow. She was then appointed by TBWA as the English copywriter for Standard Chartered Bank, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts (Global), Swire Hotels, Adidas and ORBIS. Her work for Shangri-La and ORBIS won several KAM FAN awards. Jean’s tenure at TBWA marked an important milestone in her professional life.
Jean was also directly involved in the agency’s CSR program called Room 13. This is an initiative to give students from low-income families at the Fresh Fish Traders’ School opportunities to flex their creative imagination. She raised funds through art and handicraft exhibitions, as well as conducted art workshops to support this program and to inspire the children.
After 6 years, she was approached by Publicis Hong Kong with an offer to join them. She was given the opportunity to build the agency’s key and regional client businesses — Marriott International Hotels, AXA, BNP Paribas, Citibank and Nestle.
In 2011, she co-operated with the International Technological University in San Jose, USA, to write a 16-webisode series for their English program curriculum for working adults in China.
Jean believes that advertising has been very much misunderstood, even amongst people in industry itself. It’s not just about innovation. It’s not just about grand ideas. It’s about making powerful connections with the audience through innovation and ideas. It’s also about educating clients about the possibilities by elevating our own standards.
Jean epitomizes creativity, integrity, energy, team spirit, hard work and attention to detail. In her own time, Jean cooks and runs, as well as sings in a band. She is also a woman with a devotion to God.
THENEXTAG: IS THERE AN AD CAMPAIGN THAT YOU SAW THIS YEAR THAT YOU REALLY ENJOYED ?
JEAN NG: Ask me again in a few months. But a handful of work from South Africa in 2016 did catch my attention. One example is the Operation 45 campaign.
TNG: WOULD YOU SAY THAT HONG KONG IS A CREATIVE PLACE FOR ADVERTISING ?
JN: There’s potential everywhere. The challenge is often the people’s mindset, their values and their will power.
I believe that advertising has been very much misunderstood, even amongst people in the industry itself. It’s not just about innovation. It’s not just about grand ideas. It’s about making powerful connections with the audience through innovation and ideas. It’s also about educating clients about the possibilities by elevating our own standards.
TNG: DO GLOBAL CAMPAIGNS PERFORM WELL IN HONG KONG OR DO YOU NEED TO ADAPT THEM TO LOCAL TASTES ?
JN: We are in the business of communication. Good communication is taking the unrelatable and turning it into something the audience can relate to or resonate towards.
I applaud brands that make the extra effort and investment to communicate and connect with their customers by adapting global campaigns to local flavors. Cultural sensitivity shows understanding, creativity and commitment on the part of the brand.
As a creative, I look forward to such challenges.
TNG: CAN YOU SHARE WITH US HOW YOUR CAMPAIGN FOR THE HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD CAME TOGETHER ?
JN: The Hong Kong Tourism Board ‘I Never Knew’ campaign was a social-first, UCG campaign that placed the power in the hands of the public. The objective was to get Asian tourists to recommend Hong Kong as a repeat travel destination. Over the course of the campaign, we inspired Hong Kongers, and millions of visitors, to share what millions more in and outside of Hong Kong never knew about the city–the food, underground bars, local designers and many more–through mobile and social.
This initiative was also a fine example of great collaboration between every member of the creative, account servicing, project management and tech teams. No egos, just the goal to create stellar work to blow the client away.
From shooting videos to creating assets for the website and social channels, UGC moderation and much more, every creative team member pitched in relentlessly and joyfully. Everyone dove headfirst into the unknown but came out with the priceless knowledge that we will always have each other’s back.
The HKTB clients never knew it was possible to achieve what we did for them until they saw the way we worked, the amazing results and the awards that followed. In just 4 weeks, our audience responded brilliantly to our efforts with 5 million video views, 4.2 million visits to the campaign site and over 10,000 UGC stories. The industry also recognized our hard work by awarding us the Marketing Excellence Gold Award for Excellence In Travel And Hospitality Marketing.
TNG: HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHIFT THE GENERAL PERCEPTION ABOUT HONG KONG ?
JN: Hong Kong is a wealthy city in terms of geography, local talent and its unique history. In every nook and cranny of this 1,104 km2 piece of land are hidden treasures, untold stories and experiences waiting to be unveiled — as told through our Hong Kong Tourism Board ‘I Never Knew’ campaign. So, Hong Kongers have a lot to be proud of.
I’ve called Hong Kong home for the last 16 years. I did a lot of growing up here. I found the love of my life here. I accomplished many things I never thought I would and could do here. Hong Kong does have its very own way of transforming and molding you… bringing out the best in people. But I believe the desire of wanting to change has to come from within. And whatever life throws at us, let’s face it with grace, grit and good humor.
TNG: WHAT ARE THE SPECIFICITIES OF WORKING ON A BEAUTY BRAND LIKE ESTÉE LAUDER OR CLINIQUE VERSUS A REGULAR BRAND ?
JN: In my book, there’s no such thing as a regular person. With that said, no brand is a regular brand. Every person, every brand, every product… has a story to tell. And it’s our job as creatives to find those stories, and tell them in a way that our audience will resonate with, find interesting / fresh and want to share.
Very often, people focus on the end result. I do believe that the process of getting to the finish line is just as important.
