The Spaceship, in Sydney, Australia, won five Gold Stevie® Awards in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards: two in the Corporate Communications/Investor Relations/Public Relations Awards categories, for Innovation in the Use of Celebrities or Public Figures and for Innovation in the Use of Video; and three in the Marketing Awards categories, for Innovation in Branded Entertainment, for Innovation in Sponsorships, and for Most Innovative Marketing or Advertising Professional of the Year.

The 2017 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards will open for entries in October. 

Request your Entry Kit here.

We spoke with 2016’s Most Innovative Marketing or Advertising Professional, Kumar Manix, Founder and Creative Director of The Spaceship, about his company, his work philosophy, and what winning multiple Gold Stevie® Awards has meant to him and his team.

Kumar and his team at The Spaceship specialize in blending the creative and the commercial with an entrepreneurial flair, and bring to each project a deep level of strategic thinking and industry knowledge honed by years of experience working with blue chip brands.

The Spaceship team is talented and highly motivated, and they approach campaigns with a provocative and adventurous spirit, as well as a strong sense of fun, but are still relentless in achieving demonstrable results for their clients.

Kumar told us that winning in the Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards has been great for his team and his clients. “We take great pride in our work,” he told us. “We celebrate our success at the Stevie Awards and it is something each of us will hold close to our heart. Our clients also get to share in the win and it allows them to shine amongst their peers.”

Transforming Customers into Fans

Together with his team at The Spaceship, Kumar’s goal is to find innovative and inspiring ways to transform customers into fans, content into ideas, and ideas into experiences. 

A great example of this is the Gold Stevie® Award-winning entry for their Rise of The Tomb Raider Asia Launch.

Tomb Raider is the iconic video game franchise starring its beautiful and fearless protagonist, Lara Croft, battling enemies through highly challenging environments using improvised weapons and gadgets. The exclusive launch of Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox made the event a natural magnet for worldwide attention, Xbox sought to elevate the game experience even further by bringing Lara Croft herself to life for fans in Asia.

The Spaceship team created and executed a clever stunt-led idea that developed into an all-encompassing, fan-focused campaign. It started with a death-defying stunt, and continued with fun interactive contests using Twitch, the leading video platform and community for gamers.

High Impact Stunt

Renowned Lara Croft cosplayer, Jenn Croft, leapt off the world’s highest bungee jump at Macau Tower, decked out in the latest Tomb Raider outfit and accessories.

Embedded Prizes

Fans could #HackTheIce through the twitter hashtag to reveal prizes embedded in eight Rise of the Tomb Raider-themed ice sculptures.

Social & Digital

The entire event, from the death-defying stunt, fan engagement contests, unveiling of never-before-seen Rise of the Tomb Raider footage, meet-and-greets, and question-and-answer sessions were all streamed live over Twitch–a first for a game launch in Asia.

Fans who tuned in participated by tweeting in their questions bearing the #HackTheIce hashtag, and voted for the ice sculpture to be hacked by Jenn Croft, to reveal prizes for participating fans. This sequence of events was also amplified via Xbox and Microsoft social media channels across Asia. A media release on the #HackTheIce campaign was disseminated to media across Asia, and posted on the Microsoft Asia News Center.

Outstanding Results

In line with Lara Croft’s personal adventures in Rise of the Tomb Raider, the #HackTheIce Campaign has shown that the bold execution of big ideas and going off-the-beaten-track can lead to great rewards:

• The campaign generated the highest-ever digital sales for any Tomb Raider version on Xbox;

• The video game content created for the campaign was viewed more than a million times;

• The interactive live stream event saw nearly 600 questions tweeted over just two hours, and reached close to 600,000 fans from around the world via social media; and

• The media outreach garnered 66 stories across multiple markets in the region.

Bringing Crazy Ideas to Life

We asked Kumar how The Spaceship team keeps coming up with such amazingly wild and crazy ideas. He told us: “We are fortunate to have an incredible team that thrives on the challenge and relishes the buzz of bringing crazy ideas to life. We have a zest for doing amazing experiences. We want our clients to push us to create new and bold ideas. We don’t want to just emulate other best practices. We want to create them.”

A Bright Future for Brands in Digital and Social Media

Kumar added that the Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards are helping in broadening awareness of his company.  “Being recognized as an ‘innovative business’ by the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is helping to further open doors for us in new business development. It is also helping us to transcend the traditional events agency model.”  As Kumar puts it:  “We work on creating epic launches and experiences for brands across Asia.”

Looking ahead, Kumar sees a bright future. “We love the challenge of creating shareable experiences that go well beyond the moment and that extend beyond the audience at an event,” he explained. “We aim to transform customers into fans. Digital and Social are at the heart of what we believe is the start of an amazing era of rich experiences for brands all over the world.”

About Kumar Manix:

Kumar has led a wide range of high profile campaigns for clients such as Microsoft, Foxtel, Samsung, Intel, Coca Cola, and Adobe. He has achieved enormous success, driving millions of dollars’ worth of earned media and inspiring epic levels of fan engagement.

As a marketer, his campaigns have seen him collaborate with some of the greatest storytellers in the world including Oprah, the BBC, Disney and Marvel. Through his innovative use of video to drive engagement, Kumar has taken fans on numerous adventures to thrilling places, such as floating 100,000 feet into the sky on a space balloon, leaping off a high building with Lara Croft, and driving at 280 km/h in a racing car with The Stig.

He has worked extensively in the Asian market, primarily in China and Singapore, but also in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. His deep understanding of the unique character and requirements of consumers in Asia has helped him to achieve extraordinary results, including working on the launch of the Xbox video game console in China in 2014 following a decade-long ban on foreign video game consoles.

