Quote of the Day

November 12, 2020
There’s so much opportunity to have a brand-led type of event like this. These types of events are typically led by vendors, partners or leagues that are trying to showcase all of the things they’re doing with their partners. The opportunity arose to flip the script. Brand Innovators Sports Marketing Upfronts is about what we want to see as brands, and what is it that we want our partners to know. With the unique circumstances we’re in today, these conversations are so important to really communicate with our partners what we’re looking for, and what we need in this new terrain.

There’s so much opportunity to have a brand-led type of event like this. These types of events are typically led by vendors, partners or leagues that are trying to showcase all of the things they’re doing with their partners. The opportunity arose to flip the script. Brand Innovators Sports Marketing Upfronts is about what we want to see as brands, and what is it that we want our partners to know. With the unique circumstances we’re in today, these conversations are so important to really communicate with our partners what we’re looking for, and what we need in this new terrain.

Nick Kelly
VP, Partnerships, Beer Culture & Community, Anheuser-Busch InBev
watch session video
November 12, 2020
This year was all about empathy, communication, and agility. AMEX has a huge focus on fan access and engagement, so the decisions around postponing or canceling an event, to have fans or not - those were critical pieces to how we would show up. We had to make sure our policies were clear and our customer service, social channels and call centers were prepared for the massive influx of questions from our customers. We had to set the groundwork in terms of customer service, which our brand is synonymous with, before we did anything from a marketing standpoint.

This year was all about empathy, communication, and agility. AMEX has a huge focus on fan access and engagement, so the decisions around postponing or canceling an event, to have fans or not - those were critical pieces to how we would show up. We had to make sure our policies were clear and our customer service, social channels and call centers were prepared for the massive influx of questions from our customers. We had to set the groundwork in terms of customer service, which our brand is synonymous with, before we did anything from a marketing standpoint.

Lindsay Ulrey
Vice President, Global Sports Experiences and Partnerships, American Express
watch session video
November 12, 2020
We leaned onto the storytelling aspects and technology showcases to extract value from the partnerships even though full games weren’t being played. We were even able to help in terms of working with the NBA and WTA in trying to keep their players and staff safe and making sure that people were checking in properly. We focused on their mental health, which is so important given the state of the world.

We leaned onto the storytelling aspects and technology showcases to extract value from the partnerships even though full games weren’t being played. We were even able to help in terms of working with the NBA and WTA in trying to keep their players and staff safe and making sure that people were checking in properly. We focused on their mental health, which is so important given the state of the world.

Dan Fleetwood
Vice President, Global Sponsorships, SAP
watch session video
November 12, 2020
There are new cultural moments that have emerged that we wouldn’t have tried before COVID-19. Some of the most exciting things to emerge from the year are based in technology. An acceleration of technology comes as no surprise, from both an arena standpoint or a brand perspective. In the future of the new normal, some of that will stay and integrate. There will be great learning to come from this.

There are new cultural moments that have emerged that we wouldn’t have tried before COVID-19. Some of the most exciting things to emerge from the year are based in technology. An acceleration of technology comes as no surprise, from both an arena standpoint or a brand perspective. In the future of the new normal, some of that will stay and integrate. There will be great learning to come from this.

Shiz Suzuki
Head of Sponsorships and Experiential Marketing, AT&T
watch session video
October 27, 2020
The key is to focus on the influence, and not the influencer. You need to identify who and what you are trying to influence, and let that lead you. Brands have gotten that wrong by focusing on the number of likes or followers instead of thinking who you’re trying to reach and how. Should I be working with a mom, or a doctor, or a celebrity? At the broad level, we’re trying to incorporate the influencer part of our plans as just part of our plans. The idea is for it to be one holistic plan and one holistic community.

The key is to focus on the influence, and not the influencer. You need to identify who and what you are trying to influence, and let that lead you. Brands have gotten that wrong by focusing on the number of likes or followers instead of thinking who you’re trying to reach and how. Should I be working with a mom, or a doctor, or a celebrity? At the broad level, we’re trying to incorporate the influencer part of our plans as just part of our plans. The idea is for it to be one holistic plan and one holistic community.

Matthew Fantazier
Head of Marketing, US Baby Brands, Johnson & Johnson
watch session video
October 27, 2020
There is not a more valuable currency right now than data. That asset is giving you the power to serve your consumer and also your partners. We partner on the food service side and we partner on the retail side as well. Building this value for consumers is so incredibly valuable. The agility that companies need to have to survive and even to thrive in today’s world is very close to the data conversation because you need to move fast and to move fast, you need to make decisions super fast. You cannot wait a month until some results come to decide what you are going to do.

There is not a more valuable currency right now than data. That asset is giving you the power to serve your consumer and also your partners. We partner on the food service side and we partner on the retail side as well. Building this value for consumers is so incredibly valuable. The agility that companies need to have to survive and even to thrive in today’s world is very close to the data conversation because you need to move fast and to move fast, you need to make decisions super fast. You cannot wait a month until some results come to decide what you are going to do.

Ivonne Kinser
Head of Digital Marketing, Avocados From Mexico
watch session video
October 27, 2020
With everybody at home, we just saw a natural interest in our brand. For Mother’s Day, everybody looks to go out to brunch with Mom and we were all forced to stay home and not see Mom, so customers turned to us to help celebrate the millions of Moms across the country and have that virtual connection with Mom. Our mission is to deliver smiles at the end of the day, and we’re glad we’re still able to do that.

With everybody at home, we just saw a natural interest in our brand. For Mother’s Day, everybody looks to go out to brunch with Mom and we were all forced to stay home and not see Mom, so customers turned to us to help celebrate the millions of Moms across the country and have that virtual connection with Mom. Our mission is to deliver smiles at the end of the day, and we’re glad we’re still able to do that.

Tania Nemaric
VP Marketing, 1-800-FLOWERS
watch session video
October 27, 2020
With virtual events, you can watch your favorite artist with your friends at home and you can have a front row experience. You can buy a more expensive package and get to ask questions after the show or before the show. You can also create that exclusive experience by maybe voting for the next act or the next song. So I see this happening especially for maybe the up and coming artists. The top artists have the way that they do things, but the up and coming artists,it is much harder for them to do a tour. It is harder for them to fill venues, it is harder for them to have fans all over the US and they may not have critical mass, so these virtual events can be huge for them.

With virtual events, you can watch your favorite artist with your friends at home and you can have a front row experience. You can buy a more expensive package and get to ask questions after the show or before the show. You can also create that exclusive experience by maybe voting for the next act or the next song. So I see this happening especially for maybe the up and coming artists. The top artists have the way that they do things, but the up and coming artists,it is much harder for them to do a tour. It is harder for them to fill venues, it is harder for them to have fans all over the US and they may not have critical mass, so these virtual events can be huge for them.

Arnaud Collin
Global Head of Marketing, StubHub
watch session video
October 26, 2020
Transparency, inclusivity, and diversity is core to Ulta’s mission, so when we moved into that time of civil unrest and social injustice, it made a lot of sense to really make sure that our mission was clear to our guests and consumers. We really needed to understand fundamentally the role our brand plays in that narrative and the specific positions that our consumers expect from us. A lot of that was represented through the work we’ve been doing with our influencer network and the Ulta Beauty collective in celebrating our black creators, uplifting and celebrating the black brands we have, and also acknowledging the work we have in front of us in terms of where we need to go and how we need to continue those partnerships.

Transparency, inclusivity, and diversity is core to Ulta’s mission, so when we moved into that time of civil unrest and social injustice, it made a lot of sense to really make sure that our mission was clear to our guests and consumers. We really needed to understand fundamentally the role our brand plays in that narrative and the specific positions that our consumers expect from us. A lot of that was represented through the work we’ve been doing with our influencer network and the Ulta Beauty collective in celebrating our black creators, uplifting and celebrating the black brands we have, and also acknowledging the work we have in front of us in terms of where we need to go and how we need to continue those partnerships.

Christine White
Director, Social and Content Marketing, Ulta Beauty
watch session video
October 15, 2020
My advice for other females in marketing is to ask a lot of questions, but don’t question yourself. In the time it might take you to raise your hand, the man next to you is already raising his hand, so you need to go for it. If you’re not exactly sure how to do something but you want to do it, say yes, and figure it out afterwards. It’s the passion that matters. Jump at the chance, find the right mentors and keep pushing forward.

