Singapore – Tilt, a through-the-line and digital marketing agency based in Singapore, has announced the appointment of Madina Kalyayeva as its new managing director and partner as the agency aims to evolve into a regional creative powerhouse, poised to deliver innovative solutions to clients across diverse industries.

Part of the plans involved in Kalyayeva’s appointment would be the establishment of a dedicated social media and content production arm for the agency. In a press statement, Tilt shared that this strategic move aims to provide both existing and new clients with a holistic set of offerings, eliminating the need to tap into external partners for these services. 

MARKETECH APAC recently caught up exclusively with Madina Kalyayeva to learn more about this move and hear her insights on the outlook of the digital marketing industry in Southeast Asia.

Embodying an ethos on innovation, agility, and client-centricity

When asked about this expanded service lineup, Kalyayeva believes that this new service will help provide Tilt’s clients with unparalleled support in navigating the evolving digital marketing landscape.

“Tilt is committed to building long-term relationships with our clients, offering consistent support and deeper partnerships. These new offerings will enable us to produce high-quality content quickly, optimising it for maximum impact. Social media, in particular, plays a crucial role in today’s digital landscape, and our dedicated arm will ensure that our clients have access to top-tier social media strategies and content production,” she told MARKETECH APAC.

She also added, “Having successfully set up an SM department & lead social media initiatives at M&C Saatchi, including regional clients like DFI and Epson, I understand the importance of social content in driving brand visibility and engagement.”

Prior to joining Tilt, Kalyayeva was previously the managing director of M&C Saatchi Singapore for almost two years. She also had experience working with agencies such as R.S.V.P., Indochie Media, GREY Singapore, amongst others.

During her time at M&C Saatchi, she played a pivotal role in acquiring clients such as Epson SEA, WWF Singapore, Maybank, and SMU. Her strategic vision and leadership have significantly contributed to expanding the agency’s offerings to social content production and PR and furthering relationships with existing clients.

By embodying the agency’s ethos on innovation, client-centricity, and agility; Kalyayeva believes that the agency is capable of harnessing the power of creativity and technology to drive meaningful impact for their clients and respective audiences, setting the standard for excellence in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing and media solutions.

“We are committed to pushing creative boundaries, adapting swiftly to industry changes, and placing our clients’ needs at the forefront of everything we do. Our approach is rooted in collaboration, transparency, and a relentless pursuit of excellence, ensuring that we consistently deliver exceptional results and build enduring partnerships,” she stated.

What digital marketing trends, challenges, opportunities await SEA marketers this 2024

When asked of the key digital marketing trends that await marketers in SEA this year, Kalyayve shared that it would be artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality, adding that it will aid in aiding innovation for digital marketing strategies by brands.

“While AI garnered significant attention in 2023, its true impact is yet to be fully realised. However, it has sparked conversations around its potential to streamline processes and enhance creative output. At Tilt, we’re excited about the possibilities AI presents and are integrating various AI solutions into our operations,” she said.

She added, “Today we have a headset & a power-bank, what will be interesting is when that will all be packed into lenses we can all wear – what we see today (AR sets) is not what we’ll see in the near future AR offers immersive and interactive experiences, providing agencies and brands they are servicing with unique opportunities to engage their audiences in novel ways.”

However, Kalyayeva expressed that a key challenge now for digita marketers this year is how they can adopt to these rapidly changing consumer behaviours while also operating on limited marketing budgets.

“In 2024, brands in Southeast Asia will encounter a myriad of digital marketing challenges and opportunities. As consumers adjust to the constantly evolving nature of the Internet, the pressure is on for brands to transform their strategies to keep pace. Tighter budgets, changing consumer behaviour, and the need to navigate cultural and linguistic diversity pose significant challenges. Moreover, with last-minute budget releases becoming more common, marketers are faced with shorter planning cycles and smaller budgets released in spurts,” she explained.

She added, “This dynamic landscape demands agility from both marketers and their partner agencies. At Tilt, we understand the importance of agility and stand ready to assist our clients, even with last-minute opportunities. By leveraging our dedicated social media and content production arms, we can produce high-quality, bite-sized content quickly to accommodate the fast-paced nature of digital marketing in Southeast Asia.”

