August 21, 2024 • 21 mins
In this episode of Frictionless Marketing, we welcome Jerome Brathwaite, the Global Head of Brand Equity and Marketing for Cetaphil at Galderma. Jerome shares insights from his extensive experience in the beauty and skincare industry, highlighting his role in transforming Cetaphil into a global brand. The discussion covers a range of topics, including the successful Game Time Glow campaign, New York Fashion Week activations, and the integration of AI in marketing strategies. Jerome also delves into the importance of cultural shifts, the role of emotion in marketing, and his approach to product innovation and talent development.
Join us for an in-depth conversation on the future of skincare marketing and Jerome's passion for storytelling and brand management.
00:00 Introduction to Frictionless Marketing
00:06 Meet Jerome Brathwaite: Brand Management Expert
01:09 Diving into the Game Time Glow Campaign
02:48 The Ecosystem Behind the Campaign
04:45 Global Impact and Emotional Connection
08:32 Product Innovation and Market Needs
12:53 Leadership and Mentorship Insights
16:45 The Future of Skincare and Beauty Brands
19:03 Musical Past and Marketing Journey
19:59 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Frictionless Marketing is a production from /prompt, the leading earned first creative marketing and communications agency. Grounded in the present, yet attuned to the future.
To learn more about how to make marketing frictionless, purchase Friction Fatigue by /prompt CEO Paul Dyer online and at booksellers worldwide.
Produced and distributed by Simpler Media Productions.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to FrictionlessMarketing , where we explore the
(00:02):
latest trends and challenges inthe world of marketing and beyond.
Jerome Brathwaite is an accomplishedbrand management executive with over
fifteen years of experience in the beautyand dermatological skincare industry.
Currently serving as the Global Head ofBrand Equity and Marketing for Cetaphil at
Galderma, Jerome has been instrumental intransforming Cetaphil into a blockbuster
brand across a hundred plus countries.
(00:23):
His leadership in executing brandequity strategies through product
innovation, commercial campaigns,activations, and ESG initiatives has
significantly impacted both consumer andhealthcare professional touch points.
Today we'll dive deeper intoJerome's background and discuss
the importance of creating culturalshifts and leveraging cultural
moments and insights to create impact.
(00:44):
We'll unpack how he contributed to thewildly successful Game Time Glow campaign,
New York Fashion Week activation, and howCetaphil's integrating AI to create a derm
tech approach to frictionless marketing.
Hey, Jerome!
Hi, Kate.
Thank you for having me.
So nice to have you on the pod today.
Thanks for joining
-- awesome to be here.
Well, let's just dive right in, shall we?
(01:06):
We have great topics lined up.
I'm excited to chat with you.
Starting with my favorite topic,the Game Time Glow campaign.
And for those of you who don't know,the campaign really capitalizes on the
Taylor Swift Effect within NFL football.
Together we identified this surge infemale viewership and co-viewing trends
(01:27):
as an opportunity to insert Cetaphilinto the Super Bowl conversation.
But I'd love for you to expand alittle bit upon the process and
the success of the campaign andhow this idea was brought to life.
Absolutely.
It's one of my favorite topics as well.
It's so fresh.
Okay, we knew that 2024 would be the yearthat the world would be talking about
(01:49):
Cetaphil, and we already had some goodplans to make that happen, but wanted
to make it something that really blewit out and took it to the next level.
It really started with a brainstorm by ournewly appointed president, Tara Loftis.
We were already planning for New YorkFashion Week activation, which would be
a week earlier, but with the Super Bowlbeing such a key moment of awareness, we
wanted to really take advantage of that.
(02:11):
So we held a brainstorm, andyou'll remember this, Kate.
The /prompt team came in with some greatideas, taking into consideration all
that you shared about the insights on theSuper Bowl moment, the cultural effect.
And we fell in love with the idea andeleven days later - because we said yes
and we trusted it - the video was out inthe market and the immediate response was
(02:35):
overwhelmingly positive from the market.
It really was.
It was such an incredible experience,and showing how true partnership
can produce great work and evensuch a short amount of time and
really move at the speed of culture.
Can you talk a littlebit about the ecosystem?
There was a lot of differentcomponents you mentioned a video.
I know there were a lot of differentcomponents as part of the activation.
(02:58):
Absolutely.
Now, we moved at record speed.
But the campaign was built thanksto the team's planning with the
holistic ecosystem, and that includedinfluencer and derm partnerships,
highlighting the dad and daughterrelationship and bonding, integrated
paid media support, earned nationaland trade media, CRM, all of those
(03:18):
good things for a full surround sound.
My favorite part of this was the video.