My advice for other females in marketing is to ask a lot of questions, but don’t question yourself. In the time it might take you to raise your hand, the man next to you is already raising his hand, so you need to go for it. If you’re not exactly sure how to do something but you want to do it, say yes, and figure it out afterwards. It’s the passion that matters. Jump at the chance, find the right mentors and keep pushing forward.

Erin Levzow
Vice President of Marketing Technology, Del Taco Restaurants
watch session video

Previous Quote's of the Day

Christine White
Director, Social and Content Marketing, Ulta Beauty
Alia Kemet
Vice President, Creative & Digital Communications, McCormick & Company
I started working very early, when I was 14. I had a unique first job; I worked in a stock room at a retail store and learned how to dress the windows, which is really when I learned about targeting. You have to understand targeting in order to dress the window. I would tell the young people today to start your work ethic early. Working is like a muscle; you have to come to work and put all of yourself into it. I find that many young people who haven’t had to work, when the work is put on them, they’re like ‘Woah, wait a minute, we’re still in it?’ To anyone trying to break in, you need to be gritty, especially if you’re a person of color. I hate to bring up this mantra, but it’s true. If you're a person of color, a black person in particular, you have to work harder than the next person. So I come to the table with my goal being ‘Always win against myself.’ I have high standards. I want to be that person that comes in and does something that no one else has done before and completely transform business results.

I started working very early, when I was 14. I had a unique first job; I worked in a stock room at a retail store and learned how to dress the windows, which is really when I learned about targeting. You have to understand targeting in order to dress the window. I would tell the young people today to start your work ethic early. Working is like a muscle; you have to come to work and put all of yourself into it. I find that many young people who haven’t had to work, when the work is put on them, they’re like ‘Woah, wait a minute, we’re still in it?’ To anyone trying to break in, you need to be gritty, especially if you’re a person of color. I hate to bring up this mantra, but it’s true. If you're a person of color, a black person in particular, you have to work harder than the next person. So I come to the table with my goal being ‘Always win against myself.’ I have high standards. I want to be that person that comes in and does something that no one else has done before and completely transform business results.

Matthew Coleman
Marketing Director, State Farm
We’re founded on making sure we’re building relationships, helping customers in communities and just being a good neighbor. That’s further shaped by the mission, vision and values that we have. Every interaction we have with our customers is pivotal to that brand promise. When you’re thinking of the environment we’re in right now, whether that’s wildfires or hurricanes, we know those are crucial moments where we have an opportunity to show up and really help people. We call that the moment of truth. But it’s not just in those environments that people are looking for help. If you think about COVID, people are really concerned about their health, their loved ones, and leaving their legacy, and that’s where State Farm comes in. Being able to meet the needs of customers regardless of where they are in their life stage is really important to us.

We’re founded on making sure we’re building relationships, helping customers in communities and just being a good neighbor. That’s further shaped by the mission, vision and values that we have. Every interaction we have with our customers is pivotal to that brand promise. When you’re thinking of the environment we’re in right now, whether that’s wildfires or hurricanes, we know those are crucial moments where we have an opportunity to show up and really help people. We call that the moment of truth. But it’s not just in those environments that people are looking for help. If you think about COVID, people are really concerned about their health, their loved ones, and leaving their legacy, and that’s where State Farm comes in. Being able to meet the needs of customers regardless of where they are in their life stage is really important to us.

Brian Voynick
CRM Campaigns Manager, BMW of North America
First party behavioral data trumps psychographic which trumps demographic. As long as you can see the customer’s actions and intentions, that’s the best way to create any sort of experience. That makes you a better marketer and provides better content. This is the age of context. If you’re not delivering experiences that are contextually relevant to the consumer, they’re getting bombarded from all different cylinders and you won’t catch their attention. We need to make sure that when we present someone with an opportunity that it fits into what they actually need. Every once in a while, I get an ad and I’m so enamored by it, that I have to buy the product, because it was targeted too well. Maybe I needed it, maybe I didn’t, but I bought it. That’s the goal.

First party behavioral data trumps psychographic which trumps demographic. As long as you can see the customer’s actions and intentions, that’s the best way to create any sort of experience. That makes you a better marketer and provides better content. This is the age of context. If you’re not delivering experiences that are contextually relevant to the consumer, they’re getting bombarded from all different cylinders and you won’t catch their attention. We need to make sure that when we present someone with an opportunity that it fits into what they actually need. Every once in a while, I get an ad and I’m so enamored by it, that I have to buy the product, because it was targeted too well. Maybe I needed it, maybe I didn’t, but I bought it. That’s the goal.

Elle McCarthy
Head of Brand, Electronic Arts (EA)
EA hasn’t had someone looking after EA as a brand before. How do you reinvigorate a hero brand from scratch from the privacy of your own living room? We were founded to lift up gaming as the entertainment medium of the world and to hero our developers and make them be at the center of our business. All of these founding principles are so rich and steeped in history, so I had been thinking a little bit about that and looking at our player data, and created the simplest brief you could imagine. It had three rules. What can we do to help people connect during this time?. What can we do to help people connect to our developers and our talent? And what can we do to help people connect to things that we miss in the real world? Those first two things, any gaming company can do that, the third one, is actually leaning into the thing that really differentiates us through time.

EA hasn’t had someone looking after EA as a brand before. How do you reinvigorate a hero brand from scratch from the privacy of your own living room? We were founded to lift up gaming as the entertainment medium of the world and to hero our developers and make them be at the center of our business. All of these founding principles are so rich and steeped in history, so I had been thinking a little bit about that and looking at our player data, and created the simplest brief you could imagine. It had three rules. What can we do to help people connect during this time?. What can we do to help people connect to our developers and our talent? And what can we do to help people connect to things that we miss in the real world? Those first two things, any gaming company can do that, the third one, is actually leaning into the thing that really differentiates us through time.

Surbhi Martin
VP Marketing, Danone
I joined Danone for two reasons. One is that there's a real sense of purpose at Danone, A lot of companies talk about purpose but the fact that Danone is the world's largest public benefit corporation, brings a lot of credibility to what that means at Danone. It means that we are actively talking about purpose - about how we will use business as a force for social good. It's really quite unbelievable to me that on a daily basis, I'll join some sort of conversation about how we’ll walk the talk around purpose and being a certified benefit corporation. It's a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of heavy lifting to become a certified public benefit corporation so the credibility that Danone has, is one of the key reasons I joined the company. Working on a brand like Two Good is really just a dream.

I joined Danone for two reasons. One is that there's a real sense of purpose at Danone, A lot of companies talk about purpose but the fact that Danone is the world's largest public benefit corporation, brings a lot of credibility to what that means at Danone. It means that we are actively talking about purpose - about how we will use business as a force for social good. It's really quite unbelievable to me that on a daily basis, I'll join some sort of conversation about how we’ll walk the talk around purpose and being a certified benefit corporation. It's a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of heavy lifting to become a certified public benefit corporation so the credibility that Danone has, is one of the key reasons I joined the company. Working on a brand like Two Good is really just a dream.

Fernando Machado
Global Chief Marketing Officer, RBI
Kathleen Braine
Senior Director of Brand Marketing, BABE Wine, Anheuser-Busch InBev
It is really important, especially when you are a consumer good and a lot of your brand is based in these emotional moments that are relevant in the world today, to really be tapped into that culture and to be able to react to it. You can have the best social listening in the world but if you are not able to react to it immediately then why are you listening? We really think especially at BABE we have our finger on the pulse of what our consumers are talking about and then we try to look for what that human insight is and look for where our brand can authentically play. It is not enough to just comment on things. If you are trying to talk to everyone, you are talking to no one, so how do you join cultural moments and really think about what is happening in the world and still be a human and be authentic to that brand and to who your consumer is. It’s a delicate balance.

It is really important, especially when you are a consumer good and a lot of your brand is based in these emotional moments that are relevant in the world today, to really be tapped into that culture and to be able to react to it. You can have the best social listening in the world but if you are not able to react to it immediately then why are you listening? We really think especially at BABE we have our finger on the pulse of what our consumers are talking about and then we try to look for what that human insight is and look for where our brand can authentically play. It is not enough to just comment on things. If you are trying to talk to everyone, you are talking to no one, so how do you join cultural moments and really think about what is happening in the world and still be a human and be authentic to that brand and to who your consumer is. It’s a delicate balance.

