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The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX
#669: It's already time to start planning for the holiday shopping season with Carey Cockrum, Cella
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- [00:00]
Author
Your brand may be staying on top of current trends, but are you agile enough to stay relevant, resilient and successful as customers, competition and the world continues to change at a breakneck pace? I'm thrilled to share the newly revised version of my first book, the Agile Brand. I'm calling it the Agile Brand Revisited. It's been updated to reflect our continually changing world and it provides seven principles that form the backbone of an agile brand, offering detailed insights and actionable steps for incorporating them into your business strategy. This is the book that started it all and I'm excited to share it with you. It's now available in print and digital formats and available everywhere. Learn more by going to the Agile Brand guide website at www.agilebrandguide.com.
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Producer
The Agile Brand.
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Greg Kilstrom
Welcome to season seven of the Agile Brand where we discuss the trend, trends and topics marketing leaders need to know. Stay curious, stay agile and join the top enterprise brands and Martech platforms as we explore marketing technology, AI, e commerce, and whatever's next for the Omnichannel customer experience. Together we'll discover what it takes to create an agile brand built for today and tomorrow and built for customers, employees and continued business growth. I'm your host Greg Kilstrom, advising Fortune 1000 brands on martech, AI and marketing operations. The Agile Brand Podcast is brought to you by Tech Systems, an industry leader in full stack technology services, talent services and real world application. For more information, go to teksystems.com to make sure you always get the latest episodes, please hit subscribe on the app you listen to podcasts on and leave us a rating so others can find us as well. Now onto the show.
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Host
Retailers are facing a rapidly evolving landscape where consumer expectations, AI advancements and social media platforms like TikTok are redefining engagement. Feels like the holiday shopping season just ended, but when do retailers start planning.
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Greg Kilstrom
For the next one?
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Host
And are some retailers already behind the curve for 2025? Joining us today is Carrie Cockrum, Director of Consulting at Cella, where she helps major brands and marketing teams optimize their strategies with data driven insights, AI powered content creation and cutting edge retail marketing Trends. With the 2025 holiday shopping season just around the corner, whether we like it or not, she's here to share what's next for retail marketing, campaign optimization and how brands can stay ahead in a hyper competitive space. Welcome to the show, Carrie.
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Carrie Cockrum
Thanks Greg. Nice to be here.
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Host
Yeah, looking forward to talking with you about all of this. But before we dive in, why don't you start by giving us a little More about your background and your role.
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Carrie Cockrum
At Cella, of course. I've been in the advertising and marketing marketing industry for nearly 30 years now. I hate saying that the number grows every year, but there it is. I've been lucky enough to work with some great and diverse brands. Camping World, Fruit of the Loom, Wendy's, Humana and Beacon. I started my career, oddly enough, or interestingly enough maybe in the creative space, love learning all aspects of advertising and branding and then moved into the brand management and the creative operations, agency management side of things, which I thoroughly enjoy. That's both on the internal and external side. I leverage that kind of experience today with Sella as I help organizations, Fortune 100 and otherwise, build their internal creative agencies, manage them, create efficiencies and operationalize how they function within the org.
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Producer
Great. Great.
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Host
Well, yeah, so we're going to talk about a few things here, but I wanted to talk first about know we're going to talk a little bit about, you know, end of year, which, you know, brands are already planning for or should already be planning for. But let's talk about, you know, we're, you know, starting, starting a new year here. Talk about some retail marketing trends for 2025 and really what's driving that change. So whether it seems that way or not, we're, you know, we're, we're far enough into 2025 that, you know, we're probably already seeing some things. But you know, what are some of the biggest shifts that you're, that you're seeing happening in retail marketing right now?
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Carrie Cockrum
Of course, and you're right, the year is definitely jumping in at full speed. And I would say that's probably one of the big things that I've noticed in 2025 already and that's speed, speed to get to market, to understand, to leverage data, all of the things. On so many levels, consumers are moving at the same speed that our technology is. I know we're going to talk about AI today, but that's a huge one. I mean, as soon as you blink, it's new and different. So consumers expect to be known faster. They need things served up to them and they want it to be genuine. They want things to show up where they are. They don't want to wait. They want to see what it looks like, how it looks. They want to see it on them. I mean, think about virtual reality, augmented reality. They want it to be relevant. Don't put anything in front of them that does not relate to them, pertain to them or align with their goals. And never, never mind the fact that they want whatever it is they're expecting, even though they don't know it right away, whether they want to see it right away or they want it in their hands right away. So they want that speed. I think that's the biggest thing from my perspective.
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Producer
Yeah.
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Host
So how should retailers, they've already been, you know, I'd say racing to kind of keep pace with consumer expectations. What should they be doing to adapt their marketing strategies to meet this increasing demand for speed and interactivity and things like that.
