Alumni stories

Kenneth Chia

Senior Marketing Officer, Meiyume

“The only way out is through” – Robert Frost.

This quote guided me through my toughest days at Monash University, and most days at work. 

I am Kenneth Chia, a graduate of Monash University and now a marketer.

My passion for marketing came naturally. Although I didn’t know for sure that I would become a marketer when I was younger, my interests and hobbies have always been aligned with the creative, the unknown, and pitching myself and ideas. I believe that’s the reason marketing was so appealing; a field where discovery and exploration is an ongoing process. I remember questioning how some businesses must have a ‘special power’ to convince and persuade the general public to purchase and use their products or services, especially companies that became market leaders including Google, Facebook, and Disney.

My journey began with a diploma in business where I majored in entrepreneurship at Ngee Ann Polytechnic (a major in entrepreneurship) in Singapore in hopes of starting my own business that would influence others. However, it is only when I was enrolled in Monash University that I chose to major in marketing. I believe that the key to influencing others is based on possessing fundamental and applicable knowledge complimented by a true understanding of marketing concepts and applications.

University life

As with life, the journey is always full of ups and downs… and my university education had a rocky start.

When I first touched down in Melbourne, I was greeted with a leaking ceiling at my student housing. Nevertheless, my family and I still went about cleaning up the mess, booking a repairman to fix the leak then out to do the mandatory pre-uni shopping. However, after seeing my family off at the airport, I came back to an apartment only to find it drenched with dirty water. Apparently, the repairman accidentally hit the sprinkler while fixing the initial leak!

Being alone in a foreign country with a dirty apartment and wet personal belongings on a Friday night was no fun. I was devastated. To make matters worse, my internet had connectivity issues… it was a nightmare!

Fortunately, things gradually became better and before I knew it, I was having the time of my life. Looking back, I would say that my Monash days are one of the best!

I joined the Singapore Association Society (SAS), Campus Christian Movement (CCM), and Monash gym, where I made awesome friends and formed a sense of belonging within these various communities. As I progressed through my projects and lectures, I became more involved and invested during my time at Monash – becoming the committee member for SAS and CCM where I was the Public Relations Director and Vice President, respectively.

A few months before I approached my final semester, I chose the Marketing Internship as my Capstone unit, and I’m glad I did.

After an interview for the Marketing Internship unit, I was selected to be part of the program that was led by Jane Carroll, someone who was significant in a pivotal moment of my life – from a student to a working adult.

Marketing Internship

Thankfully, with Jane’s guidance and support, I secured the position of a ‘Marketing Coordinator’ at InterContinental Melbourne: The Rialto (IMTR) where I spent my last semester semi-interning while concluding my degree. Interning at IMTR was intense and at times overwhelming. This was my first time in the hospitality industry, and whilst juggling between my school assignments and work, this new experience definitely had some grim moments!

However, my direct manager was a quintessential role model and under her supervision, she provided the mentorship which laid the groundwork for my career.

“Always make sure you are presentable before stepping out of the office”, this one sentence surprisingly stuck with me as I soon realised that it’s the little things that count.

Interning within the hospitality industry certainly had its perks; the opportunity to dabble in many aspects of marketing, the dapper lifestyle, occasional free alcohol from celebrations and photoshoots, and even a complimentary stay…for work-related purposes of course!

However, it was here where I learned a breadth of marketing skills including copywriting, videography and photography editing, social media campaign management, Google ads, graphic design, whilst also attending many meetings. Despite being new to the workforce, I discovered the disparity in my textbook knowledge of marketing and ‘real world’ marketing which made me realize the value of having working experience.
This is what I believe internships are for, a gateway into the corporate world to taste and learn the essence of working in your desired profession. Thank-you Monash University and IMTR for the memorable and valuable experience.

My first full-time job

With the good word from my superiors, I received a call from Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong (HISK) for an interview. Hooray! This interview, coupled with the fact that I was given the privilege to plan and execute my sister’s wedding the following month, was the reason I ended my chapter in Australia and headed back home. Although I really miss Melbourne whilst reminiscing, it was the right decision to move home especially given that 6 months later the COVID-19 pandemic began its global tour!

