Carol Zhou is the Senior Vice President of Shiseido Group’s China Business Innovation & Investment and the  GM of Ziyue Fund, Shiseido’s beauty-focused investment fund. She unlocks growth drivers  across the globe by leading incubation efforts of internal new ventures, while identifying and investing in external emerging startups. 

In our discussion, Ms. Zhou shared her in-depth perspective on the evolving consumer landscape and Shiseido’s global strategy for innovation and growth. Through continuous innovations rooted in relentless customer-centricity, including ventures into ingestible beauty and medical beauty categories, Shiseido focuses on creating compelling value propositions to continuously win consumer trust, and drive high-quality, sustainable growth.   

How is Shiseido driving growth within your organization?  

Carol Zhou: As an industry leader and the ‘Asian Skincare Expert,’ Shiseido is committed not only to shaping the future of beauty but also to deeply understanding and anticipating consumer needs—transforming insights into strategic brand excellence and sustainable growth drivers. 

Growth is a long-term process, and the key lies in building an enduring brand through vision and consistency. Beyond packaging or storytelling, it’s about stewarding our core values at every touchpoint. Our goal extends beyond reaching a wider audience; we strive to cultivate meaningful consumer connections that inspire loyalty and mutual value creation. 

Shiseido has been increasingly investing in the ingestible beauty (inner beauty) and medical beauty categories. In pursuing high-quality growth, what motivated the decision to redefine the traditional boundaries of the beauty industry?

CZ: From my earliest days at Shiseido, our global CEO recognized China as both our most strategic future market and the ultimate proving ground for global innovation. This innovation extends far beyond product development—it’s about defining ecosystems, reimagining business models, creating unique consumer value and establishing enduring brand equity. 

Our approach to innovation outlines two essential principles. First, comes our commitment to anticipating future trends and staying acutely attuned to market evolutions. Equally important is our dedication to protecting the brand’s core value, ensuring every innovation strengthens rather than compromises Shiseido’s long-term values and heritage. 

The ingestible beauty category (beauty-from-within) came naturally to us. It represents the perfect synergy between Japan’s centuries-old philosophy of holistic beauty and China’s tradition of wellness harmony. 

Shiseido launched its tech-driven ingestible beauty brand INRYU in 2021. 

Medical beauty, in comparison, was a more challenging venture. Initially, there were internal concerns: Is this too radical? But after observing global beauty trends and consumer habits, we recognized that medical beauty is becoming an essential component of people’s daily skincare regimens, potentially displacing traditional premium skincare. As an industry leader, Shiseido must embrace change rather than cling to convention. So, we’re cautiously yet decisively exploring how to empower the medical beauty sector—seizing new opportunities while preserving Shiseido’s core DNA: “people-first” innovations blending “art & science.”  

Shiseido introduced its first medical beauty brand RQ PYOLOGY in China.   

Empowering the medical beauty industry is now a key pillar of Shiseido’s global strategy. We’re leveraging China—the world’s most dynamic and competitive market—as fertile ground for innovation, then scaling successful practices globally.   

With shifting consumer habits, what challenges do you face in brand marketing?

CZ: We don’t react passively. Instead, we proactively build systematic consumer insights and development capabilities, laying the foundation for sustainable, long-term growth. 

With unprecedented information transparency, consumers’ decision-making processes have radically evolved. They no longer passively accept brand narratives—instead they proactively investigate and demand substance. For example, proof points such as ingredients, clinical data and scientific validation are scrutinized, revealing a new generation of discerning consumers. Thanks to platforms like TikTok (Douyin) and RedNote, consumers are often better informed about industry trends than marketers. This shift is rewriting the rules of brand marketing.   

In the past, branding was a “one-way broadcast.” Corporations had control over channels with carefully crafted brand stories. Today, the narrative belongs to consumers—they share, educate and influence. Brands must evolve into enablers. This shift in power dynamics presents new challenges. With people’s attention spans shorter than ever, the pressure is on; brands must deliver value, instantly. 

But the real test isn’t to grab attention—any brand can do that with flashy campaigns. The true measure of success is converting buzz into lasting brand equity: loyalty, advocacy and repeat purchases. Shiseido focuses not just on communicating our core values, but on fostering continuous dialogue with consumers, reinforcing trust through delivering product quality and customer experiences.  

Shiseido launched “ULTIMUNE FOUNTAIN,” a sustainable refill service for the iconic Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate, promoting sustainability while boosting loyalty. 