Outside of his work, Kumar is happily married and the father of two children, Kiran and Ria. He is sports obsessed–something the Australians term a “sports tragic”–and a lover of street food from all over the world. He also owns an enviable collection of sneakers.

About The Spaceship:

The Spaceship is a brand activation agency that is based in Sydney and works globally.

For more information, go to http://thespaceship.com.au/

The Ministry of the Interior in Seoul, South Korea, won a Gold Stevie for Innovation in Community Relations or Public Service Communications in the Corporate Communications, Investor Relations and Public Relations Awards categories of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. The Ministry also received the Grand Award for Communications/Public Relations.

The 2017 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards will open for entries in October.  Sign up to recieve the entry kit as soon as it's available.

Because of a low birth rate and rapidly aging population, social welfare requirements in South Korea have increased. This has put pressure on local finance, so in 2015, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) introduced Local Finance Reforms to help address these problems. As a result, the Ministry has significantly improved public service communications with local communities through such activities as locally oriented storytelling, customized field public relations, extensive communications through social media channels, and the production and distribution of visual products such as info-graphics.

We talked with Kim Sung-lyul, Vice Minster at the MOI, about the challenges his office was addressing; what winning the Gold and Grand Stevie Awards had meant to his department; and what the department was planning for the coming year.

Communication is Key

Kim told us that the main objective of the reforms carried out by the MOI since 2015 was to improve local fiscal operative soundness and transparency, which up until then had been the task of local governments. As he put it: “Communication was key, as the process involved different stakeholders such as local businesses and citizens.”

The MOI used various methods to communicate with different people. Kim explained: “A program called ‘Regional Storytelling (Not Text, But Story),’ was developed to cater to regional citizens, along with customized regional promotion campaigns; participatory activity produced by Social Media journalists composed of digitalized policy prosumers; Group Intelligence linking service of portals (Netizens ask and MOI answers); the production and distribution of visual-intuitive contents such as infographics—these were just a few other examples. Public relations were also conducted through the social media channels and other different news media of the MOI.”

The MOI efforts proved a success, Kim told us. “The program to publicize local fiscal reform gained good reviews after a thorough evaluation. And winning the Grand and Gold Stevie Awards shows that our diverse efforts to communicate with the citizens have now received recognition on a wider stage.”

Expanding our Network

Continued Kim: “It is a great honor that our program to publicize local fiscal reform has won an internationally renowned award. It has inspired the teams that contributed to promoting these programs despite difficult circumstances.  Our publicists are more confident and more focused on their work, and our administrators recognize more than ever the important role that communications play in actively motivating people.

“It was also immensely helpful to have learned about other excellent cases and individuals from different countries at the awards ceremony, and to expand our network of policy publicity within the Asia-Pacific region.

“We fully expect that our government-led reforms will be further encouraged as the program is recognized by the international community. We have successfully publicized our different policies, and while we acknowledge the fact that it is a rare thing, it is delightful to have been officially recognized from the outside.  I would also like to express my gratitude to the judging committee and officials of the Stevie Awards.”

Elevating Government Stature

Kim also sees the value of these awards to his government as a whole. “Effective communication and cooperation between central government and local government is crucial for local fiscal reform. The fact that our program for strategic publicity of this reform gained international recognition implies that the innovative administration of the Korean government has been recognized as well. This will play a pivotal role in elevating the stature of the Korean government and the MOI through publicity in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Government 3.0

Looking ahead, Kim told us that the MOI will continue its efforts to communicate with citizens using various practical approaches to allow easier understanding of its major policies.  “We are currently focusing on Government 3.0 tasks. Government 3.0 is based on Article 1 Clause 2 of the Constitution, which states: The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea resides with its citizens. Simply put, we are encouraging citizens to actively participate in evaluating the government’s policies, works and services.”

Kim explained: “The reason Government 3.0 holds such great importance is that unlike in earlier days when the government decided policies unilaterally, now it is co-governance between the government and the people. Also back then, corporations were only required to fulfill their social responsibilities, but now they’re expected to create shared values. It’s officially an ‘era of governance’ where cooperation between the government and the people is more than necessary. The border dividing the two entities is diminishing rapidly.

“A good example of Government 3.0 is the Citizen Policy Design Group, in which citizens proactively participate in the enforcement of government policies. Not only do citizens enjoy the services provided, but also they directly create ideas and services, which the government may adopt or purchase as needed. The society we are living in right now is one where everyone can be a professional and wisdom is valued over knowledge. We have introduced the concept of Do-It-Yourself to public services!”

Putting People First

Kim is enthusiastic about his career and the future: “If I had to live my life again I would still be a civil servant. I can think of no other occupation that is more rewarding. I take care and protect the lives, property, and security of the people. As a public official, I put people first. I can provide what people need and I can make the fallen stand once again.

Kim has a personal credo, which consists of three core values: Pride, Pleasure, and Fulfillment.

“People should have pride and respect for themselves. Being proud and respectful—not arrogant—will lead to success. And people should be proud of their work, organization, boss, and country as well.”

“Secondly, you should enjoy work. Don’t just do it for the sake of doing it, but do it differently from others. Pleasure comes when you see new things and do new things.”

“Last but not least, everything should come with a sense of fulfillment. Work can only be truly rewarding when you feel it in your heart, not just from getting a prizes or being promoted. You should be moved and impressed by your own work.”

