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Hong Kong Media Entrepreneur Says MBA Was A Smart Move

Anne Yeung's design firm already had clients such as Lacoste and the Hong Kong government, but she enrolled on the Chinese University of Hong Kong MBA to advance her business even further

By  

Thu Nov 15 2012

BusinessBecause
Hong Kong resident Anne Yeung has run Cranes Media since 2008 and considers herself a smart entrepreneur for stepping out of her comfort zone and heading to business school.

Anne, 26, was barely out of college when she co-founded Cranes Media with her partner Crystal Jane Wong. Cranes Media specializes in branding design, advertising communications and online media solutions. The company is based in North Point, Hong Kong and works with companies who want to establish a media presence in China and Hong Kong. The team also have marketing and public relations experts in Beijing, China.

Anne graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China in 2008. She met her partner Crystal through a mutual friend and they both wanted to start their own businesses. Crystal grew up in Canada and where she earned a BCom in Telecom Information Technology from Ryerson University.

When the business kicked off, Anne still had a few months to go at college and didn’t even have a clue about web design. She did however, have a passion for dealing with people and was a quick learner. Crystal had a lot more industry experience and also a good network in the creative world.

Half of Cranes Media come from overseas, about 20 per cent from mainland China and the rest from Hong Kong. Anne told us that Crystal’s experience of living and working in Canada gave Cranes Media a competitive edge: “Many of our clients speak English and they find our website a bit different from the local agencies”.

Anne shared some of the exciting projects that Cranes Media has worked on. In their first year, they were hired by the Asia Director of Lacoste to create a 100-page brochure for them. “It was a big vote of confidence and we quickly had to learn how to work with big corporations”, said Anne.

An entirely different experience was their work with the Hong Kong government. They were hired to design a portal that would be used by about 10,000 civil servants. This project was significant because it was their first time working with a government body. They had never expected it would come to them and it was also a learning curve when it came to dealing with government officials.

Anne said, “After spending eight months working with one of the biggest IT developers in Hong Kong, we were asked to present our work to the department head. Our meeting with him is something I’ll never forget. First, we were asked to arrive more than an hour ahead of the meeting and then we had to wait for another hour and a half because he was busy.

"When we finally saw him, he was straight-to-the-point. He simply said he didn’t like what we had done and without saying hi or bye he left for another meeting. We started all over again.”

Last year, Anne joined Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) as a part-time student on their entrepreneurial MBA. Although she’s had plenty of business exposure through Cranes Media she felt that she was limited because she lacked formal business knowledge.

Her connestions were mainly in the creative world and she wanted to meet more people outside the industry. She feels good about stepping outside her comfort zone and told us, “I am inspired to advance my own business. I’m the youngest in my class... all my colleagues are so experienced, they inspire me to be better”.

She’s also learning more about industries other than her own by attending workshops and seminars organized for CUHK students. “I’ve been to a lot workshops, something I could’t find before coming to CUHK. Some of the speakers have included senior executives from General Electric and the CEO of the biggest real estate developer in China and I’ve had the opportunity to meet these high profile people."

Anne and Crystal’s plans for Cranes Media include working to establish their brand name. They would also like to create a multi-media agency and begin offering online marketing services. She’ll be juggling this with her busy schedule at CUHK. She also has a ton of school projects and exams, and a study trip to Beijing planned for the end of November!

Read more stories about students, programmes and alumni at Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School here

Student Reviews

CUHK MBA

Student

Verified

23/09/2022

Blended

One of a kind

I studied Bioinformatics at CUHK last year. It was the only Master's degree in Hong Kong in this field. This program developed my analytical skills and equipped me to be a Bioinformatician in a very practical way. I enjoyed my year here and met classmates from different parts of the world. If you are thinking to enhance your profile, this degree program would be a good option.

Student

Verified

19/11/2021

On Campus

general education courses, unique college system, large campus

The university facilitates multi-dimension and interdisciplinary learning. In social science faculty, we need to choose courses as our faculty package from other departments (architecture, psychology, sociology, etc.) to learn more than our major required courses. We are also required to finish general education courses, which aid our critical thinking and humanistic sensibilities. I do recommend the social science broad-based program, and the professors I met so far are all responsible and erudite.

