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Ryan Reynolds
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Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. Welcome to mitfits. I'm Kari Byron.
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And I'm Tory Belleci. And you may know us from mythbusters.
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Kari Byron
The founding belief, which is that if you address personal needs with empathy and quality and discretion, you build lasting brand loyalty. And that still holds true today, even in a world where I think consumer loyalty, as you read the headlines, is increasingly shifting, especially as economic uncertainty comes to the forefront. But that still holds true. We are still continuing to serve deeply personal moments, often in categories that others ignore or avoid. But now, with modern science and a more nuanced understanding of the consumer, our job is to continue to build on the trust and equity that these brands have earned throughout the last 75 years.
Sarah Hofstadter
Welcome to today's episode of Brave Commerce.
Rachel Tippograf
I'm Rachel Tippograf. The founder and CEO of Micmac.
Sarah Hofstadter
I'm Sarah Hofstadter, president of Profitero, and.
Rachel Tippograf
This is a show that talks about what's relevant in e commerce for the world's biggest brand. Sarah, an early boss I had told me that every 50 employees that you bring on changes the company culture. What do you think of that as a metric?
Sarah Hofstadter
I think there's like, something in the military that says something about, like, the rule of 120. It's like once you hit 120, there's a change. And I kind of found. Have you ever read the book Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman?
Rachel Tippograf
I've skimmed it. I've blitzed it.
Sarah Hofstadter
That's very. Both on brand and also, it's like you're following. You're following the dogma. But it's like when your company goes from being a family to being the block, to being the village, to being the state, to being the country and all the different things, that changes in terms of what needs to be true. But your point on culture is partially about how you behave, but more about how it makes you feel, what your values are. But, you know, you've been through a lot of different growth stages at Micmac after your first acquisition.
Rachel Tippograf
What changed so much and then so little Also at the same time, you know, I think actually the biggest cultural shift, the acquisitions, is absolutely an inflection point in culture. But I actually think a bigger culture shift was when you go from the company feeling like a family because you're less than 50 employees, when I was building the business literally out of Brooklyn in my apartment, to then in an environment that you need to start to professionalize. And I think that is a bigger cultural shift than the acquisitions. That being said, I would put the acquisitions at number two, and I would put becoming virtual first because of the shifts in the pandemic, as number three, in order of cultural shifts in the Mic Mac history, how did that change.
Sarah Hofstadter
And how did you change as a leader?
Rachel Tippograf
That's so funny you asked, because I. I think so much of the number one was actually me going through my morning process of what the company once was and recognizing that it could never be that again. It's such a magical moment. It's kind of like when your kid, I'm sure, is a newborn or a toddler, and you're just not going to get those years back, but appreciating for what it was and figuring out what parts of the culture can continue to scale and what has to change. And so I had to go through my own mourning process around that. And you know, also in some ways, as the company scales, it's also not for everyone. I have so much heart for some of the OGs that were with me in the early days. And you know, a lot of those people have gone on to do great things outside of Micmac.
Sarah Hofstadter
Yeah. If I think about the alumni from my days at 360I, I don't remember what number employee I was, but I was definitely on the earlier side. By the time I left, there were more than a thousand people. And the alumni over the years are in the thousands. Some of them have gone on to do absolutely extraordinary things. But the cultural values of what we had actually stayed true through selling the company, through buying it back, through selling the company again, which would be passion, purpose and perseverance. But what it means at different stages of your company is very different. And the same thing would be true at Profitero. We're more than twice the size we were when I first started here, but in the vein of culture. So excited to bring on a 360i alumni alumna from the OG days of roughly 2010, so 15 years ago. When you see they've gone on to do fantastic things, it makes you really proud to know that your culture at that time meant something that changed their behaviors for the better. And whether you're a company of 200 or 2,000, the impact you can have really just goes back to culture.
Rachel Tippograf
Well, on that note, let's bring Megan onto the show. We are very excited to have an old friend of Sarah's onto the show, Megan Lindstrand, the vice president of marketing and consumer experience at Comb. Hello, Megan.
Kari Byron
Hi. Hi. I'm so happy to be here.