TNG: WHAT IS THE WORK THAT YOU DID THAT YOU ARE THE MOST PROUD OF ?
JN: I’m most proud of the work I create with my team. Very often, people focus on the end result. I do believe that the process of getting to the finish line is just as important.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES IN YOUR DAY-TO-DAY NOW THAT YOU ARE A CREATIVE GROUP HEAD FROM WHEN YOU WERE A COPYWRITER ?
JN: I interact with clients a lot more. I enjoy this part of my job very much. Every meeting or phone call is an opportunity to show off SapientRazorfish’s capabilities — the people, what we’ve achieved and the unique way we work — and to help clients solve a problem. As more and more people in our industry cross over to the client side, it has become increasingly frequent that I am presenting to a former colleague or supervisor. There’s never a dull moment in this office.
It’s also more about the team, and less about me. Which is why, I spend more time observing, listening to others and reflecting, as well as creating a fairer environment to work. I try to offer my team different kinds of support. When you work so closely and spend so much time together, you are no longer only a colleague, but also a friend, a confidant and sometimes a sister. When we trust each other, we do better work together.
Whenever possible, I extend to them the kinds of opportunities given to me that helped propel my career. For example: lead a project, go on a shoot, present to a client or put forward their ideas. I also know my team appreciates good, honest conversations. If you’re not genuine, people will see right through you.
I am very thankful that I work with a team of talented people. They make my job easier. They keep me honest. They inspire me with their ideas, energy and smiles. They make me want to work harder for them.
As a side note, I walk into the agency each day, reminding myself of these. It is about significance and not just success.
- Be a role model
- Humility goes a long way
- His grace is sufficient for me
- There’s a song for every situation
TNG: DO YOU FIND IT IMPORTANT TO SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH OTHERW VIA FORMAL TRAININGS AND MENTORING INITIATIVES ?
JN: Yes. Training is very important. In fact, all companies should invest more in trainings, at all levels. Also, I’ve had amazing mentors. This ECD that I worked with not too long ago comes to mind. Every time he writes or presents, my jaw would drop in awe. My eyes would pop out of the socket. I would hit myself so hard in the head for not coming up with the line or idea first.
When it comes to training, I personally don’t like in being stuck in a dark room staring at a Powerpoint presentation, listening to someone speak for hours. I prefer the practical and not so much the theory side of things. I also prefer to share real examples — the good and the bad, the big budget projects and the no budget ones.
I run some trainings — production processes, creative writing / story telling and presentations — all based on real work, and sharing my own experiences with the entire agency and the team. The goal of the sharing is to show that we are all vulnerable, we are indeed human and we can have fun getting to the finish line working together.
Everyday communication is also a form of training and mentoring. No textbook in any course could ever prepare you for a life as a creative. Ours is a living, breathing and ever-changing industry. Those of us who’ve chosen this path do not expect things to stay constant or use the same formula for every project.
With all due respect to my professors at University of Missouri-Columbia (who were advertising veterans, passionate journalists and law makers), I learnt so much from shadowing creative directors; being yelled at by clients; observing life and daydreaming; reading biographies, science fictions and thrillers; drawing inspiration from Maya Angelou, Meryl Streep as well as the Tony Awards. And even throwing myself into the deep end, like writing a 16-webisode series for the English program curriculum for working adults in China for the International Technological University in San Jose, USA — it was something I hadn’t done before.
My parents also played an integral part in my training to becoming a creative. I want to thank my mom and dad — who are the loudest, funniest, most strong-headed people I know. They listed all the reasons why I shouldn’t pursue a career in advertising, and taught me everything I know about drama.
TNG: CAN YOU TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH ROOM 13 ?
JN: ROOM 13 is a CSR program here in Hong Kong. This is an initiative that offers students from low-income families at the Fresh Fish Traders’ School, Hong Kong opportunities to flex their creative imagination.
During my tenure with another Hong Kong agency, we launched the program, raised funds through art and handicraft exhibitions, as well as conducted art workshops to support this program and to inspire more children. The art pieces created by the children were also sold as part of a charity event. We even turned the creations into Chinese New Year greeting cards.
TNG: DO YOU BELIEVE IN WORK-LIFE BALANCE ? WHAT DO YOU DO TO ACHIEVE THAT ?
JN: Work-life balance. We certainly talk about it a lot here in Hong Kong. But most people will tell you that they don’t experience it in this city. In fact, people leave Hong Kong to pursue work-life balance. They’ll say something like, “I’m moving to / I’m moving back to (fill in the blank) because work-life balance is better there.”
I believe that work is life and life is work. You don’t endure nine hours of work and wait to have a life after that. Work has inherent dignity. Work is a good thing. Plus, the kind of work we do (advertising) is about people — their experiences, connections, journeys and behaviors. All this is life.
There is something better than pursuing balance. Because you can’t evaluate your priorities based on the amount of time you spend doing something. If that is the case, it would mean that most of us like sleeping. And most of us hate eating.
For me, balance isn’t the goal. The goal is to do things while balanced. In other words, it’s what you do with your balance while doing your life — your job, vacation, family, friends, hobbies, diet and exercise.
Jean Ng
Creative Group Head of Copy
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