Glam-it! at Web Wednesday Hong Kong (V82)

For our 82nd social mixer, we’re relocating to a smashing new venue, Club 18, Nos. 18-20 Lyndhurst Terrace in Central Hong Kong.  Here's a little tour that I posted to Instagram:



To add to the sparkle of this new nightclub, we’ve invited a multi-talented guest speaker, Jennifer Cheng, Founder and Chief Glam Girl at Glam-it!, to share her experience in building, promoting and selling internet ventures.



After graduating from Brown University, Jennifer started her career as an actress and model in the US. She moved to study an MBA at Hong Kong University of Technology, from where she became a passionate player in the world of internet technology and social media in Hong Kong.

She cut her teeth working with Darizi (大日子) and Rackspace and then leapt into the fast-paced world of online group buying, first with uBuyiBuy (a former guest at Web Wednesday), which via an acquisition became Groupon Hong Kong, and then as Vice President of BeeCrazy (蜂買) which was acquired by iBuy Group before listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Jennifer's current venture is Glam-it!, a beauty and fashion brand with the patent pending GlamPact available at Harvey Nichols and 6 countries via Luxola.com.

Jennifer’s expertise in the digital space was recognized and she was awarded the title of Most Promising Entrepreneur at the prestigious Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2011 in Hong Kong and the Woman Super Achiever Award at CMO Asia in 2012.

Doors open at 6:30pm with the interview starting at 7:15pm on Wednesday 26th February, 2014 at Club 18, 18-20 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong.

The entrance fee of HK$100 includes a complimentary drink and the opportunity to meet fellow entrepreneurs, social media types, investors, bloggers and digital media folk.

Sign up via Facebook or MeetUp to let us know you're coming and find out who else is going.

Podcast: Digital Marketing Predictions 2014

If you missed the last social mixer, "Digital Marketing Predictions 2014", you can listen to the podcast below hosted on our channel on SoundCloud (soundcloud.com/webweds). A shout out to Radio Chinwag for mastering the editing in a noisy bar environment with over 200 guests!

200 Guests, 4 Great Speakers Photos (WWV81)

What a great start to 2014! Our 81st social mixer to celebrate the launch of the Digital + Direct Marketing Association (www.ddma.asia) attracted over 200 guests! We had digital marketers from local and international brands, agencies, internet startups, MBA grads, bloggers and journalists, investors...That's what I call quality networking!

A big thank you to our panel of guest speakers: David Ketchum (@ketchum), Argha Sen (@goodfood65), Kate Scott (@kesabeth) and Stephanie Silvester (not on Twitter).

Here are some memorable predictions from each one:

“The offline and online worlds will need to come closer than ever before in 2014. The phrase 'omni-channel' is overused but there’s no doubt that the roles of brick and mortar stores, e-commerce and on- and offline promotion will change and increasingly blend together.” Argha Sen, Director, Omni-channel, Fung Retailing Group.

“Particularly in B2B we’re seeing continuing value in integrating online (particularly e-mail) and offline marketing, especially in the C Suite.  The volume of printed items received by CEOs/CFOs/CMOs is way down, so a well done piece can stand out. In 2014, our number one priority is creating great content.” Stephanie Silvester, Group Marketing Manager, Asia-Pacific at Verizon Business.

"We need to focus on building out a customer service team that can handle questions and complaints across all channels, be it Weibo, WeChat, Twitter, Facebook, hotline, email etc". Kate Scott, Senior Manager, Digital Marketing at Hong Kong CSL Limited.

 “2014 is when content and commerce will have to come together and show the business value of social media beyond the ‘fluffy stuff’.” Chairman of the Direct + Digital Marketing Association Asia.

Thank you also to the great team at Bisous, who are now looking for new jobs as the venue has been forced to close down at the end of this month. You're a truly professional team and have done us well.

Thanks also to our partners, Radio Chinwag, masters of sound and radio edutainment.

Spot yourself in the photos of our 81st social mixer Photos by Bronney.

Digital Marketing Predictions 2014 - Web Wednesday HK (V81), a set on Flickr.

Four Senior Marketers Predict Digital in 2014

We're expecting a good crowd for tomorrow's social mixer, Digital Marketing Predictions for 2014, with over 100 people signed up on Facebook and 70 digital folk on MeetUp.

