In the last 13 years, Steven has demonstrated a track record of tangible success with ratings, revenue and awards. He has dedicated himself to the effective and expanding means and platforms to promote programmes, channels and non-media brands. A leader who is passionate about identifying and nurturing talent in the art and science of promo-making, and bringing different departments together for integrated campaigns. International stints in LA, Singapore, and now Dubai over a span of 12 years, he has a keen eye for trends past and present, and leads the way for new forms and role of Promotions. Active in responding to the future of an industry in flux by expanding the role of Promotions in the Social Media and Digital age. Highly valued in every company involved with strong project management; organization and leadership skills; and forward-thinking mentality.
Headhunted and relocated to Dubai in 2005 and was tasked in 2008 to head promotions for MBC ACTION, a channel for Arab male youth. Building a successful team of award-winners and one of the strongest brands in the region, tasked in 2011 to also head MBC 3, a channel for kids. The 2 channels are now in positive ratings growth - MBC ACTION is now a top 5 channel in its core demographic, while MBC 3 has risen to a top 25 channel for Adults 15+, the only kids channel on that list.
As head, I nurture and lead teams to plan and produce effective and creative campaigns on the back end. On the front end, I strategize and collaborate with the other departments to exploit an expanded role for promotions - working closely with Marketing, Ad Sales, and Programming to produce Branded Promotions for multinational blue chip brands like Nike, Nissan, Burger King, GM, Ford, Hyundai; campaigns for other departments within the company like our VOD, digital, radio and news arm, and also Commercial Services for external regional brands, making the creative team active participants in the bottom line of the network. Promotions through events and experiential marketing is also gaining traction, notably with WWE, Barney, Shaun the Sheep and Actionha Live. As well as keeping Promotions more relevant in the Social Media age by hiring first Social Producer; social and digital collaborations that exceeds the traditional scope of on-air promotional spots, like integrated campaigns for Desert Force, Why Poverty, and WWE @ Burj Khalifa which saw aggregated hits in excess of 5 million.
Personal and team's nominations and winners at various international and regional awards like Promax World/Asia/Arabia, Asian Television Awards, The Shark Awards, Dubai Lynx, MENA Cristal and GEMAS Effie affirms the quality we aspire for. My belief in the future and changing landscape has led me to be invited to guest lecture to students at the American University Sharjah, scheduled for March 2013.
Led campaigns for high-profile marquee projects like The English Premier League, The UEFA Champions League and The English FA Cup, across Asia in countries like China, Taiwan, Singapore, India, etc. Begun improving the channel's promotional output and spots begun to be nominated for Promax. Also begun outsourcing design work of important spots to network of broadcast designers.
Began TV promotional career and soon grew to garner awards regionally and internationally. Promoted to Senior Producer after 3 years of award-winning promotions and responsible leadership. Oversaw team of 6 producers and supervised new producers when needed.
Instrumental in setting up the US$350 million film production company, Filmclub, headed by the late Raju Patel ("The Jungle Book", "Big") . Right hand to executive producer, and responsible for day-to-day running of the company, including screening of scripts and liaised with financiers, writers, directors, agents and distributors.
Mandatory drafted for 2.5 years of National Military Service, commissioned as a military Infantry officer. Served in Battalion HQ as Manpower Office (S1) for the 21st Infantry Battalion.
Steve was more than a senior to me. I couldn’t have ask for a better mentor than Steve. He’s unselfish with his knowledge and experience and shares them with me. Till this day and time we still keep in touch and share pointers on almost everything. I still remember the day when he recommended me (a production assistant then) to the boss to produce 2 key English Premier League promos.
