Jill Ong is Managing Director of ACE and has spent her career on the global advertising stage–working with iconic brands like Converse and Adidas. We talked about all of this and more—including brand building during a recession—this week on the On Brand podcast.

About Jill Ong

Jill has spent her whole career of 22 years in advertising working on iconic brands like Converse, Beats by Dre, and Sonos. She has deep expertise on global businesses and the APAC region, with work experience spanning China, New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore. She moved to New York in 2010 during the Big Recession and has been in the Anomaly/ACE family ever since. As Managing Director of ACE, she’s charged with inspiring and nurturing people and optimizing operations across ACE.

On a sabbatical in Puerto Escondido 5 years ago, Jill decided to challenge her lack of sporting ability to learn surfing. Despite her poor swimming skills and getting a black eye after getting hit by a surfboard on her first day out, she has persevered and has since surfed the breaks of Bali, West Java, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Johannesburg, and Mexico.

Episode Highlights

An All-Star brand. “Converse is the best brand I’ve ever worked on,” Jill began, citing a global campaign all about reinforcing the meaning of this iconic brand. “Converse is all about being scrappy and creative.”

Global brand building starts with the customer. “And customers are so different—down to where they’re at in terms of lifecycle with your brand in different parts of the globe.”

How do you build a brand during the recession? “Budgets will be tight. You have to be strategic about how you communicate that—think twice about that Super Bowl ad and what it says about your brand.” However, Jill also noted that recessions are times when brand loyalty can be built.

What brand has made Jill smile recently? Jill brought not one but two brands. “I watch a lot of TV for work but it’s also a guilty pleasure. I love the Progressive ads on Hulu about not becoming your parents.” She also shared a smile for Belvedere vodka’s new ad showcasing a different side of Daniel Craig.

To learn more, check out the ACE website and connect with Jill on LinkedIn.

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