Lee is a creative working at Good Relations part of the VCCP Partnership. Her primary goal is to dream up and strategise ideas and experiences for a wide range of audiences on social media and beyond. Clients she has worked on include Subway, FedEx and Royal Caribbean. She’s also worked in the realm of digital, including virtual reality, which helped her previous agency get nominations for the Drum Network Awards and the DADI awards.
In her free time, she loves cooking, travelling and current affairs. Her recent project outside of work, ‘Election Predictions’, was created with a data scientist. It helped to predict the outcome and analysed the sentiment of the electorate using data analytics. It grabbed the attention of the likes of Jeremy Vine, Robin Ince and Sian Berry.
Describe your background in 5 words max?
British Malaysian Chinese Northamptonian Londoner.
How did you get into PR/comms?
I was working in digital and got a job as a Creative in Social Media at a PR agency.
What do you love about your job?
Researching trends and culture, as well as coming up with ideas and concepts.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my Subway April Fool’s #SUBZero ice cream campaign, as it was an example of a well-integrated campaign across PR and social media.
What’s been the hardest lesson to learn?
Believing in yourself and what you do.
Who are your favourite people in PR/comms and why?
Steve Milbourne and Phil Clandillon – Creative Directors. They were formally doing advertising for Sony Music, and were well-ahead of their time before social media content was even ‘a thing’. They always used new technology to create amazing communications work, won awards, and above all, are super nice guys!
What is your favourite social network and why?
My favourite social network is Facebook, as you can curate the content you want to see, and talk to people you otherwise would not be able to meet i.e. people from different backgrounds. However, I think the social network, musical.ly has got huge potential and has not yet peaked in the UK. You can lipsync to any music track, but I believe it has more capabilities e.g. lipsyncing to film lines etc. that can be useful for campaigns and engagement work.
Who is your favourite journalist and why?
My favourite journalist is Tanya De Grunwald. She continues to bring attention to illegal internships and uses her skills to stick up for young people in tough and exploitative industries, that only help the privileged to get in i.e. media, fashion, etc.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
When you’re in your very early 20s, change your job once in a while (unless you get a great promotion!). There’s always more to learn elsewhere.
Your favourite PR campaign/stunt of 2018 so far?
Gregg’s Four-Course £15 Valentine’s Day Meal.
Why did you apply for the BME PR Pros/PRWeek Mentoring Scheme?
I applied for this mentorship scheme as female leaders like Sheryl Sandberg said that mentoring is hugely important. I also felt it would be great to speak to a BME person who would understand me from a minority perspective and not judge me based on my background, and would be able to guide me from their amazing experience.
When I found out I had got a place, I couldn’t believe it as I often feel I am not one of those people that ‘wins’ things (National Lottery, I’m looking at you!). I already knew that Janelle was the CD of Weber Shandwick (from reading online, not personally), and was delighted she would be my mentor, as I hugely respect her background and agency.
Finally, on the D’ word… What can the sector do to encourage diversity?
Recruiters need to advertise more on diversity marketing groups, such as on networks like Facebook (e.g. SocialFixt, MadLand Hack) and LinkedIn. CVs should be white-labelled before being chosen for interviews. I also think that people should face ‘ethics tests’, whereby interviewees are screened for their moral beliefs. The questions would have to be written in a clever way in order to get authentic answers. Therefore, if someone didn’t believe in diversity, they would be screened out of the interviewing process for not believing in the company’s core values.
Connect with Lee-Tze on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Lee-Tze is a mentee on the BME PR Pros/PRWeek Mentoring Scheme. She will be mentored by Janelle Feliciano, Associate Creative Director, Weber Shandwick.
