‘Brand is the business’: Ben Hallam on what wins

In an era defined by digital disruption, performance marketing, and the rapid rise of AI, many companies have become focused on short-term growth tactics. But according to global marketing leader Ben Hallam, the brands that will truly win the next decade will take a different approach, putting brand at the center of business strategy. As the former chief marketing officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and a longtime brand architect, Hallam believes brand is far more than a communications tool. It is a strategic operating system that shapes product, culture, and customer experience, ultimately driving enterprise value. In this conversation with Jing Daily, he shares his perspective on the future of brand-led growth — from the evolution of Chinese and Gen Z consumers to the growing influence of hospitality on retail, the balance between performance marketing and brand equity, and why emotional connection is the most powerful driver of long-term profitability. Jing Daily: In today’s complex economic and consumer landscape, why is brand-led growth becoming increasingly important for companies? Ben Hallam: Companies are operating in a world of infinite choice and constant noise. Consumers have more options, more information, and higher expectations than ever before. In that environment, brand becomes the single most powerful way to create clarity, trust, and differentiation. For me, brand-led growth means treating brand not as a communications layer but as a strategic operating system for the business. The brands that win understand that brand decisions shape everything: product, experience, partnerships, culture, pricing power, and ultimately enterprise value. When a brand has a clear point of view and emotional resonance with consumers, it creates loyalty, which translates directly into commercial performance. Where companies often get it wrong is when they treat brand as a marketing tactic rather than a long-term strategic asset. You can optimize media spend or increase marketing activity, but if the brand itself doesn’t stand for something meaningful, the growth won’t be durable. The companies that will lead the next decade are those that understand that brand is not just part of the business — in many ways, brand is the business. JD: How is the mindset of Chinese luxury consumers evolving? BH: One of the biggest shifts we’re seeing is that Chinese luxury consumers are moving from validation to discernment. Ten years ago, luxury consumption was often about global status signaling. Today it’s much more nuanced. Consumers are incredibly sophisticated, culturally aware, and digitally fluent. Platforms like Xiaohongshu have created a generation of consumers who are highly skilled at decoding brands. They now look beyond logo and price and instead focus on craft, story, and authenticity. The opportunity for Western brands is enormous, but the mistake many still make is assuming China is simply a “market.” It is actually a cultural ecosystem with its own creators, narratives, and pace of innovation. The brands that succeed are those willing to participate in culture rather than broadcast to it. JD: How are Gen Z and younger consumers reshaping luxury? BH: Gen Z has a very different relationship with luxury. They are less interested in traditional status and more interested in identity, creativity, and values. They are also incredibly fluent in brand storytelling because they’ve grown up inside platforms like TikTok and Instagram. As a result, this generation expects brands to behave more like creators than corporations. The implication for brands is clear: storytelling needs to be faster, more human, and more culturally aware. Luxury still matters, but the definition of luxury is shifting from ownership to experience and expression. JD: Brands often talk about cultural relevance. What does that actually mean? BH: Cultural relevance is often misunderstood. It’s not something you can manufacture overnight or insert yourself into on demand. True cultural relevance sits somewhere between art and science. Data and cultural insight can guide you, but ultimately it requires instinct, creativity, and experimentation. Every brand has to test and learn what feels authentic to its voice. In my experience, the brands that resonate culturally are the ones with creative conviction, not the ones reacting to every trend. Look at brands like Jacquemus — their cultural impact comes from a strong point of view and consistent creative expression, not opportunistic marketing. Importantly, this isn’t unique to the world of luxury. Brands like Gap and New Balance are investing heavily in creativity, collaboration, and cultural storytelling to build resonance with their audiences. What that demonstrates is that cultural relevance matters at every end of the market. Regardless of price point, consumers are drawn to brands that feel connected to culture, creativity, and the world around them. JD: How is hospitality influencing the future of retail and brand experiences? BH: For years, retail spaces were designed for efficiency — product display, transactions, and throughput. Hospitality, by contrast, has always focused on emotion, service, and memory. Increasingly, brands are realizing that the future of retail looks much more like hospitality than traditional stores. Physical spaces are becoming theater for the brand. After years of focus on digital commerce, we’re seeing renewed demand for offline experiences where consumers can step into a world that reflects a brand’s values, aesthetic, and community. The role of the store is evolving from a point of sale into a stage for storytelling, culture, and connection. You see this with brands like Glossier, whose retail environments extend the emotional world of the brand beyond the screen, and with houses like Prada, which treat their spaces as cultural venues through architecture, exhibitions, and creative programming. Ultimately, the lesson retail is borrowing from hospitality is simple: people remember how you make them feel far longer than what they bought. JD: In an era dominated by performance marketing, how should brands rebalance investment toward brand equity? BH: Performance marketing is incredibly powerful — but it’s also addictive. It delivers fast feedback loops, which is valuable, but it can also create an organizational bias toward short-term optimization rather than long-term brand building. The irony is that the brands that perform best in performance marketing are usually the ones with the strongest brand equity. When someone searches for Louis Vuitton, Four Seasons, or Apple, that demand was created by the brand long before the click happened. The smartest companies are moving toward a model where brand and performance aren’t competing disciplines. Brand sets the strategic narrative, and performance amplifies it with precision. JD: AI is transforming marketing. How do you see AI supporting brand-led growth and deeper emotional connection with consumers? BH: At first glance, AI and emotional brand building might seem at odds, but in reality AI can be a powerful enabler of brand-led growth. Building connection with a brand requires two things: consistency and personalization. Consistency ensures a brand shows up with a clear voice across every touchpoint, while personalization makes that brand feel relevant to each individual. AI allows brands to deliver both at a scale that was previously impossible. It also brings significant speed and efficiency, freeing teams from operational tasks so they can focus more on the core objectives of the brand and business. In many ways, it reinforces that marketing is both art and science. Technology and data provide the science, while creativity and cultural relevance provide the art. For me, creativity remains the differentiator. Technology amplifies it; it doesn’t replace it. JD: How is the role of the modern CMO evolving? BH: The CMO should be the driver of true brand-led growth. Today the role sits at the intersection of strategic vision, creative excellence, and cultural impact. The best CMOs understand that brand is one of the most powerful tools a company has to unlock commercial performance — shaping product, experience, partnerships, pricing power, and ultimately driving enterprise value. Just as importantly, the CMO must drive deep cross-functional influence. A brand only becomes powerful when its ambition is understood and prioritized across the entire organization. The CMOs who will define the next decade are those who can translate a brand’s vision into real business outcomes, aligning creativity, culture, and commerce to drive enduring growth. JD: What has shaped your philosophy on building brands that endure? BH: Marketing moves in cycles. Every few years there’s a new priority — performance marketing, e-commerce, digital growth, now AI — all important, but often focused on short-term impact. If you look at the brands that truly endure, what makes them great has always been the same: their ability to emotionally connect with people. That emotional connection creates loyalty beyond reason, the kind that allows a brand to weather a bad product release, a disappointing guest experience, or a moment of dissatisfaction. When people feel something for a brand, they stay with it. And that loyalty is incredibly powerful commercially. It drives lifetime value, repeat engagement, and long-term profitability. The organizations that understand this — and invest in building emotional resonance rather than chasing the marketing trend of the moment — are the ones that ultimately build brands that last.

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‘Brand is the business’: Ben Hallam on what wins