SPH's Johnson Goh wins Marketer of the Year at PANPA 2014 Advertising & Marketing Awards

SINGAPORE - Mr Johnson Goh of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has been named Marketer of the Year at the PANPA 2014 Advertising & Marketing Awards, organised by The Newspaper Works. The award was presented to him at a ceremony held at The Establishment, George Street, Sydney, last night.

Mr Goh is Vice President and Head of Business Development, Strategic Marketing, in SPH's Marketing Division. Before this appointment, he headed SPH's Online Classifieds business.

The Newspaper Works is a publishing industry advocate across a spectrum of commercial and editorial areas on behalf of the news publishing industry. Promotion of the compelling value of its audiences in print and digital, and the protection of press freedom, are priority activities.

The Marketer of the Year is open to marketers who have performed in any area of news publishing - such as, but not restricted to: newspapers, websites, tablet or mobile platforms, newspaper-inserted magazines, or in the corporate branding arena.

To win the prestigious Marketer of the Year award, nominees had to demonstrate an ability to work within or lead a team, to be creative, to deliver and measure outcomes, and to work consistently and proactively with stakeholders.

Judges came from across the media sector and included two CEOs of media agencies, a media agency chairman, representatives of the Media Federation of Australia and the Australian National Advertisers Association. Other judges were drawn from executive creative directors, corporate marketing and communications managers.

Mr Leslie Fong, Senior Executive Vice-President, Marketing Division, SPH, said: "Johnson is an astute marketing professional. Relying on his experience as well as his sharp instincts, he has led SPH's online classifieds business to grow rapidly, even in the face of fierce competition. The success of our multiple online verticals is a testament to his leadership, marketing competence and flair."

On his win, Mr Goh said: "I believe it is every marketer's dream to receive such an honourable award, because it is an endorsement of our strategies, tactics and campaigns."

"The award should not just go to me because the achievements would not have been possible without the team that has worked relentlessly with me and the trust and supports given by the management," he added.

As the Head of SPH Online Classifieds (ST701), Mr Goh led a management team of product, sales, marketing and analytics specialists to develop and re-launch SPH's online classifieds business - STJobs, STProperty, STCars and STClassifieds (and STDirectory) in 2012.

Leveraging on SPH's multiple platforms, he spearheaded the re-launch on print (newspapers and magazines), on air (radio), mobile (apps), ground (vehicle ads, events and partnerships/sponsorships, on screens (outdoor TVCs) and online (banners, eDMs and SEM). The integrated use of these channels allowed ST701 to reach out to a whole spectrum of target audiences effectively. Under his leadership, the team also organised STJobs' inaugural Career & Development Fair, Singapore's biggest recruitment event to date, as well as STProperty's quarterly sold-out property seminars.

Under his charge, the various online classified portals grew in market share and he ensured that the products remained relevant and stayed as market leaders through constant upgrading, often utilising and showcasing the latest technological innovation available.

Mr Goh's work reaped tremendous results. The organic visits of its online classifieds portal grew by more than 200 per cent. On the social media front, the results were successful with the combined Facebook fan base of more than 500,000 across the four verticals surpassing competition in less than a year. It more than proved the success of his strategy. In addition, the portals all won various regional and international accolades, include the EPPY Awards, SiTF Awards, W3 Awards and the Asian Digital Media Awards.

In March 2008, he was conferred his fellowship by the Marketing Institute of Singapore. MIS fellows are senior marketing professionals who have made significant contributions to the marketing industry.

He holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from University of Western Sydney, Australia.