Zenith’s Colleen Hotchkiss Calls for Better Media Balance of Performance and Branding

SAN JUAN, PR — In an advertising landscape dominated by performance metrics and retail media expansion, Colleen Hotchkiss, President of Growth Practices at Publicis Groupe’s Zenith Media, is calling for a renewed focus on brand building. While performance media remains essential for short-term results, Hotchkiss argues that brands must not lose sight of what truly drives long-term equity: consumer connection and loyalty.

“Performance media is obviously critical for our brand successes….what’s gotten a little bit lost is actually the conversation about the importance of brand building and how brand and performance media really need to work together,” Hotchkiss said in this interview at the Beet Retreat San Juan.

The explosion of advertising on retail media networks — particularly among consumer packaged goods brands during and after the pandemic — has shifted focus away from brand storytelling. She believes that while commerce and performance channels excel at capturing demand, it’s brand media that generates it.

Holistic view: Brand and performance as partners

Rather than viewing brand and performance media as separate silos, Hotchkiss sees them as interdependent forces. Each supports the other—performance delivers measurable results, while brand-building efforts nurture the emotional resonance that drives future conversions.

“Consumers…need and want to buy brands they love. That’s how you create loyalty,” she said, adding that conversations in the industry are shifting back toward finding the right balance between performance ROI and brand resonance.

She also challenged traditional marketing models, particularly the outdated funnel metaphor, which she considers only partially useful in today’s fluid, multi-touchpoint environment.

“I actually hate the term ‘funnel’ and I believe the funnel is dead in part, but we still use it very much in our business and in our industry,” she said. “All channels can play both the brand and a performance media role.”

Shoppable content and creators

Hotchkiss highlighted the increasing shoppability of media across platforms, from shoppable video to interactive television. But she emphasized that, even in these highly transactional formats, the primary goal must still be connection — telling stories that build relationships with consumers.

She also pointed to the growing influence of content creators and influencers as key drivers of commerce. Today, creators are not just brand amplifiers, but active sales channels that consumers trust, especially when integrated thoughtfully with cultural relevance.

Power of culture, content and commerce

Hotchkiss oversees three core pillars at Zenith: culture, content and commerce. These disciplines, once siloed, are now fused into a unified strategy that she says delivers “multipliers” for clients when activated together.

“Where are those moments that we can connect the one plus one plus one of those three areas? Because it actually can deliver an eight or nine versus a three if we’re doing it right,” she said, describing the synergistic effect of connecting brand storytelling with cultural insight and commerce activation.

Whether during major cultural events like the Super Bowl, or more subtle micro-moments that emerge from online communities and trends, Hotchkiss sees huge potential in using first-party data to pinpoint when and where brands can play a meaningful role.

“There’s micro moments, too,” she said. The key is leveraging data to identify when brands have a right to engage, and then build experiences that unify culture, content and commerce, she said.

Looking ahead

Hotchkiss said she’s most excited about the opportunity to engineer these trifecta moments more deliberately — where real-time cultural relevance meets persuasive content and seamless commerce.

In an industry where short-term metrics often dominate, her message is clear: Brand love still matters. And if marketers want to win both now and in the future, they need to invest in the emotional as much as the transactional.

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