Kittie Kan

Kittie Kan, Marketing Manager
Pearson
Hong Kong

(B/Communications (Public Communications), 2006

Kit Yee (Kittie) Kan knew she wanted the broad career options that communications would give her. When she came from Hong Kong, she went to UTS Insearch, then to the Faculty of Arts of Social Sciences, and threw herself into her communications courses, Australian internship opportunities and collaboration and networking activities, and along the way, figured out how she could make an impact and taking charge of marketing some of the world's iconic brands such as Disney, Faber-Castell and Mattel. 

A good start can lead to a promising future. Take some time and decide what kind of person would you like to be, what interests you most and then go for it without hesitation. Be confident. Open minded. EXPLORE.

UPDATE: When we spoke to Kittie it was May 2020 when she was the Marketing Manager for Mattel. In February 2021 Kittie took on a Marketing Manager role with Pearson.

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Kids toys are a serious business.

Kittie grew up in Hong Kong, and after graduating from high school, moved to Australia to study communications at UTS Insearch and UTS FASS. Fast forward to 2020 and Kittie is in charge of marketing for Kids Kingdom, the only distributor of all Mattel brands in Hong Kong/Macau.

We spoke to Kittie in May of 2020, when COVID-19 was in full impact across the world.

Kittie had only recently transitioned from her previous role as Senior Brand Manager to Marketing Manager following a restructure in 2019 and was adapting to her new role during this time. So even though she still got to play with remote control cars, dinosaurs, Thomas the Tank Engine, dolls and games, the pressure was on.

1) Where are you right now?

Hong Kong. Got my role shifted from Senior Brand Manager at Mattel to the Marketing Manager for Kids Kingdom, the sole distributor of Mattel in HK/Macau after the business restructure in Q3 2019. The major difference is I oversee all Mattel brands yet there is more focus on sales numbers under the new role.

2) What’s life like in Hong Kong?  

During the past months (year), under the COVID and Social movements impact, the society is getting unstable and business shut down with growing of unemployment rate lead to a tense atmosphere in HK.

3) What is your role and what does a typical day and week involve?

I am working as the Marketing Manager for the sole distributor of Mattel in HK/Macau which means currently overseeing all brands under Mattel, including Hot Wheels, Barbie, Thomas & Friends and Fisher-Price and some other licensed products.

As a Marketing Manager, I need to react very quickly, based on the latest sales performance, to identify opportunities to further brand exposure and to draw up marketing plans to maximize profits with reference to the business objectives for HK.

In marketing speak, I need to leverage global and regional strategies from Mattel, to define and formulate brand strategies for the HK market as a distributor; including choice of products, launch and promotion plans taking into account the local interests, supply of products, price competition, and the expectations of our targeted customers.  

4) Do you have a particular thing you are focusing at work right now?

I am currently planning for all go-to-market plans in Q4 and working with Mattel closely for the preparation on 2021 Spring items and post COVID-19 activations. At the moment, the focus would be the celebration for 75th Anniversary of Thomas & Friends and need to leverage with global asset and meet with Mattel’s expectation on turnover.

5) What about your work most excites you?

The new challenges shifted from brand to sales focus and whatever I have to do needs to be related to turnover - this also excites me. Working with the same products under different business model is a rare opportunity and also shortens the fit in period after change of role. I can foresee this would sharpen my skills to be sales and marketing-rounded.

6) What’s been more difficult to enjoy?

Computer-free weekends! Especially when there are business review and trade promotions. I need to handle ad hoc requests from management or sales team and sometimes need to spend some hours during weekends to prepare and minimize an overwhelming Monday morning.

7) How are you adapting to COVID-19 shutdowns in your work and also personally?

Life is a bit stressed out when COVID-19 first breakout, everyone were having grocery shopping and face masks sourcing and Hong Kong is under a very negative atmosphere with increase of infections and affecting globally. However the situation is getting a lot better as Hong Kong Government has done a good job on the lock down and social distancing policy. 

COVID also affected my work as the factories were closed in Mainland China and Malaysia where most of the toys from Mattel are produced. I have to react quickly on solutions to the severe drop of sales, empty shelves and retailers were being very conservative.

During the past months, I started to get bored without any workout or meeting friends, and the alone time was way more than I expected. I do look forward in meeting my friends when the situation gets better.

8) Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Hong Kong and headed to Sydney after graduated from high school to continue my study at INSEARCH and UTS.

9) Why did you choose communications? Did you know then that you wanted the career that you have now?

Communication is essential to any career choice as it requires aptitude for writing, listening and presentation skills. I have well demonstrated the skills and attitude being developed during internship at INSEARCH UTS and at UTS, also with the accumulation of working experience at work, I am able to work for several renowned brands all along.

10) What inspired you to come to UTS?

UTS offers one of the best Communication programs globally and the professors, lecturer and tutors at UTS have years of experience. As well as the theoretical part, UTS also developed soft skills such as communication and creativity which might be more important and useful at work. There are students at different ages, from different backgrounds, countries and it’s a very good opportunity for people networking. 

11) What was something memorable from your time as a student?

The most surprising and remarkable memory was when one of the lecturers during her last lesson before our graduation, asked us to write a letter to our Future Self one year into the future. We could write anything, including things we wanted our Future Self to achieve after one year, and she would post it to us by then. I actually did receive my letter after one year and realized I had achieved most of the items I had written to myself.

12)  Are you still in contact with anyone from your time at UTS?

Yes, I do have a few friends from the same faculty and I am still in contact with them on social media. And I saw them in person when I headed back to Sydney a couple of years ago. 

14) What advice would you give to all other international students thinking of studying communications at UTS?

My degree at UTS helped to open the door to the world of communication. Newcomers should be prepared that there would be a lot of presentations and group work during your Communication degree. An internship would be a good way for international students to fit in the Australian culture and networking that might benefit in your future career.

Be confident and do not be shy to seek for advise or help from peers. UTS does also have a lot of support for international students to fit in upon arrival.

15)  What career advice would you give to anyone thinking of studying and working in communications?

There’s no clear cut path into the marketing and public relations sector in HK - I started my first job in a marketing agency and moved to in-house.

Practice being outgoing and expressive as your future career could involve giving presentations and meeting with people more than compare with any other industry.

Time management is essential. Deadlines are very important to marketing/communication people as it will definitely affect other parties during the execution of projects - we are the key and bridge for different internal/ external parties.

15) Any advice for future or current students specifically from Hong Kong?

A good start can lead to a promising future. Take some time and decide what kind of person would you like to be, what interests you most and then go for it without hesitation. Be confident. Open minded. EXPLORE

More about Kittie's UTS journey with Insearch and FASS

Kittie on Linkedin

Read our COVID postcards from Kittie and other international alumni 

Interested in studying? See your options as an international student at UTS. 
Use our International Student Inquiry Form.