Creating Future Power Brands in Asia

Digital transformation has accelerated, nowhere more so than in APAC, the world’s most digital-first region. To help brands merge physical and digital touchpoints at scale and speed, SGK brings creative, strategy, consultancy, content production, and volume transcreation teams under one roof – creating extraordinary brand experience and packaging solutions worldwide.

Operating over 30 years in the region, the SGK office in Penang works across a broad spectrum of Fortune 500 brands, including Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Diageo, and Beiersdorf – to help clients enhance the customer purchase journey.

“The marketing landscape is more complex than ever before. To cut through the clutter, not only do you need to create brand moments that matter, you need to create them at the speed of culture on – all channels,” says Kathryn Sloane, SGK’s Managing Director, EMEA.

As consumers become more invested and proactive in their purchasing decisions and choice of brands, shifting the marketing approach from a product-led interaction to a consumer-centric experience is essential.

Redefine the customer journey

In the era of e-commerce, Asia accounts for over 50% of the world’s e-commerce sales. This means retailers must have a robust digital identity, which requires building assets to connect consumers to the products with more engaging content across different platforms.

To keep up with the dynamic nature of the digital world, agile production and effective e-content helps brands remix the asset to flex across various platforms – from the digital marketplace to social sites.

With an in-house 3D team backed by production artwork and transcreation team, SGK Penang drives the company’s ambitions of being Asia’s next powerhouse, producing over 200,000 deliverables annually to satisfy today’s needs of content intake.

An integrated network

As brands continue to invest in product innovation to meet consumer demands, marketing ecosystems need to be more agile for continuous brand growth.

In Asia, the heart of global economy, there’s no other better place than Malaysia to develop and nurture a strong infrastructure for digital technologies.

Through data-driven technological tools, SGK and its partners collaborate to view data flow in real-time and progress seamlessly while production is automated to reduce errors significantly.

The production hub hosts 500 employees, of which 75% are Malaysians, who represents the essence of good workflow removing complexity, providing good insights, and creating a solid workflow pattern to support the project.

With a strong team helming the marketing supply chain, including production art, pre-press and print technical solutions, SGK helps client meet the speed-to-market of products and campaigns.

“The smooth operation of the workflow would not be possible if not for our strong pool of talent in Malaysia backing the system tirelessly. We thank MIDA for the support to obtain local licenses and talent acquisition required for continued operations within Malaysia,” commended Anthony Wyatt, Managing Director, SGK Penang.

Sustainability at the forefront

Beyond collaborating with clients, the SGK team in Penang has taken a comprehensive, inside-out approach to minimise the environmental impact and build a better Malaysian economy.

Internally, the company has set comprehensive standards, goals, and metrics while empowering governance and champions at both regional and local levels. From installing hot water solar in the buildings to partnering with a recycling company, the Penang office has long-term plans to fit solar panel roofs to offset 176 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

As part of social empowerment, the team collaborates with local universities, offering career coaching, scholarship funding, an apprenticeship program for students, and moulding the country’s future generation.

Diversity and inclusion are also priorities in every aspect of the business. SGK is committed to building a culture where employees – of all backgrounds, genders, identities, and experiences – have a voice and a sense of belonging and are encouraged to succeed through various programs.

SGK has been recognised as 2022’s ACES Top Sustainability Advocate in Asia. The company will receive the award in Malaysia, where the sustainable committee will honour the company with a trophy and press recognition.