Amid market uncertainties, how does Shiseido reconcile bold innovation with risk mitigation when entering new sectors and ecosystem partnerships?

CZ: We take a test-and-learn approach—validating concepts through controlled pilots before scaling, ensuring systems and strategies mature in lockstep. At our core, we prioritize high-quality growth, rejecting short-term tactics like price wars or short-term traffic grabs and instead delivering authentic value that earns long-term loyalty. 

For instance, in medical beauty, we noticed gaps in the consumer journey—the experience from pre-treatment to post-care isn’t seamless. So, we’re exploring how Shiseido can enhance this holistic experience by integrating into the customer journey beyond providing specialized products. By partnering with clinics, we hope to help elevate their services and experiences, therefore increasing retention and customer lifetime value.   

Agility is also critical amid the fast-changing landscape. Internally, we strive to streamline cross-functional collaboration and accelerate decision-making. Externally, we cultivate strategic partnerships that complement our capabilities across the customer journey, allowing us to rapidly innovate in high-potential areas while maintaining our commitment to excellence. 

Finally, what metrics do you prioritize when measuring marketing success?

CZ: When assessing brand performance, I prioritize customer retention—particularly the repurchase rate—as one of the most critical metrics. More importantly, beyond broad brand awareness (which often correlates with marketing spend), I place greater emphasis on meaningful brand recognition among precisely defined consumer segments. 

This requires a sophisticated approach across different stages of the marketing funnel. At the upper funnel level, we focus not just on impression volume, but on expanding reach through precision targeting. We develop specific consumer personas based on our brand strategy, extending beyond basic demographics to incorporate lifestyle patterns and purchase drivers. For instance, ingestible beauty consumers may be primarily motivated by wellness consciousness or fitness routines. 

At the lower funnel, our emphasis shifts from short-term conversion (which can be artificially inflated through promotions) to driving repeat purchases and long-term value.  

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Ms. Zhou successfully led the launch of Shiseido’s first ingestible beauty brand, INRYU, in China. As the head of Shiseido’s ingestible beauty division, she will further expand the brand portfolio in this category to deliver greater value to increasingly sophisticated beauty consumers. Additionally, as the General Manager of Ziyue Fund, Shiseido’s beauty-focused investment fund, she continues to concentrate on high-growth sectors in the Chinese market, exploring new brands to enrich the Group’s business portfolio while creating synergies with existing brands. 

In April of this year, Ms. Zhou introduced the Group’s first high-end biotech skincare brand, RQ PYOLOGY, in Shanghai, offering a full-cycle medical beauty and skincare solution, fusing medical-grade efficacy and cosmetic elegance. The brand will partner with premium specialized beauty clinics to provide safer, more effective, and precise full-cycle skincare solutions for Asian skin through high-performance medical beauty products and outstanding customer experiences. 

Ms. Zhou has held senior management positions at several multinational corporations, including Unilever, L’Oréal Group, Burberry, and Marriott International, where she led brands in cross-regional and cross-sector global strategic innovation. She graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business and holds an MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

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Da Si is Vice President and Chief Brand Officer of BOE Technology Group. He oversees BOE Group’s global branding and communications, driving strategic support for the group and its businesses worldwide. 

In our conversation with Mr. Si, we uncovered how BOE is driving brand-led growth and transformation amid market complexity. By evolving from a traditional B2B manufacturer to a human-centric brand, BOE is activating both internal agility and external brand strength. The company is fostering a change-ready culture, deepening cross-functional trust, and forming ecosystem partnerships—while rapidly deploying innovation to deliver business results and build brand impact. 

How has BOE’s growth strategy evolved during its transformation from a manufacturer to an IoT technology leader?

Da Si: In recent years, BOE’s growth engine has shifted to focus on application-led innovations. We have moved beyond the traditional B2B hardware-centric business model by integrating our advanced manufacturing capabilities, core R&D strengths and scaled ecosystem resources to accelerate our transformation into an IoT innovator. 

The transformation is fueled by our relentless drive to redefine business boundaries—from automotive displays to gaming screens. Today, display-powered IoT solutions already generate over 30% of the group’s revenue. 

BOE partnered with Geely Auto to develop 8K Ultra-Wide Automotive Display 

How does brand play a role in your transformation?

