Dr. Sam Lam, Managing Director of Advertising for China Daily (Hong Kong).

HKIM Individual Member - Dr. Sam Lam (SHKIM)

Interview: Ken Cheung, Derek Ng Text: Ken Cheung

In this exclusive interview, Dr. Sam Lam, Senior Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Marketing and Managing

Director (Advertising) for China Daily (Hong Kong) brings Ken Cheung and Derek Ng up to speed on the accelerating integration of digital and traditional non-digital advertising media.

Business trips can be tiring and stressful. But some manage to get through them and make it a fun and exciting experience. "Going on a business trip to Shanghai is just a chance for me to try out the steamed dumplings. But if I am re-assigned to Beijing tomorrow, I must try the Peking duck at once", said Dr. Sam Lam, Senior Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Marketing.

There are many ways to kill waiting time at places like the airport or train station. Some close their eyes and take a rest, while some play electronic games or listen to music. In his student days, Dr. Lam made full use of his time and read to work on his master's and doctorate degrees.

Dr. Lam worked for Tom.com in his early years. He has more than 10 years experience in outdoor advertising and has been engaged in large-scale brand building projects for a number of sizeable enterprises. In recent years, he has served as the Managing Director (Advertising) for China Daily (Hong Kong), responsible for advertising in traditional media. Amid controversies over the phasing out of traditional media, he points out that digital technology

and non-digital media are complementary, not mutually exclusive, the integration of which will create synergies as a result.

Mega brand = billboard in Victoria Harbour?

"People tend to identify megabrands in Hong Kong with large-scale neon light billboards displayed on both sides of Victoria Harbour", said Dr. Lam. He explained that as high costs are involved in outdoor advertising, these

supersize billboards are effective in establishing a company's position and corporate image.

In this digital era, outdoor advertising is no longer monotonous. "An audio and visual TV commercial can be broadcast on the walls of the building. Outdoor advertising is not just for brand building, but for strategic marketing as well", he said.

Outdoor advertising in the PRC makes a slow start but grows speedily

He observed, "Outdooradvertising in the PRC can be quite sizeable and placed in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, followed by second-tier cities like Dalian, Tianjin, Chengdu and Chongqing, and then the third-tier cities like Chengdu to create a ripple effect," adding, "Hong Kong is a city where outdoor advertising is concentrated in CBD, Gloucester Road, TST and Central in a more intensive manner", he added.

Developmental dynamics

Commenting on the speedy development of outdoor advertising in the PRC, Dr. Lam attributes it to a large extent to the friendly competition between the first-tier and second-tier cities. In addition, specific products and services contributed to the developmental dynamics of outdoor advertising: "In Hong Kong, the focus of advertising was placed on TV or radio stations before 1997; while the electronic media development in the PRC was still at a preliminary stage. As cigarette advertising on TV was banned in the early 90s in the PRC, cigarette manufacturers became the guinea pigs to open up the outdoor advertising market in the PRC", he explained.

"First-tier cities like Shenzhen and Shanghai are pioneers of outdoor advertising. In the mid 90s, Beijing was also opened for entry. We then saw replication in second-tier cities given the profits made in the major cities", he said. This is how outdoor advertising media have found its way throughout China.

Traditional media not dead yet

While many are worried that traditional media will be phased out with the development of digital media, Dr. Lam holds another viewpoint. "Traditional media have their own unique values. Like newspapers, they can be preserved and circulated; while TV media can express a deeper vision of reality, outdoor advertising can basically deliver the message in 3 seconds", he said.

A taste of ice sweets to pursue advertising

Speaking of a job he had in Beijing years ago, he said, "One day, I boldly asked my Managing Director for a day's leave to hang out in Beijing. I visited Tiananmen Square and tried the ice sweets", said Dr. Lam. After that, he discovered that he could travel around when going on a business trip and decided to pursue his career in PR and advertising.

Subsequently, he joined the advertising agency Leo Burnett working for Marlboro where he could travel to more than 20 cities for work and then first set foot in the world of outdoor advertising media.

Station in Shanghai taken as a steamed dumpling tryout

In 1994, Dr. Lam was head-hunted by Bates Advertising to formulate advertising strategies for UK and US-based cigarette manufacturers, where he was appointed to establish the outdoor media department for Zenithmedia, another company under the Group.

"I'm fine with frequent business trips. Like today, for example, I'm going to Shanghai for work and I'll take it as a chance to try out the steamed dumplings. If I'm traveling to Beijing, I'll take it as a chance to try out the Peking duck. Going on a business trip is actually a fun experience."

Recognition of abilities

At that time, the global advertising market of the UK- and US-based cigarette manufacturers were dominated by Portland; whereas the PRC market was exclusively monopolized by Zenithmedia. Accordingly, the Chairman of Portland flew to Hong Kong and convinced Dr. Lam in person to join his team in 1996.

"He entreated me to join his team and mentioned that I would be exposed to many overseas working opportunities apart from China. It felt just right for me", he said. Dr. Lam then joined his company and served as General Manager of the Asia-Pacific Region in 1996.

"In 2000, I was approached by a headhunter to work as a consultant responsible for identifying senior management positions for communications and media firms and won a number of awards like "Going gets tough" Asia Award and the Integrative Selling Winner of the Hong Kong Office in 2000", he continued.

Acquisition expert upon dot-com bubble

Upon the bursting of the dotcom bubble, he joined Tom.com and actively acquired traditional media and utilized his extensive experience in outdoor media industry within the 8 years service.

"As I had to screen the media in China for acquisition or merger purposes, I visited almost all coastal areas and key cities in China and completed my master's and doctorate degrees along the way", he added.

Jumping to China Daily to spend more time with family

Dr. Lam told us that he knew his wife before pursuing his advertising career. He has two daughters. One is just a few years old and the other is sitting for her A-Levels. So he is thinking about whether he should spend more time with his family.

Finally, he jumped to China Daily (Hong Kong) so that he could spend more time with his family in Hong Kong. As Dr. Lam notes, China Daily is the only PRC-based official English newspaper distributed in Hong Kong with a global exposure. Delighted to be part of its team, he thinks that the paper has a strong sense of mission, a commitment to objectivity and a focus on balanced reporting.

Seeking appropriate successors to carry the flame

In addition to his gratifying job and family, he also spends his leisure time teaching at the continuing education institution in his alma mater, the Baptist University of Hong Kong to nurture his successors to create a flourishing advertising industry.

(HK Edition 12/31/2009 page3)