In a business world where marketing is often seen as a necessary expense rather than a strategic driver of growth, Hilda Chan, the newly promoted chief marketing officer of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), is on a mission to rewrite that perception.
Brand Mission
Chan has a diverse background working both at the agency and client side, progressing from the highly competitive advertising industry to leadership roles at Hong Kong's leading brands such as the Hong Kong Tourism Board. During his time at the agency, Chan split his time between Hong Kong and mainland China, working with global brands headquartered in Asia such as Cathay Pacific Airways. He eventually moved to the client side with a mission to help brand Hong Kong. Currently at HKSTP, Chan is responsible for various initiatives to promote Hong Kong as a renowned international brand and a global destination for innovation and technology.
“Marketing isn't just about creating campaigns or managing channels,” she says. “It's about using data, insights and creativity to transform how customers engage with your brand and ultimately drive measurable business outcomes.”
Hilda Chan, Chief Marketing Officer, HKSTP
What we need today
Reflecting on this part of his career, Chan quickly realised that advertising was only one part of the overall function and that marketing needed to be very close to the business.
“Marketing is not a support function, and being told that is not very helpful. Marketing can be a critical business function, and if you treat yourself as just a support function then you become one,” she says.
Chan argues that marketing today needs to join the discussion and convince companies that it has the power to create value and lead change. “Branding can sometimes seem intangible,” Chan says, “but the reality is that branding brings tremendous value to an organization and you need to demonstrate that.”
According to Chan, marketers need to set clear performance goals and demonstrate their value. In his role, Chan has made performance marketing, including demand generation, a key priority for his team, and it needs to work in tandem with the bigger brand idea.
Chan also believes that AI and data are areas marketers need to become adept at, as she argues that if marketing can control consumer and marketing insights and predict likely trends, it can have a major impact on the business agenda.
“You need to show your customers that marketing is not just a spend function, but can drive business insight and value,” she says.
Hilda Chan, Chief Marketing Officer, HKSTP
What it takes to thrive
There's no doubt that Chan is at the cutting edge of marketing, giving her a unique perspective on the evolving marketing landscape and the skills needed to thrive within it. She attributes her personal growth in areas such as curiosity, being at the forefront of change, diversity of ideas and embracing different cultures to her time working at an agency.
“I'm a social person and I like to talk to different people. I need diversity and different perspectives in my team and always have constructive discussions,” she says.
“The brand side today is very different from the agency side because we have comprehensive knowledge of the business and advertising is only one part of it,” she says.
Chan believes that after decades of fragmentation, the next decade will be marked by marketing consolidation, and that bringing everything together will be key to growth.
“I think it's now very difficult to compartmentalise marketing. You need to think holistically across different disciplines – social, digital, PR, events, branding, creative, design – and blur the lines between different disciplines,” she says.
Hilda Chan, Chief Marketing Officer, HKSTP
Advice for followers
Therefore, she advises those considering a career in marketing to be proactive in shaping it and encourages them to take calculated risks and seize opportunities.
“You have to shape your role when you can and use it to your strengths,” says Chan. “Through marketing, you can create meaningful campaigns that connect consumer insights to cultural context to change behavior and the world. That's what keeps me going every day.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the South China Morning Post: Growth Conversations: Hilda Chan of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Authority
