Women In Marketing 2020 Edition ft. Junice Liew from Overbit

For this segment of Women In Marketing, we had a chat with Junice Liew who is the Head of Marketing at Overbit.com. She is an experienced marketer with demonstrated working history in the media, private education, blockchain, and crypto industry. Passionate about marketing, she is skilled in digital strategy and communications. Junice holds a BA in Communications, Honors - First Class, from Charles Sturt University in Australia. In her free time, she is committed to doing social work in the community and has a deep love for animals - both big and small

LET’S GET PERSONAL

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR WOMEN IN MARKETING SERIES, JUNICE. LET’S START ON A LIGHTER NOTE. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MEMORIES GROWING UP?

I was born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia in a small rural town called Kulai. 

Growing up, I enjoyed evening walks and cycling my BMX red bicycle checking out the stray puppies and kittens by the roadside. As you can guess, I am an avid animal lover and I loved to play hopscotch with my neighbours. Born to a high-school teacher and a junior banker, I grew up happily in a humble family with two other siblings. My parents taught me about respect, humility and most importantly to show kindness in all that I do.

All in all, I had no evil thoughts or any bad memories while growing up and I know that they were the foundation that built and moulded me to who I am today.

WHAT WERE YOU LIKE IN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS? DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW YOU’D BE AMAZING? *WINK

I grew up enjoying high school as I was the school’s head prefect and was always a teacher’s pet. I was always a law-abiding student. 🙂 Guess that’s why I was the head prefect.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE COLOUR? ANY PARTICULAR REASON WHY YOU LIKE IT?

Blue has always been my favourite colour. I find Blue a serene and an inspirational colour. Very often it gives me a calming and a happy effect when I see the colour Blue. 

IF YOU COULD BE ANY ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY? 

I would become a butterfly. Why? 🦋

A butterfly is a very fluid animal that evolves from a caterpillar. The caterpillar needs to be agile and needs to survive its surroundings before it morphs into a beautiful butterfly. It is just like being in a work environment where we need to be fluid in our workspaces, taking one step at a time before we go on to the next development and until we close the deal.

That is the day when the caterpillar becomes a butterfly and then flies off happily. 

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MEAL? THAT ONE MEAL YOU WOULD FEEL NO SHAME FOR NOT SHARING!

Well, Chicken Satay is my comfort food. 🙂

I could never say no to Chicken Satay. It’s grilled and very often served with cucumber, onions with a side serving of peanut sauce. This is a traditional local Malay diet and is loved by all age groups and races.

Come visit me in Singapore and let’s go and have a Satay meal together. ✌️

IMAGINE WAKING UP $10 MILLION RICHER TOMORROW, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH YOUR FORTUNE? 

This is what I would do with my $10 Million
1. $1 Million – Pay off my mortgage 🏘️
2. $1 Million – Share with friends and family 👪
3. $1 Million – Charity (humans) 🙆🙆‍♂️
4. $1 Million -Charity (animals) 🐕‍🦺🐈
5. $1 Million – BUY Bitcoin! 🙂 ₿
6. $5 Million – Save/invest in another property maybe? 💰

P/S: And NO. I’m not quitting my job as I love my job too much to quit it!

WHAT IS THE ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT YOU THAT WE WOULDN’T FIND ON YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE? ANY HIDDEN TALENTS PERHAPS? PREVIOUS WOMEN IN MARKETING CANDIDATE, DR. LIEZEL BYGATE SAID THAT SHE IS AN EXPERT HULA-HOOPER!

I was a Rotary Exchange Student when I was 17 years old and stayed across 4 families in a small town called Ingleside, Ontario in Canada for 12 months.

CAREER AND WORKPLACE

WHAT ENCOURAGED YOU TO PURSUE A CAREER IN MARKETING? AFTER ALL, MOST OF US GREW UP WANTING TO BE DOCTORS, RIGHT?

