Masayu Difa, client director at Lion & Lion Indonesia, has been named as one of the ‘Empowered Women in Agency’ at MARKETECH APAC’s Empowered Women Awards 2023. The awarding exercise is an inaugural effort by the digital media to recognise the outstanding women marketing leaders in the industry.
Masayu began her journey with Lion & Lion in Indonesia as its client lead in 2019. After 2 years in the position, she was elevated to become the agency’s associate client director, and in 2022, inaugurated in her present role as client director.
The force behind L’Oreal’s highly engaging digital presence
Since acquiring the digital marketing business of global beauty brand L’Oreal in Indonesia, digital agency Lion & Lion has been making waves in establishing and expanding its social media presence in the market. One of the leaders behind its success is Masayu Difa.
Masayu led the team in expanding the L’Oreal brand portfolio in Indonesia where from Maybelline solely operating in the market in 2019, it has been widened to add three more in 2021 – L’Oreal Paris, Garnier, and NYX. Add to this, one of the marketing leader’s major accomplishments was securing La Roche Posay, L’Oréal’s science-forward skincare brand, as a client the year after.
Masayu’s strategic marketing foresight and creative expertise enabled her to drive the team in successfully launching Maybelline New York’s and Garnier’s TikTok accounts, as well as L’Oreal Paris’ new social media presence. Her effective leadership resulted in Maybelline achieving the impressive milestone of 1 million followers six months ahead of schedule, along with an impressive 11.4 million likes. Garnier also made significant progress, garnering 465k followers and 5.5 million likes in just seven months.
A Biology graduate making her way to the creative world
Masayu’s roots are as interesting as it gets. With a successful career in the marketing world, no one would have known, right off the bat, that her area of focus back in college is Biology. But by following her genuine passion for advertising and marketing, she was able to propel herself to milestones within the field that eventually got her to where she is now.
Fresh out of college in 2010, Masayu didn’t wait a sec and immediately sank her teeth in account management in the creative industry. Her original academic background didn’t stop her from braving some of the most high-impact teams, and in turn, made her secure a seat in well-renowned agencies such as Geometry Global, McCann Worldgroup, and Grey Group.
She has been able to excel in the area through hard work and dedication, and her commitment to continuous learning and growth is what enabled her to attain her current success in Lion & Lion as one of its respected and notable leaders.
A leader who isn’t afraid to ‘get dirt’ on her hands
According to Masayu’s team, she is a leader that has a bias for action – both in managing herself and in leading her team. She banks on the practical approach, where she’s truly hands-on and leads her team by example.
In the words of John Campbell-Bruce, the regional managing director of Lion & Lion, “she is the person who gets in there, and gets things done, and she would never ask her team to do something that [she] herself would not do.” Masayu leads with a sense of purpose and direction, inspiring her team to perform at their best and achieve their goals.
One of the key qualities admirable in her is her ability to set clear expectations and empower her members to grow and develop. The team can vouch for Masayu that she fosters a culture of openness and transparency, where the team feels comfortable sharing their ideas and feedback, leading to increased collaboration and innovation.
Masayu reminds, “Be yourself, without worrying about judgement. Your authentic self is one of the most valuable assets you can offer to your work, in addition to your expertise and skill sets.”
Aside from Masayu, check out who else made it to Empowered Women Awards 2023 Winners’ list.
