Goodbye Isobar...

Some parting thoughts on my last day at Isobar.

Seems like just yesterday that I was having my first interview with Isobar, on Skype on November 7, 2013, from the basement of my aunt’s home in a small rural village in Quebec, Canada. My surroundings were anything but cosmopolitan and a return to Hong Kong seemed a long way away geographically. Three months later, Hong Kong was my family’s home for a second time.

Since joining the first day after CNY in 2014, my team and our offering has changed dramatically. From managing mostly local social media accounts, we’ve evolved to managing large global brands on social: Uniqlo, Honor (from Huawei), Audi. From one social editor and one community manager, we’ve grown to a social team of six, who churn out an unbelievable quantity of top-notch content. From a strategy offering of three people mostly focused on Hong Kong work, we’ve built one of the strongest planning teams in this market and a competitive advantage of Isobar’s offering in the region. To my team: Thank you for your individual and team contributions. Your hard work and dedication has most certainly been noticed!

It’s been an incredible successful ride. Since winning Digital Agency of the Year shortly after joining in 2014, we’ve been on a great streak with awards: Marketing Magazine’s Digital Agency of the Year in 2015 and Social Media Agency of the Year (Silver) in 2015; Campaign’s Hong Kong Digital Agency of the Year in 2015, Greater China Digital Agency of the Year 2015 and APAC Digital Network of the Year 2015 and 2014. I am incredibly proud of my team’s contributions to these awards. But those who have worked closely with me over the last few years will know that I don’t believe in short term wins from mega campaigns. Instead, I find continuously moving the needle of a brand’s digital evolution far more rewarding. These awards are testament to this evolution, ceaseless excellent work and hard-earned client accolades. Fingers crossed our 2015 work gets properly recognized at the upcoming Markies…I’ll be rooting for Isobar.

Isobar has provided me some fantastic opportunities professionally. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at regional conferences for Estee Lauder and Darlie. I’ve led exciting client pitches, some successful, some unfortunately not. I’ve participated in Isobar’s 2015 global conference in Warsaw, Poland, providing a glimpse into some of the top notch work Isobar produce globally (Chevy Co-driver, Fiat Live Store and Rak N Roll’s Photos for Life) and meeting colleagues around the globe that facilitate the true collaboration that happens across our network. I truly believe in Isobar's global positioning of Brand Commerce, its focus on Ideas Without Limits and its global leadership under Jean Lin. The future is bright for Isobar.  

A few goodbyes…

David: thank you for the opportunity to re-launch my career in Asia and for the guidance over the last few years. Its been a good ride!

Dwayne & Sandipan: I wish I could have worked closer with you both. I feel like there is still lots to learn from you both!

Ed: from our first Skype chat 6-months before I landed the gig at Isobar, to the last year where we’ve sat literally facing each other without a divider, I’ve enjoyed the collaboration and camaraderie. See you around.

Jon, what could have been with Netflix lah…

Tiffany, Anita, Kathy, Noel, Vivian, Fiona and Karie: Appreciate the tireless and relentless workload that you all put through. Good luck and don’t give Kat too hard of a time!

Kat: I’m thrilled for you that you are taking over as Strategy Director. A very well deserved promotion recognizing the high-standards of your work. Don’t forget: Never back down J

Goodbye Isobar….