There has never been a better time to talk about business pivots. And few better to discuss it than Shonda Brown, Senior Associate Brand Manager at Church & Dwight, who lived the lessons of rapid and continuous responsive change over the past six months. An advocate of consumer engagement, she discusses the ways her Krew – the ARM & HAMMER Kitty Krew that is – have helped her successfully navigate the pandemic on this week’s episode of Happy Marketer Connection podcast.
Hear from Shonda about how to pivot your career and your marketing strategies, the game-changing insights that come from online brand communities, what Shonda has learned about cats and cat owners from her online community, how to market organically, and why Shonda decided not to become a lawyer.
To listen on Apple Podcasts click here.
To listen on Spotify click here.
Episode Highlights
- Intro
- [0:17] Sue Frech, Happy Marketer Connection, Vesta
- [0:39] Shonda Brown, Senior Associate Brand Manager at Church & Dwight
- Sue Frech interviewing Shonda Brown on PIVOTING
- [1:11] Pivot
- [1:42] Icebreaker: What did Shonda want to be when she grew up?
- [1:51] Lawyer, Law School
- [3:04] Sales
- [3:11] How did Shonda switch to marketing?
- [3:21] University of Delaware (UD), Financial Services, Insurance
- [3:53] Sales Pitch
- [4:10] Business School, Mentor
- [4:29] IBM
- [5:17] MBA (Masters of Business Administration) at La Salle University
- [5:35] National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods)
- [5:52] Career Fair, Networking
- [6:57] How do you engage the consumer today?
- [7:12] Digital Marketing
- [7:33] TV Ads, Social Media
- [7:59] Cat Litter, Kitty Litter
- [8:10] Aha Moment
- [9:48] How does Shonda leverage her online brand community ARM & HAMMER Kitty Crew?
- [10:12] COVID-19
- [11:34] Nano-Influencers, Influencers, ARM & HAMMER
- [12:34] Podcast
- [12:40] What type of marketer is Shonda?
- [13:01] Forecasting, Nielsen
- [14:42] Consumer Engagement
- [14:57] Psychology
- [15:06] Retailer, Shopper Marketing
- [15:43] eCommerce (eComm)
- [15:53] What does Shopper Marketing look like during the pandemic?
- [16:12] Walmart, Meijer, In-Store Demos
- [16:28] ABSORBX
- [16:46] In-Store Promotions, Virtual Demos, Advertising
- [18:14] CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery)
- [18:19] Event Marketing
- [18:51] Supply Chain
- [19:01] How have online sales grown during the pandemic?
- [19:44] Brick-and-Mortar
- [19:54] Amazon, Chewy
- [20:05] What other marketing trends have come up due to the pandemic?
- [20:33] Eco-Friendly Packaging
- [21:29] How does Shonda view her career progression?
- [22:22] Finance, P&L (Profit & Loss Statement)
- [22:57] Community Powered Marketing delivers a new world of sales growth. Learn more at Vesta-Go.com
- [23:15] Question from the Smiley360 community: Why did Shonda choose to build an online community?
- [23:57] Culturelle, Probiotics
- [24:30] Sampling
- [26:31] Efficacy
- [27:08] Innovation
- [27:33] Data
- [27:38] What positive story does Shonda have to share?
- [28:28] Quarantine
- [29:44] Mom Guilt
- [30:39] Gen X (Generation X)
- Outro
- [30:52] Connect with Shonda on LinkedIn.
- [31:32] Thank you for listening! Subscribe to Happy Marketing Connection on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more
- [31:43] Connect with Sue on LinkedIn or Twitter at @SueFrech, and Vesta-Go.com
- Theme Song: Hello (Extended Version) – Paul Werner – provided by Jamendo
About the Happy Marketer Connection Podcast
Shonda Brown, Senior Associate Brand Manager, Church & Dwight
Shonda Brown is a passionate brand builder with experience in brand marketing, sales, client management and business development. She has a background working in both consumer product and retail banking industries and is highly skilled in leveraging data to analyze consumer behavior.
Host: Sue Frech, Founder and CEO, Vesta
Sue has spent her career redefining digital marketing in brand and retail marketing, Martech, and advertising, at brands such as Kraft and Glaxo-SmithKline. She is committed to creating fellow Happy Marketers through Vesta’s all-in-one online community building software, transforming the relationships between brands and consumers with Community Powered Marketing.