As I reached the end of my internship and university education, it dawned upon me that I’m now a full-fledged adult. I wasn’t that thrilled. HISK officially launched me into the working world and those first 24 months had a steep learning curve, albeit with great opportunities.

After working for four months, my direct manager quit, leaving me alone in the marketing department to handle two hotels and one restaurant. The pandemic disrupted the hospitality industry which delayed the hiring process. This forced me to become accustomed to the workload, I remained alone, single-handedly managing all marketing duties for the next 20 months.

Although I had tremendous support from my Area Director of Sales and Marketing, I’m not going to lie, it was brutal and challenging!

The silver lining – this was an opportunity of a lifetime with valuable experiences.

I managed to hone and learn new skills in social media management (handling six accounts), copywriting, graphic design, photography and videography, partnerships, budgeting, campaign and project management, and strategic planning. Many of these skills were learned on the job; this made me realize that learning never ends, it’s mandatory!

Change

If I had to choose one word for 2021, it would be ‘CHANGE’. In the midst of changing my career path, my family and I bought a house. Whilst liaising with contractors for renovations, I took up a mentorship program at Hatch, where I mentored an aspiring digital marketing student for 10 weeks. Prior to that, I made the decision to certify myself as a personal trainer and successfully attained the NCSF certificate. It was a hectic period, I remember having an interview during the day of shifting. But now here I am, in my current role as a Senior Marketing Officer at Meiyume. It was another huge change as this is also a different industry with vastly new job responsibilities. My focus in this position is on B2B rather than B2C marketing.

Ironically enough, I have found myself in yet another independent role where I’m spearheading the global marketing activities for one of three key divisions of Meiyume – Retail Solutions, assisting the global team in transformative solutions for retailers and brands in beauty cosmetics, skincare, fragrances, electronics, and wines and spirits.

With my breadth of marketing experience, alongside the trust and guidance from my senior director, this places me into the depths of yet a greater marketing challenge, with a large focus on higher responsibility tasks including: The overarching marketing strategy, to enhance the value proposition, create new capabilities frameworks, conceptualize the website content, conduct SEO site audits and conduct in-depth SEO research. This is a fresh change with higher stakes…but as the saying goes, “diamonds are made under pressure” (Maybe being a diamond trader should be my next career move).

A key difference I really like about B2B marketing compared to B2C, is that it is slower in pace and targeted towards a rationally-driven niche market, allowing me to focus on achieving pristine quality with adequate time for in-depth research. That’s not to say B2C marketing doesn’t allow that. Time is of the essence with B2C marketing due to its large-scale and emotionally-driven markets that are typically accompanied by tedious and time-consuming operational tasks including replying to social media comments, changing food menus, designing tactical campaign posters etc.

Having said that, I understand it is hard to compare both B2B and B2C within my short working experiences and personal journey whilst often working alone.

Conversation with the past

If I had the opportunity to speak to 17-year-old me, I’d tell him to ‘follow your dreams’…just kidding! It would be to take more risks, enjoy the process even when often it leads to failure, hoping that there’ll be more failures in order to learn from those mistakes whilst actively being more present in the moment. Taking things slowly truly has a beautiful elegance to it as that’s where you introspect and improve. Another piece of advice to young me would be to embrace the social and emotional spirit, and not place intelligence or competency on a pedestal. From my humble observation, I believe that the key to success in life is learning how to control your emotions whilst successfully dealing with people from diverse backgrounds.

Where to next?

Overall, I’m really grateful to have chosen Monash for my Bachelor’s degree as it helped to establish my narrative and opened the doors to many golden opportunities. As can be seen from the timeline below, the journey I’ve experienced is not set in stone. Although I am still figuring things out like most people in their mid-twenties, I believe that exposure, a spirit of excellence, curiosity and the willingness to try new things are elements that will underlie my career moving forward. The unknown is thrilling, and I simply cannot wait to uncover more of life while learning along the way.

(Just realised this looks a little like a heartbeat signal; Also, the vertexes are not representative of the actual ‘ups’ and ‘downs’, but rather, to signify that life isn’t a straight line)

Before I end off, I would like to share this meaningful quote with you: “Success is never owned, it is rented, and the rent is due every day” – Robert Rodriguez Jr.

Thank you MMSS for providing me with the opportunity to summarise my journey and share it with all of you.