In conversation: The business of belief and marketing national pride

Singapore’s content landscape is increasingly crowded, but for Melvin Kuek, executive director of So Drama! Entertainment, success today is no longer measured by revenue, margins or pitch wins alone.

Speaking on Marketing Connected's "In conversation" podcast series, Kuek shared that his move from agency life to content creation, has brought a significant shift in his perspective of how success is measured. While agencies often focus on financial metrics, So Drama! increasingly looks at audience engagement and community signals.

“We look at shares, comments and people saying they’re looking forward to the next episode,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s about knowing who your audience is, where they are and what they want to see.”

Catch the full interview here: 

That change required a broader mindset shift, from “dollars and cents” to what Kuek describes as “optimising for trust and belief”.

“It’s incredibly freeing because you’ve taken away the constraints of a client brief,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about understanding what your audience wants and needs.”

As a proudly Singaporean media and entertainment company, a major part of So Drama’s mission is championing local talent and stories. Through initiatives such as Homegrown, its annual music festival, the Kakee lifestyle app, and an upcoming action-drama film slated for release during National Service 60 celebrations next year, Kuek hopes to showcase what Singapore creators can achieve.

Don't miss: In Conversation: IKEA Singapore on why awareness must be earned, consistently 

“We want to change the narrative from ‘Can Singapore do it?’ to ‘What should Singapore do next?’” he said.

For Kuek, that ambition ties closely to the idea of marketing national pride, a concept that goes beyond patriotic messaging. 

Marketing national pride is about making people proud of who we are and the work that we do

“The work should never have a call to action that says ‘like this because it’s Singapore’. Instead, create something that people resonate with, connect with, and want to share.”

As audiences become more selective and fragmented, Kuek believes trust, belief and cultural relevance have become some of the hardest, yet most valuable, metrics for marketers to earn. “Everybody thinks it’s a soft metric,” he said. “Actually, it’s a hard metric, because it’s completely binary. It’s either yes or no.”

Much of his views anchor on his transition from agency leadership roles at the likes of BBDO Singapore, DDB Asia and Foxtrot Charlie, to leading the content and entertainment business focused on telling Singaporean stories.

Although he made the switch out of agency life, Kuek said that they're not that different. 

“At the end of the day, storytelling still sits at the heart of everything that we do,” he said. “We tell proudly made-in-Singapore stories that we hope will resonate with audiences and narratives Singaporeans can be proud of.”

Also tune in to the full conversation on Spotify:

Tune into the rest of this conversation on your favourite podcast platforms, by searching up Marketing Connected. For all the visual people out there, we’ve got your back as well, with our vodcasts on YouTube.

Related articles: 
In conversation: Singapore’s arts scene wants your attention
In conversation: How Airwallex channels sports energy into B2B impact 
In Conversation: Are we forgetting what makes marketing work?