Da Si: The role of brand is pivotal. Whether expanding globally or innovating for different applications, strong brand equity remains an indispensable competitive advantage. BOE is now adopting a dual-engine strategy that synergizes technology and brand, where technological innovations and brand building reinforce each other. 

In 2021, BOE pioneered China’s first semiconductor display technology sub-brand and product portfolio — comprising premium LCD (ADS Pro), advanced flexible OLED (f-OLED) and cutting-edge glass-based MLED (α-MLED) technologies. This move redefined industry standards, providing end consumers with high quality products and greater values driven by both the technology and our brand. 

We’ve moved beyond conventional Business-to-Business or Business-to-Consumer frameworks to adopt a Human-Centric (Business-to-Human) marketing philosophy.

Whether engaging business clients, end consumers or supply chain partners, we’re fundamentally communicating with people—where every decision-maker is first and foremost a consumer in daily life. Thus, we strive to balance technological expertise and human connection in our brand strategy and communications. Through consistent storytelling, we strengthened our brand image and enhanced consumer experiences. This shapes BOE’s brand as an innovative tech leader. 

When technology becomes tangible, half the battle is won. We’re revolutionizing how technology communicates, replacing jargon and spec sheets with real-world scenarios and experiences that let users feel the technology’s value. In our branding, we deliberately avoid dogmatic promotion, opting instead for experiential engagement that embeds innovations from datasheets into users’ lived experiences. 

「Hello BOE·2023」Brand Exhibition 

Why is long-term brand building necessary?

Da Si: Brand building is inherently a long-term commitment. As a leader in the semiconductor display industry, we’ve shifted our focus from bolstering our market leadership to demonstrating “how our innovative technologies empower, enhance and transform industries and lives.” This way of storytelling not only humanizes our technology, but also makes BOE’s brand more youthful, energetic and relevant. It also helps consumers better recognize BOE’s capabilities and innovations, their applications in daily lives, and our partnerships across the ecosystem. 

Amid global uncertainties, our brand power and human-centric values have strengthened our business resilience. Every effort we make today is an investment in the future: the more solid our groundwork, the greater our ability to withstand risks.

When challenges arise, we’ll be more adaptable and recover faster. That is the true strategic value of brand building. 

How does BOE enhance its brand influence through ecosystem partnerships?

Da Si: Building a brand can’t be done in isolation—it requires collective momentum. That’s the thinking behind our ”Powered by BOE” vision, where we co-create brand value through strategic partnerships. We’ve even established a dedicated Brand Partnership team within our Brand Center to drive two key collaboration models: deep alliances with industry supply chains (i.e., automakers and device manufacturers) and cross-sector partnerships (i.e., museums), blending hardware excellence with compelling content-driven experiences. 

Take our collaboration with the Palace Museum as an example: as its strategic digital transformation partner, we undertook all digital exhibition projects for the Museum’s centennial exhibition. When audiences marvel at the perfect integration of traditional culture and modern technology, they naturally pay attention to the technology provider behind it. This partnership model subtly marries technology and culture while steadily ingraining BOE’s brand value in people’s minds. 

BOE jointly hosted the immersive digital exhibition “The Way in Patterns” with the Palace Museum and Tencent. 

In esports, BOE has teamed up with e-commerce giant JD.com and ecosystem partners to form the “Best of Esports Alliance.” This initiative establishes a comprehensive ecosystem spanning e-commerce platforms, live streaming services, esports organizations, hardware manufacturers and device brands. The alliance has already attracted major global players such as JD.com, Intel, AGON, ASUS, Lenovo Legion, Mechanic, Mechrevo and MSI, connecting with esports enthusiasts while fostering a collaborative esports community. 

Two years post-implementation, this ecosystem approach has delivered strong outcomes: continuous improvement in consumer brand recognition and additional partnership opportunities across business units.

More importantly, this model is catalyzing meaningful changes within our group, transforming internal collaboration mechanisms and organizational mindsets. 

How do you foster agility and open thinking in your marketing organization to enable cross-functional collaboration and better results?

Da Si: I always emphasize two core principles with my team: First, we must reject complacency and embrace bold innovation. Second, we should apply critical thinking before implementing any directives—even those from leadership. Effective brand building demands disruptive thinking that combines creativity with healthy skepticism—only then can we surpass our own expectations. 