About Kim Sung-lyul:

Vice Minister Kim Sung-lyul was born to serve. His father was a police officer, teacher, and a town official. Following in his father’s footsteps, Kim has been a devoted public servant for 30 years. He is immensely proud that his work protects the lives, security, and property of the people.  Kim is also a founding members of the Civil Service Commission, and is proud of his involvement in the establishment of the public officer system, including the senior executive service system, incentive salaries, executive agency system, political executive HR system, and more.

Early in his career, Kim spent two years on dispatch to the United Kingdom’s Home Office, and two-and-a-half years on dispatch to the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) in Paris, France, which provided him with a strong basis in domestic administration.

Before starting his career as a public servant, Kim studied public policies in the United States.

About the Korean Ministry of Interior:

The Korean Ministry of the Interior is one of the core departments of the Korean government, working to improve the wellbeing of citizens through innovation and local governance. Under the regime of Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea, the MOI is focused on creating jobs and establishing an efficient government by providing customized services through Government 3.0 under the maxims of openness, sharing, communication, and cooperation.

The MOI is devoting its full capacity to improving local government by fortifying and reforming local finance. Its top priority currently is to fulfill national endeavors to create an autonomous living style in which the people are happy; and to eliminate discomfort in daily life by reviving the local economy through on-the-spot regulatory reforms and innovation of local budgets.

The MOI also supports government operations including parliamentary activities and prizes, national archival management, running the government office, unified operation of governmental resources, and scientific investigations.

Atomic 212° in Sydney, Australia, won a number of awards in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, including a Gold Stevie for Most Innovative Advertising or Marketing Agency of the Year in the Marketing Awards Categories, and for Innovation in the Use of Events in the Corporate Communications Awards Categories with their campaign “Lucy The Robot.”

We talked with Jason Dooris, chief executive of this young and rapidly-growing agency.

Atomic 212° is an independent, technology-driven, full service marketing agency, which opened in 2014. In just two years, revenue has grown from a base of $20m to $180m. According to Jason: “We have worked hard to grow and we love what we do.”

We asked Jason about how winning the Stevie® Awards would contribute to his company’s success. His response: “We were proud to have been so successful in the Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards program with 13 gongs under our belt. These results position us as a market leader with a competitive edge.”

He added: “Winning these Awards falls within the amazing Atomic awards Hall of Fame for 2015–2016. Overall this has enabled the agency to position itself as a market leader in media, content, creative, public relations, and beyond.”

Rapid Growth

From 2014 to 2015, Atomic 212° grew its staff from 21 to 85 and opened new offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, and Newcastle.  At the same time, revenues increased by 1,105%.

We asked Jason how he had coped with such rapid growth.  He told us: “While our growth has been rapid, we always had strong processes in place and had positioned ourselves for rapid growth from the outset. Our targets may have been incredibly ambitious, but when we achieved them, we had the right systems and staff in place to support this expansion.”

When asked what his plans were for the future, Jason replied: “We have a number of plans for 2017 that we are currently working on … but you will have to wait and see.  Watch this space: we expect 2017 to be an even bigger year!”

Lucy The Robot - A Viral Campaign

Double Robotics, a technology company based in Burlingame, California, USA, wanted to launch their robot in Australia. A user can maneuver it from the comfort of their home or office.

The objectives were to launch the Double Telepresence Robot in the Australian and Asian markets; and to support existing North American, French, and UK activity

Context

Awareness was nil. Where normally this would be considered a disadvantage, the team at Atomic 212° decided to turn this to their advantage by tapping into the fact that customers had no preconceptions of robots. The territory of robots therefore presented a wonderful opportunity to engender the imagination and interest of customers. Budget constraints meant that something extraordinary was required.

Strategy

Atomic 212° recognized the need to create an engaging story and ignite the imagination. The robot needed personality. The agency also needed a launch platform that would cost almost nothing, providing powerful and positive value to everyone’s experience. Some would say this was asking the impossible.

The idea was to seek out and identify a positive, almost fanatical world event of such significance that the eyes of customers and media would be focused on it.  It was also necessary to give the robot personality, drive massive user-generated content, and—more importantly—drive media-generated content.

The Ideal Platform

Atomic 212° identified the launch of the iPhone 6s as the ideal platform and developed an idea adding relevance and entertainment to those fixated on the event.

The agency focused on Lucy Kelly, the girl behind the device. She was positioned as a young, energetic, innovative woman who did not want to stand in the wind and torrential rain. The humanoid robot was placed outside the George Street Apple store in Sydney to line up for the global release of the iPhone 6s. It queued for days and interacted almost constantly with Apple fanatics, the media, and people passing by.

With Sydney being the first Apple store to release the 6s globally, Lucy The Robot ended up being the first person—droid or human—to buy the iPhone 6s. The story was: Robot Buys First iPhone 6s in the World.

Support

The campaign was driven by PR, branded content marketing, and social media. A number of mainstream publications were targeted, such as news.com.au and The Australian, along with popular television programs like The Project, and well-known technology websites like Mashable.

Phase two came after the mainstream phase. The agency used the hype to target business titles and programs regarding the practical uses of the Double Robotics device in the workplace. A microsite was developed to support lead generation and sales.

Results

“The result represents a new record for a genuine viral marketing campaign both in terms of speed and reach,” according to Fabiano Destri Lobo of the Global Mobile Marketing Association.

The story was covered in some 4,000 news items across print and broadcast—including The Australian, Gizmodo, BRW, Seven News, Nine News, The AFR, and Mashable. Globally, it was translated into 32 languages, reaching 123 million people in total. The estimated media value was $73.2 million.

There were 12,452 sales enquiries, which generated $44,777,392 in sales opportunities.

As an added benefit, the Apple store PR team invited the robot to be part of its own marketing effort.

The results were remarkable by both Australian and global standards and, according to the Mobile Marketing Association, set new benchmarks for viral media campaigns.

