In an era of rapidly shifting consumer behaviour and economic headwinds, marketers face new challenges and opportunities when it comes to delivering growth for their brands locally and internationally. To address these critical industry concerns, South China Morning Post (SCMP) Advertising+ joined hands with WARC, the leading global authority on marketing effectiveness, to launch new insights at a series of events titled “Growing Your Brand in Hong Kong & Beyond”. The events took place over two days at the beginning of June.
“Businesses are increasingly expecting marketing to drive performance for their brands. In fact, research has shown that close to 30 per cent of total business value is attributed to brand marketing,” explained Kevin Huang, chief operating officer, SCMP. “Yet many businesses are still navigating the challenges of building a strong, differentiated brand that drives desired commercial success.”
Growth Insights
On June 6, at LANDMARK’s Centricity, a full house of top marketing executives gathered to listen to Ashik Ashokan, head of advisory, WARC, Asia-Pacific, and Edward Pank, managing director, WARC, Asia-Pacific. The two industry leaders spoke about the role of brands in fuelling business performance, the mindset of today’s affluent and influential, and the role of culture in creating resonant marketing and communications.
“How can you create meaningful difference and ensure you’re driving conversations and influence from the bottom up?” said Ashokan. “How can you create future demand? That’s one of the biggest powers of brand.”
Quiet Luxury
Indeed, the insights revealed a significant shift in luxury behaviours in Asia, highlighting the growing trend of “Quiet Luxury.” Today’s luxury consumers are motivated by a desire to express their identities through their own, unique ways, rather than flashy displays of wealth.
As consumers shift from material possessions in search of personal connections and values, brands must focus on cultural relevance and authenticity to form emotional connections that drive enduring growth.
On that topic, the audience was treated to a fireside chat featuring Douglas Young, co-founder and CEO of home-grown brand G.O.D. Young spoke about the importance of building authenticity and highlighting the role of culture in his company’s success. He also discussed the role of humour and playfulness in connecting with the audience, a successful strategy that has taken G.O.D. into its 30th year.
“We’ve stayed relevant for three decades because we continue to have fun and continue to be passionate,” said Young. “I’m not saying it’s easy, but the fun and play works in Hong Kong because we always find ways to be humorous to reflect our struggles as humans.”
Brand Equity
The floor then went to Cheuk Shum, head of marketing, wealth and personal banking, HSBC Hong Kong, and Ingrid Chen, vice-president for global brand strategy and marketing, Rosewood Hotel Group. The discussion was moderated by Jenny Chan, China editor, WARC. The participants spoke about their individual struggles and the way they have weaved cultural relevance into their brand narratives, prioritising people and infrastructure investments for long-term success.
“I’m struck by the idea of compound creativity, and the fact that we need to find a North Star for our brand so that no matter whether the budgets go up or down, you keep a consistent branding message out there,” said Shum. “By keeping the brand purpose centred and consistent, it builds brand equity. It’s like deposit rates: even if you don’t top up, there is still growth. I think the lesson is to keep doing what you have been doing and stay true to the brand purpose.”
Brand Values
Chen attributed Rosewood’s success to prioritising customer service, with a focus on creating unique experiences that touch customers’ emotions. She also emphasised the importance of research and understanding customers, as well as the need to share best practices that ensure consistency across all markets.
“It’s really about investing in the infrastructure of the company and how we actually ingrain our values into the brand,” said Chen. “And that influences how we choose our partners to do business: they need to understand the values of how we operate.”
To wrap up the discussion, Pank challenged the audience with some food for thought: “Are you investing enough in your brand? Are you investing in the right ways? Is your brand culturally relevant? And I leave you with a final challenge: what unique cultural story can you come up with that will create a meaningful difference, break the mould, and appeal to a more youthful audience? Because that’s where the future opportunity is.”