Believe it or not, I had a fear of maths! (And yes! I am now working in the FinTech sector)

I chose marketing – as it had the least correlation to maths- thinking that I could just run away from maths. That is so not true as Marketing often involves maths and numbers from budgeting, forecasting, statistics and many more practical applications which all require some kind of math formulas to understand the customer better, delivering value or even measuring ROI.

GIVE US A SNEAK PEEK OF HOW YOU TYPICALLY START YOUR DAY. ARE YOU #TEAMCOFFEE OR #TEAMTEA? OR BOTH? YOU BEAUTIFUL REBEL!

It is now a habit that the moment I wake up, I check my phone (for both work and social).

Then off I trot to the kitchen and make myself a cup of English breakfast tea to kick off my day! So, I am a 100% #TEAMTEA. ☕

I need to start my day with a cup of tea. I spend a bit of ‘me’ time (reading, meditating, catching up on the latest news, exercising and even cleaning the house) before I start my day at work around 8.45-9 am. 

Just in case you are wondering how I can do all those ‘me’ time activities all before 8.45 am, do note that I am an early bird so very often my day starts from 6 am onwards.

HOW BEST DO YOU MAINTAIN A WORK-LIFE BALANCE?

I try my best to work efficiently and smart during the week and to have a weekend filled with catching up with friends, family, social work and church.

Even if I had to do some work during the weekend, I would pace the work out so that I can relax and have a good weekend.

I enjoy going for strolls and whenever possible during the evenings (regardless if it’s a weekday or a weekend), I would try to do an hour’s stroll in the evening just to rest my mind and body.

Keeping a work-life balance is a head and heart revelation. You know in your head how important it is to maintain work-life balance and in your heart, you must also believe that work-life balance is essential for a happy Junice to face tomorrow’s challenges and wins!

YOU OBTAINED YOUR BA HONORS IN COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE CHARLES STUART UNIVERSITY. YESSS GIRL! ACCORDING TO CNBC, RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY GLASSDOOR FOUND THAT COMPANIES LIKE APPLE, GOOGLE AND IBM (AMONGST OTHERS) OFFER WORK-FROM-HOME JOBS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE ANY FORMAL EDUCATION. IN YOUR OPINION, HOW CAN YOUNG WOMEN UTILISE THE INTERNET TO UPSKILL THEIR CAREERS PARTICULARLY IF THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO AFFORD A FORMAL EDUCATION?

The internet has exploded and has changed the way we think, speak, learn, work and live! 

Almost everything is digital now and we have seen a whole new set of skills, professions and opportunities for those who utilise the internet. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, digitalisation is now present in almost every corner of this earth.

So, yes, women can use the internet to upskill their careers regardless of when they finished their studies. Firstly, there is a red sea of learning resources or even free courses for you to choose to upskill for example Udemy.

The internet has also opened a plethora of business opportunities for women who want to set-up their own business through different eCommerce opportunities as a source of income. It is a whole new world of opportunities and knowledge to be found on the world wide web as long as you have a phone or a device and internet connection, the world is yours to explore and conquer.

WITH AN IMPECCABLE RESUME AND HAVING WORKED FOR COMPANIES SUCH AS JCDecaux Singapore, EYE AS WELL AS MOOVE MEDIA, HOW IMPORTANT HAS LINKEDIN BEEN FOR YOU AND WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG WOMEN LOOKING TO ESTABLISH THEIR PROFESSIONAL BRAND FOR NETWORKING PURPOSES?

In my opinion, LinkedIn’s functionality goes beyond a job portal.

To me, LinkedIn is a content provider and a channel for me to share thought leadership content which helps to uplift both the organisation’s brand and my brand.

Having an ‘All-Star’ LinkedIn profile helps to build trust and credibility in your industry and networks which then, in turn, creates great networking opportunities with like-minded people or communities.

