Cultural event bags marketing award

The CCN 2017 Organising Committee and their advisors, namely Faculty of Business and Finance academic Wan Pui Yee (standing, sixth from left) and Department of Student Affairs (standing, seventh from right) assistant manager Yau Ai Ping giving their thumbs up

Two years after its roaring success, the “Eternal Chinese Cultural Night 2017” (CCN 2017) event by the Chinese Language Society (CLS) of Kampar Campus scaled another height when it won the GRADUAN Paper Plane Award’s (PPA) “Creative Marketing Project Award” at Wisma Hua Zhong, Seri Kembangan, Selangor on 18 May 2019.

A biennial award event by youth-based NGO Malaysian Young Graduates Association (GRADUAN), PPA appraises outstanding university clubs and societies as well as undergraduate-led events across the nation. Through the award, PPA also acknowledges the remarkable performances of the clubs and societies as well as impacts of the winning events, further encouraging the winners to go on building a better Malaysia in line with the very goal of GRADUAN. 

“Joining PPA was a unanimous decision among the CCN 2017 committee members because each sub-committee had put in so much effort in making the event a success. Therefore, we wanted these efforts to be acknowledged,” said CCN 2017 Public Relations Department Manager Soh Yi Ren, who represented the CCN 2017 Organising Committee to receive the award. 

As much as the committee were motivated for the application process, they were also hoping for the best outcome as their application were assessed by a panel of judges comprising seasoned professionals from various industries. Remarking that the selection process by the panel of judges was pretty stringent, Soh explained, “The first stage of the process will require all applicants to submit a detailed event report which strategically answers all of GRADUAN’s 16 questions, following which the panel of judges will assess all submitted reports and shortlist the applicants for the second stage, which is the interview.” The interview stage will see the representatives representing their respective group and presenting their projects to the interview panel. It is during this round that the finalists for each award category are selected and then invited to attend PPA award presentation ceremony which will reveal the award winners.

A cultural event to celebrate CLS’s 8^th anniversary, CCN 2017 was nominated for two awards under the Project Category, namely the “Outstanding Project of the Year” and “Creative Marketing Project Award”, in which it swept the latter. The “Creative Marketing Project Award” acknowledges project which integrates strategic marketing planning, techniques and multimedia into its marketing and publicity initiatives. The strategies applied must ensure effective distribution of event information across all levels of the community to further galvanise support and achieve desirable outcome.

According to Soh, CCN 2017’s marketing strategies were proposed by its Board of Directors and revolved around the basis of collaborative synergy with local enterprises. Ultimately, the approach did not only just create a desirable win-win outcome for both the event owners and the enterprises, but also for the CCN 2017 ticket buyers as well. “Through the synergistic collaboration between us and the enterprises, those who purchased the CCN 2017 tickets were entitled to exclusive discounts from participating merchants. This strategy eventually turned out to be a hit. Besides seeing the business owners enjoying a surge in sales and tapping into new clientele market, our event was also a sold-out resulting in a strong crowd of over 2,000 people,” the Logistics and International Shipping final year student shared.

To Soh and the CCN 2017 committee members, winning the award is a great feeling. “It feels great to know that every effort that we had put in, be it from the planning stage of the event up to final stage of the award application, paid off,” said Soh, dedicating the award to each and every member in the committee and sub-committee. 

Also extending the appreciation to UTAR on behalf of the organising committee, Soh is thankful that the University has always had their back. “We are also very thankful to the officer of the Department of Student Affairs such as Miss Apple Yau as well as our CLS advisor Miss Wan Pui Yee for their advice, guidance and patience,” Soh thanked.

On how could fellow UTARians up the effectiveness of their events’ promotion and marketing strategies, Soh advised, “Think along the lines of the wants and needs of those purchasing your tickets, as well as the kind of benefits your sponsors would want. Based on these findings, set marketing strategies that will benefit every party in the chain.”

Relating the CCN 2017’s theme of “eternity” to the organising committee’s commitment, CCN 2017 Organising Chairperson Ang Teck Chee commented, “The drive to pass down our cultural heritage is what motivates us to carry the torch on and on and for eternity.”

There are 12 PPA awards which are divided into two main categories, namely the Organisation Category and the Project Category. The awards under the Organisation Category include the Outstanding Organisation of the Year, Breakthrough Excellence Award, Contribution Excellence Award, Quality Excellence Award, Branding Excellence Award, and Diversification Excellence Award; while the Project Category of awards such as the Outstanding Project of the Year, Design Innovation Project Award, Best Impact Project Award, Creative Marketing Project Award, Arts and Cultural Project Award, and Sustainable Project Award.

This year, 77 finalists were shortlisted from over 360 submitted projects. As the winner of the “Creative Marketing Project Award”, CLS walked away with a trophy and a certificate. 

Not a society that rests on its laurels, CLS will be unveiling its 10th CCN titled “Transcend Chinese Cultural Night 2019” on 29 June 2019.

From left: GRADUAN Organisation Secretary Goo Chuan Chiew,  Soh, CCN 2017 Deputy Director Neoh Chee Hong, Sin Chew Daily Corporate Communications and Promotions General Manager Tan Kim Chuan, and Young Malaysian Movement (YMM) President Chew Sir Boon

Group photo of the CCN 2017 Organising Committee and the advisors smiling during the award ceremony