The locale was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This time, 16 WISH residents who had attened this training was devided into 4 groups and challenged the mission above. As the level of mission was high, there were some hard times, however, they never gave up and kept discussing and planning proposals day and night. At the end, each group came up with proposals with different types of originalities that the final presentation was a great success.
When Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone
I have attended one of the Overseas SI Award Programs which was held in Malaysia this summer. This program was full of challenges. We were to “research Toyota’s brand image in Malaysia among young adults, and figure out a branding proposal”. Until our presentation day, we’ve spent day and night thinking of the best branding proposal. As a student in the commerce department, branding is a topic of my interest. In this program, not only was I exposed to challenges in communicating with people in a country where English is not their first language, but also to business related challenges.
Our first step started in Japan, where we researched the background of Malaysia and Toyota. Then, at Malaysia, we had two days to collect our original data through fieldwork. Through our research about Malaysia, we’ve learned that cars are the main means of transportation, and their air pollution is worsening. That lead to the idea that people in Malaysia should buy eco-friendly vehicles to reduce emissions to stop the air pollution. Through our research about Toyota, we learned that Toyota is famous for its hybrid cars and their research in AI’s. Therefore, we concluded that Toyota should sell their brand image as “eco-friendly”.
We went to Malaya University to gather data and see if people care about sustainability and Toyota’s brand image. The result was unexpected. We found out that people care about sustainability, and have an “eco-friendly” image toward Toyota. This means that there is no need for Toyota to sell an “eco-friendly” brand image because it’s already there. Though, this made us realize that even though people care about sustainability, it doesn’t mean that they will all buy a hybrid car. Due to this realization, we have concluded that Toyota should sell their brand image not just as “eco-friendly” but as “eco-friendly X smart”. This is because Toyota has won an award for their safety thanks to their AI technology, but not as many people are aware with this fact.
This unexpected truth gave our group the experience to stay calm and figure out another solution in a very short amount of time. What I can say is that this program was absolutely a rare and special experience. Through this Overseas SI Award Program, not only was I exposed to business related challenges that will help me in the future, but it also allowed me to meet people who you can joke around with. It is not easy to find people who can do both crazy and serious. At the end we were more like a small travel gang than a group of 16 who just lives in the same dorm. In the future I hope that I can use this problem-solving skill that I have gained in this program.
(K.R.)
