Two Bachelor of Communication (Hons) in Advertising Final Year students clinched the Silver Award at the prestigious International Innovation Competition (INNOCOM III) 2022 organised by the Academic International Dialogue (AID Academy) for their innovative ideas. They are Ng See Pei, with an idea named, Memesus: An All-in-One Mobile App on Memes for Users, Creators & Brands and Lum Swet Kee, with an idea called, Metavi: A Virtual Influencer Mobile App that Connects Brands, Influencers, Fans & Creators under the Social Science: Higher Education Institution (Students) category.
INNOCOM III is an innovation competition organised by AID conference as one of the prestigious international conferences, which aims to gather professionals, researchers, academics and students to encourage their participation to showcase their innovation and research ideas that benefit the society at large.
The proposed innovative ideas on a product which was virtually presented, was inspired by the final year students’ advertising project and thesis which they are currently undertaking as part of the requirements before they graduate. It was not an easy feat for the students as they were competing with hundreds of other innovative competitors among higher education institutions.
“It was beyond my imagination to be honoured with the Silver Award by the Organiser. The innovative idea came about when I started a dissertation researching on whether memes marketing brings positive perception toward brands and increases purchase intention of Generation Z when the context is in Malaysia. And this study prompts this idea of Memesus,” said Ng See Pei.
“Memesus is an all-in-one application that allows users to read memes, creators to share memes, and marketers to implement memes as marketing tools. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many local stores and brands shifted to online platforms and adapted themselves to digital marketing. Some existing brands that are already familiar with digital marketing are starting to look at memes marketing. For example, Golden Screen Cinema (GSC) implemented memes marketing after they went viral online to maintain their trendy status and build a stronger bond with their audiences,” Ng added.
As for Lum Swet Kee, who also won the Silver Award, she said: “My innovative idea is a virtual influencer mobile application idea based on the concept of influencer marketing so that brands and companies can have a platform to identify the right and ideal virtual influencers for their campaign endorsements. A brand must choose the proper kind of influencer who resonates with its concept and personality if it is to succeed and capitalise on its loyal following,” Lum added.
“Virtual influencers can be people from all over the world. In addition, this app also allows fans to interact with virtual influencers, such as through VR (virtual reality) concerts, 1-on-1 video chats, among others. The app also aims to provide influencers and users the opportunity to create their own virtual characters.”