It was amazing seeing thosereactions, but we did really have
that full ecosystem around it.
And an award-winning campaign at that.
Absolutely.
We've won a Webby and I'm certainof many more to come, which
(03:39):
was quite fantastic to see.
How do you see this campaign livingon, and how do you think Cetaphil
as a brand that can use thiscampaign as a learning opportunity?
The campaign was a viral bet andit paid off well, but I think most
importantly in the learning that we tookfrom this was that it was an exercise
in cultural immersion, agility, andtrust in our team and our partners.
(04:03):
Eleven days, that's insane for fullproduction to getting out to the market.
So there have been opportunities tobuild on the Game Time Glow campaign,
and we've done so to a certain extent,but we don't wanna overstretch it, right?
So can we replicate it?
Certainly, there are essential themesaround bonds between daughters and
fathers, sports, music, and skincare.
(04:24):
We've also seen as certain markets startto localize and initiate partnerships
with sports organizations to bring thatto life outside of just American football.
So I do see there being a placefor it, but what's key to this
was really leaning into the momentand timing was super key to this.
(04:44):
Yep.
Leaning into a moment's right.
And I think we also, we were justall in Cannes for the Cannes Lions
Awards, and there were a lot of reallyinteresting themes around Cannes
Lions, around the emotional connection.
One that got a lot of play wasaround humor, but obviously
this campaign was really onethat pulled at the heartstrings.
How do you feel about the role of emotionand bringing people into the work?
(05:09):
Yeah, emotion is such a key thing.
It's such a human thing, right?
And as marketeers, we have to remember,I think we always get caught up in
our presentations, our conversations,our meetings, our decks, excels.
And you forget that what we're doingis interacting with human beings.
And so that, I believe,is at the heart of it.
(05:29):
When you can harness a human truth,if you do that well, then it proves
to tap on a universal thread.
And that's what we did here withthe Game Time Glow campaign.
Yes, it was around Super Bowl.
It was football, music, skincare.
We brought all of that together.
But at the heart of it, it was thatemotional story around the bond that a
(05:50):
moment like this has with daughters anddads, and that proved to be something
that gave this incredible legs.
And I think you saw thata lot in the reaction.
We actually, as part of some of ouranalytics, looked at how many different
emojis were used that were cryingemojis versus happy emojis, and you
could really get a sense for howpeople connected and why they connected
(06:13):
because the emotion that it sparked.
A lot of videos going around withpeople showing themselves crying after
watching it, which was really cool.
Absolutely.
Which was super powerful.
Yeah, that was really gratifying.
We know American football was a centraltheme of the campaign, and the cultural
moments here in the US may not bereceived the same way in other places.
How have you seen this play outin other markets, and what is that
(06:35):
multidisciplinary, cross-functional way toexecute these cultural moments globally?
I think it, it ties backto what I said before.
The human truth that we tapped intothis was really a universal one.
So it does really transcend beyondAmerican football and can just be a
story around the bond that is created, across-generational bond, a familial bond
(07:00):
that's created when you connect certainthings like sports, music, skincare.
Skincare was a bit integrated in there.
It really worked for American footballbecause of the moment that we were
talking about with the Super Bowl,but it does have a lot of relevance
outside of that and internationally.
Like I said, we did have, and we do havemarkets who have started to initiate
(07:22):
those partnerships with local sportsorganizations because it is something
that goes beyond American football.
Then to your point on just the,how to rally the cross-functional
and multidisciplinary teams, Ithink it's probably- I simplify it.
'Cause collaboration's a big, I'dsay strong suit and belief of mine.
(07:44):
It's simply clear communicationof the intent and the goals.
You have to have conviction,conviction in your idea.
Especially if it's something that's newand uncomfortable to the organization
and to the cross-functional partners.
And then keeping consistent updates onthe progress because everybody wants
to feel a part of something bigger.
And when you can nurture that environmentof genuine partnership, co-creation, and
(08:06):
collaboration towards a shared goal, thenyou do tend to reap some amazing benefits.
So we did have great support fromour teams across regulatory, legal,
R&D, everyone in the organizationwas really rallied behind it.
It seems like it was an all hands on deckcampaign, that a lot of people really
bought into, thanks to a lot of thecommunication that you did internally.
(08:29):
Yes.
That's awesome.
All right, switching gears a little bit.
Curious, you've been involved indeveloping new product categories
and award-winning products.
What would you say is your approachto product innovation and how do you
ensure that new products meet marketneeds and consumer expectations?
It's a loaded question.
There's so many ways to look at it.
(08:49):
I'm big on yes, productmarketing, but also branding.
And you first need to have a strongcommand on who you are as a brand, right?
