Thank you. Guys, I want to kind of dive in because we've got a lot to cover and we don't have a lot of time, so we're going to try and be efficient. I want to set the stage, although I think the stage is set already, but many of the world's most valuable companies are becoming ecosystems rather than standalone products. And I think that's because the relationship we're trying to build with our consumers is more than a single transaction. That's the base for this conversation. I want to start with Don. Don, when we're talking about building a relationship, and this is something you and I focused on when we first got to know each other several years ago. And your dream really was from a branding standpoint with Snapdragon to create a relationship with the consumer.
And it has something to do with your history of something else being inside. Right. I'll let the audience figure out what that is, but you had a mission. Could you talk about that? Because that's where you're saying it's more than transactional, it's a relationship.
Yeah, I mean I think for any brand, no matter if you were more of an ingredient or more of a front-facing brand, having a long-term relationship with your audience, your consumer, your user, your customer is super important. It's probably more important than ever as building trust and turning that into loyalty is of high value. When you talk about most valuable companies or valuing a company or a brand, if you're purely transactional, it's really hard to determine what that value really is because you could lose that at any moment. But if you can show that you've built long-term relationships with your audience or your customer, there is true value in that. And that's measurable. So we set out on a journey with Snapdragon several years ago to take something that lives on the inside and make it important to people. So far so good. I think we've made a lot of progress. And that's how we look at things. It's really long-term because we live in the technology space. Having a relationship with technology is something that people have every day on an ongoing basis.
You mentioned a word that I'm going to come back to. You mentioned trust in there I think one or two times because what I think I've stumbled on, maybe not, maybe I was intentional in it. The two most important words in our industry today, when I describe our industry I look at it through the lens of the intersection of marketing, media, advertising, entertainment, sports, and technology. That's a very busy intersection, but there's a lot going on. But we'll come back to that. The two words that seem to be most important are trust and transparency from a consumer relationship.
Jean-Yves, our course spans luxury, lifestyle, premium, economy, along with dining, entertainment, experiences. What creates that sense of connection? Before you answer, I'll tell a quick story. When I was young, I had some aspirations. One of them was when somebody said, 'Do you want to be famous?' I said, 'With only two people.' They said, 'Who's that?' I said, 'The president of the bank and the concierge in the best hotels in the world.' How am I doing? [laughter] I hope it's still the same.
It's still the same. No, absolutely. I think that the relationship with the concierge is critical not only for a good stay, but also for something after the stay. We'll talk about it. There are more tools today, especially powered by AI, that help us enhance this relationship. But back to your question, I think what really unites and connects all the brands that Accor has is this sense of purpose. We live in a very blessed industry in travel and leisure because no matter the region you live in, the budget you have, your social demographic, travel remains the number one need and desire for anyone, after the necessity of food, lodging, and health. Everybody wants to travel. Today, brands that are really able to connect are the brands that not only offer stays, but offer something more deeply meaningful around purpose. At the end of the day, we try not to offer stays, but to offer sense in their lives.
And it makes a difference. Here's the question. Have you perfected the ruby slippers yet? Can we just click our heels and get there, or do we still have to travel?
There's a lot of innovations on slippers, but people still ask for it for a sense of comfort, for sure.
There you go. I think Elon's thinking that out. [laughter] Exactly. Alex, the New York Times has built products that people engage with every day for different reasons, multiple times a day. Information, entertainment, utility, Wordle, ritual. What have you learned about creating that portfolio from a product perspective where each experience plays off the next, it strengthens because the weakest link and all that? You have to make sure the experience at each one of those is delivering.
It's a great question. I want to start with the word ecosystem, which you used at the top, because we for the last 10 to 15 years have really been trying to build out a very intentional product ecosystem, which we call the essential subscription. The whole point is to work in spaces: news is the most important, but also games, sports, food and cooking, shopping, things that play into people's passions, so that we can ultimately meet a range of news and life needs every single day. That helps people not only understand the world around them, but really act on it with intention, enjoyment, and purpose. On one hand, each of these products is designed to meet a certain set of needs. If you just come in for Wordle and you want to play Wordle and share it with your group chat, and you're done, that's great. We'll start the relationship there. But over time, what we want to do is build pathways back. So if you like Wordle, maybe we'll bring you over to sports connections, and then you can check your World Cup scores with The Athletic. Then you might go listen to The Daily with Michael Barbaro. So we're really thinking about building a connected portfolio of products that has intentional pathways, and that has gravity, and is all based on the premise and promise of independent journalism that is accurate, that you can't get anywhere else, and a really excellent product and software experience that is personalized and adds real value and utility, so you can act on that journalism in a way that works for your life.
And in the customer relationship across the portfolio, creating habituation is the key, right? You...
