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- [00:00]
Peter
Retail media is rapidly becoming the go to channel for brands, aiming to engage consumers with measurable performance along the path to purchase. Retailers are increasingly empowering brands to accurately target meaningful audiences based on their longitudinal purchasing behaviors and execute media impressions across on site, off site and in store channels throughout the entire marketing funnel. For brand marketers, effectively incorporating retail media into their marketing budgets is essential for growth in today's omnichannel landscape. To address this critical need, Cornell University has partnered with the CPG guys, along with leading industry executives and visionaries from around the world to launch the first ever Retail Media Strategy Executive Education program. This immersive four day program at Cornell Tech May 5th to the 8th, 2025 brings together industry thought leaders and renowned faculty to share best practices for building compelling retail media platforms. You'll discover how to collaborate on creating best in class tech stacks, measure performance to ensure brands Access the necessary KPIs based on Campaign objectives and establish strong partnerships between brands and retailers. In addition, the program covers optimizing brand strategies using AI driven campaign design at scale to achieve marketing goals.
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By the end of the Retail Media.
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Strategy program, you'll have gained a deep understanding of the retail media ecosystem and how both brands and retailers can accelerate organizational transformation to thrive in the future of performance marketing. See the link in the digital liner note to this episode to learn more about the Retail Media Strategy Executive Education Program at Cornell Tech May 5th through.
- [01:38]
The 8th, 2025 I'm coming to you today from the east side of Manhattan where I have the pleasure of recording today's episode. Longtime listeners of this podcast are aware that I started my career in consumer goods when working for what at the time was the preeminent manufacturer of pet supplies in the industry. So the pet care sector holds a special place in my heart. Our guest today is an accomplished senior leader with more than 25 years of experience growing some of the most recognizable.
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Alana McDonald
Brands around the globe.
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Peter
Alana McDonald serves as the Regional President for Mars Pet Nutrition North America. In this role, Alana is responsible for the full portfolio of brands including beloved brands like Pedigree, Imes and Cesar that serve more than 90 million pet owning households throughout the region. Prior to her appointment at Mars Pet Nutrition, she served as president of Maybelline, New York, Garnier and Essie at L'Oreal. Prior to L'Oreal, McDonald's spent 17 years.
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Alana McDonald
At Procter and Gamble.
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Peter
Please join me in welcoming to the podcast Alanna McDonald. Hello Alana. How are you?
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Alana McDonald
I'm well. Thanks so much for having me. Peter.
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Peter
It's great to be here. It's always good to be with a Canadian expat making good south of the 49th parallel. But I'm looking forward to our conversation today. Before we get to the questions I've prepared, maybe just give us a brief.
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Alana McDonald
Overview of Mars pet nutrition and your role there.
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Absolutely. So I'm the president of North America for the business. Some of the listeners might not know that Mars is the leader of pet care in the world. And we have a mission and really we call it a purpose of a better world for pets. And that was one of the things that really attracted me to Mars. Our associates are passionate about pets. We have pets in the office. We just adore them. And so it's a portfolio of beautiful brands that have been built over the years that are meeting numerous needs of consumers across price points, species, and what we call feeding philosophies. Different ways that pet parents want to engage with nutrition.
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That's great.
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Peter
Thank you for that overview.
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Alana McDonald
We're going to direct our audience to.
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Peter
The digital liner notes of this episode where they can find links to Alanna's.
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Alana McDonald
LinkedIn profile, Mars corporate website, and Mars on LinkedIn so that they can learn more and multitask as we go through with this conversation. They love to do that.
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Great.
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Peter
Do a little research while they're listening. That's the beauty of a podcast.
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Alana McDonald
You don't have to be focused on it. You can multitask.
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Peter
All right, so let me get to.
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Alana McDonald
The questions I've prepared for you.
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Peter
I'm going to start off with just a little bit of your background.
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Alana McDonald
I kind of shared with our audience, obviously, time at Procter and gamble, time at L'Oreal and now at Mars.
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Peter
Would love to understand some pivotal moments.
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Alana McDonald
In your career that you think has really helped you in your current role leading pet nutrition in North America for Mars.
