Executives from leading brands chatted with Brand Innovators for our new Backstage with Brand Innovators series to share the lessons they learned from marketing in a pandemic.
Amy Spiridakis, VP Strategy & Operations, Food & Beverage at Target said that the uncertainty of it all really stood out to her. “I remember when the pandemic was first really coming into the forefront. We really focused on how can Target be a place that is not only safe but easy to shop, affordable and then have that inspiration that Target has been known for over the past 60 years to really give consumers something to be excited about,” she recalled.
Lauren Severson, shopper & retail marketing manager, lifestyle audio division at HARMAN International, said pandemic marketing taught her the importance of “keeping it simple for shoppers to be able to get what they want, get in and out, making the shopping experience less stressful for everyone.”
Tim Goldsmid, vice president, site leader & head of marketing at Pacific Foods, said, “We learned there is definitely an opportunity to get more targeted in the marketing and the evolution of the technologies and the advancement of targeting online really helped that. As we launch products, as we bring innovations, we are now able to get more granular with consumers versus having to be broad, so it has been a big help for us to really get focused.
Nick James, senior director, consumer experience at Blue Buffalo said his brand had to adapt and stay flexible. “Consumers keep on setting new expectations due to the pandemic,” he said.
Brigitte King, chief digital officer at Colgate Palmolive stressed the importance of building a team with real team spirit to help overcome constant change, while also building out new skills and capabilities your team needs to succeed.
Matt Repicky, SVP, chief brands officer at Tailored Brands, said that he dives in to trends and insights on consumer behavior and uses those insights to understand how to market to customers. “One of the reasons that my role was created was because coming out of the pandemic, we saw that we lost a little bit in terms of talking about our brands and building and maintaining brand equity,” he added.