Absolutely. And we made a pretty counterintuitive decision about 10 years ago. Most of our peers in the media industry, during the web 2.0 era of search and social, were unbundling their content and products and services and trying to get audiences wherever they might be. We made a very different decision, where we said we're going to be destination first and direct relationship first. By doing that, we really decided to create enough gravity and original and distinct value that you can only get from us. So people actually have a reason to build a habit and they have a brand promise that we can deliver every single day. Every new product feature is about continuing to earn that trust and loyalty. We build lifelong relationships. That's really at the core of our brand.
Absolutely. Don, technology ecosystems create value through collaboration in many ways culturally.
And you've done that with Snapdragon particularly. But I guess my question would be what makes it an organization attractive to partner with Snapdragon? From the organization side and from your side. How do you judge that?
Well, I think when you look at how to build this long-term relationship with your customer or your customer's customer in some cases, partnership is a critical piece of that mix. I think community is also a piece of that mix that goes beyond traditional advertising or marketing methods. When we were looking at how to really build affinity for Snapdragon and create that stickiness that you were talking about, we had to add some slices to the pie, and one of those slices was partnerships. Partnerships with our brand partners who utilize our technology to bring their value proposition to life, whether that's BMW, Samsung, LVMH, or others. We have some amazing brand partners, some of the biggest brands in the world that use our technology to enhance their value proposition. Partnering with them is super important. But also brand partnerships with people like Manchester United or Mercedes Formula 1 to explore and connect what we do with people's passions, which you mentioned, because connecting through people's passions is a way to tell your story in a way that's relevant to them. Partnerships are really important on two fronts for us: one is our customers and how they tell their story to their customers and how we enhance that together, and then partnerships that we form with the brand to tell our story directly.
It's a win-win in that case.
It's a win-win for everybody, including the consumer. But I also believe historically some brands refused or were reluctant to share the spotlight with a partner for fear of brand dilution. I think that's BS.
Yeah, so do I because in brand partnerships it's like life. We're known by the company we keep. So from that perspective, you want to be aligned with things that represent the same values. I agree with you, the consumer looks through that and says, 'Is this real?' And the business back idea, these are people who are using Qualcomm's products. It makes perfect sense.
But you're creating that experience. Jean-Yves, travel arguably, back to my fantasies growing up, but travel creates some of the most memorable moments in a person's life. Those are highlights. You remember those trips and you transport yourself. How do you extend the relationship beyond the trip itself to keep it live?
Yeah, absolutely. We do keep it live through memories and pictures, but the trip itself is short, usually a week or two. How do you keep that relationship with the consumer? It starts even before the memories. Before the trip, there is anticipation, booking, finding out where you're going. Communication of the brand is essential. But your question is about the after. How do you keep that relationship through memories? Because we're still... The travel is not every day. So how do we stay on top of mind and meaningful in people's lives? I'll give you an example: we created the Novotel 37 Collective, a collective of influencers. The purpose of Novotel is to help people achieve longer, fuller, healthier lives. Longevity is extremely relevant today. Our philosophy is about longevity every day. It's not just during the stay through food, sleep, connection, but how you keep that quest for longevity after the stay. At Novotel, we have a philosophy: 1% better. If you eat 1% better, sleep 1% better, move with intention 1% better, and have social connection 1% better every single day, it compounds over time. The effect is real. It's about math. We call it 37 because one person better every day for 365 days equals 37. I'm a math geek. We stay coherent with three influencers: sleep experts, culinary experts that provide tips daily through social media to keep the memory long and help achieve longevity.
I love that. Alex, as we said, the Times has a direct relationship with millions of subscribers across multiple products. How do you use behavioral insights to make experiences more relevant without a Big Brother feeling, without people feeling like they're being observed? Which, by the way, we are, but how do I not feel that way?
It's a fantastic question. We design our products with intentionality around the ethos of time well spent. One of the best examples of time well spent at The New York Times goes back to 1942 when we introduced the crossword for the first time. It was a couple weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, World War II. The country was going through a dark period, and they wanted a reprieve. We wanted to give people a way to do something different with their mind, but not turn their mind off. That ethos started with the crossword in print and has translated into every new game, every new podcast. When we design products, we design them to point you to things that matter for you or to be part of a shared moment with the community of readers and subscribers. They have a beginning and an end. You come, we satisfy that need, and then you can go get on with your day. That is one of the best brand promises that gives people a sense of trust that they will come back to The New York Times and their time will be well spent.
Well, this is a question for all of you. Today, consumers are sharing more signals than ever before. What makes personalization feel more useful, timely, and welcome? I mean, you're getting the signals. Don, you're seeing them. How do you successfully connect with the audience based on the signals you're getting? This is for all of you.
