In this issue’s “Brand People”, we interviewed Ms. Yalin Tsai, Head of Corporate Marketing Management of Delta Electronics (EMEA) in an attempt to find out how EMEA promoted its brand under a geographic condition of multiple countries, and understand how Delta EMEA Marketing Team has realized the innovation of brand localization through the cooperation with a diverse team. In the interview, Yalin also shared her experiences and thoughts accumulated from more than 10 years’ service at Delta.

Quickly adjust the pace and steadily make headway facing the pandemic

There is no doubt that COVID-19 disrupted the marketing plans and promotional activities of the EMEA Corporate Marketing team. In response to this, the EMEA marketing team acted swiftly to accommodate the changes it would bring to the team’s plans, its activities, and – critically – how it communicated, given that remote working was being encourage to stop the virus spreading further. One major change the team had to adapt to, was the move from physical events, to virtual exhibitions. This was made easier by the flexible and optimistic mindset adopted by the EMEA Marketing team, as Yalin explains: “The team maintained a calm mindset, and one that was centered around cooperation, trust and self-motivation. We conducted regular virtual meetings and set clear goals and responsibilities. We enjoyed closer and more frequent interactions, which helped us to maintain our established levels of performance, even though we were working remotely.”

With exhibitions across EMEA cancelled, the team also addressed the challenge of how best to action external communications. The team quickly developed a strategy to maintain brand exposure as well as customer relationships, in which physical exhibitions were replaced by digital exhibitions for showcasing new highlights. This brand-new concept also enabled the EMEA team to see the potential that digital held. “As there are no limits on the exhibiting time or space at online exhibitions, customers can browse the website anytime, and we can add new products whenever necessary,” she explained. Despite the initial disruption caused by the pandemic, Yalin is enthused by how the EMEA team responded to it, and also by the exciting opportunities that digital platforms now present.

Encourage open-minded discussions, respect diversity and embrace multiculturalism

The regions covered by EMEA are vast, with more than one hundred countries, which can present its own challenges when communicating with people from different cultures with different backgrounds speaking multiple languages. Yalin noted that, because of this, everyone has different working styles. However, she believes it is possible to unite them as a team, explaining that: “First, you have to give the team clear definition of their roles and responsibilities, and help each of them to understand their tasks. Second, you have to encourage them to contribute proactively and communicate frequently in order to build both relationships and mutual understanding within the team.” Yalin believes open discussion and brainstorming are highly effective for attaining the team’s goals, for demonstrating their professional skills and ideas, while also helping the team to learn and accommodate various viewpoints. This, ultimately, enhances the team’s innovation and competitiveness.

Yalin shared the following with us: “It is a lot of fun working with the EMEA team, precisely because of the rich cultural diversity between nations and individuals. For instance, the different colleagues may differ in how they deal with the same project, which provides fascinating insights. Some colleagues are very target-oriented and head for the target step-by-step. Others prefer to go through a multi-party discussion before establishing a goal. Whatever path they take, what underpins the success of these collaborative activities is our consistent attitude in our mutual respect for each other, and the open mindedness with which we listen to and reflect on all of their opinions without any preconceptions.”

Yalin stress a specific point with respect to outcomes. “What really matters though – to us, to our customers and to our partners – is quality. That is the most important thing of all, in all that we do.” She added: “Instead of doing lot of things at the same time, we care more about the quality of the final results rather than the quantity. The EMEA team’s discussions help us to achieve that goal, while bringing further innovation to our offerings, which ensures that our customers are even more impressed by the solutions offered by Delta.”

2019 Delta EMEA Partner Event in Tenerife – Team Building

Applying professional know-how and cooperation to succeed

With its rich diversity in people and products, marketing solutions across EMEA can pose many challenges. Each language is different, each markets’ needs are different and each country has different marketing requirements. To help address these challenges successfully, Delta’s EMEA’s marketing team is divided into separate parts; the corporate marketing team, and the product marketing team, with additional marketing support provided by the business units. When iscussing what makes Delta EMEA’s model work so successfully, Yalin believes that: “Once again, it’s about agreeing the goal and individual responsibilities. Then the corporate marketing team, and the product marketing team work closely to synchronize their efforts in order to achieve the goal together.” 

The EMEA Corporate Marketing team is responsible for integrating the marketing activities across business units and across product lines, to consolidate different product lines’ solutions, into an integrated solution promotion through activities like events, PR, media, digital marketing and social media activities. 

Meanwhile, the product marketing team is in charge of individual product line promotions into their focused countries and focused applications. They assist the business units in developing promotional plans that are in line with each markets’ requirements. With this cooperation, two parties jointly promote the localized image and the brand’s innovation across EMEA.

2019 Hannover Exhibition – showcased Delta Integrated Solutions across all business units

Team work is the only way to the target

Yalin also shared her experiences and thoughts on the subject of team work based on more than a decade’s experience at Delta. She stated: “No matter what you’re trying to achieve, you cannot reach the goal on your own. I compare it to trying to scale a mountain. It isn’t possible without having a fabulous team around you.” Her enthusiasm for team work means that, even with restricted headcounts, she is excited about the many projects that still need to be executed. As someone who is dedicated to her job, although she is in charge of managing activities, she is always prepared to work side-by-side with the team as an equal. To do so, she encourages open discussion to cultivate an environment of understanding and tolerance, thus building a diversified and innovation-driven team who are able to bring their individual strengths to each task.

Delta EMEA Marketing Team – Team activities after workshops

Looking back at her career at Delta, Yalin states she’s extremely grateful to have had the chance to work at Delta at a corporate level and also an EMEA level, for all of the experience and knowledge that it has given her. Reflecting on her time at Delta, she said: “Delta has presented me with many opportunities to learn from and contribute to the business. I have learnt to have an open mind at all times, to embrace change and consider problems and opportunities from all perspectives.” She added: “More than anything, I have learned to value team work, to encourage open communication, to embrace the differences that diversity brings to a team, and to appreciate the outstanding results achieved by my friends and colleagues at Delta. Just like I have been able to do, I hope everyone at Delta is able to achieve the career of their dreams.”