Marketing in the 21st century is a balancing act; you must be able to toe the line of consumer behaviors in the present and future to stay relevant and on course. This puts CMOs under tremendous pressure; they have direct reports looking for proof that what they are doing now is worth the investment, teams asking about what they are building next, and consumers constantly demanding new, better, and best solutions.
How do you stay oriented, reach company goals, cast a clear vision, and build a thorough case that makes stakeholders comfortable following along?[/vc_column_text]
At our recent MTM Forum, hosted by Snap, Inc. in LA, we invited six top marketing leaders from various categories to share how the “Now, Next, New” framework applies to their brand and how they determine what initiative to put in each bucket.
We heard from:
- Kenny Mitchell, CMO, Snap, Inc.
- Sadira Furlow, CMO, HappyMoney
- Fabiola Torres, CMO, Pepsi Energy
- Kristin Patrick, EVP and CMO of Claire’s
- Mike Cessario, Co-Founder & CEO, Liquid Death Mountain Water
- Angelic Vendette, Global Head of Marketing, Alo Yoga.
Here is a quick peek into how they think about the Now, Next, New.
Now
The “Now” bucket includes things that are predictable, a core lever to help you meet your objectives, measurable, familiar, and where your audience is at.
-LA Forum Pillars
Sadira Furlow: Back in the day, when I was working for Mountain Dew, Snapchat was in our “New” bucket. Everyone was asking what Snapchat was, if it was worth the investment, and what the ROI would be. No one could tell us the information, but we knew there was magic there. Fast forward to today; Snap is most likely in everyone’s “Now” bucket. For HappyMoney, Snap is where we are heading next.
Kristin Patrick: How do you lead your brand through a complete turnaround and change the consumer’s perception of a completely analog business? Everyone has a sweet story about Claire’s, and that’s where I started – with the core of what the brand means to the consumers. Still, I have to do that and be on the bleeding edge of technology to connect with Gen Alpha and Gen Z. Redefining what the brand means requires starting with these three things:
1) Listen and be empathetic
2) Go where the consumer is
3) Merge the business model and marketing plan
Next
The “Next” bucket is where you should be experimenting, testing and learning. You might be seeing your audience shifting there, and you might not know how these things fit in your plan, but you know you need to get some information on it.
-LA Forum Pillars
Mike Cessario: At Liquid Death, we don’t assume we can see the future or know everything our consumers want; we simply make small bets, find what’s next, and let the market decide where we’re going. Even experienced marketers who have made a ton of cool things can assume something will crush, but it often doesn’t. For me, it’s usually the little thing I wasn’t even paying attention to that becomes huge.
Angélic Vendette: When we think of what’s next for our brand, it’s about having a first-mover advantage. Being in the metaverse or launching NFTs unlocks utility and allows us to create more dynamic customer experiences where they can meditate and do yoga with us in new ways.
New
The “New” bucket includes things that are untested, hard to measure, and you may have no idea where it might fit in your plan, but your audience is into it.
-LA Forum Pillars
Fabiola Torres: For a big company like PepsiCo, when it comes to massive distribution, fragmented channels, and new commodities, my mantra is, “how do we behave as a relevant, scrappy, personal startup? At the end of the day, what consumers want is different, distinctive relationships with brands. There will always be emerging channels and technologies, but the true evolution we have seen is due to everything we have been through over the last 36 months. The essence is, how can big brands like PepsiCo behave personally? That is where we will always start, and we will always circle back around to that personal approach.
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Meet the Visionaries
About Kenny Mitchell, CMO, Snap, Inc.: Kenny Mitchell has a reputation for building iconic brands and driving industry-leading performance through innovative, fully-integrated, and award-winning marketing programs. Prior to joining Snap, Kenny led Brand Content & Engagement for McDonald’s USA and Consumer Engagement at Gatorade. Kenny has earned multiple Cannes Lions, film festival selections including Tribeca, and two Emmy nominations which led him to being recognized by Fast Company as one of the “Most Creative People in Business” in 2017.
Sadira Furlow, CMO, HappyMoney: As Chief Marketing Officer of Happy Money, Sadira Furlow is architecting growth and generating smiles across the consumer and partner landscape. Since joining the company in 2020, she has developed a customer-centric marketing strategy for long-term growth and has laid the brand’s foundation. Based on her extensive advertising and marketing experience, Sadira leads the Happy Money Marketing team toward greatness. She has a true hunger for growth, fueled by a love of the consumer and a passion for purpose, and has been recognized for her ability to shape how brands connect with consumers.
Following roles at well-known agencies such as Leo Burnett and Commonground, Sadira most recently led marketing for several iconic PepsiCo brands. She broke the internet with the ‘puppymonkeybaby’ campaign, oversaw the multi-billion-dollar Potato Chip portfolio, and led the highly successful launch of LIFEWTR. Among other accolades, she was named a 2020 Brand Genius by Adweek, one of AdAge’s Women to Watch, and one of Savoy’s Top Influential Women in Corporate America.
Fabiola Torres, CMO, Pepsi Energy: Fabiola is an experienced marketer with a creative, strategic mind. She is known for driving excellence and putting consumers first, with a digital mindset and holistic understanding of the brand and business. Her expertise is in consumer marketing and the execution of integrated and multichannel marketing. Before working at Pepsico, she worked at Apple for three years and at Nike for 18 years in Brand Marketing. Fabiola believes everything starts and ends with the consumer by developing a relationship with them through storytelling, social media, digital platforms, and community and then connecting them to the best product, services, and experiences. She is a virtual leader and mentor of diverse, multi-national teams, recognized for growing talent within the organization across functions.
Kristin Patrick, EVP and CMO, Claire’s: Kristin Patrick is a forward-thinking executive, who has been responsible for repositioning brands across lifestyle industries, including entertainment, beauty, fashion and CPG. She most recently served as the global CMO of PepsiCo, responsible for delivering the company’s long-term global growth strategy and expansion plans across the entire portfolio of brands. Prior to PepsiCo, she held leadership positions at renowned global brands, including as Chief Marketing Officer for Playboy Enterprises and at William Morris Endeavor, NBC Universal, The Walt Disney Company and Revlon, GAP Inc., Liz Claiborne’s Lucky Brand and Calvin Klein. Kristin joined Claire’s a little over a year ago as CMO to play a role in building on the fashion brand’s more than 50 years of leadership as a global creator and influencer of youth culture and to take the brand into the future.
Mike Cessario, Co-Founder & CEO, Liquid Death Mountain Water: Mike Cessario is the founder and CEO of Liquid Death, the fastest-growing nonalcoholic beverage brand. With a background as an advertising creative for industries like Crispin Porter & Bogusky, VaynerMedia, Humanaut, and more, his creative expertise led him to innovate a healthy, sustainable beverage as fun as energy drinks, beer, candy, and junk food.
Angélic Vendette, Global Head of Marketing, Alo Yoga: Angélic has been in the Marketing sectors of Fashion, Tech, Retail, and CPG for fifteen years. She has created award-winning campaigns on the brand, retailer, and agency sides of marketing. Curious and entrepreneurial at heart, she focuses on shaping conversations around the future of Retail, innovation, web3, emerging platforms, and sustainability. She leads highly successful teams and drives global marketing strategy at Alo Yoga, where inspiring mindful movement, wellness, and creating community is at the core of everything they do.
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