Zenith’s Jackie Ling on why belonging doesn’t mean assimilating

Ad Age is marking Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2024 with our Honoring Creative Excellence package, for which we asked members of the AANHPI creative community to write about pivotal projects or turning points in their careers. (Read the introduction here.) Today, guest editor Francois Lee turns the spotlight to Jackie Ling, executive VP and managing director at Zenith, who writes about how “something powerful happens when one discovers pride in their roots.” When I was 9 years old, my family moved from Hong Kong to the States. This transition would mark the start of an exploration in societal and self-imposed expectations that would shape my understanding of identity, belonging and success. When we first arrived, in theory, we were luckier than the average immigrant. We had family here and our English was solid. But that wasn’t enough to make assimilation easy. I can still remember shortly after arriving, walking home from school as a kid on a bus pulled at the corner of his eyes, mimicking mine—a confusing gesture at first, but one that eventually bore an unmistakable intent. My family was disrespected and looked down upon simply for their accents. I still wanted so badly to fit in, and I began to equate success with assimilation into American culture. In my young mind, this meant becoming “white.” I spent my formative years working to outgrow my Chinese accent, distancing myself from other Asian students and seeking out predominantly white social circles at school, all in pursuit of this misconstrued notion of success. Meanwhile, on the weekends, my family went to a Chinese church, and nearly every summer, I would go back to Hong Kong, where I was fully immersed in my heritage. With this mishmash of cultural influence, my identity and sense of belonging were often in flux. As I progressed through college and entered the workforce, thankfully, my perspective shifted. Surrounded by different voices and experiences, I started to understand that success lay not in fitting into societal norms or our perception of it, but in celebrating our unique identities. Something powerful happens when one discovers pride in their roots. This journey has fundamentally influenced my approach to work. As an industry, we often speak about our audiences as data points, rather than real people with unique stories. Good marketing makes human connections. And human connections make for good marketing ideas. I’m lucky that my journey has boomeranged me back to Publicis Groupe, this time as a global media agency lead. Even after three years, I’m still pinching myself that I get to be part of my clients’ growth, all while working alongside incredible people. Our agency is set up to celebrate diverse perspectives; bringing our whole selves is a requirement, not a “nice to have.” Here, “belonging” doesn’t mean assimilating, but rather freely expressing your unique identity among an eclectic community. Getting to smash those old expectations is where success lies. No matter how you define it, we’re all working through our own version of societal expectations. I hope that by injecting authenticity into how I approach marketing, it creates a ripple effect—however subtle—so when the next 9-year-old arrives on these shores, those ideas of societal expectations will look different for them than they did for me. May their pressure to belong evaporate, and their definition of success be expansive. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Zenith’s Jackie Ling on why belonging doesn’t mean assimilating

Featured Stories