Selina Ng is the Regional Associate Director of Ad Operations at BurdaLuxury, where she manages digital campaigns across the region. With almost a decade-long background in online marketing, she brings wide-ranged expertise to the digital space and has been passionately contributing to BurdaLuxury for the past seven years.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and your journey towards becoming the Regional Associate Director of Ad Operations?
I initially started in BioTech and was also involved in the ISO9000 certification – a very different field altogether. I had an offer to try out online marketing, when, back then, e-commerce was not very popular. I was given the opportunity to join a media agency based both in Malaysia and Singapore and that’s how I got started in media. [After that], I came back to Malaysia and started working at [BurdaLuxury]. When I first joined BurdaLuxury Malaysia, it was at the time, the first regional centralised role, so we could actually share knowledge among our markets. I oversee Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, and Hong Kong, however I do have team managers based in their respective countries. It’s now my seventh year at BurdaLuxury!
How would you describe your role, and how does it differ from your previous positions?
Having been in both an agency and a publication – it’s not exactly the same in terms of ad operations, but there were some similarities. I was tasked to lead the team, which includes display banners, a portion of social media and helping the company to manage ad operations overall. It’s a full circle moment because in my previous role, I was on the client’s side. On the agency side, we deal more with clients and publishers so we are the middle person – now I work more closely with the sales team to support them in delivering client commitments. I guess it comes with age: when I was younger I enjoyed [agency work] more as it has more exposure and variety, but now, as I’m more mature, I currently think leading an internal team is what I enjoy, given that I’m somewhat an introvert as well.
What’s a recent campaign you’re proud of, and what role did Ad Operations play in its success?
We recently developed Programmatics for Ad Operations back in 2022 – not huge yet but it’s quite decent given that we started from zero. We tested out with very small-scale campaigns, which led us to find a way where we can run [Programmatics] at the same time as direct sales – it’s something I’m very proud of achieving, now that we’re running in US demographics.
How do you approach leading a team that’s spread across different countries and what are some of the unique challenges (or advantages) that come with that?
I think it’s important to get to know how each market works, as different markets will have [their] own way of working in terms of culture and client demand. To a certain extent, as ad ops we need to maintain order, so we do have standard operating procedures, but we also keep it flexible to cater to local markets. In terms of leading a regional team, it’s really [about] the knowledge sharing across the teams. I haven’t met all my teammates, but even though we are sitting in different offices, it’s important for us to come together as a team – so we do have a weekly WIP meeting. We started off with audio calls and then one day, I decided that all of us should turn on our cameras, and we started seeing each other more at least virtually, which helps with communication. Before that, we were all very introverted, so I think that helps us bond more.
What excites you most at BurdaLuxury Malaysia?
What really excites me is that even at this age (laughs) I’m still learning everyday. I’m trying to find batteries to do things – and I’m really happy with the team that I work with because they are all very supportive of each other. Even though we’re in different countries, if one person is on leave, the other person will try and step in to help each other.
Who were some of your biggest influences growing up?
In terms of work, some of the key influencers at least in my career are my previous team leaders or mentors who have given me the opportunity to step into a new field with zero experience. They believed in me before I believed in myself. I think that is really empowering, it really brings me to where I am now. Without them in the past, I wouldn’t know my own potential or where I would be. With that, the only way I could give back to whoever I come across in my career. They’ve been very inspiring to believe in people as long as the person’s attitude is good and willing to learn, there’s always opportunity.
What are some changes in the digital landscape that you acknowledged?
I think there were a lot of changes – it is so fast. Whatever that was valid a year ago may be obsoleted. Even within Instagram, they have new features that come up every year – new formats, new restrictions. That’s one of the bigger changes: to adapt with new technologies in the social space everyday. Meanwhile in display advertising, what changes a lot is the tracking on advertisers. Clients would try to track our interactions and value our numbers, leading to more measurements such as viewability and the quality of the audience that sees our banners/ads. There are definitely more sophistications when it comes to tracking!
Three words to describe BurdaLuxury
Collaborative. Empowering. Fulfilling.
In your experience, what makes BurdaLuxury stand out in the digital space?
Because BurdaLuxury isn’t just an Asian company – it is also an international company. I had the opportunity to meet the whole Burda group and they are huge. To meet the international team and HQ team, which is way larger than what it is – was very inspiring. Working in Burda is not just within Asia, it is way beyond and there is so much more going on within the company itself.
Why BurdaLuxury?
BurdaLuxury has given me the empowerment to run the team – even the leadership team is very receptive in terms of new ideas and new initiatives, they are open minded to try new things, always listening. I find it very fulfilling while working in BurdaLuxury, I get to do what I love doing.
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Note:
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