Amanda Goetz
VP Marketing, The Knot Worldwide
Being open minded from a content perspective is a huge pillar for us. Our core focus is that we believe anyone should marry who they want, when they want, and if they want - the if is actually really important because we care a lot about the marriage more than just the wedding. We {as a society} have to remind ourselves that all of the time, it’s not about spending a lot of money on one given day. it’s about two humans coming together, and how we can use our product and platform to prepare people for that, and that’s talking about relationship health, how to love yourself, what it means to go to therapy - normalizing those aspects and talking through what it’s like to experience it. Also, celebrating second weddings - it’s important to show that there is no right or wrong way to live your life and we are here to support everyone. We are a brand that stands for acceptance, helping people feel good about living their life; however they choose to define it.

Being open minded from a content perspective is a huge pillar for us. Our core focus is that we believe anyone should marry who they want, when they want, and if they want - the if is actually really important because we care a lot about the marriage more than just the wedding. We {as a society} have to remind ourselves that all of the time, it’s not about spending a lot of money on one given day. it’s about two humans coming together, and how we can use our product and platform to prepare people for that, and that’s talking about relationship health, how to love yourself, what it means to go to therapy - normalizing those aspects and talking through what it’s like to experience it. Also, celebrating second weddings - it’s important to show that there is no right or wrong way to live your life and we are here to support everyone. We are a brand that stands for acceptance, helping people feel good about living their life; however they choose to define it.

Ishita Ahmed
Director of Loyalty, CRM, and Personalization, Taco Bell
I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of the launch of Taco Bell’s loyalty program - a program that has been in the works for a couple of years. It had to go through a lot of different levels of approvals to make this happen, and believe it or not, the pandemic actually delayed the launch. Something I noticed when I joined Taco Bell was the ability of speed to customers. With the pandemic, Taco Bell did a really great job of reacting to the customer and meeting them where they needed to be. With the safety precautions, ordering ahead in the app and all of the different technical pieces took priority to the loyalty program. We had to put the customer first and make sure the customer knows that we’re on the same road of concern with safety that they are.

I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of the launch of Taco Bell’s loyalty program - a program that has been in the works for a couple of years. It had to go through a lot of different levels of approvals to make this happen, and believe it or not, the pandemic actually delayed the launch. Something I noticed when I joined Taco Bell was the ability of speed to customers. With the pandemic, Taco Bell did a really great job of reacting to the customer and meeting them where they needed to be. With the safety precautions, ordering ahead in the app and all of the different technical pieces took priority to the loyalty program. We had to put the customer first and make sure the customer knows that we’re on the same road of concern with safety that they are.

Gilbertson Cuffy
Brand Marketing Director, PepsiCo
I think it's important to recognize that we do benefit from culture. It’s the reason why brands want to get involved in cultural conversations - especially today with impressions, likes, news recaps, essentially the roundups. If everyone is talking about the Grammys or the Super Bowl - and you’re taking part in those big moments, hopefully, you’re a part of the broad conversation that is attached to it, which could lead to brand affinity, then sales. Brands need to go beyond participating in culture - what are you adding in value? There is something called a culture vulture and consumers are really good at sussing that out. It’s up to us as brands to recognize that whatever audience we’re targeting at that moment, you are actually adding to the moment instead of taking from it.

I think it's important to recognize that we do benefit from culture. It’s the reason why brands want to get involved in cultural conversations - especially today with impressions, likes, news recaps, essentially the roundups. If everyone is talking about the Grammys or the Super Bowl - and you’re taking part in those big moments, hopefully, you’re a part of the broad conversation that is attached to it, which could lead to brand affinity, then sales. Brands need to go beyond participating in culture - what are you adding in value? There is something called a culture vulture and consumers are really good at sussing that out. It’s up to us as brands to recognize that whatever audience we’re targeting at that moment, you are actually adding to the moment instead of taking from it.

Scott Donaton
Head of Creative, Hulu
There are three primary things that my team does. We work on the Hulu brand, the Hulu content strategy and we work with Hulu’s advertising partners to help them do things beyond the traditional advertising units. In all of those cases, when it comes to my internal teammates, I don’t want them to think of us as an in-house agency because the danger is that your co-workers begin to treat you as a vendor. The people that we work with are not our clients - we are their partners and teammates. When we work with outside agencies, which we always will because we want to become navel-gazers and there are certain capabilities and resources that we don’t have in-house, we don’t want to be seen as a competitor to them - but instead as a collaborator. When we work with our advertising and brand partners, we don’t want their agencies to think of it as us trying to take their role. I think of us as an in-house creative studio, but I don’t think of us as an agency.

There are three primary things that my team does. We work on the Hulu brand, the Hulu content strategy and we work with Hulu’s advertising partners to help them do things beyond the traditional advertising units. In all of those cases, when it comes to my internal teammates, I don’t want them to think of us as an in-house agency because the danger is that your co-workers begin to treat you as a vendor. The people that we work with are not our clients - we are their partners and teammates. When we work with outside agencies, which we always will because we want to become navel-gazers and there are certain capabilities and resources that we don’t have in-house, we don’t want to be seen as a competitor to them - but instead as a collaborator. When we work with our advertising and brand partners, we don’t want their agencies to think of it as us trying to take their role. I think of us as an in-house creative studio, but I don’t think of us as an agency.

Shenan Reed
SVP, Head of Media, L'Oreal
Doug Palladini
Global Brand President, Vans
Vans is an inclusive brand by nature. Ubiquity is not our objective. We had to live up to our commitment in saying Black Lives Matter. A lot of people come on our site to criticize our Black Lives Matter stance, and they say “All lives matter. I'm throwing my vans in the trash.” And what we’re saying is, that’s ok. We think if you can’t get your head around Black Lives Matter, then maybe Vans isn’t the brand for you. It can be really hard for brands to have that fortitude to let people go. Again, in our mind, it’s quality over quantity of our fans....Posting about Black Lives Matter is easy. The harder thing to do is consistent and ongoing actions by our brand until anti-racist actions are done and we no longer have a system that breeds bigotry, hate and racism in this country.

Vans is an inclusive brand by nature. Ubiquity is not our objective. We had to live up to our commitment in saying Black Lives Matter. A lot of people come on our site to criticize our Black Lives Matter stance, and they say “All lives matter. I'm throwing my vans in the trash.” And what we’re saying is, that’s ok. We think if you can’t get your head around Black Lives Matter, then maybe Vans isn’t the brand for you. It can be really hard for brands to have that fortitude to let people go. Again, in our mind, it’s quality over quantity of our fans....Posting about Black Lives Matter is easy. The harder thing to do is consistent and ongoing actions by our brand until anti-racist actions are done and we no longer have a system that breeds bigotry, hate and racism in this country.

Heather Hinkel
Senior Director, Brand Strategy, Minnesota Twins
Natalie Bowman
Managing Director, Marketing and Advertising, Alaska Airlines
During Covid, our role was very focused on communicating to ease people’s minds. For people traveling, we wanted them to understand that the air on an aircraft is safer than in your office building. But we were not actively promoting travel, we were trying to be very cautious and not encourage people to do something that they’re not ready for. Now we’re hoping we’re getting closer to a place where we can start actively promoting travel. I have a revenue target that I know I have to hit with a combination of promos, performance media and driving storytelling on our owned channels. Four years ago, marketing looked like picking menu items and not contributing to revenue performance, so to be in this position I’m really excited and a little nervous.

During Covid, our role was very focused on communicating to ease people’s minds. For people traveling, we wanted them to understand that the air on an aircraft is safer than in your office building. But we were not actively promoting travel, we were trying to be very cautious and not encourage people to do something that they’re not ready for. Now we’re hoping we’re getting closer to a place where we can start actively promoting travel. I have a revenue target that I know I have to hit with a combination of promos, performance media and driving storytelling on our owned channels. Four years ago, marketing looked like picking menu items and not contributing to revenue performance, so to be in this position I’m really excited and a little nervous.