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Carrie Cockrum
Yeah, I think it comes back to data. Everything at this point, I think, in what brands and organizations are doing today is about data. Do you have it? Do you have access to it? Are you thinking about it? Do you have the resources, people in place to access, manage, review, and can you then leverage that to respond right away? So if they don't have those optimization tools in place or if they don't understand what impact they need to make within different social channels or media channels, they need to get on top of that asap.
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Producer
Yeah, yeah.
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Host
And so on this show, we certainly talk a lot about AI. It's a big part of marketing. One could argue it's been a part of marketing for a long time in some ways, but generative AI certainly has, has made a big impact in a. In a relatively short period of time. And, you know, making a. We're having a big role in content creation, customer segmentation, campaign optimization. What do you see as some of the most impactful ways that retailers are using AI today?
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Carrie Cockrum
Today, I think I hit on data and the vast amounts of it, but it's how they use that. So just having it, and I've seen this time and again, right, People or groups maybe gathering it or they know they have access to it, but are they actually leveraging and reading that and then, of course, optimizing that and then doing so and reacting to that right away. They've got to make sure that speed and AI, I think, are going to be the topics throughout this entire conversation, without doubt. But it's about reacting, creating automation, localizing that, creating alternatives, recommendations, things of that nature, building in that convenience to any kind of campaign and marketing that they're doing automation, whether that's buy it now or personalizing the experience, and then making sure that data helps with that omnichannel, that integration again, showing up when, where, how and seamlessly is going to be really important.
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Producer
Yeah.
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Host
And so you do work with a number of brands and probably see a number of different scenarios kind of in marketing teams and how AI is impacting some of those traditional marketing functions. Do you see it as replacing some things? Is it enhancing? Is it all of the above? Like what, what are you seeing out there?
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Carrie Cockrum
Yeah, that question is asked over and over again. Right. And it's in all industries and spaces, creative marketing and those that I don't have experience in. But I think the short answer is no. AI cannot replace what it is that we do. The human element is vital and it's what makes it better. The AI part serves things up faster. It creates speed. It creates that speed and segmentation, that speed and understanding who our consumers are. So it's more about enhancing and knowing as a brand and an organization how you use that to make yourself faster, make yourself more relevant, show up in the right places in the right time.
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Producer
Yeah.
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Host
And to go specifically to generative AI, a lot of attention has been placed on its ability to create, to write text, to generate images, now videos and things like that. But there's are many ways that it can be beneficial and one of those is helping with insights and to, you know, you mentioned data early on in, in this conversation. So you know, retailers there, there's no shortage of data and it, it keeps adding up, right. They have access to more data than ever before. How are brands using, in addition to all the content generation and all that, how are brands using generative AI to gain insights from their data that improve campaign performance?
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Carrie Cockrum
Sure, there's a couple of examples. So personalizing those marketing campaigns, right? Yum Brands is a great example. They're the parent company of Taco Bell and KFC and they're utilizing that AI driven marketing to personalize email campaigns and that's based on individual data so that they have higher purchase rates and they reduce current or customer churn. They're also automating, not Yum Brands in particular, but other brands automating content generation, doing so with the visuals themselves and the copy. So like you mentioned, yes, we can have it write content and information, but telling it how and what you need to do to customize for a specific area or a specific audience or a specific action that you're looking for requires that human element. But they're doing that right, Gathering that information, that real time. I talked about it a little while ago, but that real time campaign optimization, again speed, there it is. But if you don't optimize and or evolve your campaigns in the moment, it'll be too late. So you've got to make sure that you're reacting quickly. The other interesting thing that I've seen too is fraud detection or risk management, which I think is really important, especially given the concerns that there are around what information is out there, who has access to it. So actually leveraging that AI or that generative information to flag that kind of activity is huge for consumers.
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Producer
Yeah, yeah.
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Host
So one potential concern that a lot of brands have is, you know, gen AI. It's good at creating things and doing so quickly. But what about the brand? What about authenticity and all that? How should, you know, how should marketers be leveraging all the benefits of the speed and efficiency and personalization, all those things that you said while still maintaining brand authenticity?
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Carrie Cockrum
Yeah, that's a great question. Personally, I think that's where the human element comes into play and or understanding how you prompt your AI or leverage the data to accumulate not only the consumer data, but then also apply the data and information around your brands so you can put things in or prompt, like I said, to merge all of that information together, but those nuances are human. And filter that brand information on top of the specific consumer or the specific audience that you're trying to reach. Segment, local, regional folks, you got to filter all that stuff or layer that on top of just that. AI.
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Author
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Host
So I want to switch topics a little bit here and talk about social media, social commerce as well. And a few months back we might not have been talking about TikTok, but we're going to now because I think we, I think we still can. So you know, talk about, you know, it, it's certainly, it's a, it's been a phenomenon from a, just a social media perspective, but it's also been a phenomenon from a retail and e commerce perspective. And so how are brands leveraging this platform to connect with their consumers, you know, particularly in a retail setting?
