How do you define innovation?
While the big 'i' word is forever associated with Steve Job’s 'One More Thing' moment, I do believe innovation is an approach that is ownable by anyone. Being innovative is having the drive to keep improving and the desire to challenge the conventional way. In my work, I’m always looking for newer, better, faster, and more cost-effective solutions to solve old problems for my clients that deliver similar or better results.

Most innovative comms/marketing campaign you’ve seen in the last 12 months?
Uber in Asia. A lot has been said about Uber around the world, but I’m most impressed by their speed and efficiency with their marketing as they expanded across Asia. Uber applies the same analytical approach on their marketing campaigns as they do with improving customer experience. This ensures that the learnings from the campaigns are shared, scaled and localized as Uber expands to new markets. Take #UberIceCream for example, it was first launched in 33 cities in 2013, and has been running successfully every summer since. As of this year, the campaign has taken place in over 400 cities around the world, and has truly become a shared cultural experience.

What brands and/or agencies are most innovative when it comes to marketing/PR?
In my opinion, marketing- and advertising-tech companies are the most innovative in marketing and communications. Solutions such as enterprise grade social media management tools, influencer marketing management software, holistic customer relationship management systems, automation and dashboarding have filled the gap left behind by brands and agencies and earned their share of the marketing budget. These solutions will continue to earn a bigger share as they become more mature and more effective. Agencies must become experts at utilizing these tools and integrating it into part of the service offering.

Describe a moment in your career that you would consider ‘innovative.’
In early 2014, I was tasked to support a piece of crisis communications work around food safety for a national government entity in Asia. Due to the sensitivity around the issue, we decided to build our own early crisis detection system based on social and news mentions. The system allowed our crisis team to have an early assessment on a range of issues that could potentially bubble up in real-time, and enabled us to plan for a response well ahead of an actual breakout.

In what area of marketing/PR do you see the most innovation?
Social media & online marketing.

How would you describe the communications/PR industry’s level of innovation?

Where do you see the greatest opportunity for marketing & PR to become more innovative?
Planning & analytics.

Who most influences how innovative a brand’s marketing/PR is?
CEO

Who is your mentor and why?
I’m fortunate to have been inspired by more than one mentor in my career. A shout out to Jackie Price for challenging the convention and not being afraid to go big, to Ged Carroll for his training and mentoring , to Jonathan Hughes and Zaheer Nooruddin on ‘Going All In’ and last but not least, to the 2015 NA Innovator 25 Luke Peterson, whom I had a great pleasure working with.

How do you find inspiration?
I always find that the best way to be inspired is to immerse yourself in culture and unique experiences. In my field, I find the best source of inspiration is by engaging with the likes of subject matter experts, the end users, and the frontline customer service. I feel that these conversations make the data and insights come alive.

Advice for people seeking to bring new ideas, ways of doing things to their organizations?
In part attributed to my training in IT, I always encourage my team to look for smarter ways to solve a problem and develop scalable and repeatable processes in our approach. Just because something has been done one way for a long time, it doesn’t mean it is the best way.

In your opinion, what’s the most innovative place in the world?