Co-owners William Chan, CEO of HM Too in Hong Kong; and Stuart Helmore, Tilt’s CEO, expressed their excitement about Madina’s appointment, sharing, “We are delighted to welcome Madina to the Tilt family. Her extensive experience and proven track record in the industry align perfectly with our vision for Tilt’s future. We are confident that Madina’s leadership will not only contribute significantly to Tilt’s success but will also enhance the overall synergy within the HM family.”

The move also comes as Tilt continues its trajectory of growth following the acquisition by HM Too and Agile Media in October 2021, cementing its position as a leading creative force in the South East Asian region.

For Madina Kalyayeva, M&C Saatchi Singapore’s managing director, to keep a team engaged and empowered is simple – it’s all about looking no further than the team in generating and spurring innovation in creative work – trusting what each has to offer and share. 

“We tend to seek motivation from special programmes or coaches, while we neglect the talented individuals we interact with on a daily basis,” said Madina. 

As a female leader, there are three things that Madina encourages the most in her team: Seeing the good in change; keeping one’s network diverse; and learning to be comfortable with the unfamiliar. 

Being comfortable with the unknown

The digital world is ever-changing which means that brands and creative partners like M&C Saatchi are continuously placed in new and unfamiliar positions that demand them to adapt to change and drive inventiveness amidst making sense of the unknown. Madina said that considering this challenge, while best practices are good, it doesn’t serve well to stick to one thing for too long. 

Best practices are good, but not necessarily reliable as information flows faster than ever, and complex models are now required to evaluate possibilities. That is why today, in the digitally enabled world, we need to create new patterns and seek new opportunities.

Madina Kalyayeva, Manading Director, M&C Saatchi Singapore

In building up the sophistication and versatility of her team, the marketing leader strives to encourage members to make their network as diverse as possible. This is the same principle she adopts herself, and thus one of the key aspects of the kind of leadership she puts forth. 

She believes that the “diversity of thought” can be the very tool in coming up with effective creative-led solutions. 

Develop relationships with people who are outside of your comfort “friendship” zone, connect with those who are different and learn about similarities and cooperate with them to achieve a common goal. This can become a tool for a solution through the diversity of thought.

Madina Kalyayeva, Manading Director, M&C Saatchi Singapore

Strategic & insight-driven huddles

The MD of the Singapore team believes in beefing up the team’s talent and experience and actually tapping them in order to bring to fruition groundbreaking work. 

The marketing leader implements sharing sessions where once a month, a partner, client, or team member is invited to conduct a session about something they believe is exciting which could be anything under the creative and marketing domain, such as Discord training session, Metaverse Fashion Week walkthrough, 101 to Minting of NFTs, and Best Practices in Publishing, amongst others. 

Madina strongly sees the effective impact of these strategic huddles as they become a unique opportunity to learn from one’s peers, clients, and partners. It’s about encouraging team members to use the people around them and their network to the most potential, and constantly interacting and really listening to how they have solved a problem, initiated a solution, or suggested an impactful idea. 

“We all go home and put on a different role – this initiative allows one to show the wider team the other functions they take on and their interests outside of work and teach us something new,” says Madina.

Genuine interactions producing out-of-the-box thinking

As the world changes by the minute, it’s not only important, but crucial, to constantly think outside the box. Madina said that the insight-driven sessions have only borne good fruit upon their implementation. Besides the fact that it allowed the team to learn about each other’s outside-of-work interests and activities, the new things learned allowed them to view and put together proposals differently. 

“We started to utilise the networks better and welcomed more outside-of-the-box ideas from the junior team, as they often have the most diverse connections,” she shared. 

Madina said that in the desire of organisations to connect teams together, initiatives would sometimes feel forced, hence, turns to be counteractive. Therefore, the key is building authentic and genuine points of interaction. 

“Forced by management team activities to bond became unnecessary, and the teams started to also hang out outside of work and on weekends together,” said Madina.

She added, “In general, productivity increased as everyone became more familiar with and keen to learn more from each other.”