Heidi M. Ray

40+ women are a powerhouse in consumer spending, driving trillions of dollars, yet marketing and media predominantly target the 18-34 demographic. It's crucial for Brands to shift focus and include 40+ women in marketing campaigns. Embracing this demographic is key for Brands seeking growth. #Marketing #brandstrategy #branding

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The Future is Fractional! Curious about "fractional" work? Learn more about how it offers expert talent, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness for both companies and skilled professionals. #fractionalCMO #brandmarketer https://lnkd.in/gMKikVPT

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A really interesting case history on #brandstrategy. ““[Liquid Death] sees itself as a media company first and a product second,” observed Young. “The company’s CEO has said in multiple interviews that you can’t ‘own’ an ingredient like canned water, but it could own a unique brand, wrapped in a compelling package, with a bold point-of-view that speaks to a niche audience.” If this can not only be theorized but also successfully executed for a product most people would see as a commodity, how much more true this statement should be for categories with higher intangible value! #brandmanagement #branding #marketingstrategy https://lnkd.in/eaB8mMmw

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The marketplace will look a lot different in five years. Mars United's Michele Roney offers 8 trends every hopeful network needs to consider in this new report. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gj7Y4HFY

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We're running a webinar for Brands in a couple of weeks' time on Retail Media from an Advertiser's perspective (all of the information can be found below). If you're a CPG Brand Manager, Shopper Marketer, Ecommerce Owner, or you're in Digital Marketing, this could be a helpful session for you. A lot of the content out there right now is based on the theory - our intention for this session is to make it super practical & based on real-life case studies of those who we think are getting it right. We have a great panel line up, so you'll be hearing contributions from brands on how they're working in their organisations to set up for success in this 'new world' of advertising and I'm hoping they'll also be brave enough to tell you what they've gotten wrong too!

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🔍👂 Do you listen to your customers? 👂🔍 Most companies would, of course, say yes to that question. But do they truly listen to the millions of voices expressing their hopes, needs, wants, and feedback on brands and experiences every day? There are some companies that work to master how to fully tap into social listening for business value creation, competitive intelligence, and understanding significant consumer truths. But there are many who haven't. The potential is vast, and there are many use cases: Understanding Future Trends and Evolving Needs: 🎯 Tap into a social media intelligence solution to continuously uncover what is happening in the market and how market and consumer trends are evolving. Use the insights gained to fuel relevant opportunities and prioritize them in line with business development goals. Understanding Brand Strength and Reputation: 🌟 Monitor how the brand is perceived by both the broader audience and your specific target audience. 📊 Track evolving concerns or crises and clarify the brand’s strengths in associations and attributes compared to key competitors. 📈 Use this information to refine brand and communication strategies and to manage consumer sentiment for PR and reputation purposes. Creating Sharper and More Relevant Content: 📝 Leverage social listening to gain clarity on the topics and themes that resonate with consumers. Utilize these insights to craft messages that will immediately resonate with your audience. Fueling Category Growth and Experience Strategy: 🌱 Social intelligence provides valuable clues for category growth plans. Pay attention to engagement and excitement levels to determine the direction the category should evolve for future growth. Where do we choose to impress the consumer the most? What touchpoints matters most and what channels do we choose? Improvements to the Product Portfolio: 🛒 Track what consumers share about your products to gain an immediate source of data to inform your organization. 💎 This is a real treasure for product and category managers who can identify product improvement needs or enhance the overall experience through better product content and communication materials. Social listening provides an absolutely vast resource to support business growth. However, be cautious not to limit its potential to just one or two use cases. Understand its multifaceted benefits and choose your tools and solutions wisely. Anything else to comment on these business opportunities by the expert social listening expertise network at BSH Home Appliances Group? 😊 Nathalie T. Veronika Platschka Marleen Kolleck Didem Yücesoy Ingrid Huth Petros Isaakidis Ariane Mertens Yuan Yuan Ngan Nguyen Sophia Katerna Dr. Rahim Malekshahi Dr. Marina Lang #consumerexperience #consumerlistening