Gabriela McCoy
Director, Strategic Insights and Analytics, Bacardi
Chris Hollander
Chief Marketing Officer, Panera Bread
Elizabeth Rutledge
Chief Marketing Officer, American Express
This crisis certainly has reminded me how important shared experiences are and I truly believe they’re going to come back. Right now we have to reimagine them. We have to figure out where our customers are and what their needs are, whether it’s thinking about virtual conferences or live experiences that follow social distancing principles. We’re actually executing and testing on those ideas as we speak. Whether it's live streaming theater productions, holding virtual office hours or events for our business customers who need so much help, we've had to think differently. I think you'll see some of these shifts continuing even as the shelter in place restrictions are being lifted across the globe. You have to adapt, and that's what we're doing.

This crisis certainly has reminded me how important shared experiences are and I truly believe they’re going to come back. Right now we have to reimagine them. We have to figure out where our customers are and what their needs are, whether it’s thinking about virtual conferences or live experiences that follow social distancing principles. We’re actually executing and testing on those ideas as we speak. Whether it's live streaming theater productions, holding virtual office hours or events for our business customers who need so much help, we've had to think differently. I think you'll see some of these shifts continuing even as the shelter in place restrictions are being lifted across the globe. You have to adapt, and that's what we're doing.

Previous Quote's of the Week

Transparency, inclusivity, and diversity is core to Ulta’s mission, so when we moved into that time of civil unrest and social injustice, it made a lot of sense to really make sure that our mission was clear to our guests and consumers. We really needed to understand fundamentally the role our brand plays in that narrative and the specific positions that our consumers expect from us. A lot of that was represented through the work we’ve been doing with our influencer network and the Ulta Beauty collective in celebrating our black creators, uplifting and celebrating the black brands we have, and also acknowledging the work we have in front of us in terms of where we need to go and how we need to continue those partnerships.

Transparency, inclusivity, and diversity is core to Ulta’s mission, so when we moved into that time of civil unrest and social injustice, it made a lot of sense to really make sure that our mission was clear to our guests and consumers. We really needed to understand fundamentally the role our brand plays in that narrative and the specific positions that our consumers expect from us. A lot of that was represented through the work we’ve been doing with our influencer network and the Ulta Beauty collective in celebrating our black creators, uplifting and celebrating the black brands we have, and also acknowledging the work we have in front of us in terms of where we need to go and how we need to continue those partnerships.

Christine White
Director, Social and Content Marketing, Ulta Beauty
I started working very early, when I was 14. I had a unique first job; I worked in a stock room at a retail store and learned how to dress the windows, which is really when I learned about targeting. You have to understand targeting in order to dress the window. I would tell the young people today to start your work ethic early. Working is like a muscle; you have to come to work and put all of yourself into it. I find that many young people who haven’t had to work, when the work is put on them, they’re like ‘Woah, wait a minute, we’re still in it?’ To anyone trying to break in, you need to be gritty, especially if you’re a person of color. I hate to bring up this mantra, but it’s true. If you're a person of color, a black person in particular, you have to work harder than the next person. So I come to the table with my goal being ‘Always win against myself.’ I have high standards. I want to be that person that comes in and does something that no one else has done before and completely transform business results.

I started working very early, when I was 14. I had a unique first job; I worked in a stock room at a retail store and learned how to dress the windows, which is really when I learned about targeting. You have to understand targeting in order to dress the window. I would tell the young people today to start your work ethic early. Working is like a muscle; you have to come to work and put all of yourself into it. I find that many young people who haven’t had to work, when the work is put on them, they’re like ‘Woah, wait a minute, we’re still in it?’ To anyone trying to break in, you need to be gritty, especially if you’re a person of color. I hate to bring up this mantra, but it’s true. If you're a person of color, a black person in particular, you have to work harder than the next person. So I come to the table with my goal being ‘Always win against myself.’ I have high standards. I want to be that person that comes in and does something that no one else has done before and completely transform business results.

Alia Kemet
Vice President, Creative & Digital Communications, McCormick & Company
We’re founded on making sure we’re building relationships, helping customers in communities and just being a good neighbor. That’s further shaped by the mission, vision and values that we have. Every interaction we have with our customers is pivotal to that brand promise. When you’re thinking of the environment we’re in right now, whether that’s wildfires or hurricanes, we know those are crucial moments where we have an opportunity to show up and really help people. We call that the moment of truth. But it’s not just in those environments that people are looking for help. If you think about COVID, people are really concerned about their health, their loved ones, and leaving their legacy, and that’s where State Farm comes in. Being able to meet the needs of customers regardless of where they are in their life stage is really important to us.

We’re founded on making sure we’re building relationships, helping customers in communities and just being a good neighbor. That’s further shaped by the mission, vision and values that we have. Every interaction we have with our customers is pivotal to that brand promise. When you’re thinking of the environment we’re in right now, whether that’s wildfires or hurricanes, we know those are crucial moments where we have an opportunity to show up and really help people. We call that the moment of truth. But it’s not just in those environments that people are looking for help. If you think about COVID, people are really concerned about their health, their loved ones, and leaving their legacy, and that’s where State Farm comes in. Being able to meet the needs of customers regardless of where they are in their life stage is really important to us.

Matthew Coleman
Marketing Director, State Farm
First party behavioral data trumps psychographic which trumps demographic. As long as you can see the customer’s actions and intentions, that’s the best way to create any sort of experience. That makes you a better marketer and provides better content. This is the age of context. If you’re not delivering experiences that are contextually relevant to the consumer, they’re getting bombarded from all different cylinders and you won’t catch their attention. We need to make sure that when we present someone with an opportunity that it fits into what they actually need. Every once in a while, I get an ad and I’m so enamored by it, that I have to buy the product, because it was targeted too well. Maybe I needed it, maybe I didn’t, but I bought it. That’s the goal.

First party behavioral data trumps psychographic which trumps demographic. As long as you can see the customer’s actions and intentions, that’s the best way to create any sort of experience. That makes you a better marketer and provides better content. This is the age of context. If you’re not delivering experiences that are contextually relevant to the consumer, they’re getting bombarded from all different cylinders and you won’t catch their attention. We need to make sure that when we present someone with an opportunity that it fits into what they actually need. Every once in a while, I get an ad and I’m so enamored by it, that I have to buy the product, because it was targeted too well. Maybe I needed it, maybe I didn’t, but I bought it. That’s the goal.

Brian Voynick
CRM Campaigns Manager, BMW of North America
EA hasn’t had someone looking after EA as a brand before. How do you reinvigorate a hero brand from scratch from the privacy of your own living room? We were founded to lift up gaming as the entertainment medium of the world and to hero our developers and make them be at the center of our business. All of these founding principles are so rich and steeped in history, so I had been thinking a little bit about that and looking at our player data, and created the simplest brief you could imagine. It had three rules. What can we do to help people connect during this time?. What can we do to help people connect to our developers and our talent? And what can we do to help people connect to things that we miss in the real world? Those first two things, any gaming company can do that, the third one, is actually leaning into the thing that really differentiates us through time.

EA hasn’t had someone looking after EA as a brand before. How do you reinvigorate a hero brand from scratch from the privacy of your own living room? We were founded to lift up gaming as the entertainment medium of the world and to hero our developers and make them be at the center of our business. All of these founding principles are so rich and steeped in history, so I had been thinking a little bit about that and looking at our player data, and created the simplest brief you could imagine. It had three rules. What can we do to help people connect during this time?. What can we do to help people connect to our developers and our talent? And what can we do to help people connect to things that we miss in the real world? Those first two things, any gaming company can do that, the third one, is actually leaning into the thing that really differentiates us through time.

Elle McCarthy
Head of Brand, Electronic Arts (EA)
I joined Danone for two reasons. One is that there's a real sense of purpose at Danone, A lot of companies talk about purpose but the fact that Danone is the world's largest public benefit corporation, brings a lot of credibility to what that means at Danone. It means that we are actively talking about purpose - about how we will use business as a force for social good. It's really quite unbelievable to me that on a daily basis, I'll join some sort of conversation about how we’ll walk the talk around purpose and being a certified benefit corporation. It's a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of heavy lifting to become a certified public benefit corporation so the credibility that Danone has, is one of the key reasons I joined the company. Working on a brand like Two Good is really just a dream.

I joined Danone for two reasons. One is that there's a real sense of purpose at Danone, A lot of companies talk about purpose but the fact that Danone is the world's largest public benefit corporation, brings a lot of credibility to what that means at Danone. It means that we are actively talking about purpose - about how we will use business as a force for social good. It's really quite unbelievable to me that on a daily basis, I'll join some sort of conversation about how we’ll walk the talk around purpose and being a certified benefit corporation. It's a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of heavy lifting to become a certified public benefit corporation so the credibility that Danone has, is one of the key reasons I joined the company. Working on a brand like Two Good is really just a dream.

