Accor

Curating and launching Accor’s flagship Supreme-luxury lifestyle brand in North America

Brand Build | New to the World Luxury Hotel Brand

Sienna Senior Living

Led Marketing, Brand Strategy, and Business Intelligence at Sienna Senior Living. Architected the company’s first enterprise BI platform—now a cornerstone of strategic decision-making.

Commercial Strategy | Vice President - Marketing, Brand Strategy & Business Intelligence

Brought a new brand to life. Launched Aspira—a fresh Active Retirement Living experience built for today’s aging population.
As VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy at Sienna Senior Living (TSX:SIA), I led the full brand development and go-to-market launch across Canada.

Brand Build & Launch | Vice President, Marketing & Brand Strategy

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

A global role leading the Distribution strategy and execution, Distribution operations and Call Centre, B2B Sales and support for the group.

Key responsibilities included

✅ Turnover of $500 million business segment
✅ Manage $25 million expense budget
✅ B2B marketing, sales, contracting, and management 
✅ Responsible Distribution Channel technology and strategy
✅ Responsible for the Global Call center
✅ Lead a global team of 100+ team members

Commercial Strategy | Senior Director, Global Distribution & Channel Strategy (Marketing)

Shangri-La Group

Based in Corporate Headquarters of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Hong Kong.
The role entails managing Corporate Reservations, Customer Contact Centers & Distribution for the group.
Established a new contact centre in Guangzhou, China, to support inbound and outbound interaction in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Commercial Strategy | Director Distribution Management & Corporate Reservations (Marketing)

Based in Corporate Headquarters of Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Hong Kong.
The role entails developing new Marketing concepts
Establishing and opening new hotels; Led Brand and Marketing to open hotels in Brisbane, Singapore, Puteri Harbour (Malaysia), Abu Dhabi, Muscat, amongst others

Brand Build & Launch | Director of Sales & Marketing - pre-opening hotels (new markets development)

Based at Shangri-La Hotel, Doha, Qatar
Hotel Pre-opening Executive Committee member
Leading Sales & Marketing

Brand Launch | Director of Sales & Marketing

Based in Traders Hotel Dubai
Leading the Sales & Marketing Department
Responsible for Revenue, Sales, Distribution, Events & Public Relations teams.

Director of Sales & Marketing

Based at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok
Leading the Revenue Management Department
Responsible for Revenue Management of all revenue-generating areas of the hotel, Pricing and Optimising yields.

Director of Revenue Management

InterContinental Hotels Group

Based in Holiday Inn Silom, Bangkok
Marketing Plan
Revenue Management & Pricing
Budgetting & Forecasting

Revenue Manager

Taj Hotels

City Revenue Manager

VP-Marketing & Brand Strategy | On a mission to make Strategic Marketing your superpower, so you can add value, drive commercial success, get unstuck and grow. I do this 1 post, 1 conversation, 1 mentee at a time.🏍

Building Brands That Drive Growth and Command Loyalty

I’ve spent my career at the intersection of luxury hospitality, brand strategy, and commercial leadership, working across global markets from India to Thailand, Dubai, Doha, Hong Kong, China, and Canada. With over two decades of experience in revenue management, brand positioning, and customer experience design, I’ve had the privilege of building strategies that not only drive revenue but also strengthen brand equity and customer loyalty across diverse cultures and business environments.

My journey took an unexpected turn during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted my career’s upward trajectory and gave me the chance to step outside hospitality into the retirement living sector. That experience, combined with my pursuit of an MBA at Kellogg School of Management, helped me realize that my core strength lies in connecting customer insights, brand identity, and revenue strategy into a cohesive, competitive advantage.

Today, I leverage my global leadership experience, strategic mindset, and customer-first philosophy to help organizations align brand promise with business performance, ensuring they remain customer-obsessed, commercially smart, and future-ready. Whether repositioning a brand, driving market growth, or building high-performing teams, I believe great brands are built at the intersection of people, profit, and customer experience.

Contact: arvind.bala@kellogg.northwestern.edu

Arvind Bala

Ulli is an internationally recognized and award-winning marketing and brand strategy consultant and trainer with over 25 years of experience creating business-building brand strategies around the world.

Prior to launching brand strategy and training boutique First The Trousers Then The Shoes Inc. in 2014, he held senior strategy roles at some of the world's top advertising agencies, including Head of Strategy at BBDO Germany and Leo Burnett Chicago and Global Strategy Director at Fallon Worldwide and SapientNitro.

He has contributed to seven Effies and an ARF (Advertising Research Federation) Ogilvy award for Excellence in Research. His insights and strategies for Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, General Mills, Wrigley, Hallmark, Harley Davidson, Chrysler, Skoda, 3M, Ecolab, and many more have helped build these brands in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the US.