Steve keeps himself updated with the latest trends in media and technology and applies them to his work. He’s up there with the best in terms of creativity and leadership and he’s not afraid to give anyone a chance to prove themselves. If there’s one attribute that I’d highlight of him is that here’s not many with a bigger heart than Steve. (October 2012)
Steven was a fellow member of our school swim team and exhibited an extremely strong work ethic as well as qualities of a team player. While swimming is very much an individual sport, as the strongest swimmer of the team, he also took time to coach and mentor other swimmers, especially the younger ones. He is also a perfectionist and does not rest on his laurels, choosing instead to push himself further, not just to win medals but to set records as well. (June 2011)
Steven Cheak has been one of the most supportive and inspirational creative managers that I have worked with thus far. He is a strong leader but remains open to the ideas and opinions of others as well as encouraging his creative team to think out of the box. I look forward to working with him again very soon. (September 2012)
Steven is perhaps the best line manager I have had the fortune of working alongside in my 15 years of television career with various networks across the globe. I think a great line manager like Steve is one who inspires, motivates and pushes the boundaries to think big, and then empower others to achieve the goal. (Feb 2012)
Although I have never worked with Steve in the same team, we work side by side in the same company twice. First in Mediacorp and again in MBC. In the space of 6 years, Steve has risen from his first position as a producer to the current Head of On Air Promotions for 2 channels in the same company (MBC), a major feat and testament to his special set of skills. Not just a great boss who is excellent in creating efficient results from his teams, Steve also believes in nurturing talent. Despite his glowing record, he remains the humble and friendly chap I knew him from years ago in Singapore. Steve will be a great asset to any company, I cannot recommend him highly enough. (July 2012)
There are many people who can handle gear, but there are not many who have the artistic sense that results in a piece that becomes an artwork. Steven was fantastic to work with. His show reel clearly shows that he’s world class, but if you spend ten minutes with him, you’ll realize he’s a great guy as well. I hope I will have the chance to work with him again. (March 2011)
I have known Steven Cheak as a close friend and a fine colleague. I met him when he joined ESPN Star Sports as an OAP Producer. Steven’s award winning productions speak volumes about his determination and dedication to the industry. His composed demeanor, strong leadership skills and collaborative team spirit will also contribute great value to any creative organization. (August 2011)
The experience of working with Steven is one of the best i have ever had. Extreme creativity, ultimate professionalism, and on top of it all, a very calm person, that allows you to go the extra mile with every project regardless of any problems or obstacles that often occurs in the rapid field of Media. it would be my pleasure to experience working with him again, and would definitely recommend him for any project that requires his expertise (Jan 2011)
Steve is first and foremost a great problem solver. He is able to exercise great patience, attention to detail and a wide-ranging knowledge of technology, workflow solutions and ideas to find the best way to tackle a problem. He is also keenly aware of industry trends and constantly replenishes his resources of creative ideas. He has been, and will steadfastly be an asset to any team. (Dec 2007)
In my time working with him, I have found him to be kind, humble and extremely polite. Steven is a great manager and knows how to handle a creative team. He is very responsible, knows how to deal with pressure and communicates very well with other team members. As a promotion producer, he is very creative and always strives to find new and original ways of promotion. He is extremly efficient, and he would be a great asset to any creative department or company. (July 2008)
I found Steven to be creative, dedicated, reliable and hardworking. He has produced some excellent promos for us. (He worked fabulously with his team, is an out of the box thinker and pushes the boundaries. His technical skills are strong and his understanding of sports is comprehensive). His scripts are solid and he has no trouble stroyboarding and pitching creative ideas complete with the production plan and follow through. He worked well with the team, got along with editors, graphic designers and production staff and learned our Matrox system without any trouble. (Nov 2005)
Steven approached every project with a professional manner and with great deal of enthusiasm. He has a creative mind and relishes the thought of a challenge. He has a good flair for writing and has handled campaigns for the station successfully like the English Premier League, the FA Cup and others. He is a responsible and honest person. He is able to work independently and is efficient in his work. His willingness to lend a hand when called upon and his rapport with his colleagues is commendable. I personally found his attitude refreshing. (Nov 2005)
During his stay with us, Steven has displayed exceptional skills as a producer. He has also been identified to be trained in a supervisory role for OAP5 . He is very hardworking and shows great maturity and responsibility towards his work and peers. He shows alot of initiative in his work and periodically oversees the department when I am not around. (Feb 2005)
Steven was involved in a number of high profile projects including World Cup 2002 and American Idol Season 3. What striked me most about Steve was his self-motivation and ability to take on more responsibilities. He was always looking out for ways to improve a situation, be it a work process or ideas to enhance on-air. He possessed a very good attitude towards learning new skills and was not at all apprehensive about changes. He took great pride in his work and made the extra effort to get his concepts, edits and music right. His creativity was well balanced with his organizational and analytical ability, a rare combination in the TV creative business. (Oct 2004)
Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly
Fundawear is an innovation from Durex that allows touch to be transferred over the internet. So for the first time you can tease, tickle & tantalise even when you’re apart.