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I started my career in Toronto, and approaching six years into my time with P and G, there was a key decision of whether or not to continue with P and G. And there was a saying that all roads lead to Cincinnati. So, you know, heading to the corporate office or whether I would stay in Canada, and that would mean leaving P and G. And if I rewind from a bit of time from that, I had been in a training session with a gentleman named Bob McDonald, who was the global president of fabric and home care at the time. He subsequently went on to be CEO. But he talked to us about a concept that was really important to him called servant leadership. The idea that as leaders, we are at service to the organization. And it really resonated with me. And so then fast forward back to this approaching six years into my career and Bob was coming through Toronto. And at the time I was a brand manager, gave a presentation. And at the end of my session it was time for me to return to my desk. And in addition to, we had factbooks at the time, like computer factbooks, all that information as well as my lunch had been served. So I had a plate and a drink and I took the plate and drink to head back and Bob across the table, picked up his napkin, like dabbed his mouth and said, oh, Alana, just a moment. And he went around the table and picked up my big stack of materials and said, I'll follow you and walked back to my cubicle with me. And he would have stayed for what would have been a short amount of time, let's say it's five minutes. But to me it meant so much. And being able to see a senior leader living what he spoke to all of us and having that kind of integrity, it landed so well with me. And I actually that day called the recruiter and said, I'm all in with P and G. Because if leaders are really living that which they speak, then it's an organization I want to continue to be a part of. So I see that as a really pivotal move because not only did it then move me cross border to the US but it also has really influenced the way that I think about leadership and the impact that we can have on associates even in small moments. So I'd say that was one of the big ones. And then the career trajectory from there. I was in sales roles. I think another important one was then moving to China. So my family and I were, were on ground in China for almost five years. That global exposure and experience and I think the perspective that has come with it and maybe the humility that comes with it to know that there's so much that you don't know. So you're honing curious questions and really understanding that there's so much that will go into a decision I think has really influenced and maybe that's the openness of being able to try new things. So then beauty and now with Mars. I love this organization. I think the thread that comes through all of those experiences is purpose. So at Mars, it's a better world for pets. And purpose has been what has attracted me to all those different businesses.
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I love the talk about servant leadership. I think that's critically important. And associated with that is also mentorship. Right. Someone would take the time to help you, to talk to you, to guide you. It's important that an old manager of mine once said, ask me a question, said, who's on your board of directors?
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Peter
And I said, what do you mean by that?
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Alana McDonald
And she said, well, if you think of yourself as a business or a brand, you need a board of advisors. And I'm not suggesting that you assemble a group of people in a room and hold a board meeting, but to some degree, there are people that you turn to. You may not even realize it formally, but they, they manifest themselves as your advice, counsel. And even talking to them and telling them exactly that, that they, that they hold that level of appreciation in your heart for the work they do to help you build your brand is very important for advancing your career. So I've. To this day, I still have. I have, I have my board and I serve on other people's boards. And I have a friend of mine.
- [09:11]
Peter
Who used to work at Procter and Gamble. And every once in a while I'll.
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Alana McDonald
Get a text message from me, just two words, board meeting. And that means we've got to get together and talk about an LMNI career. And I am so honored that he thinks of me in that regard. And so it's good to have people like that.
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That's really powerful.
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Yeah.
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Peter
All right, so you talk about the.
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Alana McDonald
Incredible portfolio of brands at Mars in the pet care category.
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Peter
How do you foster innovation through research.
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Alana McDonald
With that kind of legacy behind you?
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You know, I think having brands that have been trusted and of high quality for decades is the starting point. So having a healthy core, so, you know, you're asking about innovation. For me, the starting point is the healthy core, you know, and then you innovate off of that healthy core. So I think that's really an important. An important starting point. And at Mars, that's one of the things that I. We value is that they. We do have brands that have been trusted for years. And in terms of quality, actually we have principles at Mars. So there's five principles that guide our decision making. And, and one is quality. And so that is reassuring as well. So now when you have a healthy core and you're looking at innovation, so there's many types of innovation, but mentioning a couple of them, product or services. So an example on product, the brand temptations. It is a cat's treat brand. That's all about irresistibility. And one of the things with cats is they're okay being on their own, many cats, and they can have a little solitude moments well, if you shake the bag of Temptations, the cats come running. And so that had been entreating. And that equity of irresistibility was something that we wondered, would consumers be open to that in what we call main meal, kind of the bulk of the calories that a cat would get, either dry kibble or wet food. And consumers were all over it when we went into consumer understanding. So that then launched the Temptations dry and wet food. And it's just been a great trajectory for the brand because it builds off the core of the equity or services is another interesting one. His Greenies right now is launching something called tooth scan. So 80% of dogs by the age of three will actually have some type of oral health issue. But it's really unknown. Pet parents don't know that, and they don't know what's going on in the mouths of their loved little one. What greenies has done is just with the simple snap of your camera, it can upload and give valuable information back about the oral health of your dog's mouth. And then a pet parent can act accordingly. So that's like a services innovation. Again, it's service to pet parents based off of where their largest pain points are. So I think that's how we're thinking about innovation.
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Your story about temptations reminds me of my late cat, Jane. I carried a little pouch of temptations on my bedside table, and I would wake up in the morning and she would be on my head. The only way I could get her off was to reach her. Then she would turn around and look at me. I'd give her her treats and she would be happy for the morning. So that's a very, very friendly story.
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Peter
You talked a little bit about brand trust. How do you think about brand trust and transparency in an age where consumers.