Rachel Tippograf
Well, we should just put it out there that you and Sarah have a long standing history. So like tell me about your guys relationship.
Kari Byron
Yeah, so I worked with Sarah and for Sarah back at 360i almost 15 years ago now, or a little more than 15 years ago, during the heyday of 360i, we had a great time building lots of CPG brands and having a lot of fun with social media and at the time, what we call digital word of mouth. So language has evolved since then, but we had a really good time.
Rachel Tippograf
Sarah, do you have anything to say about your time with Megan?
Sarah Hofstadter
She was all right. Maggie was my partner in crime. Actually, if you think about all of the various guests that we have had from Mondelez, a lot of that stems back from the work that we did way, way back in the day. Introducing Nabisco Craft Foods and ultimately Mondelez, bringing social media to them. And Megan, among other clients, was instrumental in a lot of that work. And I believe, Megan, you worked on Huddle to Fight Hunger also, right?
Kari Byron
I did work on the Huddle to Fight Hunger, yes I did.
Sarah Hofstadter
And so if we're going to just do a quick brave commerce al my situation going on here. Stephen, Chris is a former guest.
Kari Byron
Oh yes, I remember him.
Sarah Hofstadter
Stephen Chris was the original sponsor of the Craft Huddle to fight hunger circa 2011, something like that.
Kari Byron
Yes, yep.
Sarah Hofstadter
That was what CRM was called back in the day. A big part of that.
Rachel Tippograf
I love thinking of 360i is like the early Internet and you guys were just there brick by brick putting it together. Well, so Megan, you've been agency side and you have worked at public companies, you've worked at PE backed companies. You're now at a family operated company. When you think about all these different ownership structures, how do you feel the ownership structure ultimately impacts the company culture and the overall strategy?
Kari Byron
This is one of my two main things that I always say to people who are just getting started in their careers in marketing and advertising. One is given my experiences you just referenced, think about the type of company you want to work for, not just the brand you want to work on. Because I think when people come into the world of marketing advertising, they're very stargazed and bedazzled by the brands. And for me, I think what's interesting is the different types of companies you work in and for as a marketer often dictate the kind of marketing that you can do. So that's one piece and I'll expand upon that in a second. The other piece I always try to tell younger people to think about or people just coming out of college or entering the workforce is do you want to be a specialist or do you want to be a generalist? Think about whether you want to go out and get as much experience in as many verticals as possible or do you really want to say I'm going to be a financial management expert or I'm going to be a CPG expert, I'm going to be a retail expert. And that's really what I'm going to dedicate my career towards, learning and becoming really a dedicated master of. So in terms of the different types of companies, as you mentioned, I've worked across a huge span and a variety of ownership models. On the agency side, I've been part of both publicly held networks and founder led independents in my career and on the brand side I've led teams at PE backed businesses like Cole Hahn and I'm now at a family owned company which is comb. At public companies your opportunities are certainly things like access to larger budgets and I'm speaking in generalizations here, so you tend to have access to larger budgets. There's well established brand equity that you can really leverage and lean into and a lot of global best practices. The challenges are there are oftentimes more organizational layers, sometimes slower decision making cycles and a little bit more risk aversion because those companies are under a lot of investor pressure which can kind of limit bold or sort of experimental marketing. So that's the public company side of things. In PE backed businesses those are really fast paced environments where marketing can really directly influence company valuation and certainly drive top line growth. There's a lot of greenfield opportunity to build or modernize marketing functions from scratch. The challenges are there's often heavy focus on short term roi. That's the whole model of PE backed is really how quickly can we generate roi. And that can often deprioritize brand building or long term consumer insight work in service of that shorter term roi. And then there are oftentimes limited resources. You're working with really strawman skeleton teams so marketers can stretch across multiple roles. You can be a strategist, an operator, an analyst, all within the span of one morning. And so that can be fun, but that can also be challenging for people who don't like to stretch in those directions. And then for family owned businesses like Comb, I mean the opportunity here is really a much longer term lens. So totally on the opposite end of the PE back side there's a much longer term lens. I mean Comb is in its third generation of ownership, so there's a lot of deeper brand building and more meaningful consumer relationships that come along with that. Marketers are really empowered to think like business owners. They're influencing decisions across functions. The challenge is that change can often be slower because there's a lot of legacy thinking and a lot of not wanting to disrupt what has made these companies great so far. But it's one of the reasons that we're actively focused on building for the future. So I think what's been most valuable to me is really learning how to adapt marketing leadership to match the structure and the culture culture of each of these different types of companies. So for me personally, it's made me a more agile, holistic thinker and better at driving outcomes, not just outputs.