On the Cutting Edge

When we asked Jason what he most enjoyed about his work at Atomic 212°, he replied: “Where to begin? The agency is at the cutting edge crossroads of innovation and technology. When guests walk through our offices, they are blown away by the level of energy and amount of technology: robots and holograms … you name it.”

About Jason Dooris:

Jason Dooris is the CEO and Founder of Atomic 212°.  Starting his career in London in 1995, Jason’s experience is rare in that it includes media, creative, and management consulting. Over the past 20 years, Jason has held a variety of senior local and global industry positions, including CEO MediaCom UK, Deputy CEO MediaCom Europe, GM Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, GM Ogilvy & Mather Australia, GM Dentsu Australia, and Consulting Practice Director Deloitte Asia.

Jason is well known in the industry for his firm stance on transparency and integrity within the media community and he is active on the speaker circuit. Particular areas of interest include brand reinvention, the performance and accountability of media, and behavioral psychology. Jason’s strategic leadership is reflected in the depth and range of professional awards, which include 2016 Adnews Agency of the Year, B&T Agency of the Year, Interactive Agency of the Year, Gold Lion Cannes, Cyber Lions Cannes, Deloitte Tech 50 2015, BRW Fast100 2015, and many more.

Personal interests include travel, the beach, rugby, his wife Marisa, and his three lovely children.

About Atomic 212°:

Atomic 212° started out in 2007 as Atomic Search, a performance media-buying agency and data-driven search specialist. The business has since transformed into Atomic 212°.

Atomic has grown into a completely independent, full-service media agency, with competencies across media, strategy, digital, data, creative, content marketing and so much more. Atomic competencies cross media buying and strategy, data and analytics, search, content marketing, PR, creative, production, consumer insights, publishing, and more.

Atomic is the only full service business in Australia to have started out as a search specialist, and accountability and performance lie at the core of everything the agency does. It is also the largest independent communications agency in Australia, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Auckland, and San Francisco. For more information go to http://atomic212.com.au/

Winners in the third annual Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize innovation in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region, will be honored this Friday, May 27 in Sydney, Australia.  

For the first time at the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards gala, the awards presentations will be broadcast live.  Watch the ceremony on Friday, May 27 on Livestream via the Stevie Awards’ Facebook page at 7:40 pm / 19:40 local time (9:40 am GMT, 5:40 am ET).

You'll be able to watch the presentations on Facebook only if you're on a desktop device, however.  To watch the event on your mobile device, watch it here.

Won't be awake as the ceremony is taking place? Don't fret -- the Livestream will be saved to watch later on the webpages linked above.

The Stevie Awards are considered to be the world's premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in the workplace over the past 14 years in programs such as The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards. 

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 17 nations including Australia, China, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Qatar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the U.S.A., and Vietnam. More than 600 nominations about innovative achievements in the 22-nation APAC region were considered by the judges this year.

This year’s top overall winner, with five Gold, eight Silver, and six Bronze Stevie Award wins is Telkom Indonesia.

Atomic 212 of Australia has won eight Gold Stevie Awards, more than any other organization this year. Telkom Indonesia and The Spaceship (Australia) are runners up, each with five Gold Stevie wins. Winners of two Gold Stevies include KoROAD (South Korea), PT PETROKIMIA GRESIK (Indonesia), Singapore Airlines, Songpa Gu Office (South Korea) Strategic Public Relations Group (Hong Kong), and WardrobeTrendsFashion (Singapore).

Details about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the list of Stevie Award winners are available at http://Asia.Stevieawards.com.

We were shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Ir. Tony Roland Silitonga, MBM, MBA, DBAcan, a regular judge for the Stevie Awards, most recently for the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, His family informed us that he had passed away on April 15 after battling lung disease and diabetes, and our thoughts are with them at this time.

It also caused us to look more closely at the illustrious career of a man we had come to see as a good friend of the Stevie Awards.

Tony was a judge who took his responsibilities seriously, and last fall he received a prize for his contribution to judging the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  He and his wife attended our 12th annual awards dinner on Friday, November 13, 2015, in New York City, and we were honored to have met him and to have been able to thank him in person for his generous contribution to the important process of judging our Stevie Awards.

(Tony is featured in the center of the above photo. This picture was taken during his trip to the United States last October/November, and this is how we will remember him: a happy and outgoing man.)

Tony had a distinguished career: he had been on the Board of Trustees of the Indonesian Institute for Corporate Directorship since October 2012. The IICD is a not-for-profit organization founded by ten highly reputable Indonesian Business Schools and preeminent individuals.  Tony had been a lecturer to Post Graduates at universities such as De La Salle University-The Philippines, Swiss German University, Universitas Indonesia (UI), Universitas Gajah Mada (UGM), Universitas Brawijaya, and Universitas Sriwiijaya. From 2010, Tony had also been Chairman of The Board of Management of the Forestry Research Institute for Public Policy, Economic, and Community Development (FORESPECT), a Research company on Forestry Development, and Eco Green activities

Tony had more than 30 years of professional experience across different countries and industries, and had worked with different multinationals including IBM, ARCO Oil & Gas (now BP Indonesia), Standard Chartered Bank (The Philippines), Merrill Lynch (USA), China Development Industrial Bank (Taiwan), Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA/BPPN), and Indonesian Institute for Corporate Directorships. He was also a founder member of the Indonesian Finance Association, Forestry Research Program on Education & Cultural Transformation, and Sentra Pemimpin Asia, a John Maxwell Leadership Company.