In change management, I consider internal communications to be as vital as external messaging—often more so. This becomes particularly crucial when overcoming operational bottlenecks or driving rapid transformation. Our approach establishes a comprehensive communication framework: securing executive buy-in through top-down alignment, fostering interdepartmental consensus through lateral collaboration, and unlocking grassroots innovation through bottom-up engagement. Most importantly, we validate every initiative with concrete results—measurable outcomes ultimately speak louder than rhetoric. 

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Since joining BOE in December 2020, he has spearheaded the company’s transformation into an IoT leader, achieving key breakthroughs: 

• Revamped BOE’s master brand architecture to reflect its IoT pivot, launching China’s first semiconductor display technology sub-brand and shifting competition from scale-driven to value-driven.
• Championed BOE’s “Empower IoT With Display” strategy through integrated campaigns, reinforcing its market leadership. 
• Pioneered innovative initiatives like ‘Hello BOE’ exhibitions and China’s first tech-edutainment show, “BOE’s Wonder Lab of Worry Solutions,” boosting awareness and engagement among end consumers. 
• Introduced microfilms and video-driven storytelling to humanize BOE’s brand, conveying “BOE is Always with You” through warmth and innovation. 

With over 20 years of brand and marketing leadership across China and APAC, Da Si has held executive roles at Motorola, AMD, and Amazon before joining BOE. 

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Does branding still matter in the AI era? The answer is not just yes—it’s becoming more critical than ever. 

AI is radically transforming how people shop, communicate and make decisions. In Asia, consumers are embracing these powerful technologies faster than anywhere else in the world. They’re using AI assistants, experiencing AI-powered recommendations and creating content with generative tools daily.  

Something surprising emerged from Prophet’s research, The Rise of the AI-Powered Consumer, comparing GenAI trends in Asia and around the world: As technology advances, human connection becomes more valuable. We surveyed consumers across five countries and discovered that people in China and Singapore aren’t just AI enthusiasts—they’re also the most insistent on authentic brand relationships. They want the efficiency AI brings and the transparency, trust and genuine human touch that brands can uniquely deliver. 

This creates both a challenge and an opportunity for brands in Asia. Here are three key trends brand leaders should keep in mind, along with examples of companies already building powerful, practical connections in the wake of AI disruption. 

Consumers Want Authenticity 

Consumers are adopting GenAI at a fast pace, especially in Asia. Prophet’s study found that 60% of Chinese consumers and 56% in Singapore are using GenAI, well ahead of consumers in Western markets. Moreover, 84% of consumers in China and 75% in Singapore say they are excited about brands that integrate AI.

With brands being more dynamic than ever, they must evolve into intuitive storytellers, balancing machine insights with human judgment. If brands are not careful, GenAI content and experiences can appear too polished or too perfect. That may feel generic and inhuman, undermining trust and connection. 

At the same time, concerns persist. Globally, 43% of consumers find some aspect of AI worrisome, but in Singapore, that rises to 57%—the highest among surveyed countries. People also expect companies to be honest, with 82% saying companies should always disclose the ways they use AI. 

As consumers become more aware of AI’s role in marketing, brands must continue to lead with authenticity to maintain credibility and long-term loyalty. Brands that leverage AI for personalization can enhance their identity and relevance, but they must also be cautious of over-reliance on technology, not losing the humanity that makes for meaningful and enduring relationships with consumers. 

(Image Source: Campaign Asia)

One powerful example of authentic AI use comes from Telekom Malaysia. To celebrate Hari Kebangsaan (Malaysia’s Independence Day) in 2024, it launched “Sejuta Suara, Satu Ritma, Jiwa Merdeka,” using AI-driven lip-syncing and voice cloning to let Malaysians sing in their preferred language. Rather than showcasing AI for its own sake, the campaign celebrated Malaysia’s rich linguistic diversity and highlighted the brand’s promise to open doors to a promising tomorrow. 

The result: AI amplified cultural identity rather than diminishing it, showing how technology can strengthen authentic connections. 

Other brands are also using AI in service of authenticity. Zalora, a fashion ecommerce site, developed an intuitive, multilingual chatbot deeply integrated with customer service data. It helps users track orders, manage returns and resolve issues quickly—and it does this in ways that look and feel distinctly “on brand.” This demonstrates how AI can enhance the customer experience while maintaining the authentic brand voice that shoppers trust. 