Surbhi Martin
VP Marketing, Danone
Our vision is to have the most loved brands in the restaurant industry, and ultimately, to be the most loved brands out of any industry. If that is your big dream, you need to be doing things that make your brands relevant for the long run. In order to do that, you need to be doing good for the world. Coming here has been a journey in terms of creating the right projects and unlocking the right resources to evolve the brand and the company. I’m a firm believer that the future is already here. You need to look at what's happening on the edges and try, and learn. You're going to lose if you just lean back and wait to see what's going to happen. We need to write the future, and that requires some creativity and experimentation.

Our vision is to have the most loved brands in the restaurant industry, and ultimately, to be the most loved brands out of any industry. If that is your big dream, you need to be doing things that make your brands relevant for the long run. In order to do that, you need to be doing good for the world. Coming here has been a journey in terms of creating the right projects and unlocking the right resources to evolve the brand and the company. I’m a firm believer that the future is already here. You need to look at what's happening on the edges and try, and learn. You're going to lose if you just lean back and wait to see what's going to happen. We need to write the future, and that requires some creativity and experimentation.

Fernando Machado
Global Chief Marketing Officer, RBI
It is really important, especially when you are a consumer good and a lot of your brand is based in these emotional moments that are relevant in the world today, to really be tapped into that culture and to be able to react to it. You can have the best social listening in the world but if you are not able to react to it immediately then why are you listening? We really think especially at BABE we have our finger on the pulse of what our consumers are talking about and then we try to look for what that human insight is and look for where our brand can authentically play. It is not enough to just comment on things. If you are trying to talk to everyone, you are talking to no one, so how do you join cultural moments and really think about what is happening in the world and still be a human and be authentic to that brand and to who your consumer is. It’s a delicate balance.

It is really important, especially when you are a consumer good and a lot of your brand is based in these emotional moments that are relevant in the world today, to really be tapped into that culture and to be able to react to it. You can have the best social listening in the world but if you are not able to react to it immediately then why are you listening? We really think especially at BABE we have our finger on the pulse of what our consumers are talking about and then we try to look for what that human insight is and look for where our brand can authentically play. It is not enough to just comment on things. If you are trying to talk to everyone, you are talking to no one, so how do you join cultural moments and really think about what is happening in the world and still be a human and be authentic to that brand and to who your consumer is. It’s a delicate balance.

Kathleen Braine
Senior Director of Brand Marketing, BABE Wine, Anheuser-Busch InBev
Being open minded from a content perspective is a huge pillar for us. Our core focus is that we believe anyone should marry who they want, when they want, and if they want - the if is actually really important because we care a lot about the marriage more than just the wedding. We {as a society} have to remind ourselves that all of the time, it’s not about spending a lot of money on one given day. it’s about two humans coming together, and how we can use our product and platform to prepare people for that, and that’s talking about relationship health, how to love yourself, what it means to go to therapy - normalizing those aspects and talking through what it’s like to experience it. Also, celebrating second weddings - it’s important to show that there is no right or wrong way to live your life and we are here to support everyone. We are a brand that stands for acceptance, helping people feel good about living their life; however they choose to define it.

Being open minded from a content perspective is a huge pillar for us. Our core focus is that we believe anyone should marry who they want, when they want, and if they want - the if is actually really important because we care a lot about the marriage more than just the wedding. We {as a society} have to remind ourselves that all of the time, it’s not about spending a lot of money on one given day. it’s about two humans coming together, and how we can use our product and platform to prepare people for that, and that’s talking about relationship health, how to love yourself, what it means to go to therapy - normalizing those aspects and talking through what it’s like to experience it. Also, celebrating second weddings - it’s important to show that there is no right or wrong way to live your life and we are here to support everyone. We are a brand that stands for acceptance, helping people feel good about living their life; however they choose to define it.

Amanda Goetz
VP Marketing, The Knot Worldwide
I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of the launch of Taco Bell’s loyalty program - a program that has been in the works for a couple of years. It had to go through a lot of different levels of approvals to make this happen, and believe it or not, the pandemic actually delayed the launch. Something I noticed when I joined Taco Bell was the ability of speed to customers. With the pandemic, Taco Bell did a really great job of reacting to the customer and meeting them where they needed to be. With the safety precautions, ordering ahead in the app and all of the different technical pieces took priority to the loyalty program. We had to put the customer first and make sure the customer knows that we’re on the same road of concern with safety that they are.

I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of the launch of Taco Bell’s loyalty program - a program that has been in the works for a couple of years. It had to go through a lot of different levels of approvals to make this happen, and believe it or not, the pandemic actually delayed the launch. Something I noticed when I joined Taco Bell was the ability of speed to customers. With the pandemic, Taco Bell did a really great job of reacting to the customer and meeting them where they needed to be. With the safety precautions, ordering ahead in the app and all of the different technical pieces took priority to the loyalty program. We had to put the customer first and make sure the customer knows that we’re on the same road of concern with safety that they are.

Ishita Ahmed
Director of Loyalty, CRM, and Personalization, Taco Bell
I think it's important to recognize that we do benefit from culture. It’s the reason why brands want to get involved in cultural conversations - especially today with impressions, likes, news recaps, essentially the roundups. If everyone is talking about the Grammys or the Super Bowl - and you’re taking part in those big moments, hopefully, you’re a part of the broad conversation that is attached to it, which could lead to brand affinity, then sales. Brands need to go beyond participating in culture - what are you adding in value? There is something called a culture vulture and consumers are really good at sussing that out. It’s up to us as brands to recognize that whatever audience we’re targeting at that moment, you are actually adding to the moment instead of taking from it.

I think it's important to recognize that we do benefit from culture. It’s the reason why brands want to get involved in cultural conversations - especially today with impressions, likes, news recaps, essentially the roundups. If everyone is talking about the Grammys or the Super Bowl - and you’re taking part in those big moments, hopefully, you’re a part of the broad conversation that is attached to it, which could lead to brand affinity, then sales. Brands need to go beyond participating in culture - what are you adding in value? There is something called a culture vulture and consumers are really good at sussing that out. It’s up to us as brands to recognize that whatever audience we’re targeting at that moment, you are actually adding to the moment instead of taking from it.

Gilbertson Cuffy
Brand Marketing Director, PepsiCo
There are three primary things that my team does. We work on the Hulu brand, the Hulu content strategy and we work with Hulu’s advertising partners to help them do things beyond the traditional advertising units. In all of those cases, when it comes to my internal teammates, I don’t want them to think of us as an in-house agency because the danger is that your co-workers begin to treat you as a vendor. The people that we work with are not our clients - we are their partners and teammates. When we work with outside agencies, which we always will because we want to become navel-gazers and there are certain capabilities and resources that we don’t have in-house, we don’t want to be seen as a competitor to them - but instead as a collaborator. When we work with our advertising and brand partners, we don’t want their agencies to think of it as us trying to take their role. I think of us as an in-house creative studio, but I don’t think of us as an agency.

There are three primary things that my team does. We work on the Hulu brand, the Hulu content strategy and we work with Hulu’s advertising partners to help them do things beyond the traditional advertising units. In all of those cases, when it comes to my internal teammates, I don’t want them to think of us as an in-house agency because the danger is that your co-workers begin to treat you as a vendor. The people that we work with are not our clients - we are their partners and teammates. When we work with outside agencies, which we always will because we want to become navel-gazers and there are certain capabilities and resources that we don’t have in-house, we don’t want to be seen as a competitor to them - but instead as a collaborator. When we work with our advertising and brand partners, we don’t want their agencies to think of it as us trying to take their role. I think of us as an in-house creative studio, but I don’t think of us as an agency.

Scott Donaton
Head of Creative, Hulu
You’re seeing a meteoric rise of influencers, and I attribute some of that to the fact we haven’t been able to go shopping with friends. We often say that friends and family are the biggest influencers on a purchase. If I can’t go shopping with my best friend in California, where is that influence coming from? It’s likely going to come from those content producers that are entertaining, engaging and really building a relationship with you. I think influencers carry a strong sense of authenticity to their followers. They’re really careful about who they partner with. They feel their personal brand is on the line. And it’s as much a compliment to be chosen by them as it is for you to have a partnership with them.

