Malaysia-based PR agency Hexa Communications has introduced free 'lunch & learn' sessions for SMEs during Malaysia's Movement Control Order (MCO) period. Each 30-minute session will focus on a basic comms topic or tool such as social media presence, common success metrics, and writing press releases.
"It is our long-term strategy to walk the talk of business purpose as a consulting firm, contributing meaningfully to those who need our expertise the most," Teoh Seet Heng (pictured above), founder and business lead at Hexa, told PRWeek Asia. "The initiative's primary target audience is who I would describe as 'DIY SME owners'."
He added that the organisations he's targeting are made up of hands-on business owners whose operations and income are impacted by the pandemic, and are faced with escalating costs of protecting their staff and customers from the virus, as well as forced digital adoption.
"The secondary audience is the brand-side marketers and agency executives. For black-belt communicators who have been spending more time in management, these are also great sessions to relive their passion in comms," said Teoh.
Hexa's content has reached more than 2,000 organic, non-paid audiences, and had over 500 organic engagements within the first week of sessions. At the moment, it is close to thrice that number taking into account the Facebook amplification the agency has invested in.
On whether his agency and the Malaysian PR scene would be able to weather this storm, Teoh said that COVID-19 will have an even longer lasting impact than the financial crisis of 2007.
"I was a first-year consultant for an American network agency when the 2007 financial crisis hit. To this day, I still remember how businesses suffered, and I am grateful to my mentors who demonstrated true grit and determination in steering the local office out of recession without letting a single staff go," he said.
"It was also a time of change as brands shifted from above-the-line campaigns to PR, digital and social media. Long story short, by being bold in our approach and gaining more trust from brands and marketers, we came out of the financial crisis a stronger office and was even recognised by the PRCA in 2008."
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