Ryan Reynolds
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Sarah Hofstadter
You'Ve been at the forefront of that for as long as I know you. So it sounds like it's a very good fit now that you're in this family run business. But like you said, it's third generation that's been around for decades. 75 years, something like that.
Kari Byron
75 years we just celebrated. That's right.
Sarah Hofstadter
And so your family of brands, if they are the most personal side of personal care. Tell us more about that. Tell us the founding story and how are you bringing that to life in your role today?
Kari Byron
Home has one of the greatest founding stories. I love the legacy of this company. So Comb was founded in 1949 by Ivan and Mary Elizabeth combined, who really saw this massive opportunity to solve these deeply personal problems that no one else in the market at the time was addressing. These problems were often stigmatized. They were really looked down upon. But they were problems and they were very real for consumers. Ivan himself brought this very remarkably diverse background to the forefront. He actually worked under Ray Rubicam at yr. So he was one of sort of the original Mad Men of Madison Avenue. He attended law school. He gained retail and wholesale experience at National Dairy Products, and then eventually rose to be a VP of Marketing and advertising at Pharmacraft. So going back to the first question around what type of company do you want to work for? Really felt that it was important to bring a lot of different, diverse experience to the table. He and Mary Elizabeth, his wife, invented Clearasil. If you can believe it, everyone in America knows the brand name Clearasil. And so they became these very early pioneers in modern consumer marketing. They actually famously sponsored Dick Clark's American Bandstand right after Cheerios. Dick Clark actually had a conversation with Ivan and said, you know, will you help me out? I've got this new show idea. I think it'd be perfect for Clearasil. And obviously, much like the brand name Clearasil, I don't know that there's anyone alive that doesn't know the brand name Dick Clark's American Bandstand. So the two worked very symbiotically to help build the business. Comb believe very deeply in two principles that the company still holds very dear today and really shape how we work today. One is the power of consumer research. So the company still spends quite a lot of effort and resource in making sure that the products that they're putting forth are consumer tested, backed by data and test marketing. So thankfully, we've evolved past business reply cards that you used to find in magazines, and we have found more modern means of test marketing. But those still, I think, carry through back from 1949 to today in terms of some of the tenets that still hold true. In 1974, they founded Vagisil during the height of the women's liberation movement, when no one was using the word vagina or vagisil and thought that that was quite shocking. It was wildly provocative at the time. They added C Bond denture adhesives in subsequent decade and then just for men as well. And Just for Men has reached over 100 million men in more than 60 countries. So these are brands that are, are so well indoctrinated into our everyday language and vernacular. The founding belief, which is that if you address personal needs with empathy and quality and discretion, that you build lasting brand loyalty. And that still holds true today, even in a world where I think consumer loyalty, as you read the headlines, is increasingly shifting, especially as economic uncertainty comes to the forefront. But that still holds true. We are still continuing to serve deeply personal moments, often in categories that others ignore or avoid. But now with modern science and a more nuanced understanding of the consumer, and I think as stigmas around things like sexual wellness, intimate care and men's grooming continue to fade as younger generations sort of destigmatize these categories, our job is to continue to build on the trust and equity that these brands have earned throughout the last 75 years.
Rachel Tippograf
So here you are in your role. I know when you and I were talking it was really interesting. Like it felt like a large portion of your role at the helm of marketing so sat in consumer insights and analytics and given the company DNA, that makes a lot of sense. I'm curious to hear. Typically you see the speed between consumer insights and action actually be quite slow. And by the time that you take an insight and you bring it to a market like the world has moved on. So what does that feedback loop look like at Comb and how are you hopefully maybe getting it as close to real time as possible.