Tony graduated from Bandung Institute of Technology in Petroleum Engineering. He obtained his Master in Business Management (MBM) in Finance and Strategic Management from the Asian Institute of Management, Makati, Philippines, and his MBA in finance from Columbia Business School, New York, USA.

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, today announced the winners of three Grand Stevie Award trophies in its third annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.  The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only awards to recognize innovation in the workplace throughout the entire 22-nation Asia-Pacific region.  All organizations in the region are eligible to submit nominations.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners in the various categories were announced on April 20.  Those awards were determined by the average scores of more than 50 executives worldwide earlier this year. 

All awards will be presented to winners during a gala event at the Westin Hotel in Sydney, Australia on Friday, May 27.  Tickets for the event are now on sale. 

The three Grand Stevie Award winners announced today are:

• Telkom Indonesia, winner of the Grand Stevie for Organization of the Year for the second year in a row. The leading telecommunications and network services provider in Indonesia won the most award points in the competition this year – 36 – earned for five Gold, eight Silver, and six Bronze Stevie wins in a variety of categories for innovation.  Each Gold win earns three points, each Silver win two points, and each Bronze 1.5 points for the Grand Stevie-winner calculation.
• The Korean Ministry of the Interior won a Grand Stevie for submitting the highest-rated nomination in the competition this year: the story of its innovative community relations campaign to spur continuous reform in local finance. The MInistry communicated with many different stakeholders through various media and digital content.
• BRiN of Sydney, Australia, which submitted the highest-scoring nomination from the host nation of this year’s awards ceremony: the story of the creation of the world’s first 24-hour small business TV channel.

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 17 nations including Australia, China, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Qatar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the U.S.A., and Vietnam. More than 600 nominations about innovative achievements in the 22-nation APAC region were considered by the judges this year.

“We are very pleased with the results of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, with the growth in the number of entries and the depth and breadth of the stories of business innovation that we received,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards.  “We are very much looking forward to greeting and celebrating this year’s winners in Sydney on 27 May.”

Details about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the list of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners are available at http://Asia.Stevieawards.com.

About the Stevie® Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

 

Richa Ramola is Vice President Human Resources at Radius Global Solutions in Mumbai, India. As one of the more active judges in the 2016 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards, she contributed to judging submissions in the Company, Management, HR, Customer Service, and Creative Awards categories.

See the full list of Asia-Pacific Stevie-winners here.  

We asked Richa about the judging process, what she thought about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, and what most interested her about her own work.

Judging the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, Richa told us, had been an enriching experience. “I have enjoyed judging each entry for the awards. There is so much learning and so much innovation that has been shared by the participants, and that gives us insight to intelligent processes and work being done across a variety of organizations in different countries.”

Apply here if you would like to be considered as a judge for the 2017 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

As someone who judged entries in multiple categories this year, we asked Richa for her overall impression of entries to the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.  “I can see organizations competing amongst each other for this coveted award, and there are so many more entries this year,” she commented. “The competition is getting tougher!”

This year, the judges were divided into committees by category group and by language.  The judges who participate in the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have their own competition: two of them will win a pair of tickets to attend the Awards Presentations in Sydney, Australia, at the end of May.  Richa is hoping she will be one of this year’s contenders. “Sydney is such a beautiful city and I would love to visit it! And being part of the Awards Ceremony would make it all the more exciting,” she told us.

Richa works in the Mumbai office of Radius Global Solutions, which has its corporate headquarters in Ambler, Pennsylvania, USA. The company is hoping to expand into the Asia Pacific region in the near future.

As Vice President Human Relations at Radius, Richa loves her work. “People are our most valued assets, and our HR department has a very important role to play in creating a strong culture where our employees enjoy coming to work each day,” she explained. “Developing our people and seeing them grow in their work makes me happy and inspires me to continue to build a culture where people love to work and want to grow.”

About Richa Ramola:

Richa is currently the Vice President HR for Radius Global Solutions' India site. Prior to this role, she had 19 years of experience across well-known organizations such as ITC Hotels, SITEL, and IBM. She has work experience across functions including Customer Service, Operations, Quality, Training, and Human Resources.

In her current role, Richa is responsible for leading HR strategy for the India site and executing it successfully. She acts as a business partner to the organization’s senior management, sharing best practices, HR support, guidance, and advice with the India leadership. She manages all HR activities across the site, developing, implementing, and communicating HR practices, policies and programs.

About Radius Global Solutions:

Radius Global Solutions, headquartered near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, is a leading provider of accounts receivable, customer relations, and revenue cycle management solutions. Radius was established on the principle of innovation. The company attracts the best people, empowers them with a progressive business culture, and enables them with next-generation technology. Radius is at the forefront of compliance. Its commitment to meeting the challenges of an ever-changing regulatory environment provides tangible and measurable benefits to its clients. With more than a century of experience in the industry, the Radius team has the knowledge and expertise to provide reliable, consistent service. Radius delivers the results its clients expect and deserve. For more information go to www.radiusgs.com/

Honorees for Innovation in Business to Be Recognized in Sydney on 27 May

Winners in the third annual Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize innovation in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region, were announced today.  The list of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners is available at http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

The Stevie Awards are considered to be the world's premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in the workplace over the past 14 years in programs such as The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards. 

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 17 nations including Australia, China, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Qatar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the U.S.A., and Vietnam. More than 600 nominations about innovative achievements in the 22-nation APAC region were considered by the judges this year.

This year’s top overall winner, with five Gold, eight Silver, and six Bronze Stevie Award wins is Telkom Indonesia.