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We often wrack our brains trying to create a great toy for great license, but sometimes there’s a great toy that is just waiting for the right license. This is a tale of one toy, two companies and two brands. Shout out to Steven Fink, Mike Hoeting and the team at Bang Zoom Design. Toy Stories Chapter 18: Monsters University Scare-Off Sulley! Back when I was at Playmates, we were pitching for the Shrek 4 license, and we needed a wow product for the pitch and ultimately the toy fair showroom. I presented the challenge to Steve Fink at Bang Zoom, they created an awesome roaring Shrek. And we got the license! Sadly, the product didn’t come to market, as retailers were skittish on the license and not too keen on the price point. Plus, let’s face it, Shrek was a great entertainment franchise, but it never moved toys, and as my friend Mark Sullivan mockingly said, “well, the 4th time’s the charm....” Flash forward a couple years, and I’m with Spin Master, pitching for the Monsters University license, and we needed a wow product for the pitch. Hmm, sounded familiar. I remembered the item and thought it would be a great fit for Sulley. So, I reached out to Steve again and asked for the model, which I knew Playmates had returned. Instead, they created a whole new version in the form of Sulley. This toy was the perfect matching of an inventor concept with the essence of the property, and we won the business! Interactive Scare-Off Sulley roared and made a scary face upon activation, and this one indeed made it to market and kicked ass! So, this one inventor toy concept helped two companies win two different entertainment licenses! Now THAT is innovation! Bang Zoom rules! #spinmaster #monstersuniversity

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Only retailers that truly deliver value to both shoppers and advertisers will be able to maintain sustainable growth. Mars United Commerce's Michele Roney offers eight changes we see taking place over the next five years that every hopeful network needs to consider going forward: https://lnkd.in/gDXpss9W #retailmedia #trends #retailmedianetworks

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What I find interesting here is this: People don’t buy a shovel, they buy a hole, right? So, in a world where, as Laura Thomas (She/Her) and Amy Hubbell write “while we continue to crave it, we are agitated by the content we consume”, delivering solutions to people’s problems – that is, shovels to make their holes  – can provide a welcome respite from the agitation. So while you may bristle at the word “joy”, you’d be foolish to dismiss the underlying insight and what it can mean for your brand. https://lnkd.in/gaaS6Ktk PETERMAYER #advertising #strategy #brands #joy

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Whataburger’s digital marketing push for their "Whataburger's Spicy Chicken Sandwich" campaign shows how powerful a well-executed campaign can be. By using Twitter and Instagram to create viral moments and engage directly with fans, they’ve solidified their brand’s presence nationwide. Whataburger 📊 Winning Strategies: - Leveraging trending topics and hashtags - User-generated content campaigns - Direct and witty engagement with customers This level of success isn’t accidental – it’s the result of meticulous planning and expert execution. At Innovate Social Media, we know how to build your brand’s story in the digital landscape. https://lnkd.in/eHcWcRF #BusinessOwner #SmallBusiness #LegacyBusiness #FranchiseRestaurant #Whataburger #DigitalMediaMarketing #Texas

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5  spicy 🌶, from-the-trenches topics Blue Seedling’s positioning lead Jordan Elkind will be tackling together with retail executive Kim Gallagher (Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Nuuly) in our live event in two weeks: 1. The most common mistakes tech vendors make in pitching AI products 🤦‍♀️ 2. Why your product team hates your marketing team right now – and what to do about it 😡 (<-- love this one - so true!) 3. AI-washing: what it is, and how to do it right 🖌 (<-- we’ve done it and we’re not ashamed) 4. What market leadership looks like in a world where buyers don’t know what they want or need 🤷‍♂️ (<-- I’m seeing this one on a weekly basis) 5. Why everything you think you know about positioning is wrong…sort of :) 😵 Join our live webinar on 7/17: Positioning your AI venture: The definitive playbook for winning in 2024. Learn more and sign up free in the comments.