Kari Byron
My role was designed to really integrate what are these often siloed disciplines. So insights, media and brand activation across paid, earned and owned CRM to bring about that loyalty that we talked about and analytics into this really single data driven growth engine. We leverage both primary and syndicated research across the portfolio to uncover consumer tensions, buying behaviors, unmet needs, ownable white space that informs everything from product innovation to creative strategy. Bringing that all together in one department has really helped to fuel and accelerate some of that growth. And that speed to market that you talked about, whether that's guiding a new product launch, refining our media mix, which is something we are increasingly focused on, leveraging updated technology and data that we more and more have access to, ensuring that we're present in these high consideration moments with relevance and intent. So leveraging a lot of partners and tech integrations across partners in order to bring that layer of personalization and targeting to the forefront. And I think because our team centrally oversees both media and measurement, we're able to close the loop more seamlessly. So we're leveraging attribution modeling to really test, learn and optimize in near real time for maximum return. It's a really deeply cross functional role and I'm very fortunate to partner with talented brand marketers, enterprise data and analytics teams, e commerce leads and creative partners amongst many others. So even though we are one small team that sits in between the portfolio of brands, there are lots of cross functional counterparts that help to increase that speed to market and to bring a more data driven mindset set to how we operate.
Sarah Hofstadter
So the name of this podcast is called Brave Commerce. So there's a bravery aspect, there's commerce aspect to it and ideally when the two work together it's like Reese's Peanut butter cups. Fantastic independently and even better together. At least that's my opinion. You have very well known brands, but in little talk about in categories. I mean not necessarily like Clarissil, but if you look at some of the others, I love Keith Hernandez as much as the next guy, but you know, whether it's Magisil or Astroglide or whatever it is, those are not necessarily dinner party conversation brands. That's where commerce comes into play and E commerce in particular. As e commerce is such an integrated part of your role, how do you think about the connectivity of using e commerce both like for discovery as well as really lower funnel traffic and conversion.
Kari Byron
So what unites all these brands, interestingly is a really shared purpose. I think helping people feel like the best, most unapologetic version of themselves, whether they're trying to enhance their sex life or trying to look younger and feel like themselves with reduction of their grays. And so I think that's really what unites them. We are approaching the concept of portfolio management with discipline through E commerce and through brick and mortar as well. Using a lot of these data driven swim lanes to inform attitudinal and behavioral insights. You know, each brand has a distinct voice, there's tailored audience segmentation and channel strategy designed to drive relevance and also cultural salience. Some of the brands you know, more like Astroglide and Vagisil obviously have more of a an authentic overlap than you know obviously a Vagisil and just for men do. So we try to maximize the overlaps where we can and then also create distinct reasons for being and put those to the forefront of our consumer marketing efforts. I think the key is not treating this like a monolithic personal care portfolio, but instead honoring what makes each of the brands distinct while still capturing all these backend synergies across operations, supply chain Media, Martech and analytics.
Rachel Tippograf
You talked a lot about the investments that you're making in data science and to determine the right level of investment and where to optimize. And with all the category dynamics that you're navigating as well as the reliance on your retail partners, how are you guys putting yourselves in a position to have all that real time data to make the model work?
Kari Byron
Well, we are working with our retail partners to ensure that we have access to data to the greatest extent possible. That obviously varies across retailer, but we have spent a lot of time and effort as a company investing in our data lake and master data management and ensuring that we have data integrity. We spend a lot of time aligning the pipes with our MTA tool to make sure that the data is flowing in a consistent way, in a way that is validated. We've set up processes and procedures to make sure that we are all aligned on what's being ingested and therefore feel confident in the integrity and the quality of the output. So that's one way, but I mean data with retailers is always changing, they're always changing the game, the rules of the game. And so we are trying to make sure that we're staying at least alongside them, if not ahead of them in terms of what we are able to have access to through JBP conversations and through more technology focused conversations in addition to the sales oriented ones in the business oriented conversations, the commercial side of things, to make sure that we're having a dual sided conversation.
Rachel Tippograf
Well, it's very cool because I'm sure 75 years ago the family did not have that type of practice within the company. Well, Megan, we gotta ask you our famous last question, which is what's the bravest thing you've ever done?