Atomic 212 of Australia has won eight Gold Stevie Awards, more than any other organization this year. Telkom Indonesia and The Spaceship (Australia) are runners up, each with five Gold Stevie wins. Winners of two Gold Stevies include KoROAD (South Korea), PT PETROKIMIA GRESIK (Indonesia), Singapore Airlines, Songpa Gu Office (South Korea) Strategic Public Relations Group (Hong Kong), and WardrobeTrendsFashion (Singapore).

Stevie winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet at Westin Sydney Hotel in Sydney, Australia on Friday, 27 May.  Tickets for the event are now on sale.

More than 50 executives around the world participated in the judging to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners. 

Details about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the list of Stevie Award winners are available at http://Asia.Stevieawards.com.

About the Stevie® Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

The Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the eight distinguished professionals who will chair the judging committees of The 2016 (3rd annual) Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only business awards program to recognize achivement in innovation in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.

The eight committee chair selections are based on the categories that will be judged and the language in which nominations were submitted. Judging chairs helped to form their committees, each of which will be comprised of 5-20 other executives. 

Winners in this year's Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards will be announced on
April 20. Judging took place through April 17. Winners will be celebrated at an awards banquet in Sydney, Australia on May 27.  Tickets are on sale now.

Here are this year's final judging committee chairs.

APPS/WEBSITES/LIVE EVENTS/ANNUAL REPORTS & PUBLICATIONS

CHAIR:
Margaret Manning, OBE, CEO and Founder
Adelphi Digital Consulting Group, Singapore

Margaret Manning is the CEO and Founder of Adelphi Digital, a U.K. digital consulting company trading mostly in Asia Pacific. It was set up through an MBI of the Singapore and Australia offices of Reading Room, one of the UK’s largest digital agencies.  The company now has offices in Australia, Thailand, and Singapore and works with clients from the USA, the Middle East, and across the Asia Pacific region. Clients range from large multinationals such as Fuji Xerox and BHP Billiton to boutique brands such as Banyan Tree and Anantara.

Outside of work, Margaret Manning adores red wine, and is a self-confessed geek.  Her fascination with programming and gaming started at University, and now manifests as a deep and unbreakable bond with her iPad.  Margaret’s lifelong pursuit of online gaming, a degree in psychology (specializing in artificial intelligence), and a management-consultancy background with PwC, have together led Margaret to a special interest in online communications. She particularly enjoys exploring how new forms of communication are changing the way business works in fundamental ways and sees the increasing acceptance of agile business is one clear example that the old ways are changing.

In June 2015, Margaret received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for her services to export to Singapore and the wider Asia-Pacific region. She remains committed to helping SMEs from any region to expand both nationally and internationally.   In Margaret’s own words: “I was lucky enough to have great mentors over the years and it’s a favor I would like to pay back to young business leaders.”

COMPANY/MANAGEMENT/HUMAN RESOURCES

CHAIR:
Kuldej Sinthawanarong, CEO
JARKEN, Bangkok, Thailand

Kuldej Sinthawanarong is CEO of JARKEN group of companies, a multi-disciplinary design and professional business. Over the last fifteen years, Kuldej and his team have grown JARKEN into an international, multiple award-winning consultancy through his core competency in creativity and top-notch design expertise. JARKEN is now one of Thailand’s top architectural, interior design, and branding agencies. The firm aims to become the first ever design-driven organization to be listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Kuldej has maintained an unwavering attitude toward the design and construction of buildings during his career in construction and architecture. While his later projects may show more refinement than his earlier projects, he clearly authored both as they are based on the same design concepts. His consistency and dedication are admirable in the ever-changing fashion trends of modern architecture. He now shares this passion with his staff as he expands his creative business into the marketing and branding professional service industry.

Kuldej loves his work, adores his family, and feels very lucky to have such a great team around him. He told us: “Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try, and once you have achieved your success, it should be seen.”

CUSTOMER SERVICE

CHAIR:
Stephen Gill, President
Stephen Gill Associates, Bang Kruai, Nonthaburi, Thailand

Stephen Gill is an experienced, award-winning international business development consultant and company director with a strong engineering background, having gained much of his experience at senior management or board level.  His active involvement in Asia began more than a decade ago when he was brought in to turn around a struggling joint-venture company in Shanghai.  He has experienced at first-hand the highs and lows of doing business in China and, more recently, in Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific.  Stephen now spreads his time equally between Asia Pacific and Europe, with bases in Bangkok, and Nottingham, UK. 

With a focus on helping individuals to excel, and organizations to grow and thrive, Stephen is a trusted advisor, mentor and strategist to executives and businesses.  Stephen is a high-profile figure in the refrigeration engineering field, serving as President of the Institute of Refrigeration. As a refrigeration expert consultant, Stephen has worked on many prestigious projects around the globe.  He is known for providing energy-efficient, sustainable cooling solutions that are practical and affordable.  Stephen won two Gold Stevies at the 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards in Shanghai for a refrigeration industry awareness poster campaign. These posters have since been translated into 8 languages. 

Stephen is a regular contributor to business and technical magazines and books, as well as a conference speaker.  He has an MBA from Loughborough University and an LLM (Business Law) from De Montfort University.

Stephen is honored to have been appointed Chair of the Customer Service Judging Committee. As he told us: “The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards bring focus to the sheer passion, energy, professionalism, and fun of doing business in the region.”

MARKETING/CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC RELATIONS

CHAIR:
Jimmy Lam, Group Chief Creative Officer
LEO Digital Network, Shanghai, China

In January 2016, Jimmy joined the LEO Digital Network as Group Chief Creative Officer. He also started Jimmy+Amber Communications, a hot shop creating media-neutral ideas integrated with technology to provide creative business solutions to brands and products, as a member company of the group.