What your promise and your placeis, and how far your portfolio
can stretch for your consumers.
So there's a combination of things thatI use - market intel, trend reports,
social listening, competitive tracking.
(09:10):
All of that comes into consideration.
If there are gaps in the portfolio,meaning offerings that we don't
have in formats, benefits, what beit, that our consumers would expect
from us, and are going elsewherefor, then we should prioritize that
based on the incremental value, theupside versus the investment in time.
Those, to me, I see those as thoseline extensions and gap fillers.
(09:31):
That can be fun.
And you can do a lot of innovation there.
But the real magic, and thisdoesn't come as frequently, is when
through science, through research,through breakthrough ideas, you
really have a disruptive innovationbecause you've created a category.
Doing that has been really fun.
That's awesome.
I know there's a lot of really excitingthings on the horizon from the brand.
(09:53):
More for us to talk about in the futureas it relates to product innovation.
With that, how do you ensure that youleverage a moment, or you resonate
with your audience to create culturalimpact through product innovation?
Ears to the ground.
I think you could say product innovation,commercial innovation, communication,
ears to the ground, hands on thepulse, whatever term you can use for
(10:17):
staying connected to your consumers.
That's really key.
And knowing where you stand in that wholeenvironment and ecosystem, and having
a team internally and through agencypartners who are also connected is key.
So you wanna make sure that you're beingauthentic with your product offering.
As I said before, understandingwhat your brand's purpose is.
(10:37):
There may be certain products that justdon't make sense for your portfolio.
As there may be certain things thatdon't make sense for your brand
to say, or conversations to be in.
So, really understanding your brandingcoming from there is important, but
also having the ears to the ground.
I think with Game Time Glow asa campaign, we found the right
balance of skincare relevance inthis Super Bowl celeb music moment.
(10:59):
But that's not always gonna be the case.
Not every trend needsyou to join it, right?
And consumers will quickly let youknow if you're trying too hard.
I love that.
That's such a valid point that Ithink a lot of us forget sometimes
when we get pulled into themomentum of the next big thing.
Is there obvious and importantspace for this brand in this
conversation, or is there not?
(11:21):
And to your point, the consumer will knowthe difference and is smarter than ever.
Yeah.
Yeah, we have to be careful ofthe shiny object syndrome, right?
Especially marketers.
Absolutely.
Do you oftentimes look to whatis happening in D2C and Prestige
for sort of inspiration and alot of times those brands because
of the way that they're sold?
(11:41):
They have the ability to bethoughtful in different ways.
They're not driven by a lot of the sameconfines that mass market brands are.
So, curious if you take inspirationsometimes from those categories, as well?
Absolutely.
And I'd say even beyond that, definitelyacross channels, but I'd say just
(12:02):
multidisciplinary outside of our industry.
There are nuggets thatcan be found anywhere.
How many times have you sat downand seen a commercial or an ad and
you're like, that was brilliant.
And that inspires you to dosomething, moves you to do something.
I do try my best to step outsideand, obviously, that requires
time to think, which can bedifficult these days many times.
(12:24):
But to step outside and seewhat's going on from an industry
standpoint, understand the thingsthat really inspire me as a consumer.
So putting my mind in the consumer's,'cause we all are, and try to
bring that thinking to continue tochallenge our team and challenge
myself as we innovate in both product,but also marketing communication.
(12:45):
That's great, and it's a good segue totalking a little bit about you and your
sort of leadership and mentorship style.
I know you've managed multiple,and mentored multiple associates
throughout your career.
What would you say is your approachto developing talent and helping
new team members grow professionallyand continue the legacy of
(13:06):
Cetaphil's cultural relevancy?
I love that.
I've done my best to refine, it's a dailyendeavor probably until we stop, right?
To refine your leadership for justat least human engagement skills.
For the team, I tend to lean on, it's notcleanly three, but three essential Cs.
Communication.
(13:27):
And under that are two Cs, clearand consistent communication.
And then celebration and conviction.
Celebrating thosemilestones, small and big.
Because we will undoubtedly, ifwe're doing something big, we
will fail and that's okay, right?
But amongst that, there are things thatwe can continue to celebrate and that
also gives us, I think, the convictionto continue to drive to be better.
(13:51):
So there should be constantlya thirst to be better.
When I'm hiring, when I'm lookingfor team members, I look for
some of those things that may notnecessarily be able to be taught.
There are tons of thingsthat can be taught.
So I drive that with the team.
And not accepting the status quoand being a better you brand daily.
I think that's what helps us tocontinue to stay linked to the culture,
(14:13):
linked to the brand's relevance,and how we can continue to grow.
