Match Group Asia CEO: Sometimes, it’s the absence of a story that makes PR vital

Sometimes, it is not the story but the absence of one that shows the value of a comms professional, said Malgosia Green, CEO of Match Group in Asia at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s recent PR Asia conference held on 29 August in Singapore.

Don't miss: Did you make the cut for the Marketing Excellence Awards Singapore 2024?

Green, who comes from a background of engineering and entrepreneurship, says that she leans on her communications team to really educate her on the art of communications. Prior to her current stint, Green was the CEO of Plenty of Fish from 2018 to 2022, and before joining the company, she served as the chief product officer at educational technology company Top Hat, where she headed up product and engineering.

“We always look at earned coverage, but in my view, communications is much more of an art than science. There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to build relationships and to make sure that we are able to get our story out. At the same time, when there's some negative coverage that potentially comes up, it is those relationships that can present a story more holistically to the audience,” she said.

Adding that while it isn’t really possible to link PR to revenue, it is in an absence of having a proactive comms strategy, that CEOs really open their eyes to what happens when companies don’t have a comms team.

“When you're absent in the conversation, the narrative gets written for you, and that's a dangerous thing. At our company, we really understand that it's critical that we have comms fully engaged at the brand and the corporate comms level to help feed that narrative,” she said.

Describing herself as direct, Green says that it is always appreciated by her when communicators come with transparency and openness. Moreover, she advises communicators to truly understand their CEOs goals, objectives, pain points before presenting a plan.

More here from the interview:

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: Can you share with us some examples of where Match Group had to manage a brand reputation issue? How did you work with your comms team to mitigate that?

I think, trust and safety is a constant priority for us. So much happiness comes from people using our services, and as a company, we are committed to help users date more safely.

So, we are constantly working to help improve people's experience. We work so hard on the tech side and have made continuous investments in product and engineering to prevent, detect and remove people who engage in inappropriate behaviour.

On the comms side we work to educate our users and equip them with tips and advice, and we do so by working with a lot of NGOs and safety experts so that we’re joining forces, and it's not just us out there.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: How can comms professionals measure and communicate their success in a way that is easily understood and valued by top executives in an organisation, and have a seat at the table?

Our perception from consumers is a do or die type thing for brand adoption and usage. If you don't feel that we're a brand that is taking safety and your personal data and information very seriously, you're not going to use Tinder, Hinge, Pairs, or any dating apps.

So that's why, for us, having that story and getting out there and connecting with consumers at that level is so critically important that we always see comms as such a central part to the organisation.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: Can you give us an example of a situation where your PR team had to persuade or convince you to do something which you did not want to or was not initially excited about?

Yeah, I have one, I hate media training. I've done it a few times, and I can say there's few things I would want to do less than media training because in media training, they make you feel so anxious about sharing your actual true feelings on things, and you are second guessing everything about yourself. And then they make you watch how awful you are and where you can improve in front of other people!

Explore transformative trends to empower your brand for sustainable growth. Join 500+ marketing minds at Digital Marketing Asia 2024 Singapore on 1-2 October and uncover transformative trends to empower your brand, network with industry leaders and collaborate across industries, and discover real-life marketing wins and powerful ideas.

Related articles:
'No knee jerk reactions,' MY PM Dept's head of comms Faidz Sanusi on media, tech and news
'If it doesn't go viral, it doesn't change', says Syed Saddiq on social media for activism
Brushing off naysayers: How Asma' Nasaruddin got Gigi sparkling