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Carrie Cockrum
Sure, I think. And you talked about phenomenon, which I think is interestingly enough, but think about some of the advertising that's out there right now, TikTok has consumer retail, smaller businesses out there petitioning against the very thing that you were just mentioning. Right. I mean that right there should demonstrate the fact that businesses are leveraging that in a huge way. And the way they're doing that is by collaborating with those influencers, launching those hashtag challenges. Right. It's all about building a culture and interaction and engagement. Employee generated content. That's another way in which they're using that. Back in the day again, I already dated myself with how long I've been in the industry. But word of mouth was huge. Right, right. This, this channel, these, these avenues are the new word of mouth.
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Producer
Yeah.
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Carrie Cockrum
Also launching exclusive product products. Right. Or giving first peaks within those channels helps people feel like they're getting something that no one else does. So it entices and intrigues people. They're creating specific content for that platform, knowing who uses what platform when and they're also showcasing products through tutorials or demonstrations done by real people. I think that's the other big thing, especially with TikTok is it's not about funding or placing it's genuine content created by folks that may not be those top follower influencers. It can be anybody.
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Producer
Right? Right.
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Host
So last topic I want to talk about with you as I mentioned at the top of the show, I mean I know we're, it feels early on in the year but it's holiday shopping season is going to be here whether we like it or not. I had somebody else on the show last fall talking about how they, as of January, every year they start planning for the following season. So you know, we're by that account we're not too early to start talking about this. So you know, I'm curious your thoughts and what you're saying. You know, retailers do seem to be starting holiday marketing earlier. At least they're prepping earlier. What's, you know, what's driving the trend to, to start the, the marketing itself for, for holidays earlier each year. And you know, how should brands be adjusting their strategies to keep up?
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Carrie Cockrum
Yeah. And, and you're, you're not wrong, especially in that retail space. Right. And the reason I believe there's a couple of different things. I think some of it is consumers are shopping all the time. I mean think about it. And that's part of what that generative AI that you were talking about before does for organizations or brands. It's serving up information. Also. Consumers are looking to avoid the stress. You know, let's get in there early let's get the things taken care of so I can actually enjoy the holidays. Some of it too is consumers financial security. They want to save up or you know, they want to get it while it still exists. Right. How many times and our experiences have. Whatever it was that was popular at that time was sold out. So getting to things sooner before everyone else. And I think the other thing is trending. Anything and everything as soon as something trends. I've kind of alluded to it before, but everything moves so fast. If you don't get it while they're talking about it or while it's going again, you're either going to miss it or you're going to run out of opportunities to do so.
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Producer
Yeah, yeah.
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Host
And I think some of that is related to, I mean some of it is inventory and supply chain and all that, but some of it is also people are buying from micro retail. You know, even if they sell their stuff through a marketplace or something like that, they're buying to your point, they're buying from a small retailer and they have limited inventory. Even if they do a great job of inventory management and all that stuff, like they have limited inventory. And so you kind of have to buy stuff in, in the now. Which I guess, you know, in some ways is a good thing. Are Black Friday and Cyber Monday then still still the big revenue drivers? Are they gonna be the, the revenue drivers in a few years or are we gonna start seeing a more distributed holiday shopping season?
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Carrie Cockrum
Yeah, that's also a very interesting one. I think the short answer is basically there's still a thing. Right. We even still saw good profits from Cyber Monday and Black Friday. But there is a shift. I would say what we've seen is Black Friday isn't in stores so much. The in store Traffic dropped approximately 8% in 2024. People still shopped, but they did so online. I mean, who doesn't want to sleep in on Black Friday?
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Host
Right? Right.
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Carrie Cockrum
Also to compete, retailers are starting like we talked about earlier. So the expansion of the buying season is impacting that Black Friday and that Cyber Monday. Yeah, Cyber Monday in particular has become a little less relevant. Back to one of the points I made earlier. E Commerce. Commerce dominates year round.
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Host
So.
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Carrie Cockrum
So people are buying all the time. However, there is still a large purchasing rate on Cyber Monday. More than 57% of Cyber Monday sales were from mobile devices. So it's convenient, it's in the moment. It's still advertised as something that everybody can do. I mean you have permission to go buy something. So I think it's still going to happen. But you'll also notice advertisers are advertising longer or they're extending. And I think that's the big thing with both of those Black Friday and Cyber Monday, they're extending that out. So will it go away? I don't think so. Does it change, shift and evolve? Absolutely. And we're already seeing it.
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Producer
Yeah.
