Star Golden Hearts Award bags a silver

PETALING JAYA: For honouring Malaysian unsung heroes annually, Star Golden Hearts Award (SGHA) has in turn been recognised at the Marketing Excellence Awards 2020 for implementing effective marketing strategies to bring about positive outcomes for society.

SGHA received the silver award in the Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility category.

Into its eighth edition, the Marketing Excellence Awards aims to recognise outstanding work in Malaysia’s marketing industry.

A social initiative by The Star in partnership with Yayasan Gamuda, SGHA is an annual award that celebrates everyday Malaysians who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to social work and promote unity among the people.

Introduced in 2015,10 winners are selected every year from hundreds of nominations and among them, one winner will be awarded the coveted Gamuda Inspiration Award.

These 10 winners are then featured on Star Media Group’s multi-channelled media platforms in a series of editorial write-ups, social media postings and video features to help spread the word of their initiatives and goodwill.

“Winning this marketing award is a testament to the efficacy of the thought behind the SGHA campaign, which is to leverage on our strength and reach as a multimedia organisation to promote worthy social causes to a wider audience, so that ultimately they get more support for their extraordinary work, ” said Star Media Group chief business officer Lydia Wang.

“Over the years, SGHA has gained traction year-on-year, receiving more and more quality nominations.

‘’The success of this strong brand and highly anticipated award campaign is attributed to effective marketing approaches across Star Media Group’s wide-reaching channels, be it print, digital, radio or on-ground.

“We are proud that this flagship social initiative proves to be a strong model for a media organisation to contribute to nation-building and promotion of unity.”

A committed partner since 2016, Yayasan Gamuda will continue to support the campaign in recognising numerous selfless individuals, groups, non-governmental organisations and social enterprises that have made Malaysia a better place.

In recent years, more social enterprises with unique and innovative solutions for social issues have emerged as winners of SGHA, reflecting a positive steer towards sustainability.

“This win acknowledges our responsibility to encourage an entrepreneurial mindset within young people, particularly towards tackling the social and environmental challenge in our communities, and also generating jobs, ” said Gamuda Bhd Group corporate communications and sustainability senior general manager Jaya Menon.

‘’In the current economy, communities are looking for businesses and services that make them feel good on multiple levels.

“We have been able to build interest in ventures distinctive enough to make a difference, while genuinely excelling and sharing impact for the long term.

‘’By communicating the good work through our networks and platforms, we carry a commitment to advocacy for these social ventures, while remaining appealing to reach the masses.”

She said social ventures or enterprises had an advantage in understanding demand and being more receptive to needs.

“Plus, they tend to be embedded in the communities from where they operate, with exceptional market understanding. As they become mainstream, we foresee a sector with a strong ethical base, operating successfully and reinvesting into communities, ” she said.

The Marketing Excellence Awards is presented by Advertising+Marketing magazine to single out exceptional work in Malaysia’s marketing industry across diverse disciplines.

Entries across 41 categories were judged by an independent panel of industry leaders and senior marketers before being awarded.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the winners for 2020 were declared in a virtual announcement.

SGHA is supported by Star Foundation, the charitable arm of Star Media Group, aimed at delivering meaningful initiatives with lasting outcomes to a diverse group of beneficiaries.

This year’s SGHA campaign will be announced across Star Media Group’s various platforms soon.