The era of brand is not over, but the era of the ivory tower is. I believe the distance between the C-suite and the community is a forward looking indicator of brand health. The shorter the distance, the greater the likelihood of success. At e.l.f., we create the cultural conditions necessary for innovation to thrive, unleashing our superpowers at the speed of culture – all while keeping our community at the center of EVERYTHING we do. Our brand is continuously evolving, from our products to our marketing approach to our org design, to best serve the needs, wants and desires of our continuously evolving community. And you know what Dr. Marcus Collins, author of “For the Culture” (a must read) says about brands evolving: make each day a new one... or die. Hot off the heels of our speaking session at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Marcus and I joined the WARC Podcast. We dove deeper into “why brand isn’t dead.” In fact, for those that put community at the center of their universe, brand is alive and well and thriving. e.l.f.’s 21 consecutive quarters of sales growth and market share gains is proof of that. When you invest in the brand, you make a commitment to showcase to the world who your brand is and who the people standing behind your brand are. We believe that when e.l.f. citizens feel included, valued, encouraged, and empowered, that’s where the magic happens. In a time where the ivory tower of brand is no longer, you must keep evolving or risk being left behind. 👂Give this episode a listen to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gZABZuas
❤️ forever grateful to Diana Haussling for putting Dr. Marcus Collins on my radar. Truly a human you can’t not smile and be reflective as you listen to.
When C’s envision, engage, embrace and empower magic happens. Listening to your internal and external community produces powerful brand commitment all around. Kudos Kory Marchisotto and the E.L.F. BEAUTY entire C-Suite.
Guinness is a phenomenal case in point here. The fact that they’re able to retain their heartland AND drive penetration amongst younger drinkers AND attract an incremental female base AND launch category-firsts like nitro surge (phew!) is all credit to their commitment to culture & community.
Thanks for sharing Kory
Super love this perspective, Kory!
Insightful! and Kory Marchisotto you are making such great points about marketing and how it is evolving.
Absolutely agree! Keeping your community at the heart of your brand's evolution is crucial for sustained success. At PatentPC, we help startups protect their innovations, ensuring they stay ahead in a competitive market.
Can you share some specific examples how you “listen” to community and how do you then incorporate that feedback? Is it more on the level of brand communication, product development or something else?
This was an insightful read 👏
Managing Director and Executive Vice President at Cerenti Marketing Group, LLC., Board Member, Keynote Speaker, Author of "Branding Between the Ears - Using Cognitive Science to Build Lasting Customer Connections."
6dKory Marchisotto the distance between marketers and consumers increases as the marketers get more senior in the ranks of their companies. When my company set up focus groups, it was often the case that the marketing chiefs would not show up. They would wait for the report outs. For the junior people that came, it was a free travel boondoggle. I made it a practice to insist that the chief not only show up but also do real work … as in write their key takeaways after each FGD. That increased the value of those substantially for all. Kudos to e.l.f for making the distance between the c-suite and customers zero … though it will become harder as you grow if you don’t keep at it.