The dUCk Group scores Jacky Hussein to lead creative direction

The dUCk Group has appointed Jacky Hussein, former creative group head at Leo Burnett Malaysia, as creative director to lead its strategic vision. Jacky (pictured) told A+M that she will focus on delivering brand consistency across its products and translating the brand through compelling storytelling across the different channels, from Instagram to TikTok. She will also lead and shape the creative expression of the dUCk brand throughout all marketing communications and collaborate with other department heads to nurture a vibrant creative culture within the company.

With consumers being more inclined to support brands that align with their values, Jacky aims to set and develop impactful campaigns that resonate with dUCk's audience. She will also ensure that the campaigns are not only relevant to the modest hijab community in Malaysia, but also to appeal to its international audiences. "We are global-ready, and it’s about time the world knows about our persona, D! I guess, I need to shift to gear five right away," she added.

In this role, she reports to founder Vivy Yusof and has weekly one-to-one sessions to align on all aspects. Jacky has always been passionate about fashion, having worked as a lifestyle editor for GLAM and a deputy editor for Cosmopolitan Malaysia for nearly eight years. She told A+M that she has always had fond admiration for Vivy ever since the latter started FashionValet in 2010, adding that her determination and perseverance are key traits to dUCk’s success.

"With a great team and a clear direction, I look forward to growing and flourishing to become a better creative. My vision is to cultivate an engaged brand community through the brand, dUCk," she added. Jacky believes in the importance of building branded communities to drive greater reach and add value at the other points of the user journey. This year, dUCk has continuously stepped up and helped the community through various campaigns.

They include dUCk x MyFundAction, The Palestine dUCk and Hope by Art Battalion for dUCk. Jacky is responsible for planning, ideating, overseeing these campaigns, as well as fostering a culture of movement, creativity, energy, not just within her team, but in the larger setting as well, to ensure the brand progresses and flourishes.

"I am also looking to advocate for my team’s work-life harmony. During the pandemic, it has surely changed the way we work, and we know there are pressures and challenges through remote working or working from home as the boundaries between work and home are now blurred. With that, I hope with my experience and understanding of creative industries can help navigate them and excel together as a team," she added.

Jacky was previously with Leo Burnett for six years. During her time there, she was responsible for planning, strategising, developing and executing ad campaigns for McDonald's Malaysia. She has led notable campaigns for McDonald’s for key offerings such as Ayam Goreng McD, McCafe and Prosperity Burger. According to her LinkedIn, she achieved record-breaking sales with double to triple projections. Jacky also worked with 100 PLUS, Media Prima, AIA, PETRONAS, Uber, Campbell's Soup Malaysia, Telekom Malaysia, and Wipro Unza Malaysia at Leo Burnett, her LinkedIn said. 

DUCk was born out of the love for well-branded scarves and aims to convey the message that wearing scarves should be a celebrated act among women. Besides scarves, it also sells cosmetics, bags, and lifestyle items such as stationeries. DUCk is one of the two brands under The FashionValet Group which was founded in November 2010 and targets the modest fashion industry. It first launched as an eCommerce-only brand and has since opened 10 retail stores.

Last year, dUCk Cosmetics entered into an interesting partnership with Tealive to turn bubble tea flavours into lipsticks. The shades were named after bubble tea drinks - 70% Sugar, Pudding Please, Brown Sugar, Warm Boba and Extra Pearls. Tealive wanted to use to the project to engage lipstick lovers, more specifically the urban Millennials. DUCk is currently working with Edelman Malaysia for PR duties.

Read the rest of the interview here:

A+M: How will your past experiences on the agency side value add to your current role?

Jacky: It’s truly a humbling journey when I decided to move to an agency setting six years ago. My intent then was to explore and soak in as many learnings that I can. Coincidentally, we saw digital content were peaking, consequently, I had the chance with my team (Team Mekdi) to be the first collaborator with these new platforms such as Dubsmash, Smule and TikTok, which had raised the bar for brand collaboration in the industry.

These experiences have taught me about how brands can communicate and appeal creatively to their current and future customers, I have also learned about the power of rakyat. It was such an eye-opener to always serve the people first. This valuable foundation and experience allowed me to navigate my team better. Trust your instinct, they say.

A+M: What are some challenges you’d expect in the fashion industry and how do you plan to help the Group cut through the clutter?

Jacky: The demands on fashion and beauty industry are not just producing beautiful looking products, it is also driven by the purpose the brand stands for. We need to evolve and keep creating compelling yet innovating products for our customers, our customers' points of view matter to us.

A+M: What are some tech or marketing innovations you are excited about and how will you apply them to your new role?

Jacky: Fashion and beauty industry is undeniably one of the most innovative and fast-moving industries when it comes to engaging consumers and developing innovative strategies. It would be nice if we can have a compelling tool such as AR in our app, which is coming soon, that can enhance marketing campaigns as well as personalised consumer engagement leading to brand growth. I know there are brands out there that are already in AR space such as Sephora. It would be cool if we could have one too!

Related articles:
Tealive turns bubble tea flavours into makeup with dUCk Cosmetics
Barbie and Vivy Yusof’s dUCk Scarves aim to inspire creativity in young girls
Vivy Yusof's dUCk Cosmetics jumps on Crazy Rich Asians hype with make up line