This article was originally published in the Brand Finance B2B 300 Journal 2026.
Brand Finance this year ranks JLL as one of the strongest commercial real estate brands in the world. This is a source of pride for our marketing team, our executive leadership, and all of us at JLL. On one hand, it is the culmination of a journey for the JLL brand, but it is also the start of a new and exciting stage for our opportunities ahead.
In commercial real estate, as in many B2B categories, brand has often been a secondary consideration. Yet, as seen in this World’s Most Valuable B2B Brands Report and the year-over-year growth of brand value it shows, the industry is changing. And in CRE, JLL is setting the pace.
With our 240-plus year history, something not many companies can claim, brand is a key leader of our corporate strategy as one of six imperatives in JLL’s five-year strategy, Accelerate 2030. In B2B, brand being elevated to a strategic imperative sets a high bar: something that every B2B CMO should have as a goal.
Interview with Siddharth Taparia, Global CMO, JLL
Global CMO, JLL
Seeing a brighter way
In JLL’s case, as we emerged from the pandemic in 2022 (with CRE brands and clients facing many challenges and growing complexity), we repositioned and relaunched the JLL brand. Our brand positioning was (and remains) “See a Brighter Way.” With it, we show that through our unparalleled data and expertise, JLL is best able to illuminate the path forward for our clients.
As the new JLL brand rolled out, it had a major impact. It galvanised our 100,000+ colleagues around a shared purpose worldwide. It brought optimism back to our market at a time when it was needed. It strengthened our relationships with existing clients and created abundant opportunities with new ones.
Suddenly, brand was playing its most strategic role ever at JLL with our clients, people, prospective candidates, and the investor community. We were doing more than differentiating our brand; we were establishing the brand as a strategic strength for JLL in our industry. This inspired the c-suite and board to elevate brand to be a key imperative alongside data and AI, our people advantage, client relationships, core leadership position, and platform excellence. Our new mandate: Win with the JLL brand.
Activating to accelerate
The Accelerate 2030 strategy was rolled out at JLL’s Investor Day in New York this spring. To own the moment and signal our intent, we launched the largest activation in JLL’s history in Grand Central Terminal’s vast Vanderbilt Hall. A near 20-foot-tall tower visually and brilliantly projected stories across the hall, showcasing the role real estate plays in shaping a brighter future. Surrounding out-of-home spread these stories even further. JLL colleagues amplified the activation on social media to turn this important moment into many digital engagements globally. JLL owned the moment; from nearly 20 million OOH and social impressions to 50,000 social engagements, building a swell of pride across the organisation.
And our brand was at the forefront, once again. In a world of AI, where knowledge and data are easily accessible, I believe brands are more important for B2B companies than ever before. Brand is market distinction. It is owning pivotal moments. It is reframing categories. It is inspiring and enabling experiences. It is the belief that rallies performance. Most of all, it is integral to corporate strategy at the highest level.