I would also like to mention that in a digitalised world, having just one niche social media channel to network is not enough. As for me, I use LinkedIn, Twitter and Medium to share content and network with industry professionals, while my Instagram and Facebook accounts are more for my personal use.

My advice to women looking to establish their professional brand for networking purposes is to definitely build up a LinkedIn profile and slowly start connecting with industry professionals. At the same time, do use other social media platforms to supplement your career boost and establishment which LinkedIn might not be able to do so. 

WHAT’S YOUR SMARTEST WORK-RELATED SHORTCUT OR PRODUCTIVITY HACK?

These are my top 5 productivity hacks:

1. Write down your tasks and start your day by checking tasks that you need to cover for the day.
2. Ask when you do not understand.
3. Learn to say ‘No’ – when there is just too much. Then sit down and discuss with your manager on the next steps.
4. Use measurement tools for your campaigns – so that you have data to prove your point.
5. Listen more, talk less.

JOB HOPPING IS A COMMON PHENOMENA ESPECIALLY IN THE DYNAMIC WORLD OF ADVERTISING AND MARKETING. WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ON JOB HOPPING? DOES IT HURT OR AID ONE’S CAREER?

The general rule is, in everything that we do, we should do so in moderation.

So in the case of job-hopping, if yes, a little can be beneficial and healthy for the newbie’s career as they continue to figure out their job path and roles. However, if one was to continue job-hopping (usually staying less than 12-15 months in a role),  in my opinion, this action would do more harm than good for anyone’s long-term career perspective.

Employers are more cautious in employing job hoppers than those who tend to be able to stay longer in a role which often shows maturity and commitment towards the organisation and the job.
 

FOR IT’S 2019 MOST INFLUENTIAL CMO’S REPORT, FORBES LISTED 31 WOMEN OUT OF 50 CANDIDATES (19 MEN). IT APPEARS THAT MORE WOMEN OCCUPY CMO ROLES COMPARED TO OTHER C-SUITE ROLES. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE CASE?

It’s great to see more women are occupying CMO roles. However, I do believe that there are men who make great CMOs too.

I believe women possess some qualities and mindsets that make them better CMOs. Women are highly adaptable in general and are more open to collaboration talks. In marketing, negotiation, understanding and partnership formation makes up a lot of success. Of course, all these need to be backed by data. 

Women are wired to have more empathy and intuitiveness in general. Women can quickly identify the feelings and thoughts around each scenario just from facial expressions, body language or tone of voice compared to men who are more systematic in their thinking processes.

A study conducted by Simon Baron-Cohen, a psychologist at Cambridge Uni, theorised that there are two kinds of brains: the empathising brain (women) and the systemising brain (men) who speaks more about this topic.

Maybe with all these factors, women tend to work better with brands and hence more CMOs in this sector. 

REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN MARKETING, PARTICULARLY, IN SENIOR ROLES IS ON THE UP. WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU THINK WOMEN CONTINUE TO FACE DESPITE THESE CHANGES AND HOW BEST SHOULD THESE BE ADDRESSED?

This is a great question following from the above question. I have highlighted 3 key challenges that women would face and the opportunities that come along with this.

Challenge: Empathy is a double-edged sword and women are often labelled as “too emotional” at work.
Opportunity: I would beg to differ and would say that based on our emotional experiences and empathetic feelings, women can bring more diversity in conversations and scenario planning.

Challenge: There are usually more senior men who are always present in business meetings than women.
Opportunity: Yes, there might be many senior men in the room. In a situation like this arm yourself with facts, know your topic, be confident and do your presentation or pitch with conviction. The best part is, being the only woman in the room, this will naturally make you stand-out and be remembered by all in the room.

Challenge: Difficult to have a balance between work and personal life. 
Opportunity: Just like Nike’s slogan, “Just do it” and be resilient while you formulate a healthy work-life balance that suits yourself best. Stay calm, plan early, communicate and most importantly be kind to yourself as you balance between work and personal life. Speak up if help is needed and be happy.