Outside of that, if you ask someonewho is on my team, they'd probably
say from my transparency, I holdaccountability very strongly.
And then just empathy is probablywhat keeps us glued as a team.
Many times I say we'rein this boat together.
If the ship is rocky, if the seas arerocky or if they're smooth, I just
(14:36):
need to know you're in the oar with me.
So that means I know you have an oarin your hand, I have one in my hand.
That's the empathy and the accountabilitythat I know you're rowing with me.
And so those are key to really drivingthe cohesion and the trust with the team.
I love that.
I think that the biggest part ofleadership is relationships, right?
(14:56):
So if you don't have 'em, somebody'snot gonna be in that boat, and
they're not gonna be, or they'renot gonna be rowing with you.
That's right.
That's exactly right.
Fingers pointing, right?
[chuckling] Who's rowing?
Who's that?
Tell me a little bit about whatdrives your passion for storytelling
and brand management, and how doyou harness its power to connect
(15:18):
consumers with your brands?
I didn't really understand till earlier onin my career as a marketer how much I love
storytelling, but it makes a lot of sense.
Growing up with the likes of Disneystories and just the overall hero's
journey that really struck hard for me.
And storytelling, it's anancient and proven art.
(15:41):
Stories have been used to convey messagesof varying complexity, to inspire
confidence, passion, and bravery,instill a sense of purpose and belonging.
And then even to painta vision for the future.
So a versatility of stories and theireffectiveness and really corralling
the team and getting everyone, asI said before, connected to a goal
(16:03):
is really powerful and I love that.
And I'd say from a consumer standpoint,we have to understand that consumers
are human and they all have journeys.
What we need to be careful as marketers isthinking of how we can really seamlessly
insert ourselves into their journey andenhance their stories, be a solution to
(16:24):
the problem, and scratch for an itch.
And help folks to aspireto be their higher selves.
So that's for me where storytellingis really amazing and has a lot of
versatility and variety, and I love toutilize that as a key tool for marketing
and communication with our consumers.
(16:44):
That's awesome.
And where do you see the future ofskincare and beauty brands heading
and what role do you envisionyourself playing in that future?
a big one.
You are hitting me withsome good questions.
[chuckling] I've been in the industry fora while, for fifteen years, in anywhere
between skincare, personal care, beauty.
(17:06):
I think from a product standpoint, whatI love is that efficacy and integrity of
your products will continue to win out.
I don't think that will ever fade away.
Consumers are smart.
They've always been smart.
They're more vocal, and they'reless patient and tolerant for
anything that's not working.
I've seen over time, and it's probablybecause, as I said, consumers are more
(17:30):
vocal, we have a social environmentwhere there's a lot of conversations
that, yeah, if you're not deliveringon your promise, you might as
well just close your doors, right?
Because a brand is that.
A brand is not just anidentity, it's a promise.
And so we have to do that, Ithink, from a overall communication
and advertising standpoint.
It's interesting to see how big theattention economy has gotten, if you will.
(17:55):
How the influencers, the amazing thingabout just the influence marketing
space is that they've infused thisingredient that was probably missing
from, maybe, the celebrity approach,let's say the Madison Ave, old school
approach, which was authenticity.
So they build these hugecommunities and followings
because they're being authentic.
And I see that being something,whereas folks may have thought that
(18:18):
was a fad, I think that becomes thenew influence and driver in markets.
And how we move to that and leveragethat partner, again, authentically
with influencers and brands issomething that we'll continue
to see moving in the future.
Listen, as long as the consumer isat the heart of everything we do, and
(18:39):
then I see myself always being one topartner with the market and the consumer.
I see myself always being there because,as I said, empathy is a key piece.
And then also consumer centricity is key.
So, we have a fun journey aheadbecause the consumers are stronger
than they've been before, ever before.
I love that.
(19:00):
Alright, final question for you.
A little birdie told me that youdo have a past, a musical past, and
had done some singing in your day.
So my question for you is, if you were to
- Are you gonna me to sing?
[laughing] I dunno...
On our next one.
Maybe on our next one.
If you, were to give yourmarketing journey a song
(19:23):
title, what would it be called?
That's a, I love that question.
It's not easy, but I love it.
I'd say probably Ain'tNo Mountain High Enough.
Oh, ooooh!
Nailed it.
There's always, themarket's always changing.
From when I started, evenbefore, up until now.
(19:43):
And the rate of speed, as folkssay, the rate of culture, the speed
of culture is quickly changing.
There's always a newchallenge, but it's fun.
So there really is no mountain highenough in this approach I've been
taking with my marketing journey.
Amazing.
Jerome, thank you so much.