You’re seeing a meteoric rise of influencers, and I attribute some of that to the fact we haven’t been able to go shopping with friends. We often say that friends and family are the biggest influencers on a purchase. If I can’t go shopping with my best friend in California, where is that influence coming from? It’s likely going to come from those content producers that are entertaining, engaging and really building a relationship with you. I think influencers carry a strong sense of authenticity to their followers. They’re really careful about who they partner with. They feel their personal brand is on the line. And it’s as much a compliment to be chosen by them as it is for you to have a partnership with them.

Shenan Reed
SVP, Head of Media, L'Oreal
Vans is an inclusive brand by nature. Ubiquity is not our objective. We had to live up to our commitment in saying Black Lives Matter. A lot of people come on our site to criticize our Black Lives Matter stance, and they say “All lives matter. I'm throwing my vans in the trash.” And what we’re saying is, that’s ok. We think if you can’t get your head around Black Lives Matter, then maybe Vans isn’t the brand for you. It can be really hard for brands to have that fortitude to let people go. Again, in our mind, it’s quality over quantity of our fans....Posting about Black Lives Matter is easy. The harder thing to do is consistent and ongoing actions by our brand until anti-racist actions are done and we no longer have a system that breeds bigotry, hate and racism in this country.

Vans is an inclusive brand by nature. Ubiquity is not our objective. We had to live up to our commitment in saying Black Lives Matter. A lot of people come on our site to criticize our Black Lives Matter stance, and they say “All lives matter. I'm throwing my vans in the trash.” And what we’re saying is, that’s ok. We think if you can’t get your head around Black Lives Matter, then maybe Vans isn’t the brand for you. It can be really hard for brands to have that fortitude to let people go. Again, in our mind, it’s quality over quantity of our fans....Posting about Black Lives Matter is easy. The harder thing to do is consistent and ongoing actions by our brand until anti-racist actions are done and we no longer have a system that breeds bigotry, hate and racism in this country.

Doug Palladini
Global Brand President, Vans
My first seven months at the Twins, I was focusing not so much on the sport but concentrating on the brand itself. The biggest learning curve for me is there's two different entities: there’s the brand and then there’s the sport. When it comes to the actual sport of baseball, there's nothing I can really change. I'm not on the field or on the coaching staff so I spent a lot of time learning the brand - learning how the organization works and where the opportunities were. The world is changing so fast in terms of entertainment and even though we are a sports team, we’re an entertainment brand as well. If we start to think of ourselves as an entertainment brand over a sports team, our runway is extremely strong.

My first seven months at the Twins, I was focusing not so much on the sport but concentrating on the brand itself. The biggest learning curve for me is there's two different entities: there’s the brand and then there’s the sport. When it comes to the actual sport of baseball, there's nothing I can really change. I'm not on the field or on the coaching staff so I spent a lot of time learning the brand - learning how the organization works and where the opportunities were. The world is changing so fast in terms of entertainment and even though we are a sports team, we’re an entertainment brand as well. If we start to think of ourselves as an entertainment brand over a sports team, our runway is extremely strong.

Heather Hinkel
Senior Director, Brand Strategy, Minnesota Twins
During Covid, our role was very focused on communicating to ease people’s minds. For people traveling, we wanted them to understand that the air on an aircraft is safer than in your office building. But we were not actively promoting travel, we were trying to be very cautious and not encourage people to do something that they’re not ready for. Now we’re hoping we’re getting closer to a place where we can start actively promoting travel. I have a revenue target that I know I have to hit with a combination of promos, performance media and driving storytelling on our owned channels. Four years ago, marketing looked like picking menu items and not contributing to revenue performance, so to be in this position I’m really excited and a little nervous.

During Covid, our role was very focused on communicating to ease people’s minds. For people traveling, we wanted them to understand that the air on an aircraft is safer than in your office building. But we were not actively promoting travel, we were trying to be very cautious and not encourage people to do something that they’re not ready for. Now we’re hoping we’re getting closer to a place where we can start actively promoting travel. I have a revenue target that I know I have to hit with a combination of promos, performance media and driving storytelling on our owned channels. Four years ago, marketing looked like picking menu items and not contributing to revenue performance, so to be in this position I’m really excited and a little nervous.

Natalie Bowman
Managing Director, Marketing and Advertising, Alaska Airlines
I like to say, it’s not the new normal, it’s now the normal. Thinking about the new now, the biggest change for us is how people are purchasing our brand. Spirits was one of the last products to join eCommerce, and Covid forced us to speed this up. What we were seeing in one week we are now seeing in one day. What we had planned to do in two years we are now doing in two weeks. Covid is pushing us. Within a week, we created a platform for bartenders to make money and share our brand. Our brand is built at the bar. Every day at 5pm we had a bartender make a new drink. Every dollar that went on this platform went straight to the bartender. To think the agility that it took to do this in a week of shutdown was amazing.

I like to say, it’s not the new normal, it’s now the normal. Thinking about the new now, the biggest change for us is how people are purchasing our brand. Spirits was one of the last products to join eCommerce, and Covid forced us to speed this up. What we were seeing in one week we are now seeing in one day. What we had planned to do in two years we are now doing in two weeks. Covid is pushing us. Within a week, we created a platform for bartenders to make money and share our brand. Our brand is built at the bar. Every day at 5pm we had a bartender make a new drink. Every dollar that went on this platform went straight to the bartender. To think the agility that it took to do this in a week of shutdown was amazing.

Gabriela McCoy
Director, Strategic Insights and Analytics, Bacardi
In challenging times, the most important thing for a company to do is go back to your mission and let that lead your North star. We want to make sure that everyone has access to good eating. We think good eating brings out the best in all of us, and it’s more than just the food you eat: It’s how you eat it, where you eat it, what you know about the food and where it comes from. In Panera’s case, we say ‘Leave feeling better than you came in,’ and that implies a dining-in experience. Now, if we want to make good eating available for all, it’s about making it available safely and stress free. We’re doubling down on what that means in a pandemic, and a lot of our actions have stemmed directly from that belief.

In challenging times, the most important thing for a company to do is go back to your mission and let that lead your North star. We want to make sure that everyone has access to good eating. We think good eating brings out the best in all of us, and it’s more than just the food you eat: It’s how you eat it, where you eat it, what you know about the food and where it comes from. In Panera’s case, we say ‘Leave feeling better than you came in,’ and that implies a dining-in experience. Now, if we want to make good eating available for all, it’s about making it available safely and stress free. We’re doubling down on what that means in a pandemic, and a lot of our actions have stemmed directly from that belief.

Chris Hollander
Chief Marketing Officer, Panera Bread
This crisis certainly has reminded me how important shared experiences are and I truly believe they’re going to come back. Right now we have to reimagine them. We have to figure out where our customers are and what their needs are, whether it’s thinking about virtual conferences or live experiences that follow social distancing principles. We’re actually executing and testing on those ideas as we speak. Whether it's live streaming theater productions, holding virtual office hours or events for our business customers who need so much help, we've had to think differently. I think you'll see some of these shifts continuing even as the shelter in place restrictions are being lifted across the globe. You have to adapt, and that's what we're doing.

This crisis certainly has reminded me how important shared experiences are and I truly believe they’re going to come back. Right now we have to reimagine them. We have to figure out where our customers are and what their needs are, whether it’s thinking about virtual conferences or live experiences that follow social distancing principles. We’re actually executing and testing on those ideas as we speak. Whether it's live streaming theater productions, holding virtual office hours or events for our business customers who need so much help, we've had to think differently. I think you'll see some of these shifts continuing even as the shelter in place restrictions are being lifted across the globe. You have to adapt, and that's what we're doing.

Elizabeth Rutledge
Chief Marketing Officer, American Express

Previous Quote's of the Week

Christine White
Director, Social and Content Marketing, Ulta Beauty
Alia Kemet
Vice President, Creative & Digital Communications, McCormick & Company
I started working very early, when I was 14. I had a unique first job; I worked in a stock room at a retail store and learned how to dress the windows, which is really when I learned about targeting. You have to understand targeting in order to dress the window. I would tell the young people today to start your work ethic early. Working is like a muscle; you have to come to work and put all of yourself into it. I find that many young people who haven’t had to work, when the work is put on them, they’re like ‘Woah, wait a minute, we’re still in it?’ To anyone trying to break in, you need to be gritty, especially if you’re a person of color. I hate to bring up this mantra, but it’s true. If you're a person of color, a black person in particular, you have to work harder than the next person. So I come to the table with my goal being ‘Always win against myself.’ I have high standards. I want to be that person that comes in and does something that no one else has done before and completely transform business results.