ONE OF THE LEARNING CURVES FOR MOST ORGANISATIONS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, IS THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURES TO FACILITATE REMOTE WORK. FOR TECH PLAYERS IN SILICON VALLEY THE TRANSITION WAS RELATIVELY SMOOTH WITH THE LIKES OF FACEBOOK AND TWITTER DESIGNING A FUTURE WHERE THEIR STAFF MAY POTENTIALLY WORK REMOTELY FOREVER.  THE ARGUMENT THOUGH, IS THAT THIS IS LONG OVERDUE. IN YOUR OPINION, WHY HAVE COMPANIES TAKEN SO LONG TO IMPLEMENT REMOTE WORK OPPORTUNITIES? 

I can’t speak for other organisations. As for Overbit – a Bitcoin cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, everything that we do is online and is 100% digital. As for the team, we have always been working remotely with offices around the world and bosses being based in different countries and time zones.

The Overbit team are all digitally connected and honestly, there isn’t a problem from where we work as everything is easily accessible remotely. What is important is for the staff at Overbit to display independent and accountable attributes when working remotely.

WORKING FROM HOME IS AWESOME! MOST OF US CAN AGREE. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT WITHOUT IT’S SET OF CHALLENGES. EMPLOYEE WELLNESS HAS TAKEN A SIGNIFICANT STRAIN WITH PEOPLE WORKING LONGER HOURS AS A RESULT OF EMPLOYEES BEING ‘ALWAYS ON’ AND NOT BEING ABLE TO SWITCH OFF. HOW CAN EMPLOYERS GUARD AGAINST EMPLOYEE BURNOUT OR IN THE WORST EVENT, LOSING THEIR BEST TALENT?

Here are five thoughts on how to ensure no burnt-out employees when working from home (WFH).

1. Employers should help employees to focus on their most important work to ensure that there is prioritisation and focal point for them.

2. Employers to remember and respect employees “start and end work times” – even though it’s WFH – so that employees do not get overstretched.

3. Check-in with the employees and always include everyone in the communication process (where possible) so that there is clarity and no assumption.

4.  Employers should allow employees to voice their concerns – regardless of how big or small it is,

5. Lastly it is important for employers to tell them that it’s OK to say ‘No’ and to negotiate things. This is two-way communication and the ability to be able to voice out their opinions and thoughts.

BCG PUBLISHED ITS INNOVATION REPORT FOR 2020 AND AT THE CORE OF ITS SELECTION CRITERIA ARE COMPANIES THAT HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MARRIED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. ACCORDING TO YOU, WHAT MAKES SOMETHING INNOVATIVE? 

In my opinion, innovation is a combination of a few areas. Innovation is understanding your customer’s touchpoints and their pain points, coming up with new methods to solve their pain points, creating personalisation for your customer with the hope that your old customers will keep on coming back to you while reaching out to new audiences. The digitalisation helps with the innovation process to create value for your customers most simply and easily.

Data helps to support the reasons why and what type of innovation is needed for the team. However, having an open mindset and being daring to try new things/methods will surely help with the roll-out of innovation seamlessly within the organisation.

AS A LEADER IN YOUR CAPACITY OF HEAD OF DIGITAL MARKETING, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN MOTIVATING YOUR TEAM DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME?

Here are 5 things that I do to motivate and get the team going  during this difficult time:

1. Create an effective remote working environment by ensuring that everyone has the right tools to communicate and work easily during this period

2. Have open communication between team members and up my patience level by 100%, especially during remote meetings.

3. Remember to respect employees’ timing such as their lunch breaks, after hour working hours and weekend hours and being conscious not to overload them with too much work so that there’s still work-life balance.

4. Weekly meetings are still important as it’s an appointed time slot for the team to still sit down together to discuss challenges, what’s in store for the upcoming week and setting of goals.