Kari Byron
The bravest thing I've ever done was leave working for Sarah Hofstadter. No, it's a bit of a joke, but back in the summer of 2012 when I was at 360, I, I got the opportunity to sail as fun semester at sea. And that was a pretty big leap of faith for me. It's only a one semester gig. You don't get to stay on the ship forever and ever. And so I left a great place to earn my social media and digital marketing chops, which was 360. I went and sailed around Europe with a bunch of college students and tried to keep them in line for a whole summer. And I made great friends and great experiences at the time. But leaving, leaving corporate life after, you know, almost a decade of time and sort of taking some time off to figure out how I could fulfill a dream that I had had for the decade prior was was a really big and exciting move for me. So I came back refreshed and invigorated and made the transition to the client side after that and never looked back. But I'm not sure my career trajectory would have been the same if I hadn't taken that time. So that was, that was probably it.
Sarah Hofstadter
I was wondering if you were going to do the Semester at Sea story because I remember you doing it and I got to tell you, I was scratching my head. I'm sorry, is she like going on below deck? Like what is going on here?
Kari Byron
No, nothing as scandalous as that.
Sarah Hofstadter
No, I, I, I think it really exemplifies the curiosity that you just have innately within you. And it was just you doing that was representative of who you were and who you still are today in terms of just tremendous curiosity and always saying, where else can I learn just this voracious appetite for learning. So very on brand, Megan. Very on brand.
Kari Byron
Yeah. Thank you. This was fun. Thank you so much for having me.
Rachel Tippograf
If you like what you heard and you want to think about more in a category that really solves the problem solution in the personal care space, go check out a recent episode we did with Prestige Brands Randy Jackino or go check out another episode we did a few months ago with Curology Steve Siegel if you like what you heard, tell a friend. Write a Review. Share on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.
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Hi, I'm Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer at Edelman and the host of Touch of Truth, a new podcast launching on the Adweek Podcast Network. My dad gave me this incredibly smart piece of advice. Meet everyone once. As a result, I've met some of the most fascinating and inspiring people on the planet. Now on Touch of Truth, we're coming center stage and sharing the mic to explore, experience, stories of truth, insights and visions for the future that will challenge your way of thinking. Touch of Truth is available wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out every Tuesday. I do hope to see you there.
Title: Combe’s Megan Lindstrand on Building Consumer Trust Through Data and Brand Purpose
Release Date: June 10, 2025
Hosts: Rachel Tipograf (Founder & CEO of MikMak) and Sarah Hofstetter (President of Profitero)
Guest: Megan Lindstrand (Vice President of Marketing and Consumer Experience at Comb)
In this episode of Brave Commerce, hosts Rachel Tipograf and Sarah Hofstetter delve into the intricate world of eCommerce, focusing on building consumer trust through data and brand purpose. They are joined by Megan Lindstrand from Comb, who brings a wealth of experience in marketing and consumer insights.
The discussion opens with Rachel and Sarah exploring the impact of company growth on culture. Rachel shares insights on how scaling from a small, family-like environment to a more professional setting introduces significant cultural shifts.
Rachel Tipograf [04:00]: "I think actually the biggest cultural shift was when you go from the company feeling like a family because you're less than 50 employees... to then an environment that you need to start to professionalize."
Sarah adds her perspective by referencing "Blitzscaling" by Reid Hoffman, emphasizing how growth stages transform company dynamics and leadership.
Sarah Hofstetter [03:26]: "When your company goes from being a family to being the block, to being the village... that changes in terms of what needs to be true."
Megan Lindstrand joins the conversation, bringing her extensive background from agency roles to leading marketing at a family-operated business like Comb. The hosts reminisce about their shared history and collaborations in the early days of digital marketing.
Rachel Tipograf [06:37]: "Let's bring Megan onto the show. We are very excited to have an old friend of Sarah's onto the show, Megan Lindstrand..."
Megan shares her journey, highlighting the importance of diverse experiences across different ownership structures and how each shapes company culture and strategy.