It's been an absolute pleasurechatting with you today.
Thank you so much, Kate.
(20:04):
This was awesome.
Well, talk soon.
Talk soon.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of Frictionless Marketing.
For a complete transcript of thisconversation or more information on
/prompt, please visit us at MeetPrompt.co.
If you found this episodeinsightful, share it with
your connections on LinkedIn.
To learn more about how to makemarketing frictionless, purchase Friction
(20:27):
Fatigue by /prompt CEO Paul Dyer,online and at booksellers worldwide.
Frictionless Marketing is aproduction from /prompt, the
leading earned first creativemarketing and communications agency.
Grounded in the present,yet attuned to the future.
Produced and distributed bySimpler Media Productions.
Welcome to FrictionlessMarketing , where we explore the
(00:02):
latest trends and challenges inthe world of marketing and beyond.
Jerome Brathwaite is an accomplishedbrand management executive with over
fifteen years of experience in the beautyand dermatological skincare industry.
Currently serving as the Global Head ofBrand Equity and Marketing for Cetaphil at
Galderma, Jerome has been instrumental intransforming Cetaphil into a blockbuster
brand across a hundred plus countries.
(00:23):
His leadership in executing brandequity strategies through product
innovation, commercial campaigns,activations, and ESG initiatives has
significantly impacted both consumer andhealthcare professional touch points.
Today we'll dive deeper intoJerome's background and discuss
the importance of creating culturalshifts and leveraging cultural
moments and insights to create impact.
(00:44):
We'll unpack how he contributed to thewildly successful Game Time Glow campaign,
New York Fashion Week activation, and howCetaphil's integrating AI to create a derm
tech approach to frictionless marketing.
Hey, Jerome!
Hi, Kate.
Thank you for having me.
So nice to have you on the pod today.
Thanks for joining
-- awesome to be here.
Well, let's just dive right in, shall we?
(01:06):
We have great topics lined up.
I'm excited to chat with you.
Starting with my favorite topic,the Game Time Glow campaign.
And for those of you who don't know,the campaign really capitalizes on the
Taylor Swift Effect within NFL football.
Together we identified this surge infemale viewership and co-viewing trends
(01:27):
as an opportunity to insert Cetaphilinto the Super Bowl conversation.
But I'd love for you to expand alittle bit upon the process and
the success of the campaign andhow this idea was brought to life.
Absolutely.
It's one of my favorite topics as well.
It's so fresh.
Okay, we knew that 2024 would be the yearthat the world would be talking about
(01:49):
Cetaphil, and we already had some goodplans to make that happen, but wanted
to make it something that really blewit out and took it to the next level.
It really started with a brainstorm by ournewly appointed president, Tara Loftis.
We were already planning for New YorkFashion Week activation, which would be
a week earlier, but with the Super Bowlbeing such a key moment of awareness, we
wanted to really take advantage of that.
(02:11):
So we held a brainstorm, andyou'll remember this, Kate.
The /prompt team came in with some greatideas, taking into consideration all
that you shared about the insights on theSuper Bowl moment, the cultural effect.
And we fell in love with the idea andeleven days later - because we said yes
and we trusted it - the video was out inthe market and the immediate response was
(02:35):
overwhelmingly positive from the market.
It really was.
It was such an incredible experience,and showing how true partnership
can produce great work and evensuch a short amount of time and
really move at the speed of culture.
Can you talk a littlebit about the ecosystem?
There was a lot of differentcomponents you mentioned a video.
I know there were a lot of differentcomponents as part of the activation.
(02:58):
Absolutely.
Now, we moved at record speed.
But the campaign was built thanksto the team's planning with the
holistic ecosystem, and that includedinfluencer and derm partnerships,
highlighting the dad and daughterrelationship and bonding, integrated
paid media support, earned nationaland trade media, CRM, all of those
(03:18):
good things for a full surround sound.
My favorite part of this was the video.
It was amazing seeing thosereactions, but we did really have
that full ecosystem around it.
And an award-winning campaign at that.
Absolutely.
We've won a Webby and I'm certainof many more to come, which
(03:39):
was quite fantastic to see.
How do you see this campaign livingon, and how do you think Cetaphil
as a brand that can use thiscampaign as a learning opportunity?
The campaign was a viral bet andit paid off well, but I think most
importantly in the learning that we tookfrom this was that it was an exercise
in cultural immersion, agility, andtrust in our team and our partners.
(04:03):
Eleven days, that's insane for fullproduction to getting out to the market.
So there have been opportunities tobuild on the Game Time Glow campaign,
and we've done so to a certain extent,but we don't wanna overstretch it, right?