PP: This is pretty brilliant
“What’s the most resilient parasite? An idea.” Little did Christopher Nolan know when he wrote that line, he’d need to add an addendum: an idea that keeps getting pickpocketed over and over again until it loses meaning and ownership, and becomes simply background noise to the general cultural conversation. It’s appropriate, when you think about it, and something that Cobb (and team Nolan) would likely appreciate, that the memory of this ubiquitous sound’s origins are slowly fading away. The Hans Zimmer-composed ominous pitched-down “Inception” horn blast, known as “The ‘Inception’ BRAAAM“ (number of ‘r’s and ‘a’s may vary) has been resilient indeed, an idea homaged, appropriated and straight-up nicked time and time again since its… wait for it… inception.
1. “Elysium,”
2. “World War Z”
3 “Star Trek: Into Darkness”
4. “Jack the Giant Slayer”
5. “G. I. Joe: Retaliation”
6. “Prometheus”
7. “Battleship”
8. “The Avengers”
9. “Pacific Rim”
10. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Facebook makes it a lot more difficult to turn your phone off with its debut of Home, showcased here in the brand’s first TV ad, created out of Wieden + Kennedy Portland and directed by MJZ’s Fredrik Bond. In the new spot, a guy on what could have been a boring business trip keeps the excitement of his friends and family close by—and manages to irritate flight attendants, with the help of the new service.
PP: Disappointing
If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.
U.S. TV viewers are taking to Twitter to talk about TV, and the digital chatter is building steam. According to SocialGuide, 32 million unique people in the U.S. Tweeted about TV in 2012. That’s quite the confab, but what does it all really mean for the TV industry? Should networks and advertisers be paying attention? Early research on the subject from Nielsen and SocialGuide says yes.
By analyzing Tweets about live TV, the study confirmed a relationship between Twitter and TV ratings. It also identified Twitter as one of three statistically significant variables (in addition to prior-year rating and advertising spend) to align with TV ratings.
“While prior-year rating accounts for the lion’s share of the variability in TV ratings, Twitter’s presence as a top three influencer tells us that Tweeting about live TV may affect program engagement,” said Andrew Somosi, CEO of SocialGuide. “We expected to see a correlation between Twitter and TV ratings, but this study quantifies the strength of that relationship.”
Much of the correlation is being driven by the rise in media consumption across multiple device screens. We know that 80% of U.S. tablet and smartphone owners who watch TV use their device while watching at least several times a month. We also know that 40% of U.S. tablet and smartphone users visit a social network while watching TV.
How well does Twitter align with TV program ratings? The recent Nielsen/SocialGuide study confirmed that increases in Twitter volume correlate to increases in TV ratings for varying age groups, revealing a stronger correlation for younger audiences. Specifically, the study found that for 18-34 year olds, an 8.5% increase in Twitter volume corresponds to a 1% increase in TV ratings for premiere episodes, and a 4.2% increase in Twitter volume corresponds with a 1% increase in ratings for midseason episodes. Additionally, a 14.0% increase in Twitter volume is associated with a 1% increase in TV program ratings for 35-49 year olds, reflecting a stronger relationship between Twitter and TV for younger audiences.
Explore the creative process of Immediate Music’s composition and production in this 13 minute documentary.
If you’re hurt, lick your wounds and get up again. If you’ve given it your absolute best, it’s time to move forward.
Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle - Abraham Lincoln
The more things you do, the more things you can do - Lucille Ball
When the sun rises, I go to work. When the sun goes down I take my rest, I dig the well from which I drink, I farm the soil which yields my food, I share creation, Kings can do no more. - Chinese Proverb
The grass is always greener where you water it - Unknown
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else, is the greatest achievement - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. - Jimmy Dean
A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. - Lao Tzu
Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the condition perfect. - Alan Cohen
Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration - Thomas Edison