Broad & Deep ExpertiseI've driven results in a broad range of categories across traditional retail-based CPG, direct response and e-commerce. Scroll down to see how I've helped companies to innovate, build their brand, overcome barriers to growth, and generate sales, LTV, and profits.
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PRODUCT INNOVATION
Brand Extension into New Category
Background: Nature’s Cure, an Acne Treatment company, struggled to transition into new categories.
Action: I identified the Yeast Infection segment as a good fit with the key equities of the brand, including its "inside-outside positioning," and its appeal for desperation categories. And, I recognized that the less cluttered and image-driven nature of the segment would work to a small company's advantage. I developed the product and marketing strategy using consumer insights, and overcame various regulatory, operational and cost challenges through close supplier partnerships and mobilization of the Nature’s Cure team. Results: The Nature’s Cure 2-Part Yeast Infection Treatment ranked #3 in dollar sales during a Walgreens test market. After national launch, the line came to account for almost 30% of the company’s sales in just over a year, and became a profitable addition to the business. BRAND ADJACENCY INNOVATION
Background: Clorox's Open Innovation Team was charged with exploring new opportunities for the Burt's Bees brand in categories adjacent to its core skin and lip care businesses. They chose to explore the trending "Beauty from Within" segment as early qualitative research indicated that their customer base found "inside-out" beauty products appealing, though they were skeptical about their effectivenesss and value for the money. I was brought in to consult based on my experience with Nature's Cure's inside-outside personal care and beauty treatments.
Action: I researched the Beauty from Within trend via trade and women's magazine articles and sites, and through an exhaustive audit of product forms, ingredients, and claims through store and online product discovery. I found either well-regarded, high end brands with expensive offerings, or small lesser-known brands with niche product. This confirmed that there was a gap to fill for an innovative, believable product from a moderately-priced, trusted brand. I worked with the team to interpret consumer research around brand equity and participated in a team workshop to explore and prioritize problem statements and brainstorm solutions, which led to a variety of product ideas that were written up into concepts and further tested with consumers. I developed the product and marketing strategy using consumer insights, and overcame various regulatory, operational and cost challenges through close supplier partnerships and mobilization of the Nature’s Cure team. Results: The process led to a clear winner and provided enough backup to enable the team to gain approval for fast tracking the winning concept. Several other concepts gained approval for qualitative testing and refinement. Product Innovation as a
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BRAND & DIGITAL MARKETING
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER START-UP GROWTH
Background: MealEnders started selling their weight management product direct to consumers online in January, 2015. Cost per aquisition was too high and the company was unable to scale.
Action: After taking over marketing in May 2015, I jump-started the company's growth primarily by:
REVIVING GROWTH OF A MATURE SMALL BUSINESS
Background: Rise Bar's growth had slowed and then plateaued for the last 5 years of its 11-year run. The founder needed strategies to reinvigorate sales.
Action: I conducted a complete audit of the brand, its financials/sales data (Shopify, Amazon, & Google Analytics), all its touchpoints (website, social media, Amazon PDP, etc.) and advertising/promotional activity. I interviewed stakeholders and conducted primary research among its one-time customers and repeat customers to gain a better understanding of who they are, their buying behavior, and their perceptions of the brand, its products, and the protein bar category. Results: I delivered a comprehensive growth plan that laid out recommendations by priority (based on impact and resources required) and helped to hire staff and agency to help execute. Recommendations included:
Brand Repositioning
Background: Recognized primarily for their digestive benefits, prunes began to experience double-digit sales declines as the core consumers—women 55+—were dying off. Sunsweet realized that market expansion was imperative.
Action: I executed a repositioning effort to appeal to a new 35-55 year old target with:
DIRECT RESPONSE ADVERTISING STRATEGY & EXECUTION
Background: Nature's Cure had always relied on radio advertising to support its retail sales, but the spending needed to make an impact had escalated as the company expanded its distribution nationally.
Action: I identified direct response as a way to get targeted TV media for less, gain direct sales while increasing retail sales, and have immediate access to results for continuous campaign improvement (this was pioneering in the early 2000s before this "hybrid direct response" strategy become more common for brands with retail distribution). I sourced and set up telemarketing, fulfillment, and e-commerce capabilities, collaborating with other functions and suppliers to integrate with existing systems--essentially setting up an entirely new business model for the company. I also managed creative development to maintain the premium Nature’s Cure brand image while incorporating the proven elements of direct response. Results: The company moved all its broadcast advertising dollars into DRTV, and got better results at half the cost. This initiative elevated the Nature's Cure brand image, increased its reach and brand awareness, boosted sales and cashflow, and helped the products in the line maintain their distribution. Targeting by Segment With an Integrated Joint Promotion
Background: The Male version of the Nature's Cure Acne Treatment always lagged in sales behind the Female version. Nature's Cure wanted to engage with and elevate its image among teen males to reduce the gap.
Action: Research revealed that teen guys want acne products to be cool and masculine, not "girly", and that their primary motivation for taking care of their skin is looking good for girls. I created a joint promotion with CCS.com, a hip e-tailer of skateboarding gear, including a $500 CCS gift certificate giveaway, online display and e-zine ads, in-order samples/coupons, and catalog print ads. I reinforced the success of the CCS promotion with a larger scale male targeted print campaign featuring images of guys with attractive girls using the headline "Clear Skin Matters." Results: Male acne product sales growth surpassed Female sales growth during the campaign period in all channels. In Food/Drug/Mass overall, the Male product moved up several positions in rank, thus narrowing the gap with the Female version. Specific results for the CCS promotion include a 1.5% CTR for banner ads and almost 27,000 entries, for a cost per lead of about $1. Utilizing New Media for Brand Marketing
Background: In 2005, I recognized that Nature's Cure could benefit from the new social conversations that were taking place in web-based communities as a way to more deeply engage with consumers.
Action: I identified a teen podcaster, Emo Girl, who had a loyal, growing following, and became her first corporate sponsor. The success of the sponsorship led to an expanded second phase that included a tie-in to a contest on the Nature's Cure website with a "Question of the Week" that listeners could answer to enter a sweepstakes. Taking it a step further, I had Nature's Cure develop its own podcast about teen health, Str8 Up, available on the Nature's Cure website, itunes and other download sites. Results: The initial sponsorship generated up to 24% post-show lift in site visits, and garnered media attention from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and more as the first company to sponsor a teen podcast. The "Question of the Week" prompted 12% of the podcast audience to participate, and, with the help of free promo sites, attracted 3300 participants at a cost of about $.40 per unique visitor. The Str8 Up podcast generated up to 800 downloads and dozens of comments per episode during its run. Two years later, the 10 old episodes continued to get downloaded at a rate of about 1200 per month with no promotion. CUSTOMER RETENTION
Background: Guthy-Renker experienced several years of decline in the subscription stick rate and overall sales for Proactiv Solution. The product team's primary goal was to reverse that decline.
Action: I worked cross-functionally to ensure that the brand messaging of the infomercials was consistently conveyed via other tactics, thus reinforcing neglected elements of the Proactiv brand story and moving away from hard-sell and discount-driven tactics. I also addressed issues with usage compliance revealed by consumer research with a new website that guided users through the Proactiv experience. I created the marketing plan for promoting use of the site to encourage correct product usage and prevent subscription cancellations. I also created a knowledge base available to website visitors and to customer service representatives to ensure that customers and prospects were properly informed and to once again establish Proactiv as the premier acne expert. Results: Online visitor engagement, usage compliance, and customer retention all increased. The Guthy-Renker team increased acne brand Proactiv's subscription stick rate by almost a full turn, growing the topline by 40%. |