Student

Verified

28/10/2017

LLM

The faculty of law is relatively new. You do not need to have a LLB to pursue a LLM, which is special. The taught programme is great for mature students who want to obtain legal knowledge. CUHK has good teaching staff too.

Student

Verified

20/10/2017

Amazing Campus and Great Educational Environment

Not only is CUHK's main campus breathtaking, it provides for a good educational environment for students. The university is well-equipped with modern and up-to-date facilities to help students with their study. We have 8 libraries in total around the campus; one for media, one for architectural studies, the medical library and the law library. The Professors are always helpful and are happy to talk to students when needed. Moreover, the college system within the university brings forth the uniqueness of CUHK. Each student belongs to a different college, and in that students are able to meet different peoples from different countries and students from different faculties. I think CUHK provides for a well-rounded university life for all students.

Student

Verified

17/10/2017

exthrillating

One of the most down to earth places in HK. A great opportunity to learn and embody the local culture. Also had one the most beautiful campus in Hong Kong up on the hillside. Glad to have graduated here.

Student

Verified

5/10/2017

Innovative and Supportive

My university provided me with all the support I needed, and encouraged me to be up to date with all the new developments in the world. They also provided me with the incentive to excel at what I do, and they take much pride in my achievements. I have had a very rewarding university experience.

Student

Verified

2/10/2017

Small, New But Friendly Law School

To being with, I think the campus of CUHK is the best and the biggest in Hong Kong, with fresh air and trees everywhere. I am an undergraduate Law student at CUHK and I think the teaching here is great, with very friendly and nice professors and the new Lee Shau Kee Building. In terms of the courses offered by CUHK, as one of the largest universities in Hong Kong, CUHK is an all-rounded university, offering a wide range of courses to students. Students may take the introductory courses of discipline other than their own major, or even declare a minor. For law electives, due to the small amount of intake, the variety of law electives are not that huge. However, the Faculty is offering some international programmes, which can be treated as law electives, but at the same time, provide us with an opportunity to travel and know more about the legal system of another country. The career support from the Faculty of Law is also amazing. The Faculty will organise CV Sessions and talks on how to get an internship from law firms or mini-pupillage from barrister's chambers. Each student will also have a Distinguished Professional Mentor, which is a current legal profession, providing us with practical advices and updates of the legal field. Finally, from my personal experience, I think the students in CUHK are friendly and genuine. As Law students, competition is inevitable for grades, GPAs, vacation schemes and training contract. However, I think the competition in CUHK Law School is a positive one, in a sense that help us grow together, instead of fighting with each other no matter what. That is the biggest reason why I am having a very good time here in CUHK Law School.

Student

Verified

30/09/2017

A place to explore your interests

As a law graduate from CUHK (both undergrad and post-grad), I realise that I had many opportunities to explore my areas of interests (legal and non-legal both). The faculty/university requires us to take a certain number of non-law electives, and offers a plethora of courses to choose from. Personally, I took 3 modules in Korean --I can't say it's made me highly proficient, but it's definitely given me a good foundation (I can walk into a Korean restaurant and confidently order food, at the very least). The fact that language courses are offered also provides students who are more financially constrained an opportunity to learn a language without having to shell out a premium for a decent language course. On top of that, we have a range of law electives as well. I know of classmates who have developed lasting interest in different areas of law because of the electives they took in school. The two electives that I would say have changed me is (i) mooting and (ii) family law. I think my experience in an international commercial arbitration moot competition has helped tremendously in formulating legal arguments and legal writing. On the other hand, taking a family law elective has made me very interested in the family law practice, especially in terms of child rights. For these experiences which I have gained, I'm grateful for the opportunities provided by the school. One main issue most students I know have is with the way our GPA is calculated and the lack of transparency in terms of how the honours system works. As our GPA is marked on a curve. it's highly unrepresentative of what we have achieved as individuals. Given that our GPA is the only criteria that is looked at when we apply for the compulsory post-graduate law course (mandatory should we want to practise law and/or be trainees in Hong Kong), it will put our own students at a distinct disadvantage when we compete for limited spaces with students from schools where GPA is not on a bell curve.

Student

Verified

27/06/2022

On Campus

Valuable time in CUHK

I like the learning environment and people at CUHK. Surrounded by hills and Tolo Harbour, CUHK provides a balance between nature and hustle. You can always escape from the busy study life and meet your friend around the big campus for different activities.

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