So can we replicate it?
Certainly, there are essential themesaround bonds between daughters and
fathers, sports, music, and skincare.
(04:24):
We've also seen as certain markets startto localize and initiate partnerships
with sports organizations to bring thatto life outside of just American football.
So I do see there being a placefor it, but what's key to this
was really leaning into the momentand timing was super key to this.
(04:44):
Yep.
Leaning into a moment's right.
And I think we also, we were justall in Cannes for the Cannes Lions
Awards, and there were a lot of reallyinteresting themes around Cannes
Lions, around the emotional connection.
One that got a lot of play wasaround humor, but obviously
this campaign was really onethat pulled at the heartstrings.
How do you feel about the role of emotionand bringing people into the work?
(05:09):
Yeah, emotion is such a key thing.
It's such a human thing, right?
And as marketeers, we have to remember,I think we always get caught up in
our presentations, our conversations,our meetings, our decks, excels.
And you forget that what we're doingis interacting with human beings.
And so that, I believe,is at the heart of it.
(05:29):
When you can harness a human truth,if you do that well, then it proves
to tap on a universal thread.
And that's what we did here withthe Game Time Glow campaign.
Yes, it was around Super Bowl.
It was football, music, skincare.
We brought all of that together.
But at the heart of it, it was thatemotional story around the bond that a
(05:50):
moment like this has with daughters anddads, and that proved to be something
that gave this incredible legs.
And I think you saw thata lot in the reaction.
We actually, as part of some of ouranalytics, looked at how many different
emojis were used that were cryingemojis versus happy emojis, and you
could really get a sense for howpeople connected and why they connected
(06:13):
because the emotion that it sparked.
A lot of videos going around withpeople showing themselves crying after
watching it, which was really cool.
Absolutely.
Which was super powerful.
Yeah, that was really gratifying.
We know American football was a centraltheme of the campaign, and the cultural
moments here in the US may not bereceived the same way in other places.
How have you seen this play outin other markets, and what is that
(06:35):
multidisciplinary, cross-functional way toexecute these cultural moments globally?
I think it, it ties backto what I said before.
The human truth that we tapped intothis was really a universal one.
So it does really transcend beyondAmerican football and can just be a
story around the bond that is created, across-generational bond, a familial bond
(07:00):
that's created when you connect certainthings like sports, music, skincare.
Skincare was a bit integrated in there.
It really worked for American footballbecause of the moment that we were
talking about with the Super Bowl,but it does have a lot of relevance
outside of that and internationally.
Like I said, we did have, and we do havemarkets who have started to initiate
(07:22):
those partnerships with local sportsorganizations because it is something
that goes beyond American football.
Then to your point on just the,how to rally the cross-functional
and multidisciplinary teams, Ithink it's probably- I simplify it.
'Cause collaboration's a big, I'dsay strong suit and belief of mine.
(07:44):
It's simply clear communicationof the intent and the goals.
You have to have conviction,conviction in your idea.
Especially if it's something that's newand uncomfortable to the organization
and to the cross-functional partners.
And then keeping consistent updates onthe progress because everybody wants
to feel a part of something bigger.
And when you can nurture that environmentof genuine partnership, co-creation, and
(08:06):
collaboration towards a shared goal, thenyou do tend to reap some amazing benefits.
So we did have great support fromour teams across regulatory, legal,
R&D, everyone in the organizationwas really rallied behind it.
It seems like it was an all hands on deckcampaign, that a lot of people really
bought into, thanks to a lot of thecommunication that you did internally.
(08:29):
Yes.
That's awesome.
All right, switching gears a little bit.
Curious, you've been involved indeveloping new product categories
and award-winning products.
What would you say is your approachto product innovation and how do you
ensure that new products meet marketneeds and consumer expectations?
It's a loaded question.
There's so many ways to look at it.
(08:49):
I'm big on yes, productmarketing, but also branding.
And you first need to have a strongcommand on who you are as a brand, right?
What your promise and your placeis, and how far your portfolio
can stretch for your consumers.
So there's a combination of things thatI use - market intel, trend reports,
social listening, competitive tracking.
(09:10):
All of that comes into consideration.
If there are gaps in the portfolio,meaning offerings that we don't
have in formats, benefits, what beit, that our consumers would expect
from us, and are going elsewherefor, then we should prioritize that
based on the incremental value, theupside versus the investment in time.
Those, to me, I see those as thoseline extensions and gap fillers.
(09:31):
That can be fun.
And you can do a lot of innovation there.
But the real magic, and thisdoesn't come as frequently, is when
through science, through research,through breakthrough ideas, you
really have a disruptive innovationbecause you've created a category.
