Creative agencies are often marked by the outputs and recognitions available for the public to see. Their campaigns and activations often leave impressions, but the true drivers of an agency’s impact are its people.
Throughout the years, VML Malaysia has been driving an impact across the market through its local initiatives and collaborations with brands. Across all its work, it has championed a human centric ethos philosophy, emphasising the role of powerful ideas springing from human needs, desires, and motivations.
However, it is not only the people outside the agency that VML Malaysia is focusing on.
Kenni Loh, chief executive officer at VML Malaysia, is spotlighting its people as the creative agency’s greatest force in MARKETECH APAC’s latest Agency Leadership Decoded article. He dives into the agency’s people-first culture, permeating throughout all its work and collaborations.
People-first culture
Kenni takes pride in his human-centric leadership, having adopted and nurtured a people-first culture across VML Malaysia. He recognises people as the most valuable asset in an agency, significantly shaping collaborations.
“When you’re people-first, the teamwork and mutual support we have for each other show up naturally in our work. It’s an infectious force that has helped us grow as an agency, winning not only business, but also the hearts of those in the boardrooms we show up in,” Kenni said.
This leadership philosophy has led Kenni to implement initiatives in the same approach, keeping the team motivated.
“Being proudly people-first, we’re committed to creating a positive, inclusive and transparent work environment, where everyone is free to express themselves and encouraged to grow professionally and personally,” he said.
To ensure this, Kenni shares how VML Malaysia has an open expression policy for work sharing, reviews, feedback, and other discussions. They also have a knowledge-sharing platform called “What’s Next,” where the staff can present their capabilities, enabling them to celebrate their work.
Additionally, the agency holds a VML Foundation, an event where teams create fundraising initiatives for a two-day charity bazaar that is open to the public. All proceeds are then donated to charitable causes chosen by each team.
“The secret sauce to our collective success and connectedness is our social events. We don’t see team building and team-bonding as corporate responsibility; we live it as our agency culture,” he said.
Navigating mergers as a unified team
One of VML Malaysia’s challenges is to navigate mergers over five years. Kenni shares that it became difficult for different organisations with distinct beliefs and policies to integrate
“Our primary challenge was to harmonise individuals from diverse backgrounds into a cohesive culture,” he said.
Nonetheless, VML Malaysia stuck to its human-centric approach, both internally and externally. Their approach focused on people, even with how it handled clients, brands, and business.
The agency also focused on creating a differentiated brand positioning through its capabilities in brand experience, customer experience, and commerce.
“We stayed consistent with our brand narrative, core values and people-first culture, applying them across our agency-wide initiatives, as well as through creating impactful work for our clients, brands and partners,” Kenni said.
“Currently, we operate as a unified team, working towards a shared vision. We are now the largest WPP creative agency in Malaysia and in Southeast Asia,” he added.
Human-centric growth
Kenni’s concept of growth is not based on numbers and revenue, but on people.
“I am passionate about our people-first culture because the impact and results of this approach cannot be faked and have emerged naturally. This is observed and backed with consistent positive feedback by our global and regional network, clients, and colleagues,” he said.
He explained how the team has an annual staff survey, which yields positive scores consistently.
“The positive energy permeates every aspect of our workplace, from the corridors to the dining area. table at the makan area to the meeting rooms,” he said.
For other aspiring leaders, Kenni leaves some advice: “Leadership is all about focusing on our people. This is more important now than ever, especially in this current landscape of AI. Stay people-first, treat every person as human, and everything else will naturally fall in place.”
VML Malaysia’s success, with Kenni at the helm, is a testament to the power of a people-first approach. By focusing on its employees and nurturing a culture of support, the agency has not only navigated significant challenges but also achieved remarkable growth measured by its people.
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