He is the author of the award-winning and best-selling “Brand Positioning Workbook” and the “Brand Positioning Development Method Cards” as well as the “Aha!, The Ultimate Insight Generation Toolkit”, already used by tens of thousands of marketers and strategists around the world.

He is a contributor to various trade publications in the US and Europe, a regular podcast interviewee, a speaker, and a regular guest speaker at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication
University of Minnesota.

His work spans the US, Europe, and occasionally Asia.

He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife, three children, two dogs, and one crested gecko.

Ulli Appelbaum

100 days without a cigarette after 43 years of smoking. I got this"! I am a non-smoker!

Founder & CSO @ First The Trousers | Author of "Brand Positioning Workbook" | Trainer & Speaker #marketing #brand positioning #brandassociations #branding #author

As always, a delight to speak with Olaf G. Hartmann 🚀on his Markenkraft podcast about "The Science of Brand Associations: Win Minds, Win Markets". And a great way to practice your German.

More Sense for Stronger Brands | Multisense | Podcast-Host MARKENKRAFT | Sparringspartner für alle, die von Marken fasziniert und für ihr Wohlergehen verantwortlich sind.

👉 Marken werden nicht mangels Aufmerksamkeit schwächer – sondern auf Grund von falschen mentalen Modellen in der Markenführung.

Es wird seit Jahrzehnten über Botschaften, Awareness und Recall geredet. Und gleichzeitig wundern wir uns, warum Marken kontinuierlich schwächer werden. 

Der Grund? Es geht nicht um Botschaften. Es geht um kauftreibende Assoziationen in Momenten des Bedarfs.

In der neuesten Episode von #MARKENKRAFT🎙️ spreche ich mit Ulli Appelbaum über sein exzellentes Buch zum "The Science of Brand Associations - Win Minds – Win Markets". 

Es war wieder ein Fest mit Ulli. 
Kluge, evidenzbasierte Gedanken, gemischt mit 30 Jahren Erfahrung als Brand Planner und Markenberater – mit unaufgeregter Lässigkeit formuliert.

🎯 Hier direkt 7 Take-Aways für Euch aus der Episode:

1. Marken sind keine Botschaften.

Marken sind Assoziationsnetzwerke im Gehirn.

Eine Marke besteht aus:

Erinnerungen
Erfahrungen
Emotionen

Kaufentscheidungen sind keine Debatten, sondern mentale Abkürzungen.

2. Mental Availability ist nicht nur „Mir fällt die Marke ein“.

Sondern:
Mir fällt die richtige Assoziation im richtigen Moment ein.

Pommes. Lecker. Muss schnell gehen. Wird den Kids gefallen.
Nicht: „Wir stehen für Qualität seit 1957.“

3. Assoziationen mit Category Entry Points sind der Schlüssel

Große Marken haben viele Entry Points,
weil Menschen sie in vielen Situationen erlebt haben.

Kleine Marken machen oft den Fehler, alles gleichzeitig besetzen zu wollen.
Fokus schlägt Allmachtsfantasie.

4. Distinctiveness ist kein Design-Thema – sondern ein strategischer Hebel.

Ohne starke Markencodes:

verpufft Werbung
wird Erinnerung teuer
wird Wachstum zäh

Brand Assets sind keine Deko.
Sie sind die Kristallisationspunkte für Erinnerung.

5. Ein Leuchtturm-Erlebnis prägt 30 weitere Touchpoints.

90 % aller Markenkontakte sind transaktional.
Kalt. Austauschbar. Vergessbar.

Ein einziger positiver Überraschungsmoment
kann das gesamte Markenerleben überproportional prägen.

Nicht alles optimieren.
Die richtigen Momente radikal gut machen.

6. Werbung wird systematisch falsch verstanden.

Werbung ist keine Awareness-Maschine.
Sie ist ein Werkzeug zum Aufbau, zur Pflege und zur Aktivierung von Markenerinnerungen.

Branding ≠ Kreativbremse.
Branding = Wirkungstreiber.

7. Der größte Wachstums-Irrtum: Loyalität.

Marken wachsen nicht durch Heavy User.
Sondern durch Light User und Super-Light User.

Wenn selbst bei Zigarettenmarken das Wachstum von Gelegenheitsnutzern kommt,
sollten wir im Marketing vielleicht kurz innehalten und den starken Loyalty Fokus hinterfragen.

Kurz gesagt:
Marken scheitern nicht, weil sie zu wenig sagen.
Sondern weil sie zu viel sagen – und zu wenig verankern.

👉 Frage zum Mitnehmen:
Was bleibt von Deiner Marke im Kopf, wenn niemand mehr zuhört?

Enjoy! Lasst hören, ob Euch die Episode genausogut gefallen hat wie mir.

#BrandStrategy #EvidenceBasedMarketing

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The Battle

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Ulli Appelbaum

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ulli Appelbaum's LinkedIn Performance

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