Doing that has been really fun.
That's awesome.
I know there's a lot of really excitingthings on the horizon from the brand.
(09:53):
More for us to talk about in the futureas it relates to product innovation.
With that, how do you ensure that youleverage a moment, or you resonate
with your audience to create culturalimpact through product innovation?
Ears to the ground.
I think you could say product innovation,commercial innovation, communication,
ears to the ground, hands on thepulse, whatever term you can use for
(10:17):
staying connected to your consumers.
That's really key.
And knowing where you stand in that wholeenvironment and ecosystem, and having
a team internally and through agencypartners who are also connected is key.
So you wanna make sure that you're beingauthentic with your product offering.
As I said before, understandingwhat your brand's purpose is.
(10:37):
There may be certain products that justdon't make sense for your portfolio.
As there may be certain things thatdon't make sense for your brand
to say, or conversations to be in.
So, really understanding your brandingcoming from there is important, but
also having the ears to the ground.
I think with Game Time Glow asa campaign, we found the right
balance of skincare relevance inthis Super Bowl celeb music moment.
(10:59):
But that's not always gonna be the case.
Not every trend needsyou to join it, right?
And consumers will quickly let youknow if you're trying too hard.
I love that.
That's such a valid point that Ithink a lot of us forget sometimes
when we get pulled into themomentum of the next big thing.
Is there obvious and importantspace for this brand in this
conversation, or is there not?
(11:21):
And to your point, the consumer will knowthe difference and is smarter than ever.
Yeah.
Yeah, we have to be careful ofthe shiny object syndrome, right?
Especially marketers.
Absolutely.
Do you oftentimes look to whatis happening in D2C and Prestige
for sort of inspiration and alot of times those brands because
of the way that they're sold?
(11:41):
They have the ability to bethoughtful in different ways.
They're not driven by a lot of the sameconfines that mass market brands are.
So, curious if you take inspirationsometimes from those categories, as well?
Absolutely.
And I'd say even beyond that, definitelyacross channels, but I'd say just
(12:02):
multidisciplinary outside of our industry.
There are nuggets thatcan be found anywhere.
How many times have you sat downand seen a commercial or an ad and
you're like, that was brilliant.
And that inspires you to dosomething, moves you to do something.
I do try my best to step outsideand, obviously, that requires
time to think, which can bedifficult these days many times.
(12:24):
But to step outside and seewhat's going on from an industry
standpoint, understand the thingsthat really inspire me as a consumer.
So putting my mind in the consumer's,'cause we all are, and try to
bring that thinking to continue tochallenge our team and challenge
myself as we innovate in both product,but also marketing communication.
(12:45):
That's great, and it's a good segue totalking a little bit about you and your
sort of leadership and mentorship style.
I know you've managed multiple,and mentored multiple associates
throughout your career.
What would you say is your approachto developing talent and helping
new team members grow professionallyand continue the legacy of
(13:06):
Cetaphil's cultural relevancy?
I love that.
I've done my best to refine, it's a dailyendeavor probably until we stop, right?
To refine your leadership for justat least human engagement skills.
For the team, I tend to lean on, it's notcleanly three, but three essential Cs.
Communication.
(13:27):
And under that are two Cs, clearand consistent communication.
And then celebration and conviction.
Celebrating thosemilestones, small and big.
Because we will undoubtedly, ifwe're doing something big, we
will fail and that's okay, right?
But amongst that, there are things thatwe can continue to celebrate and that
also gives us, I think, the convictionto continue to drive to be better.
(13:51):
So there should be constantlya thirst to be better.
When I'm hiring, when I'm lookingfor team members, I look for
some of those things that may notnecessarily be able to be taught.
There are tons of thingsthat can be taught.
So I drive that with the team.
And not accepting the status quoand being a better you brand daily.
I think that's what helps us tocontinue to stay linked to the culture,
(14:13):
linked to the brand's relevance,and how we can continue to grow.
Outside of that, if you ask someonewho is on my team, they'd probably
say from my transparency, I holdaccountability very strongly.
And then just empathy is probablywhat keeps us glued as a team.
Many times I say we'rein this boat together.
If the ship is rocky, if the seas arerocky or if they're smooth, I just
(14:36):
need to know you're in the oar with me.
So that means I know you have an oarin your hand, I have one in my hand.
That's the empathy and the accountabilitythat I know you're rowing with me.
And so those are key to really drivingthe cohesion and the trust with the team.
I love that.
I think that the biggest part ofleadership is relationships, right?
(14:56):
So if you don't have 'em, somebody'snot gonna be in that boat, and
they're not gonna be, or they'renot gonna be rowing with you.