We've also lined up a highly experienced panel of speakers for you:

• David Ketchum, Chairman of the Digital + Direct Marketing Association Asia and President of Bite Global Marketing Services. Follow David on Twitter - @ketchum.
• Argha Sen, Director of Omni-Channel at Fung Retailing Group. Follow Argha on Twitter - @goodfood65
• Kate Scott, Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Hong Kong CSL Limited. Follow on Kate on Twitter - @kesabeth.
• Stephanie Silvester, Group Marketing Manager, Asia-Pacific at Verizon Enterprise Solutions.

Come find out their predictions for the perfect marketing mix in 2014. Will social media play an even larger role or is it now just another paid channel? Is this the year of closed social networks or multi-channel marketing? Will clients truly reach the marketing nirvana of the "single customer view" and what will they do with it?

See you at Bisous, 9/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong from 6:30-9:30pm tomorrow!

Digital Marketing Predictions for 2014

Mark your diaries for our 81st Social Mixer on 22nd January, 2014. Sign up and see who else is coming via Facebook or MeetUp.

We all know the marketing trends: mobile, social, and big data are driving the agenda at the moment. But as we gallop into 2014 and the Year of the Horse, many questions arise:

- What strategies are senior marketers backing?
- How are they really investing their marketing funds?
- How are they changing to meet the needs of their rapidly evolving customers?
- What is the perfect marketing mix across all the customer touch points?
- What are their expectations from agencies, marketing partners and technology solutions providers?

Featuring a panel of senior marketers representing the range across corporate, B2B and consumer, this is your opportunity to learn from the horse’s mouth what strategies marketers are really going to commit to, and where they plan to place their ROI bets with their budgets.

This event is presented in association with the Digital + Direct Marketing Association Asia, a renewed and revamped industry association that brings together the best of the Asia Digital Marketing Association, the Hong Kong Direct Marketing Association, HK Social and other affiliate digital, mobile and marketing industry groups from around the region.

Social Sharing Soars for Web Wednesday in 2013

In 2013, Web Wednesday soared to new heights:

Our Twitter (@webwednesday) handle now has 4,851 followers.

Our emails now go out to 3,000 opt-in recipients.

Our Facebook Group reached 3,198 members. (Sadly, I've had to turn down over 500 cute-but-fake applicants from Taiwan). If you're a real human being, become a member via facebook.com/groups/webwednesdayhk

Our Facebook Page attracted 1,074 fans. Join us at facebook.com/webwednesday

Our LinkedIn Group blossomed to 1,284 members. Rub e-shoulders with us at linkedin.com/groups/Web-Wednesday-Hong-Kong

Launched im Aug 2013, our MeetUp Group has 156 members. Sign up via meet up.com/webwednesdayhk

Podcasts of our interviews on SoundCloud were played 8,946 times! Come listen on SoundCloud.com/webweds

This blog, webwednesday.hk, attracts 10,000+ page views per month and since May 2007 has generated 210,662 page views in total.

You can listen to many (not all, unfortunately) of the past interviews via our channel on SoundCloud. If you missed some of the great interviews this year, I've set up a special collection, called "Web Wednesday Speakers 2013".

Web Wednesday Podcasts 2013

Dear Friends and Members of the Web Wednesday Community,

As we round off 2013, I wanted to personally thank you for being a member of the Web Wednesday community. It is your presence at our monthly gatherings, activity across our social media platforms and energetic support that drives me to keep this community growing and spend time sourcing good speakers from whom we can all learn.

If you missed some of the great interviews this year, listen to them at your own leisure on our podcast channel on SoundCloud below. We were honoured to have guest speakers from Lane Crawford, WeChat (Tencent), PassKit, Silicon Dragon, Qunar, WeLend, Wikipedia, App Annie, Socialbakers, Paoma (Shanghai Race Club), ZaoZao, Evernote, Battle of the Apps (9 contestants) and School for Startups (Doug Richard).



We have another great bench of speakers lined up for 2014 but are always open to any suggestions that you may have to make our group even more valuable to you.

Warm, festive wishes to y'all!