5. Be kind. Understand that no one wants the pandemic or wants to be cooped up working from home. So sometimes, have a discerning heart when staff speaks up and be firm when it’s needed to stand your ground.

As I am answering these questions, I am feeling a little nostalgic not being able to see the team or work together with them in a physical office environment. 🙁

YOU WORK FOR AN AWESOME COMPANY IN OVERBIT. HOW IMPORTANT IS DIGITAL MARKETING IN THE BITCOIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY SPACE?

Let me start with the definition of cryptocurrency (digital currencies) to give context behind this industry and why digital marketing is core in the crypto space. 

Investopedia defines cryptocurrency as a new form of digital asset based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers. This decentralised structure enables them to be outside the control of governments or central authorities. Since its inception. Cryptocurrencies have remained exclusively digital.

Overbit is a bitcoin derivatives cryptocurrency exchange and we serve international traders. All communication and marketing efforts are conducted 100% digitally. We use digital marketing because it is the best way to reach an international audience footfall effectively with measurable KPIs.


Cryptocurrency marketing is very volatile but at the same time very resilient just look at Bitcoin’s performance for the past 12 years and with digital marketing, we can reach more crypto traders with less cost compared to traditional marketing such as press or outdoor advertising.

Marketers need to understand their target audience and in my case, to understand traders personas. Upon understanding their personas, you will be able to create strong brand personality and loyalty when traders start to place their trust in your brand. This is exactly what we did at Overbit when we launched the Traders Survey to 2500 respondents, across 5 continents to 90 countries to better understand traders’ needs, skill sets and pain points when it came to spot and derivatives cryptocurrency trading.

Once you understand your target audience profile, now comes the nuts and bolts of crypto marketing. Successful crypto marketing includes strategic content marketing which educates its users and to build your community. Followed by effective crypto social media marketing such as Twitter and Reddit. Next in line is influencer marketing, website marketing and email marketing. Lastly, without measurement and data, it is almost impossible to evaluate the success of your campaign or even plan the next steps.

If you are interested to find out more about these basic strategies, read this article on 3 Must have Strategies to get started with Crypto Marketing which was written by yours truly.  

2020 AND BEYOND

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF?

“Junice learn your Maths properly!” – No, just joking! 🤦

I would tell myself that life is a journey.

Yes, work hard and smart. Learn to smell the roses along the way. The choices that you make will make up for the consequences that you face. We make good and bad choices along the way. In the end, how you end up depends on how you choose to view each situation and overcome it.

“Junice, do you want to view the glass “half-empty” or “half-full”? 🥛
The choice is yours Junice. So, be strong and courageous and keep the faith! 🙂

WHAT CHALLENGE IS ON YOUR PLATE? 

Here are the top 3 challenges that I face right now when marketing cryptocurrency:

Challenge: You need to acquire a vast number of users while facing strong competition out there.
Solution: The solution is to continue to provide vertical engagement offerings and highlight the exchange’s USPs while pumping up on SEO efforts, continuous email marketing, strong PR, great customer service and content marketing to generate an inflow of new users

Challenge: Content Marketing is essential to help continue to educate novice traders on crypto trading.
Strategy: Educating traders in their trading journey is Overbit’s mission. Overbit launched a blog site dedicated to helping traders to be abreast of the latest news and happening. We have taken this education step further with the launch of 3 times a week crypto news to our audience for free. See example of Overbit Weekly News here.

Challenge: How to creating fun and cheers in the midst of the pandemic’s doom and gloom
Strategy: In the midst of doom and gloom, I wanted to inject fun and cheer to traders. Hence Overbit invested in a five-digit budget to launch Overbit Sketches – a series of educational trading commercials with a funny spin on it. Check out Overbit Sketches for a laugh and if you wanted to understand the strategy behind this video marketing campaign, watch the Behind the Scenes clip!


