Interview: Hilton’s MICE strategy in Malaysia

In this day and age where personalisation is the key to success, brands must be vigilant in keeping up with customers’ demands at every touch point. To learn more about Hilton’s MICE marketing strategies, we asked Eugene Oelefse, Hilton’s national marketing and communications director for Malaysia.

TD: Can you tell us about what the Hilton brand embodies and what does it mean for your guests?

EO: Hilton has 14 different brands, three currently in Malaysia and soon to be five. All of these brands are unique in their own way with very specific brand DNAs, appealing to people in a different way.

The brand approach from each varies in the tone of voice and illustratively, however, what Hilton does well consistently — delivering the same impeccable level of service and standards throughout every brand in every hotel in every destination. That is what our guests believe in the most and are assured of, thus the success of our loyalty program Hilton Honors.

Our guests visit us in each of our 106 destinations around the world and can be assured of the Hilton experience wherever they go.

What are your plans in terms of marketing this year?

The approach to our marketing efforts has changed significantly over the past few years with all the changes in the market, new disruptors and innovation challenging the status quo. However, with the strength of the Hilton brand, regardless of the change in channel or medium, we continue to see great performances throughout all of our hotels in Malaysia.

“The new age thinking of how to do business”

The rapid expansion of Hilton in Malaysia has kept us on the front page in the past two years. We continue to innovate throughout all segments of the business, keeping up to trend with how our consumers are changing, and what matters to them. Our new Meetings campaign is a good example of this as it’s very much in line with the new age thinking of how to do business, not only do we help you to work hard, but play hard too.

What MICE trends are you seeing in the next few years ahead?

Tech will play a massive role in the next few years. The opportunity is, for us, to use this to simplify communications within our meeting spaces, making every one of our venues into globally accessible destinations, without losing human interaction and networking.

“Sustainable, purposeful options at every touchpoint is on the rise”

Sustainability — Hilton is at the forefront of this with the Meet with Purpose program. I see this as a key driver in the way we construct our meetings in the future and a growing demand within the market for companies to offer sustainable, purposeful options at every touchpoint.

Speaking of MICE strategy, what’s your approach to making sure Hilton stays ahead of the pack?

We interpret the needs of our guests, all of the answers before summing up this last question, as we stay true to our brand and what it means to our guest. We make sure we’re reaching them through all the channels new and old, driving innovation and staying on top of trends to ensure we are current and continue to offer the best in class within our geographical area.