From 2012 to 2015, Jimmy was Vice Chairman and Chief Creative Officer for DDB China Group, where he took the group's acclaimed creative achievements to an even higher level. In the same year, Jimmy was honored at the China Communications Leadership Forum as one of the 20 most influential marketing communications leaders, for his contribution in setting high creative standard as well as nurturing young talent for the industry.  In 2014, Jimmy was honored by the China 4As as Ad Person of the Year. In 2015, Jimmy was a Direct Lions jury member at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, and was Jury President of Brand Content & Entertainment and Sports Marketing for the 2015 Cristal International Awards.

Since 2005, Jimmy has been appointed as President of the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival, and is one of the four founders of the LongXi International Chinese Creative Awards, and Chief Editor of the Longyin Review Magazine. Between 1995-1999, Jimmy took a sabbatical to get his fix as a TV commercial film director. As one of the most awarded creative directors from Hong Kong, Jimmy was the first Hong Kong creative invited to judge at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.  Jimmy started his career as a Chinese-language copywriter, rising through the ranks in seven international advertising agencies in Hong Kong and China to become Asia Pacific Executive Creative Director, Greater China Chairman, and Creative Advisor to Dentsu Inc. in Tokyo. Author of three Chinese language books on advertising, Jimmy is frequently invited to speak at industry forums and universities in China and Hong Kong, and to be their curriculum advisor.

Jimmy graduated from the Hong Kong Baptist University in 1976 and has been named one of 40 most distinguished alumni by the School of Communication. Jimmy was born in Hong Kong and is currently based in Shanghai.

NEW PRODUCT & PRODUCT MANAGEMENT/INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

CHAIR:
Danny Maher, CEO
Opmantek, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia

Danny Maher is the CEO of Opmantek, a multi award-winning Australian Software Company operating in the field of Infrastructure Management and IT Audit. Danny is an industry-recognized, professional commercializer of innovation with over 25 years experience in the IT industry in technical, sales and marketing, management, and executive roles. 

Opmantek products are used by over 90,000 organizations across 130 countries worldwide. With a new software implementation occurring every 6 minutes, Opmantek is one of the fastest growing enterprise software companies in the world. Opmantek was named Australian ICT Exporter of the year in 2014 and has been the Queensland ICT exporter of the year for the past 2 years. Danny won the Gold Stevie for Australian Executive of the Year in the 2015 Asia Pacific Stevie awards.

Danny is a passionate supporter of the IT industry, serves on a number of Boards, and is an Angel Investor.  He was the only executive investor in the NetStar Group - alongside VC’s Allen and Buckeridge and Baring Private Equity Partners - where he founded the managed service business in Sydney, growing it to service customers in 42 countries across the globe. During this time Danny traveled extensively through Asia, designing and establishing new businesses and partnerships. NetStar was acquired by Logicalis in January 2011. Danny has held executive management and senior engineering roles for companies including IKON in Washington, DC, U.S.A., UBS Warburg in London, U.K., ICL in the U.K., and The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Australia.

Danny enjoys the beach, restaurants, and is an owner of a number of successful racehorses with the Gai Waterhouse stable. 

KOREAN JUDGING COMMITTEE

CHAIR:
Beom-Seok Seo, Ph.D., Professor of Advertising & PR
Se-Myung University, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea

Beom-Seok Seo has been Professor of Advertising & PR at Se-Myung University since 1995, and began his academic career as a Lecturer in Advertising & PR at Chung-Ang and Kyung-Hee Universities in 1985.

In addition to being Chair of the Korean Judging Committee in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, Seo has also been Chief Judge for the Best Product of the Year Awards for the Kyungin Daily for the past 9 years; and for the Maeil Advertising Awards, run by the Maeil Economic Daily, for the past 12 years.  He has been a member of several academic and professional boards and committees, and has published numerous books on advertising, including most recently “The History of Korea Advertising” in 2015

Between 1997 and 2010, Seo was a consultant to a range of companies including Welcomm Publicis Advertising Agency, Seoul City Marketing, Media Bank Co. Ltd., Daehan Pulp Co. Ltd., and Dawoo Cables.  From 1981 to 1990, Seo was Deputy Manager, Advertising and Director of Marketing at LG Chemical Ltd.    He has a Ph.D. in Advertising from Kyung-Hee University and an M.A. in Advertising & PR from Chung-Ang University.

JAPANESE JUDGING COMMITTEE

CHAIR:
Hideki Saito, Director
Contemporary-Tech, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

Hideki Saito is a director at Contemporary-Tech Inc. Working exclusively in temporary staffing since 1970, he has become one of the most experienced individuals in the industry in Japan. His approach to matching both skills and personality in order to improve staff retention and work enjoyment has been a welcome contribution to society.

齋藤秀樹は、株）コンテンポラリーテック社長で、1970年代から人材派遣一筋に歩んできた業界の生き字引的存在。人と会社を単にスキルから結び付けるのではなく、相性（あいしょう）面からもマッチングを提案し、気持ちよく働ける場所を提供することで社会に貢献している。

CHINESE JUDGING COMMITTEE

CHAIR:
Dr. Richard Huzhaoyang, Senior Editor
China Advertising, Shanghai, China

Dr. Richard Huzhaoyang is a Senior Editor at China Advertising. With more than 18 years experience working in telecom engineering, media, and marketing, Richard has run projects for Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, and Dutch Satellite TV, and has more than 2,000 apps published on the CMAC platform.  During the Beijing Olympics, Richard contributed to programming for CCTV and Dutch National TV. He continues to work for Korea KBS and MOT, and carries out research for the video industry through the Global Communication Research Institute. Richard has a Ph.D. from Jiaotong University in Shanghai.

