Meet our 2021 awards judge, Natalie Truong

Natalie Truong is CMO, Asia and Partner at Mercer. She is responsible for the strategic marketing delivery across 11 distinctive Asian markets, driving demand generation, revenue growth and client centric partnerships—as well as positioning the Mercer brand prominently across the region.

Natalie sits on our Hong Kong board and this year, is one of the judges for The Marketing Society Awards. Here are her thoughts on how brands entering can stand out from the rest. 

Why is recognizing marketing excellence through the Society’s awards so important for the industry?

For over thirty five years, the society’s awards have been one of the definitive sources for recognizing marketing’s impact in transforming industries and shaping society. As such, there is no greater privilege than for work to be judged by marketers for marketers and recognised by your peers as being the best in the industry. 

What advice would you offer brands entering our awards to make their entry stand out?

1. Tell a story – make your submission a compelling read. As a judge, we’ll have a pile of entries to read, so your entry needs to catch our attention and keep it!
2. Be clear and concise about what the customer and/or business problem the campaign is solving.
3. Imagine you were unsuccessful – when you have written your entry, a good technique is to imagine you were unsuccessful; then ask yourself, what would I have done differently to get the few extra marks?

What’s your golden rule?

Don’t mistake activity for achievement - Coach John Wooden.  

Who has been your biggest influence?

My partner of 16 years – Natasha. Always beside me to guide, nurture and support me; at the same time, willing to give me a good kick of the backside if she thinks I deserve it!

What is your most hated business expression?

Moving forward, and its close cousin “going forward”. Just say "from now on" because really, which other way would you go?

What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?

Leaving a job and a leader I love to move into a new job with a new boss, because I wanted to develop my skills in a new industry. Luckily for me, it paid off – here I am still at Mercer almost 5 years later.

Which leader do you admire most and why?

Angela Ahrendts. I think Angela is one of the most accomplished business leaders of our time. I admire the way she talks about leadership in business, always in the context of people and always with much compassion and humility.

What inspires or motivates you every day to do what you do?

I feel very lucky, in that I found a passion in an industry that I love. So everyday, I’m motivated to create teams and businesses, where people can come to do their life’s greatest work; where they can be a work and grow to be better marketers tomorrow than they were yesterday.  

If you could achieve just one thing in 2021 what would it be?

Build a phenomenally successful “Ones to Watch” program in Hong Kong, so we can take one step closer, to developing more local marketers in Asia to take on regional and global marketing roles. 

2021 entries are now open. Entry deadline 26 Feb. Find out more about how you can enter The Marketing Society Awards here.