SOBA judges tell companies to submit compelling stories
To make it easier for judges to evaluate submissions, SOBA auditor BDO Malaysia executive director of advisory Mok Chew Yin advised participants to follow the guidelines and provide more information to support their claims for a winning entry.
“Participants must put themselves in the judges’ shoes. They must highlight what they are doing differently than others (in that category).
“You must follow the guidelines, address and respond to it. Provide more information to make it easier for judges to evaluate whether you are the right candidate to win the award or not,” he said.
Also present was Forefront International chief executive officer Darien Mah, who shared on the company’s experience in participating in SOBA in the last few years.
Mah gave some tips to the participants, emphasising the importance of “proof of effectiveness of initiatives” as well as “good photos” in an application.
“As opposed to words, good photos will help the judges understand clearly and gravi- tate them towards your application,” he said. Deadline for entries is Oct 19, 2018. SOBA is open to all local companies that are not part of a multinational group or listed group, incorporated in Malaysia with foreign equity not exceeding 50%. If the company was previously listed on Bursa Malaysia, it must have been de-listed for more than five years to apply for SOBA.
This year’s winners will be rewarded with over RM1mil worth of advertising space in both print and online platforms.
For both Grand Winners for Outstanding Achievement Awards and Platinum Winners for Top-Of-The-Class Awards, they will receive RM50,000 worth of ad space. Gold winners and Silver winners will receive RM30,000 and RM20,000 worth of ad space respectively.
SOBA 2018 is organised by Star Media Group with Digi, PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd as main sponsors, Credit Guarantee Corp as co-sponsor, Matrade as official trade promotion partner and New World Petaling Jaya Hotel as official venue.
SOBA 2018 is endorsed by the International Trade and Industry Ministry, supported by Bursa Malaysia, and audited by BDO, with 988, SuriaFM and dimsum as official media partners.
For more information on SOBA 2018, please call Star Media Group Events Business Unit at 03-7967 1388 ext 1857 (Pei Wen) or log on to www.soba.com.my