#AOTYAwards 2021 spills: Behind XGATE's motivation to break new grounds

XGATE was founded in 2004 in Hong Kong and has since expanded to Singapore, Macau, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shanghai. The digital marketing agency offers a range of solutions from CRM and loyalty to marketing automation, data management platform, eCommerce marketing and multichannel marketing. Among the list of brands it has worked with include Marco Polo, Guerlain, Optimel, Sulwhasoo, Bobbi Brown, and Clinique.

The agency swept three awards during MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Agency of the Year 2021 Awards, taking home the gold for CRM and Loyalty Marketing Agency of the Year, silver for Mobile Marketing Agency of the Year, and bronze for Analytics Agency of the Year.

Tang Pak Kay (pictured centre), business development director of XGATE Singapore, shares with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE what the achievements mean to the team, what is their proudest moment of being part of the agency and how it is attracting talent. 

This interview is done as part of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s winners' and finalists’ interview series for AOTY Awards 2021. To find out more about the awards, click here.

Tell us what these achievements mean for you?

Tang: XGATE SG has come a long way since we started operations in Singapore in 2017. In 2020, our efforts were recognised with two wins – silver for Best Loyalty Programme, and bronze in CRM and Loyalty Agency of the Year. This year, we are truly honoured and humbled by our triple wins – gold for CRM and Loyalty Agency of the Year, silver for Mobile Marketing Agency of the Year, and bronze for Analytics Agency of the Year. These were achievements we have not expected. Nonetheless, it serves as an affirmation of our commitment to our clients, supporting them to excel in their digital marketing efforts.

These two years have been especially tough on all industries, setting some unprecedented challenges for agencies and clients alike. We are grateful to have clients who recognise the need to enhance their connectivity with their customers during the pandemic and we are given the opportunity to work together with them. We have identified some quick but effective solutions to support clients in their offerings to customers, enabling the brands to retain customers and grow the market share. Most importantly, our customers believe in us and are confident that we are able to offer them marketing solutions to better overcome their marketing challenges.

What makes you proudest about being part of your agency? What are some of the initiatives you have in place to ensure your staff feel proud to be associated with your agency?

Tang: Our proudest achievement is having supportive and dedicated teams across Singapore, Hong Kong and China, who work together unrelentingly to ensure project deadlines are met and only the best are given to our clients. The wins would not have been made possible without the contribution and dedication of the various teams.

At XGATE, we believe greatly in recognising every staff’s effort and contribution. It can be as simple and direct as a public compliment of the staff’s accomplishment or through regular meal sessions, which has to be put on hold due to the COVID-19 situation. We practice an open communications concept in the company and encourage staff to contribute or share ideas on each other’s projects. In this way, staff gets to learn from each other, as well as foster camaraderie in the office.

How are you attracting talent to your agency?

Tang: XGATE is expanding our presence in Asia Pacific and Singapore being the regional office, is constantly looking out for talents to join the team. However, it is quite an uphill task as we are competing with global agencies in the region, which are often perceived as employees who offer more attractive staff benefits.

One of the ways of getting around this is through partnering with local tertiary institutions to secure internship programmes for their graduating students. We identify potential staff to join the team upon completing their internship or their graduation, enabling them to grow and develop in our field. This also serves as a good testing ground for young talents to assess their work interest, as well as for us to gauge an individual’s ability and work compatibility with us.

What are your hopes for Singapore's advertising scene in 2021?

Tang: For the rest of 2021, whilst the pandemic situation remains unclear and worrying to a large extend, we are hopeful that with the increasing emphasis on digitalisation, more companies will embark on this journey of transformation. This will also provide more partnership and opportunities for agencies to break new grounds in offering creative and innovative solutions in helping companies achieve their business goals.