I started working very early, when I was 14. I had a unique first job; I worked in a stock room at a retail store and learned how to dress the windows, which is really when I learned about targeting. You have to understand targeting in order to dress the window. I would tell the young people today to start your work ethic early. Working is like a muscle; you have to come to work and put all of yourself into it. I find that many young people who haven’t had to work, when the work is put on them, they’re like ‘Woah, wait a minute, we’re still in it?’ To anyone trying to break in, you need to be gritty, especially if you’re a person of color. I hate to bring up this mantra, but it’s true. If you're a person of color, a black person in particular, you have to work harder than the next person. So I come to the table with my goal being ‘Always win against myself.’ I have high standards. I want to be that person that comes in and does something that no one else has done before and completely transform business results.

Matthew Coleman
Marketing Director, State Farm
We’re founded on making sure we’re building relationships, helping customers in communities and just being a good neighbor. That’s further shaped by the mission, vision and values that we have. Every interaction we have with our customers is pivotal to that brand promise. When you’re thinking of the environment we’re in right now, whether that’s wildfires or hurricanes, we know those are crucial moments where we have an opportunity to show up and really help people. We call that the moment of truth. But it’s not just in those environments that people are looking for help. If you think about COVID, people are really concerned about their health, their loved ones, and leaving their legacy, and that’s where State Farm comes in. Being able to meet the needs of customers regardless of where they are in their life stage is really important to us.

We’re founded on making sure we’re building relationships, helping customers in communities and just being a good neighbor. That’s further shaped by the mission, vision and values that we have. Every interaction we have with our customers is pivotal to that brand promise. When you’re thinking of the environment we’re in right now, whether that’s wildfires or hurricanes, we know those are crucial moments where we have an opportunity to show up and really help people. We call that the moment of truth. But it’s not just in those environments that people are looking for help. If you think about COVID, people are really concerned about their health, their loved ones, and leaving their legacy, and that’s where State Farm comes in. Being able to meet the needs of customers regardless of where they are in their life stage is really important to us.

Brian Voynick
CRM Campaigns Manager, BMW of North America
First party behavioral data trumps psychographic which trumps demographic. As long as you can see the customer’s actions and intentions, that’s the best way to create any sort of experience. That makes you a better marketer and provides better content. This is the age of context. If you’re not delivering experiences that are contextually relevant to the consumer, they’re getting bombarded from all different cylinders and you won’t catch their attention. We need to make sure that when we present someone with an opportunity that it fits into what they actually need. Every once in a while, I get an ad and I’m so enamored by it, that I have to buy the product, because it was targeted too well. Maybe I needed it, maybe I didn’t, but I bought it. That’s the goal.

First party behavioral data trumps psychographic which trumps demographic. As long as you can see the customer’s actions and intentions, that’s the best way to create any sort of experience. That makes you a better marketer and provides better content. This is the age of context. If you’re not delivering experiences that are contextually relevant to the consumer, they’re getting bombarded from all different cylinders and you won’t catch their attention. We need to make sure that when we present someone with an opportunity that it fits into what they actually need. Every once in a while, I get an ad and I’m so enamored by it, that I have to buy the product, because it was targeted too well. Maybe I needed it, maybe I didn’t, but I bought it. That’s the goal.

Elle McCarthy
Head of Brand, Electronic Arts (EA)
EA hasn’t had someone looking after EA as a brand before. How do you reinvigorate a hero brand from scratch from the privacy of your own living room? We were founded to lift up gaming as the entertainment medium of the world and to hero our developers and make them be at the center of our business. All of these founding principles are so rich and steeped in history, so I had been thinking a little bit about that and looking at our player data, and created the simplest brief you could imagine. It had three rules. What can we do to help people connect during this time?. What can we do to help people connect to our developers and our talent? And what can we do to help people connect to things that we miss in the real world? Those first two things, any gaming company can do that, the third one, is actually leaning into the thing that really differentiates us through time.

EA hasn’t had someone looking after EA as a brand before. How do you reinvigorate a hero brand from scratch from the privacy of your own living room? We were founded to lift up gaming as the entertainment medium of the world and to hero our developers and make them be at the center of our business. All of these founding principles are so rich and steeped in history, so I had been thinking a little bit about that and looking at our player data, and created the simplest brief you could imagine. It had three rules. What can we do to help people connect during this time?. What can we do to help people connect to our developers and our talent? And what can we do to help people connect to things that we miss in the real world? Those first two things, any gaming company can do that, the third one, is actually leaning into the thing that really differentiates us through time.

Surbhi Martin
VP Marketing, Danone
I joined Danone for two reasons. One is that there's a real sense of purpose at Danone, A lot of companies talk about purpose but the fact that Danone is the world's largest public benefit corporation, brings a lot of credibility to what that means at Danone. It means that we are actively talking about purpose - about how we will use business as a force for social good. It's really quite unbelievable to me that on a daily basis, I'll join some sort of conversation about how we’ll walk the talk around purpose and being a certified benefit corporation. It's a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of heavy lifting to become a certified public benefit corporation so the credibility that Danone has, is one of the key reasons I joined the company. Working on a brand like Two Good is really just a dream.

I joined Danone for two reasons. One is that there's a real sense of purpose at Danone, A lot of companies talk about purpose but the fact that Danone is the world's largest public benefit corporation, brings a lot of credibility to what that means at Danone. It means that we are actively talking about purpose - about how we will use business as a force for social good. It's really quite unbelievable to me that on a daily basis, I'll join some sort of conversation about how we’ll walk the talk around purpose and being a certified benefit corporation. It's a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of heavy lifting to become a certified public benefit corporation so the credibility that Danone has, is one of the key reasons I joined the company. Working on a brand like Two Good is really just a dream.

Fernando Machado
Global Chief Marketing Officer, RBI
Kathleen Braine
Senior Director of Brand Marketing, BABE Wine, Anheuser-Busch InBev
It is really important, especially when you are a consumer good and a lot of your brand is based in these emotional moments that are relevant in the world today, to really be tapped into that culture and to be able to react to it. You can have the best social listening in the world but if you are not able to react to it immediately then why are you listening? We really think especially at BABE we have our finger on the pulse of what our consumers are talking about and then we try to look for what that human insight is and look for where our brand can authentically play. It is not enough to just comment on things. If you are trying to talk to everyone, you are talking to no one, so how do you join cultural moments and really think about what is happening in the world and still be a human and be authentic to that brand and to who your consumer is. It’s a delicate balance.

It is really important, especially when you are a consumer good and a lot of your brand is based in these emotional moments that are relevant in the world today, to really be tapped into that culture and to be able to react to it. You can have the best social listening in the world but if you are not able to react to it immediately then why are you listening? We really think especially at BABE we have our finger on the pulse of what our consumers are talking about and then we try to look for what that human insight is and look for where our brand can authentically play. It is not enough to just comment on things. If you are trying to talk to everyone, you are talking to no one, so how do you join cultural moments and really think about what is happening in the world and still be a human and be authentic to that brand and to who your consumer is. It’s a delicate balance.

Amanda Goetz
VP Marketing, The Knot Worldwide
Being open minded from a content perspective is a huge pillar for us. Our core focus is that we believe anyone should marry who they want, when they want, and if they want - the if is actually really important because we care a lot about the marriage more than just the wedding. We {as a society} have to remind ourselves that all of the time, it’s not about spending a lot of money on one given day. it’s about two humans coming together, and how we can use our product and platform to prepare people for that, and that’s talking about relationship health, how to love yourself, what it means to go to therapy - normalizing those aspects and talking through what it’s like to experience it. Also, celebrating second weddings - it’s important to show that there is no right or wrong way to live your life and we are here to support everyone. We are a brand that stands for acceptance, helping people feel good about living their life; however they choose to define it.

