Hilton elevates Jessica Tan to oversee 3 countries as digital marketing director

Hilton has promoted Jessica Tan to the role of director of digital marketing overseeing Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam. In her new role, Tan (pictured) will ensure business and commercial needs are met via social media, content and digital marketing initiatives. She continues to report to Eugene Oelofse, marketing communications director for Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam.

Tan told A+M that her short-term vision is to evolve Hilton's marketing communication strategies to be constantly digitally-forward, as well as grow her department into a core component of Hilton's business identity and a digital business partner of the organisation. She will also work hand-in-hand with the business development and sales team to heighten brand affiliation and loyalty.

"My long-term vision moving forward is to digitally transform our traditional business model, to one that is relevant, fast and innovative," she said, adding that her team now consists of seven employees.

Tan was previously Hilton's head of national content and digital marketing, managing 12 hotels within the Hilton portfolio in Malaysia for Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn. She oversaw digital content strategy, and social media strategy. She also previously worked as director of social media and digital marketing at AI firm DCG and was with Vocanic for more than two years, last helming the role of digital content and strategy manager.

There are currently 18 hotels across the Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam, including Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn. According to Tan, the pandemic sky-rocketed its digital marketing initiatives, with a rapid shift of some of its existing campaigns and offerings, towards digital-led ones.

"With dine-ins, leisure staycations both locally and internationally, recreation and spa, and festive shopping mall booths having to halt for a considerable amount of time, we had to respond quickly and pivot to our digital real estate and create new digital distribution platforms. My team and I have since successfully increased and diversified our revenue streams from these initiatives," she explained. 

Last week, the Malaysian government extended the Movement Control Order in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor Bahru and Penang to 4 March, while the rest of the states enter into a mid-tier Conditional Movement Control Order. At the same time, Perlis is now under the Recovery Movement Control Order. With the movement restrictions in place, Tan said the team has been doing social listening to re-access the market shift in needs and wants to stay aligned with the current online consumer behaviour and provide more value to consumers digitally.

"This year has been working in our favour in terms of spreading our digital footprint further, while elevating our brand presence on the web. We will also be scaling our initiatives horizontally, by leveraging on analytics and data to work for us, to automate processes and retarget segments for more personalised communications," she said.

Additionally, Hilton has also been digitising its existing communications assets and strengthening its eCommerce offering. The hotel chain will also focus on leveraging on the various evolving features of social media and digital communications, all while ensuring central offerings of the brand remain intact. According to Tan, the key is to reinvent and reimagine.

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