I love reading data to gather insights and come up with creative solutions. I have extensive experience in reporting and analytics businesses as well as more than a decade in ecommerce and DTC, with a specialty in new product launch. I enjoy scaling marketing plans by utilizing the full-spectrum of email, SMS, paid social, organic social, SEM, SEO, collaborations, in-field, PR, and OOH. I have design chops and have lead teams to execute complex digital campaigns from start to finish. I love working with smart people on hard problems, and learning everything I can about business. From the manufacturing processes and equipment to fundraising and M&A, it's all intriguing to me.
Culture eats strategy for lunch.
There is nothing like a group of people having fun and solving hard problems. If those people are smart, and the environment is one in which it’s safe to make mistakes, they can move mountains. Often, good solutions are elusive, and even when you do find one, they’re difficult to implement. That's why it's important to have a high tolerance for ambiguity, to relish the thrill of the hunt, and to work effectively in gray areas. Far better is it to ensure focus on the right thing, even though checkered by setbacks and delays, than to rush in the wrong direction. It takes courage and discipline to go back down so you can climb another mountain. When the right opportunity has been identified, then grit and scrappiness come into play. Finding ways to make it work without the perfect environment is what separates good from great (we launched TIME Slippers with factory samples that didn’t even match). I’ve learned a lot and come a long way over the years. When it’s really hard, I know I’m on the right track.
Where you acquire customers is entirely dependent on the product you’re selling
Tiffany isn’t going to sell a silver bracelet on Amazon, and Head and Shoulders isn’t going to sell shampoo in a showroom. It stands to reason that we shouldn’t be trying to sell our products/services in all areas as well. The truth is that the best brands and operators can CREATE advertising inventory based on great positioning and strategy. Manscaped, creators of men's "below the belt" grooming products, found media whitespace in the bathrooms of arenas and stadiums. They placed ads on the walls in the men's room with cheeky phrases like "If you trim the hedges, the tree stands taller".
This is the type of risk that modern brands need to take in order to stave off ever increasing CAC. Again, this strategy isn’t for everyone, and that’s exactly the point. There are so few brands that COULD advertise in a bathroom that it’s almost cheating.
When strategizing a campaign, it's easy to pump dollars into Facebook and Tiktok. It's hard to think of whitespace opportunities and execute a campaign that nobody else can have. It would make most founders uncomfortable to pay for ad inventory in a bathroom. Frankly, i'm not entirely comfortable writing about it, but they were bold enough to try, and it worked. It’s a brilliant way to approach a game where the odds are stacked against you. The trouble is, most brands aren’t positioned well enough in their market to have these kinds of opportunities.