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Kathy Galloway: “There’s a shift in consumers' willingness to listen to someone trying to sell’’. CPG Marketing Briefing, with Kathy Galloway. Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) expert, Kathy Galloway talks to me about the correction that CPG and FMCG marketers are currently working through and the value that this correction can bring to all marketers. To listen to the podcast, please click this link - https://lnkd.in/eWPcjds3 Kathy and I discuss building customer relationships, the value of brand beyond simply product, the customers' decision making process and how emerging technologies, influencers and supply chains are impacting marketing strategy and tactics. If you are working in marketing in any sector, this briefing is important for you.  #marketing #podcast #consumergoods

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How important is content in CPG? Right now, I could argue it's one of the most crucial areas a business should focus on. It's as important as the CEO, COO, and CFO roles. PepsiCo recently hired a CCO, a Chief Creative Officer. This newly created role oversees creative but, more importantly, CONTENT. The CCO said on stage yesterday at Collision that Pepsi will be a media empire in the coming months and years. What does this mean for SMBs, and how should you be thinking about content? 1. Be the CCO. Put that hat on, and if you don't have the skill set, outsource it early on. Act as the leader, not the content producer, unless that's your skill set. 2. Partner with a team. If content creation isn't your strength, collaborate with a team that can produce content at scale across different platforms/retailers. Allow that team to operate as if they are an internal team. This is the model we encourage and execute at GreenFresh . 3. Lead with video. Our entire strategy at GreenFresh moving forward is to lead with video and work backward. Listening to this panel, what struck me was Pepsi's team setup. They have a brand team, a content team in-house, and an outsourced content and ad team. Even with all these resources, they still outsource and value an agency model.

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The marketplace will look a lot different in five years. Mars United's Michele Roney offers 8 trends every hopeful network needs to consider in this new report. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gFNQnU-h

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Movie tie-ins -- Builds brand recognition? Keeps the brand fresh? Or just for fun? Kraft Heinz, amongst many others, is jumping on the Marvel Entertainment Deadpool and Wolverine hype wagon as they try to show they can still generate $1B+ in movie ticket sales. Will it affect sales of ketchup and mustard in any significant way? What happens to all the promotional tie-in packaging once the summer movie season ends? Or will it just get people like me to write about it? #ecommerce #movietieins #customerexperience #zeitgeist

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My comments on the Marketing Technology Utilization based on the latest CMO Survey. It's not all about chasing the shiniest new tool. It's about picking what works for your customer journey and marketing processes.

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Continuing to discuss what a “brand manager sees” while walking a store - aka #howtothinklikeabrandmanager Walked Kroger today, and this observation and thought process popped out: Pricing in CPG is truly out of whack… the trade promotions are creating larger swings in pricing due to inflation. See this example… what is really the price of this King's Hawaiian soft pretzel item: SRP $8.49 With shopper card $6.99 With digital ad $5.99 This pricing and trade support strategy is not new at all! But with inflation - the visual optics of the swings in prices are bigger (thanks, math!) In this case: 30% off current base SRP is $2.50 But when base was 30% less on items (3yrs ago pre extreme inflation) 30% off would have been closer to $1.80 (FWIW these looks delicious and I bought some - at $5.99 😜)

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Marketing is changing at the speed of light 🚦 and as leaders in the industry, our responsibility is to integrate new tools and tactics that align with the strategic direction of our organizations. Otherwise, it's chasing instead of thoughtfully leading. Thank you to Brand Innovators for hosting #AI for Brand Marketers this week Paramount+ showcasing thought leaders and use cases while continuing to inspire and educate the industry. PS: #AI did not play a part in writing this post. #Marketing #Leadership

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Folks, we have an exciting webinar TODAY on the hottest topic in the media industry right now: Retail Media or Commerce Media. We have an outstanding panelist lined up, and you definitely don't want to miss it. If you're a CPG marketer, this topic is a must for you. I assure you that you'll walk away with actionable insights to bring back to your organization. Click the link below to register. Looking forward to seeing you there!

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