Catherine Pinkham Berger, VP of Marketing Transformation & Services at Grupo Bimbo, joins Jeremy Bloom (Marketecture Media co-founder, OhHello.ai founder) and Josh Palau (Media and AdTech executive and America’s favorite plus-one) to break down what it takes to evolve iconic, household brands in a rapidly changing consumer landscape. From balancing data and storytelling to managing a massive portfolio across omnichannel environments, Catherine shares how modern marketers can drive relevance, loyalty, and growth. She also reflects on her journey from agency life to leading transformation at one of the world's largest food companies.

Takeaways

Brand positioning requires balancing timeless purpose with timely relevance
Storytelling remains critical, even in a data-driven marketing world
Shopper-first thinking is replacing the traditional marketing funnel
Omnichannel is no longer optional; it is how consumers naturally behave
Fragmentation across media and platforms is one of today’s biggest challenges
Creative is the most important driver of effective marketing
Nostalgia can be a powerful growth lever when paired with innovation
Loyalty still exists when brands deliver real value and connection

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Catherine Pinkham Berger

01:29 Role at Grupo Bimbo and scale of the brand portfolio

04:18 Key elements of strong brand positioning

07:31 Balancing storytelling with data-driven marketing

09:15 Omnichannel strategy and evolving shopper behavior

12:03 Challenges data limitations and consumer fragmentation

16:25 Transition from Ferrara to Grupo Bimbo

17:09 Power of nostalgia in brand growth

23:25 Example of marketing that worked

27:05 The most important principle in marketing creative

28:46 Catherine’s career journey into marketing

31:23 Advice for early career marketers