Three Marketeers - Case Study
From the Asialink Business Hong Kong Starter Pack
When moving to Hong Kong in May 2013 due to a career opportunity for his wife, Australian marketing professional Chris McMillan wasn’t sure what was in store for his own career.
Spending six months gathering insights into the market and considering his options, McMillan soon discovered the intensifying need for Hong Kong businesses to develop a competitive advantage through marketing and branding. However, marketing skills were in a shortage while a growing demand for the outsourcing of globally experienced marketing talent, existed from both multinationals and Hong Kong SMEs.
“When you need to employ the thinking of top shelf marketing strategists but don’t want them full-time, then the idea outsourcing your marketing expertise makes a lot of sense,” outlines McMillan. “The idea of easy access to specialist marketing skills on an ‘as needs’ basis really resonated with the businesses I spoke with.”
At the same time, McMillan found a wealth of experience in Hong Kong among people who, like him, had moved there as a result of their spouses’ careers, leaving high-profile marketing jobs at home with some of the biggest companies in the world.
“There is a large amount of great talent in Hong Kong. But this talent is either underutilised or not utilised at all. These people have exceptional skills and global experience but also want the flexibility and convenience of not working in a typical nine-to-five job. Unfortunately for them, there is often no real option for them in Asia,” explains McMillan.
“So in October 2014, I established The Three Marketeers. I wanted to bring it all together, the demand from business, and the supply of the talent.”
To effectively carry this out, The Three Marketeers is founded on the concept of aligning a client’s needs and a project’s objectives with the Marketeer’s skills and experience, even considering the fit of their personality with the client’s corporate culture. “It’s essentially a collaborative community,” McMillan outlines. “Clients find it valuable hiring an expat for a project-specific basis with exceptional experience, who is already in Hong Kong on a visa. They don’t need to cater for expatriate requirements such as bringing a new employee to Hong Kong with their family, or dealing with work visas.”
“The talent, in return, get to utilise their skills in a flexible working environment, gaining experience in the Asian region, ensuring they maintain their career while away from their home market. The Three Marketeers creates convenience and value by managing the process for all parties, including managing contracts and payment.
Establishing the business in Hong Kong was a relatively simple process and inexpensive, with McMillan declaring it even easier than setting up in Australia. “Hong Kong was the right market and it was the right time with the talent gap in the area of Marketing growing wider. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without engaging and networking with Australians in the market and leveraging existing Australian connections of mine who also now live in Hong Kong,” he says.
McMillan emphasises the importance of new Australian market entrants engaging with Australian associations such as AustCham Hong Kong. He found the Australian community very supportive and positive, with many Australians willing to help the start-up business.
“Most of our clients are expatriates, with some business coming through Australian connections. Don’t underestimate the importance of local networking and word of mouth referrals.”
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www.thethreemarketeers.asia/