MW talks to Motorola's Zulkifi Mat Jusoh

 

What is your role as Head of Marketing?

 

I oversee the advertising, branding, public relations, collaboration and retail side of the business which includes the formulation, development, evaluation and implementation of all marketing programmes. I am also responsible for growing Motorola's entertainment marketing business which is fairly new in Malaysia yet is almost as crucial as any other marketing sector.
I have been with Motorola close to 7 good remarkable years and I am only in charge of Malaysia now. I used to handle South East Asia during my early days at Motorola.

What types of products besides mobile phones does your portfolio of products include?
My portfolio also includes the Bluetooth division.

What's the importance of your role and can you elaborate more on what is involved in performing these tasks?
In this line, we need to have business acumen, knowledge, analytical skills to evaluate and make decisions. I have to be precise on which and what activity to execute because we cannot afford to go wrong.
I need to be on my toes 24 hours in order to be ahead of our competitors.
For example, we were the first to launch the slimmest phone in the world, the MOTORAZR, the first music phone, the Motorola E398 and the first fashion phone, the MOTORAZR V3i Dolce and Gabbana. All these can only be achieved through high tenacity and always keeping our eyes open.
Marketing is about what the consumer wants and not what we have. Hence we design products to complement their lifestyles and give them the best.

What are the challenges you face, the excitement, the fun, your achievements and what do you like best about what you do in 3 above?
My biggest challenge is time. There are so many things to do and show but so little time and space to do it. I deal with consumer products which change and move rapidly. Once you miss the perfect time to showcase a product or close a deal with partners, there goes the entire plan.
What's exciting about this job is it makes me think out of the box to always improve and become the leader. It,s exciting to come up with ideas, launches, PR and marketing activities that stun the competitors.
Over the last 6 years, we have done tremendous things that have made people remember our brand. We have brought the product into their lives and made it a part of them.
My passion is advertising, branding, PR and retail marketing. I would say that it is the core element in my blood. It makes me think all the time and feel alive.

Do you have to travel a lot in line with your work and what do you feel most enjoyable about your travels?
Yes, traveling is part of the job. It takes me all over the world, for example to Barcelona for 3GSM, China for HelloMoto and South Africa for the KRZR launch.
The best part of traveling is, I get to clear my email while on the move. I know it's weird but I love doing it as I do not have the time when I'm here. Not to mention the peace I get because I do not get phone calls. I also love experiencing new cultures and meeting people that I interact with on a daily basis.

What types of food, culture, music do you enjoy most in each of the countries and your interactions with people you meet?
I normally do not have much time to enjoy myself while traveling on business as my schedule will be packed with meetings. I prefer to go back to the place on my own to enjoy the country at its best.
Recently I went to Istanbul and Berlin, and I experienced many things at my own pace. The rural areas were awesomely beautiful and the food was brilliant. The architecture in Istanbul is to die for and the transport system in Berlin was fantastic. There was no traffic at all and I could relax in the bus when traveling from place to place admiring the beauty of the country.

Where did you complete your studies and what made you join Motorola?
I graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Business Studies majoring in Marketing from UITM.
I am passionate about marketing and Motorola was the whole package. I wanted to experience the systems, processes and dealing with various people globally.
For example, my PR team for RED is in UK and my marketing head is in US. So different countries have different set of processes to go by which I find very interesting. I also wanted to experience the multinational culture and the way they worked after building my portfolio in advertising and branding.

You obviously carry a Motorola phone, what model do you carry now?
I carry a few models depending on the time and occasion but at the moment I'm using the MOTOKRZR K1 and MOTORAZR V3xx.

What do you see as the future of 3G and its evolutions, considering that Motorola is also a strong supporter of WiMAX?
The 3G market opportunity is very real and will be the dominant growth engine for us. Every new technology introduction goes through its hype phase but 3G has now surpassed that “ it is real and presents a significant opportunity to the market.

Outside of work, what are your interests and hobbies and how do you like spending you leisure time?
I am passionate about diving, for which I was recently certified as an advanced licensed diver. On top of that, I enjoy traveling, gardening and cooking which I am particularly good at.
As I am away a lot, I find there's nothing better than catching up with friends over dinner. I also love relaxing by the beach, enjoying the beautiful nature around me while getting an aromatherapy massage.