Being open minded from a content perspective is a huge pillar for us. Our core focus is that we believe anyone should marry who they want, when they want, and if they want - the if is actually really important because we care a lot about the marriage more than just the wedding. We {as a society} have to remind ourselves that all of the time, it’s not about spending a lot of money on one given day. it’s about two humans coming together, and how we can use our product and platform to prepare people for that, and that’s talking about relationship health, how to love yourself, what it means to go to therapy - normalizing those aspects and talking through what it’s like to experience it. Also, celebrating second weddings - it’s important to show that there is no right or wrong way to live your life and we are here to support everyone. We are a brand that stands for acceptance, helping people feel good about living their life; however they choose to define it.

Ishita Ahmed
Director of Loyalty, CRM, and Personalization, Taco Bell
I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of the launch of Taco Bell’s loyalty program - a program that has been in the works for a couple of years. It had to go through a lot of different levels of approvals to make this happen, and believe it or not, the pandemic actually delayed the launch. Something I noticed when I joined Taco Bell was the ability of speed to customers. With the pandemic, Taco Bell did a really great job of reacting to the customer and meeting them where they needed to be. With the safety precautions, ordering ahead in the app and all of the different technical pieces took priority to the loyalty program. We had to put the customer first and make sure the customer knows that we’re on the same road of concern with safety that they are.

I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of the launch of Taco Bell’s loyalty program - a program that has been in the works for a couple of years. It had to go through a lot of different levels of approvals to make this happen, and believe it or not, the pandemic actually delayed the launch. Something I noticed when I joined Taco Bell was the ability of speed to customers. With the pandemic, Taco Bell did a really great job of reacting to the customer and meeting them where they needed to be. With the safety precautions, ordering ahead in the app and all of the different technical pieces took priority to the loyalty program. We had to put the customer first and make sure the customer knows that we’re on the same road of concern with safety that they are.

Gilbertson Cuffy
Brand Marketing Director, PepsiCo
I think it's important to recognize that we do benefit from culture. It’s the reason why brands want to get involved in cultural conversations - especially today with impressions, likes, news recaps, essentially the roundups. If everyone is talking about the Grammys or the Super Bowl - and you’re taking part in those big moments, hopefully, you’re a part of the broad conversation that is attached to it, which could lead to brand affinity, then sales. Brands need to go beyond participating in culture - what are you adding in value? There is something called a culture vulture and consumers are really good at sussing that out. It’s up to us as brands to recognize that whatever audience we’re targeting at that moment, you are actually adding to the moment instead of taking from it.

I think it's important to recognize that we do benefit from culture. It’s the reason why brands want to get involved in cultural conversations - especially today with impressions, likes, news recaps, essentially the roundups. If everyone is talking about the Grammys or the Super Bowl - and you’re taking part in those big moments, hopefully, you’re a part of the broad conversation that is attached to it, which could lead to brand affinity, then sales. Brands need to go beyond participating in culture - what are you adding in value? There is something called a culture vulture and consumers are really good at sussing that out. It’s up to us as brands to recognize that whatever audience we’re targeting at that moment, you are actually adding to the moment instead of taking from it.

Scott Donaton
Head of Creative, Hulu
There are three primary things that my team does. We work on the Hulu brand, the Hulu content strategy and we work with Hulu’s advertising partners to help them do things beyond the traditional advertising units. In all of those cases, when it comes to my internal teammates, I don’t want them to think of us as an in-house agency because the danger is that your co-workers begin to treat you as a vendor. The people that we work with are not our clients - we are their partners and teammates. When we work with outside agencies, which we always will because we want to become navel-gazers and there are certain capabilities and resources that we don’t have in-house, we don’t want to be seen as a competitor to them - but instead as a collaborator. When we work with our advertising and brand partners, we don’t want their agencies to think of it as us trying to take their role. I think of us as an in-house creative studio, but I don’t think of us as an agency.

There are three primary things that my team does. We work on the Hulu brand, the Hulu content strategy and we work with Hulu’s advertising partners to help them do things beyond the traditional advertising units. In all of those cases, when it comes to my internal teammates, I don’t want them to think of us as an in-house agency because the danger is that your co-workers begin to treat you as a vendor. The people that we work with are not our clients - we are their partners and teammates. When we work with outside agencies, which we always will because we want to become navel-gazers and there are certain capabilities and resources that we don’t have in-house, we don’t want to be seen as a competitor to them - but instead as a collaborator. When we work with our advertising and brand partners, we don’t want their agencies to think of it as us trying to take their role. I think of us as an in-house creative studio, but I don’t think of us as an agency.

Shenan Reed
SVP, Head of Media, L'Oreal
Doug Palladini
Global Brand President, Vans
Vans is an inclusive brand by nature. Ubiquity is not our objective. We had to live up to our commitment in saying Black Lives Matter. A lot of people come on our site to criticize our Black Lives Matter stance, and they say “All lives matter. I'm throwing my vans in the trash.” And what we’re saying is, that’s ok. We think if you can’t get your head around Black Lives Matter, then maybe Vans isn’t the brand for you. It can be really hard for brands to have that fortitude to let people go. Again, in our mind, it’s quality over quantity of our fans....Posting about Black Lives Matter is easy. The harder thing to do is consistent and ongoing actions by our brand until anti-racist actions are done and we no longer have a system that breeds bigotry, hate and racism in this country.

Vans is an inclusive brand by nature. Ubiquity is not our objective. We had to live up to our commitment in saying Black Lives Matter. A lot of people come on our site to criticize our Black Lives Matter stance, and they say “All lives matter. I'm throwing my vans in the trash.” And what we’re saying is, that’s ok. We think if you can’t get your head around Black Lives Matter, then maybe Vans isn’t the brand for you. It can be really hard for brands to have that fortitude to let people go. Again, in our mind, it’s quality over quantity of our fans....Posting about Black Lives Matter is easy. The harder thing to do is consistent and ongoing actions by our brand until anti-racist actions are done and we no longer have a system that breeds bigotry, hate and racism in this country.

Heather Hinkel
Senior Director, Brand Strategy, Minnesota Twins
Natalie Bowman
Managing Director, Marketing and Advertising, Alaska Airlines
During Covid, our role was very focused on communicating to ease people’s minds. For people traveling, we wanted them to understand that the air on an aircraft is safer than in your office building. But we were not actively promoting travel, we were trying to be very cautious and not encourage people to do something that they’re not ready for. Now we’re hoping we’re getting closer to a place where we can start actively promoting travel. I have a revenue target that I know I have to hit with a combination of promos, performance media and driving storytelling on our owned channels. Four years ago, marketing looked like picking menu items and not contributing to revenue performance, so to be in this position I’m really excited and a little nervous.

During Covid, our role was very focused on communicating to ease people’s minds. For people traveling, we wanted them to understand that the air on an aircraft is safer than in your office building. But we were not actively promoting travel, we were trying to be very cautious and not encourage people to do something that they’re not ready for. Now we’re hoping we’re getting closer to a place where we can start actively promoting travel. I have a revenue target that I know I have to hit with a combination of promos, performance media and driving storytelling on our owned channels. Four years ago, marketing looked like picking menu items and not contributing to revenue performance, so to be in this position I’m really excited and a little nervous.

Gabriela McCoy
Director, Strategic Insights and Analytics, Bacardi
Chris Hollander
Chief Marketing Officer, Panera Bread
Elizabeth Rutledge
Chief Marketing Officer, American Express
This crisis certainly has reminded me how important shared experiences are and I truly believe they’re going to come back. Right now we have to reimagine them. We have to figure out where our customers are and what their needs are, whether it’s thinking about virtual conferences or live experiences that follow social distancing principles. We’re actually executing and testing on those ideas as we speak. Whether it's live streaming theater productions, holding virtual office hours or events for our business customers who need so much help, we've had to think differently. I think you'll see some of these shifts continuing even as the shelter in place restrictions are being lifted across the globe. You have to adapt, and that's what we're doing.

This crisis certainly has reminded me how important shared experiences are and I truly believe they’re going to come back. Right now we have to reimagine them. We have to figure out where our customers are and what their needs are, whether it’s thinking about virtual conferences or live experiences that follow social distancing principles. We’re actually executing and testing on those ideas as we speak. Whether it's live streaming theater productions, holding virtual office hours or events for our business customers who need so much help, we've had to think differently. I think you'll see some of these shifts continuing even as the shelter in place restrictions are being lifted across the globe. You have to adapt, and that's what we're doing.

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