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Host
Yeah. Well, and I know we, we talked about the need to be able to be nimble and, and responsive and, and use data a bit earlier, but I wonder, given this kind of lengthened holiday shopping season and the need to adjust, a product may be trending in October, but not in December. You wish it was trending in December, I guess, because it's holiday shopping season, but you're fortunate that it's doing so in October. What's the role of real time data and just, I guess even marketing teams being nimble enough to maximize impact with whether it's data or just watching and being ready for this stuff, how does that change kind of the behavior?
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Carrie Cockrum
I think it actually talking to or speaking to that extended buying window? The opportunity is. It can actually up the sales. Right. Keep reading, keep evolving, keep pushing something else. So if trends pass and something else comes up, well, now through that data and information that organizations are putting out there, who's picking up what? They have that opportunity now to push something else, increase their sales, shift it to something else. Multiple things can now happen. Multiple products can now be popular and they can emphasize that or take advantage of that. They could also extend whatever was trending before because of that lengthened amount of time. And again, it all goes back to, are you accessing your data? Are you looking at that? Are you automating what that means? Whether that's through. We talked about it before, your shipping or your inventory management, communications, you're sending out, how it's showing up in media channels and then leveraging those users or folks that may have purchased it when it trended before to keep the sales rolling, keeping the excitement alive.
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Producer
Yeah.
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Host
Yeah, I love that.
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Carrie Cockrum
Yeah.
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Host
I mean, using it as an opportunity as opposed to. Okay, well, we already, we already captured that, you know, that, that sale or whatever. That's, that's great, you know, to kind of build on that, looking ahead, you know, I know, I know you mentioned some, some technologies and some things to keep an eye on. But I wonder, you know, what, what else should retailers or, you know, if you have some recommendations here of what they should be keeping most in mind, whether it's, you know, planning for this year or even, you know, if this year's already, you know, already kind of planned, so to speak, you know, what should be on retailers minds and what should they be paying attention to to stay ahead?
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Carrie Cockrum
Yeah, absolutely. I think the biggest thing is if you as an organization have not already invested in the tools to monitor, gather the data or understand the data, do it. You're already late. It's a complicated world. There are so many tools to do that. So start looking at what tools make the most sense for you in that digital creative optimization and integrating that data. How can you integrate it into what you're doing today? Leverage and take advantage of what you're doing today. You don't have to boil the ocean with all of the things what best suits you. Start looking at that. Do you have the resources to then manage that again? I kind of mentioned it before. You've got the stuff but nobody's looking at it, nobody's informing the next step, applying it to the strategy. So make sure you've got the resources that do that. And that tends to be something that folks run into. We went out and bought the fancy new thing. Great. Okay, is anybody doing anything with it? And then I would say thinking about the technology, using that information to really show up in those social spaces, that's where people are put it where they are put it in the scroll. So understand where you need to be, understand who your audience is. The other big one I would say is first party information. If you aren't already leveraging or looking for ways to get to that first party instead of the third party. I know they pushed out that cookies are going away, but it's inevitable. So start start looking at that, getting your, your data and information so that you will have it when it's time and you have no other choice.
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Host
Yeah, yeah, no, I like that you called out the first party thing too because I feel like maybe those that were a little behind the curve breathed a sigh of relief and been like, oh, okay, we can kick that can down the road. But totally agree with you. You should not. There was lots of good reasons to do it in the first place, back before even the Google deadline or whatever. But all the more reason now to stay ahead when we're talking about personalization and all those things as well. So. Absolutely. Well, Carrie, thanks so much for joining today. One last question for you before wrap up. I like to ask this to everybody. What do you do to stay agile in your role and how do you find a way to do it consistently?
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Carrie Cockrum
That's a great question. I would say research. I'll tell you what, AI has been huge for me as well. Just to be able to start typing in those prompts, trying to understand, let that data tell me what's actually happening out there and then dig a little bit deeper. Using that for my clients and my customers is huge as well. And then leveraging that to create that space because of the speed that it allows, create the space to do more. And so making that a part of my daily exercise or routine is important for that reason to me.
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Producer
Yeah. Yeah, I love it.
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Host
Again, I'd like to thank Kerry Cockrum, Director of Consulting at Cella. You can learn more about Kerry and Cella by following the links in the show notes.
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Greg Kilstrom
Thanks again for listening to the Agile Brand brought to you by Tech Systems. If you enjoyed the show, please take a minute to subscribe and leave us a rating so that others can find the show as well. You can access more episodes of the show@theagilebrand.com that's theagile brand.com and contact me. If you're interested in consulting or advisory services or are looking for a speaker for your next event, go to www.gregkilstrom.com that's G R E G K I H L L S t r o m.com the Agile brand is produced by Missing Link, a Latina owned, strategy driven, creatively fueled production co op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. Until next time, stay curious and stay agile.
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Producer
The Agile Brand.
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Author
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Greg Kilstrom
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