1. It’s been three years since you took on the role of Head of Content Marketing at SPH Media’s Content Lab, how has the journey been thus far?
I think the last few years have been the same for everyone in the industry. It’s been like a Transformers movie: A messy, confounding, infuriating, logic-defying adventure with digital robots threatening to take over the world. My journey at SPH Media started right in the thick of the Covid era, which required us to rethink what it is exactly that Content Lab does in this new world - and now we’re all in the era of AI, which requires us to rethink how we do what we do.

That said, despite the challenges, we’ve managed to strengthen our capabilities, develop new products, launch inventive, truly multi-channel, multi-format content campaigns for awesome clients, and grow our content marketing revenue year-on-year. And we’ve actually had fun doing it all.

2. In light of the recent awards that Content Lab has received, can you name some of the greatest achievements of you and your team?
Embracing change, letting go of the past, being excited about future possibilities. A mindset shift can be the hardest thing to push through - much more difficult to actually accomplish than simply restructuring organisation charts, buying new tech, or jumping on every new content trend to signal relevance. This mindset shift is something I’ve championed from Day One, and I’m so proud of my Content Lab team for rising to the challenge.

3. Tell us more about your team at Content Lab, their strengths and how they have supported you in your journey.
The Content Lab team is a lovely, diverse, collaborative bunch of people who come from various editorial, creative and media backgrounds. They understand that there’s a certain magic that happens when you work together that doesn’t happen when you go at it alone. And we try to get clients to approach working with us in the same vein, by the way: Collaborate, so we can all create something special.

It comes down to trust. I trust my team to do their jobs to the best of their abilities - and they trust that I’ve got their backs, and that I’m considering more than just the bottom line when decisions are made. For example, our exploration into a future co-piloted with AI isn’t just focused on productivity and cost management - it’s really about unlocking creative and professional growth for every individual, and future-proofing careers.

I think that if you want your team to support you and work as a cohesive unit, you kinda need to give them a reason beyond “It’s in your KPIs”.

4. Do you think content marketing has changed over the years? What was the most significant difference or change?
There’s been a shift in the entire industry. When I first moved from editorial to branded content about eight years ago, content marketing was almost looked at as “niche”, with brands considering whether they even needed to dabble in content or continue marketing as usual. That’s no longer the case today. Content marketing is marketing. Marketing is content marketing. You can’t be a brand today without having something to say. And you can’t communicate that without content. That said, I think the industry still has some catching up to do. Far too many people in charge of content have barely any experience in content creation - and that needs to change, especially when you can no longer market anything without content.

Of course, there’s also the whole thing with AI. My hope is that the industry catches its breath from being enthralled by the wonder that is AI and the potential cost-saving fantasy of cutting humans from the process, to focus on the fundamental importance of imbuing what we do with humanness. We’ll have tools to help us scale - the least we can do is to do right by the audience.

5. Are there any exciting plans for Content Lab in 2024? Can you share more about them?
It’s a really simple plan: We want to be more useful to clients. How can our expertise in content ideation, strategy and creation - combined with access to our audience across the entirety of SPH Media’s news and lifestyle ecosystem comprising digital, social, print, broadcast and out-of-home - help you better achieve your business objectives? Content Lab has gone beyond simply selling units of content and media to clients, and we’re now in the business of solutioning.

6. If you can choose one person from history and have them truthfully answer one question, who would you pick and what is the question?
I’d ask Freud about that dream I had last night. That was weird.