That's right.
That's exactly right.
Fingers pointing, right?
[chuckling] Who's rowing?
Who's that?
Tell me a little bit about whatdrives your passion for storytelling
and brand management, and how doyou harness its power to connect
(15:18):
consumers with your brands?
I didn't really understand till earlier onin my career as a marketer how much I love
storytelling, but it makes a lot of sense.
Growing up with the likes of Disneystories and just the overall hero's
journey that really struck hard for me.
And storytelling, it's anancient and proven art.
(15:41):
Stories have been used to convey messagesof varying complexity, to inspire
confidence, passion, and bravery,instill a sense of purpose and belonging.
And then even to painta vision for the future.
So a versatility of stories and theireffectiveness and really corralling
the team and getting everyone, asI said before, connected to a goal
(16:03):
is really powerful and I love that.
And I'd say from a consumer standpoint,we have to understand that consumers
are human and they all have journeys.
What we need to be careful as marketers isthinking of how we can really seamlessly
insert ourselves into their journey andenhance their stories, be a solution to
(16:24):
the problem, and scratch for an itch.
And help folks to aspireto be their higher selves.
So that's for me where storytellingis really amazing and has a lot of
versatility and variety, and I love toutilize that as a key tool for marketing
and communication with our consumers.
(16:44):
That's awesome.
And where do you see the future ofskincare and beauty brands heading
and what role do you envisionyourself playing in that future?
a big one.
You are hitting me withsome good questions.
[chuckling] I've been in the industry fora while, for fifteen years, in anywhere
between skincare, personal care, beauty.
(17:06):
I think from a product standpoint, whatI love is that efficacy and integrity of
your products will continue to win out.
I don't think that will ever fade away.
Consumers are smart.
They've always been smart.
They're more vocal, and they'reless patient and tolerant for
anything that's not working.
I've seen over time, and it's probablybecause, as I said, consumers are more
(17:30):
vocal, we have a social environmentwhere there's a lot of conversations
that, yeah, if you're not deliveringon your promise, you might as
well just close your doors, right?
Because a brand is that.
A brand is not just anidentity, it's a promise.
And so we have to do that, Ithink, from a overall communication
and advertising standpoint.
It's interesting to see how big theattention economy has gotten, if you will.
(17:55):
How the influencers, the amazing thingabout just the influence marketing
space is that they've infused thisingredient that was probably missing
from, maybe, the celebrity approach,let's say the Madison Ave, old school
approach, which was authenticity.
So they build these hugecommunities and followings
because they're being authentic.
And I see that being something,whereas folks may have thought that
(18:18):
was a fad, I think that becomes thenew influence and driver in markets.
And how we move to that and leveragethat partner, again, authentically
with influencers and brands issomething that we'll continue
to see moving in the future.
Listen, as long as the consumer isat the heart of everything we do, and
(18:39):
then I see myself always being one topartner with the market and the consumer.
I see myself always being there because,as I said, empathy is a key piece.
And then also consumer centricity is key.
So, we have a fun journey aheadbecause the consumers are stronger
than they've been before, ever before.
I love that.
(19:00):
Alright, final question for you.
A little birdie told me that youdo have a past, a musical past, and
had done some singing in your day.
So my question for you is, if you were to
- Are you gonna me to sing?
[laughing] I dunno...
On our next one.
Maybe on our next one.
If you, were to give yourmarketing journey a song
(19:23):
title, what would it be called?
That's a, I love that question.
It's not easy, but I love it.
I'd say probably Ain'tNo Mountain High Enough.
Oh, ooooh!
Nailed it.
There's always, themarket's always changing.
From when I started, evenbefore, up until now.
(19:43):
And the rate of speed, as folkssay, the rate of culture, the speed
of culture is quickly changing.
There's always a newchallenge, but it's fun.
So there really is no mountain highenough in this approach I've been
taking with my marketing journey.
Amazing.
Jerome, thank you so much.
It's been an absolute pleasurechatting with you today.
Thank you so much, Kate.
(20:04):
This was awesome.
Well, talk soon.
Talk soon.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of Frictionless Marketing.
For a complete transcript of thisconversation or more information on
/prompt, please visit us at MeetPrompt.co.
If you found this episodeinsightful, share it with
your connections on LinkedIn.
To learn more about how to makemarketing frictionless, purchase Friction
(20:27):
Fatigue by /prompt CEO Paul Dyer,online and at booksellers worldwide.
Frictionless Marketing is aproduction from /prompt, the
leading earned first creativemarketing and communications agency.
Grounded in the present,yet attuned to the future.
Produced and distributed bySimpler Media Productions.
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