Brands can enhance authenticity by: 

• Ensuring overall brand strategy is built based on core human insights and not technology alone
• Creating AI tools that solve real customer problems rather than showcasing technology 
• Maintaining consistent brand voice and values across touchpoints using custom-built AI assistants 
• Combining human oversight with AI to ensure outputs stay true to brand tone, audience needs, and real-world relevance 

Consumers Crave Human Connection 

In China, 89% of consumers believe GenAI improves people’s lives by automating tasks and boosting efficiency; in Singapore, it’s 84%. (These enhancements are proving so valuable to consumers that 83% of Southeast Asian shoppers say they would pay more for them.) 

But even with their enthusiasm, consumers remain wary of losing human interaction. In Singapore, 75% of consumers worry that AI might replace human contact—the highest level of concern among surveyed markets. Almost half of Chinese consumers also share this fear. 

Many companies begin their AI journeys by solving customer pain points. When AI simplifies transactions, consumers welcome it. But in the meantime, the role of brand remains crucial by ensuring that technology complements—not replaces—human connection.

AirAsia’s “Ask Bo” concierge app is a strong example. While it automates travel tasks like booking and gate changes, recent updates allow customers to seamlessly transfer to a human agent when needed—combining AI efficiency with human reassurance. This hybrid approach acknowledges that while AI can handle routine tasks, human intervention remains essential for complex situations—preserving the human touch that builds trust. 

Shiseido Haneda Boutique (Image Source: Shiseido) 

Shiseido offers another best practice. Partnering with Revieve, a beauty tech developer, it uses AI for skin analysis but complements it with in-store beauty consultants who personalize recommendations. The result is an experience that feels deeply human, even when AI powers the initial interaction. By combining technological analysis with human expertise, Shiseido creates a premium experience that neither AI nor humans could deliver alone, deepening the customer relationship. 

Brands can maintain human connection by: 

• Clearly signaling human oversight within AI systems 
• Giving customers access to live human support when needed 
• Designing AI experiences that complement rather than replace human expertise 
• Creating opportunities for emotional connection even within automated processes 

Loyalty Still Matters 

Even as AI changes consumer expectations, and transforms the customer experience, loyalty remains at the heart of brand value AI enables brands to deliver personalized, relevant interactions that serve to strengthen bonds with customers.  

This is especially true in Asia, where consumers are particularly optimistic about AI’s potential. In China, 76% believe GenAI will improve their financial well-being by offering smart insights, as do 65% of Singapore’s consumers, creating an opportunity for brands to deepen trust by delivering tangible, AI-enabled value. Asian consumers also show greater trust in AI’s ability to spot opportunities they might otherwise miss. About 72% of Chinese and 76% of Singaporean consumers believe AI can help them make better decisions—higher than any other region surveyed. 

DBS Bank, headquartered in Singapore, exemplifies loyalty-building AI. It has embedded more than 800 AI models across 350 use cases, offering customers personalized financial advice. Its AI-powered virtual assistant supports call center employees, reducing call handling times by up to 20%—making human help faster and more satisfying for customers. By making human help faster and more effective, DBS strengthens its reputation for exceptional service—turning AI into a loyalty-building advantage. 

Anthony Tan, Grab Group CEO and Co-Founder at GrabX 2025 (Image Source: GizGuide)

Grab, the Southeast Asian super app, is also investing heavily, introducing AI Merchant Assistant and AI Driver Companion tools in collaboration with OpenAI and Anthropic. The two AI-powered solutions are personal, intelligent assistants designed to help Grab’s merchants and drivers optimize their businesses and maximize productivity. By making daily tasks easier for its partners, Grab builds loyalty by showing its AI innovations have heart, not just efficiency. These tools demonstrate Grab’s commitment to supporting its ecosystem of partners, building a community of loyal merchants and drivers who in turn provide better service to end customers. 

Brands can build loyalty by: 

• Personalizing experiences in ethical, human-centered ways 
• Designing AI solutions that save customers time and help achieve their goals 
• Using AI to empower employees to deliver better service 
• Creating feedback loops that continuously improve AI tools based on customer input 

Prophet’s global research study is applied and brought to life in client engagements. We help organizations unlock uncommon growth by understanding and taking advantage of digital disruption. There are several ways to work with us: 

• AI-powered growth consulting: Creating future-back business and brand positioning strategies that help you act on GenAI consumer and business trends to drive tangible results 
• AI-enabled products and experiences: Envisioning and bringing to life new products, services and experiences that are enabled and accelerated by GenAI 
• AI-driven marketing organization for the age of GenAI: Understanding your marketing vision, activating relevant AI use cases and deploying new capabilities 

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