Megan provides a comprehensive analysis of how various ownership structures—public companies, PE-backed businesses, and family-owned enterprises—impact company culture and strategic decisions.
Megan Lindstrand [08:49]: "At public companies, you have access to larger budgets and well-established brand equity, but there are more organizational layers and slower decision-making cycles."
She contrasts this with PE-backed businesses, which are fast-paced with a focus on short-term ROI, and family-owned companies like Comb, which emphasize long-term brand building and deeper consumer relationships.
Megan Lindstrand [08:49]: "Family-owned businesses offer a much longer term lens... marketers are empowered to think like business owners."
Megan emphasizes the necessity of adapting marketing leadership to align with each company's structure and culture, enhancing agility and holistic thinking.
The conversation shifts to Comb’s rich heritage, founded in 1949 by Ivan and Mary Elizabeth Combe. Megan narrates the brand’s evolution, highlighting iconic products like Clearasil and Vagisil, and their pioneering marketing strategies.
Megan Lindstrand [15:18]: "Comb was founded in 1949 by Ivan and Mary Elizabeth Combe, who invented Clearasil... bringing social media to them."
She underscores Comb’s founding belief: addressing personal needs with empathy, quality, and discretion to build lasting brand loyalty. Megan discusses how this ethos remains pivotal in today’s market, especially as stigmas around personal care categories continue to fade.
Megan Lindstrand [17:00]: "If you address personal needs with empathy and quality and discretion, you build lasting brand loyalty."
Rachel and Megan delve into the integration of consumer insights and data analytics at Comb. Megan explains how Comb leverages both primary and syndicated research to uncover consumer behaviors and unmet needs, informing everything from product innovation to creative strategy.
Megan Lindstrand [19:08]: "We leverage both primary and syndicated research... to uncover consumer tensions, buying behaviors, unmet needs."
She highlights the importance of a seamless feedback loop, utilizing attribution modeling and real-time data to optimize marketing efforts swiftly.
Megan Lindstrand [19:08]: "We're leveraging attribution modeling to really test, learn and optimize in near real time for maximum return."
The discussion transitions to the role of eCommerce in Comb’s marketing strategy. Megan elaborates on how Comb integrates eCommerce for both discovery and conversion, ensuring that each brand within the portfolio maintains its distinct voice while benefiting from shared operational synergies.
Megan Lindstrand [21:36]: "We try to maximize the overlaps where we can and then also create distinct reasons for being and put those to the forefront of our consumer marketing efforts."
She emphasizes the importance of data-driven swim lanes to inform segmentation and channel strategy, enhancing relevance and cultural salience across Comb’s diverse brands.
Rachel probes into how Comb manages to maintain a rapid feedback loop between consumer insights and market action. Megan discusses the collaborative efforts with retail partners to ensure data integrity and real-time flow, enabling timely and informed decision-making.
Megan Lindstrand [23:09]: "We have spent a lot of time and effort as a company investing in our data lake and master data management to ensure that we have data integrity."
She explains the ongoing efforts to stay ahead of retail partners by engaging in joint business planning and technology-focused conversations, ensuring continuous access to valuable data.
As the episode wraps up, Megan shares a personal anecdote about taking a brave step in her career by embarking on a Semester at Sea program, illustrating her innate curiosity and willingness to embrace uncertainty.
Megan Lindstrand [24:29]: "The bravest thing I've ever done was leave working for Sarah Hofstatter... sail around Europe with a bunch of college students."
Sarah commends Megan’s adventurous spirit, linking it to her professional approach of continuous learning and adaptability.
Sarah Hofstatter [25:51]: "It really exemplifies the curiosity that you have innately within you... tremendous curiosity and always saying, where else can I learn."
This episode of Brave Commerce offers valuable insights into building consumer trust through a blend of data-driven strategies and a strong brand purpose. Megan Lindstrand’s experiences highlight the significance of adapting to different ownership structures, maintaining brand individuality, and leveraging real-time data to stay ahead in the competitive eCommerce landscape. Her journey underscores the bravery required to innovate and lead effectively in today's dynamic market.
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For more insights into eCommerce strategies and consumer trust, listen to the full episode of Brave Commerce available on all major streaming platforms.