胡朝阳:

通信、媒体、营销专家；

上海交通大学博士；

全球传播研究院研究员；

中国广告高级编审；

博士师从全球顶级传播营销大师美国南卡罗莱纳大学广告与公共关系系主任R.W.教授，业始于跨国公司WPP，强于项目运作，有全球资源和运作视野，曾完成“上海大众代理评估”、“华中车展策划执行”、“荷兰国家电视台奥运节目策划”、“台湾南宝品牌策划”、“可口可乐世博宣传推广策划”、“家在苏州整体策划”、“法制公园”、”江苏园艺博览会”、影视节目策划等一系列重大项目，富有责任心和开拓精神，精通英语，有很强的策划、管理和组织能力，曾访问过二十多个国家，有开阔的国际视野，熟悉本土化操作，有极强市场开拓能力和沟通能力，在业界有超强的人脉关系，参与国家重大项目多项，成果丰硕。

Singapore Power won the Gold Stevie Award for Best PR Campaign: International Communications in the Communications/PR Awards categories of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

The final entry deadline for the 2016 Asia-Pacific Awards has been extended to Wednesday, April 6.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

We asked Amelia Champion, Head of Corporate Affairs at Singapore Power, what the Stevie award has meant for her team, and for some insight into how Singapore Power plans to continue to Power the Nation.

Singapore Power embarked on a corporate positioning exercise in 2013, with a focus on the company’s role as a reliable and efficient power utilities provider, an employer of choice, and a proactive developer of engineering talent. The journey covered a perception audit among consumers, employees across different employee strata and engagement with the Board and Senior Management.

The result was a corporate position—centered on the aspiration of “Powering the Nation”—adopted as the positioning statement. This position is supported by the three pillars of Trust, Technology, and Talent.

The main target audience included employees and prospective employees, customers, and the public.

As Head of Corporate Affairs at Singapore Power, Amelia Champion was delighted that her company’s campaign won a Gold Stevie Award. “This award is a boost to Singapore Power’s 3,500 employees,” she told us. “These are the people who have enthusiastically participated in telling their story of powering the nation 24/7, and of upholding high standards of reliability and efficiency to improve quality of life.”

Added Amelia: “The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are a solid pulse check and independent benchmark for companies as they build their track record, alongside respected peers.”

The Launch

Engaging employees in this journey was an essential component for the campaign’s success. Singapore Power (SP) launched the “Powering the Nation” positioning internally among its employees at the annual staff convention, and through decentralized road shows using parallel simulcast streaming. A commissioned video featuring SP’s role in supporting nation building was screened at these events. The theme and key pillars were also delivered through 27 Group CEO dialogue sessions with staff between September 2013 and October 2014.

SP introduced a new suite of internal communications channels named spectrum. These included a revamped staff portal featuring up-to-date information and important messages, fortnightly corporate news updates, a bimonthly spectrum magazine distributed to all 3,500 staff, and the “Power Talks” quarterly employee lunchtime platform to introduce the spectrum channels and enable staff to pick up useful information for professional and personal growth.

Branded “Powering the Nation” collaterals and gifts such as notebooks and coasters were produced and distributed to all staff. To inspire organizational pride in all staff, SP also put up National Day celebratory banners with the “Powering the Nation” statement at central locations around Singapore.

Outcomes

Results from the annual staff convention post-event survey revealed that the “Powering the Nation” statement resonated well with staff, who also exhibited high recall and receptivity to the key messages. As high as 96% of 530 staff who participated in the plenary session said that they felt proud of the company’s role in powering the nation. About 91% agreed that “I Power the Nation” accurately described their roles at SP.

Not only has “Powering the Nation” been well-received by staff, they have spontaneously adopted the positioning statement within their own programs and presentations and now regularly use the it when introducing Singapore Power to local and overseas stakeholders.

Powering the Future
Amelia told us some of the activities planned by Singapore Power for 2016. “We aim to establish and enhance more channels of engagement with our customers and employees, in tandem with new ways of staying connected in the digital age. We will also focus on community service and staff volunteerism, continuing our commitment to powering the nation in more ways than one.”

Amelia looks forward to the year ahead. As she told us, she is motivated by “the pride and fulfillment of being part of a team that keeps the lights on round the clock, contributes to Singapore’s economic growth and quality of life, and drives sustainable solutions to serve future generations.

About Amelia Champion:

Amelia Champion is Singapore Power's Head of Corporate Affairs, overseeing corporate positioning, reputation management, internal communications, and corporate social responsibility. She built her career in healthcare and community service organizations. At the SingHealth Group, Amelia was Director, Group Communications, driving programs and initiatives to unify employees and to reinforce the Group’s standing in Academic Medicine. Prior to that, Amelia headed Public Relations, Patient Relations, Events, and Promotions at the National Kidney Foundation in Singapore. She was responsible for running nation-wide campaigns to promote organ donation; international healthcare conferences with marketing efforts in the US, Europe and Asia; policy-making; and for creating holistic self-help programs for patients. In her spare time, Amelia contributes to her school's alumni association as an executive committee member, and volunteers her services in her local parish.

About Singapore Power:

Singapore Power Group (SP) is a leading energy utility group in the Asia Pacific. It owns and operates electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses in Singapore and Australia, and district cooling businesses in Singapore and China. More than 1.4 million industrial, commercial, and residential customers in Singapore benefit from SP’s world-class transmission, distribution, and market support services. The networks in Singapore are amongst the most reliable and cost-effective worldwide. For more information, please visit www.singaporepower.com.sg and follow us on Facebook fb.com/singapore.power