Overbit Rewards Hub on the other hand is another long-term investment to bring joy daily to our traders’ lives. Traders can now have fun playing different types of games to earn crypto perks or even BTC or USDT without having to trade in the hub.  

ANY BUCKET LIST ITEMS?

Actually not really.

I take each day as a bucket list. 📝

There is always something new in each day that you need to learn and go through. So, I would take each passing day’s adventure with stride and optimism and for all the wins within the day, I take it as a blessing. For all the challenges, I take them one step at time to overcome them with confidence and hope.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR SHEROES?

Here are some of my Sheroes:
1. Mother Teresa
2. Park Yeon-mi
3. My mum! ❤️

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? 

I’m currently reading a paperback by Dale Carnegie on ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People‘

WHAT WOULD YOU COME BACK AS IN THE NEXT LIFETIME CAREER-WISE? DO YOU THINK YOU MISSED A CALLING?

If I had a chance, I would love to be an animal sanctuary owner. 👩🏼‍🌾🐄🐑

It would be my joy to be able to work with animals on a daily basis. Even though I might not be an animal sanctuary owner, I am currently a proud Cat Aunty to two beautiful Burmese Cats – Cookie and Muffin. 🐈🐾

WHAT IS ON YOUR NETFLIX WATCHLIST?

I honestly haven’t watched Netflix for the longest time even though I have added many new releases into my Netflix list. I guess when I have some spare time, I would watch a comedy or rewatch a classic like “Pretty Woman” – just for rest and relaxation.

AS WE LEARN TO LIVE WITH COVID19 IF YOU COULD REPLACE THE HANDSHAKE AS A FORM OF GREETING, WHAT INTERESTING NEW GREETING WOULD YOU INTRODUCE?

I would do an “air wave” or a “air high-five”👋 as an alternative to replacing the handshake as a form of greeting. I will end that with a smile (even under my mask) as my tiny eyes would still show that I am smiling. 😷

WHO HAVEN’T YOU SEEN OR TALKED TO IN A LONG TIME AND HOPE THEY ARE DOING OKAY?

I haven’t seen my dad since the pandemic lock-down. Dad is based in Malaysia while I am working in Singapore. Thank God for technology that we can keep in contact via Zoom, Facetime, Whatsapp and Facebook.

Can’t wait for the borders to be opened between Singapore and Malaysia for dad to visit again soon. 💖

WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR AMAZING WOMEN IN MARKETING TO PROFILE. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE US TO GET IN TOUCH WITH?

Yes please! I would love to be able to connect with Malala Yousafzai.

She is not a marketer by profession but an activist who markets her dreams and life. She is an inspiration and a role model to many young women out there to fight for education and a future. To me, she is the best CMO for her own story and brand.

A UNIQUE MESSAGE FOR ALL YOUNG PROFESSIONALS IN THE MARKETING INDUSTRY

Here are 5 key messages for young professionals:

1. Don’t get involved in office politics. It does more harm than good for your body, mind and spirit.
2. Know your KPIs and track your KPIs.
3. Don’t compare yourself with your surroundings. Be confident in your work.
4. No one becomes a manager within 1 year of working’s experience. Your turn will come when the time is right.
5. Talk less, listen more.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING, JUNICE. WE HOPE THIS INTERVIEW WILL INSPIRE FUTURE LEADERS AND OTHER WOMEN IN MARKETING. HOW CAN PEOPLE FOLLOW YOU AND YOUR COMPANY ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

Follow Junice: 👧
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juniceliew/
Twitter: @JuniceLiew
Telegram: @juniceliew
Medium: @juniceliew

Curious why I quit the media industry after 15 years to join the crypto industry? Read my story here.

Follow Overbit.com:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/officialoverbit/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Overbit1/
Telegram: https://t.me/OfficialOverbit
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Overbit/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/overbit/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialoverbit/
Blog: https://blog.overbit.com/en/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClt81V91NPD12ENliF9FOBQ/