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Alana McDonald
Demand more information about what they're feeding their pet? I mean, I saw, I think you saw as well the data around the pandemic. What happened the minute the pandemic hit, all the shelters got cleaned out. Everybody was looking for companionship. And that trust and love for the animals became very, very important to consumers around the world. Within North America, how do you think about that aspect of making sure that your consumers understand what goes into the products you make?
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You know, what you're highlighting is the important role that pets are playing in lives. And it's been an evolution. You know that if you look back decades ago, pets were in the backyard, then they were in the homes, then they might even be in the bedroom. And now they're in beds because they're playing such an important role in the lives of consumers. One of the things at Mars that we have access to is the ability to have really broad scale studies to understand pet parents. And one that was recently done was with 20,000 pet parents across the world, interestingly, 37% said that their pet was the most important thing in their lives. So when you're talking and mentioning trust and transparency and the expectations that pet parents have then for such an important part of their lives, yes, it's incredibly important to be able to serve those needs in a way that they can rely on. And I experience personally right now. So we have a rehomed Australian labradoodle, Howie. He's like totally the love of our lives. And even for me, I was like, Howie is going to be in a crate at night, we're going to crate train him. Okay, he's in our bed. Like he is so important in our family. And so I also experience that desire for trust and transparency. And I think at Mars we fall back on having having an extensive background of science and knowledge in this space. And so like our Waltham Institute, it's, it's all about pet understanding and it's been there for 60 years. So being able to rely on deep understanding of what's best for pets over decades is one of the commitments that we have with those that, that trust our products for those extremely, extremely important parts of their lives.
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Peter
At Mars Pet Care, how are data.
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Alana McDonald
Analytics being leveraged in your overall business?
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Well, there's no shortage of data. I mean, everywhere there's data. And so like many organizations, I think the competitive advantage comes from being able to garner the insights from that data and then democratize those insights broadly in the organization. So that's where examples on insights from data. We're using AI to be able to gain insights from ratings and reviews and all of the consumer input that ends up coming in to be able to influence not only renovation of current products, but innovation of new products as well. So I think that there's just so much in that space and we talk about both tools that will provide incremental growth and tools that provide incremental efficiency or effectiveness. So let's say in like supply chain operations that then is all about getting the product that a consumer needs when they want it, meet their expectations. And all of that is based off of now the digital tools that are being created.
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Yeah, it's incredible when you think about all the data that's out there. I think about ratings and reviews. I remember a Couple years ago, reading a report that a couple of professors, one at MIT and one at Northwestern did, which they said that everything you can get from a focus group you can probably get just by reading ratings and reviews. And so they took the effort to go through six categories and what they came up with was 97% of the key insights that they got out of expensive focus groups. Large language models allow them to get very easily. Now, through just reading through all the publicly available ratings and reviews on multiple marketplaces, it's quite impressive what we're able to do in this day and age.
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Peter
So with the rise of direct to.
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Alana McDonald
Consumer and the incredible growth of marketplaces here in North America, obviously Amazon, but increasingly Walmart and and a lot of.
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Peter
The others, how are you staying competitive?
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Alana McDonald
Because one of the biggest challenges I see in Amazon, I've seen a lot of challenger brands kind of emerge and take on some of the more established brands.
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Peter
Would love to know how you're doing that.
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Alana McDonald
And then particularly on the marketplaces, how do you think about subscribe and save options with retailer partners? Is that something that you're excited about? Does it help you with building your brand? What are your thoughts on the whole digital commerce aspect of the industry?
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Petcare has been very active in the digital commerce space for four years. One of the unique pieces of the pet industry is that we have two pure players. So there's Amazon and Chewy. And so that has also influenced then kind of the overall landscape of Omni and E commerce. And what I would say is we're looking at it from what is the consumer understanding and the proposition, because the delivery method, be it Marketplace, be it D2C, be it brick and mortar, be it 1P ultimately the consumer is buying the proposition. And so if there is interest in that proposition, that's what I want to understand because we have ways to be able to deliver the products with our partners and get it to them. But it's the proposition that is interesting and that's what they're buying. So first and foremost, it's consumer understanding that's the unlock for being able to meet consumer needs. And so yes, if there is interest in a particular proposition or brand, then it's on us to understand why and peel that back and then work out within our portfolio and the offers either today or tomorrow, how do we better meet the needs of consumers to be able to fill that spot?
- [19:44]
We live in an interesting country because trade and brand funds are bifurcated, right? And that has to do with some historical legal implications of particular trade laws. And so when we talk about that subscribe and save. Right. I always think is that a trade or is that a brand issue? And if I'm a brand manager and I have the opportunity to kind of buy someone out of the purchase cycle, like I would invest in that all day long because the opt out of most of those is virtually negligible. Right. And so that becomes like how do you, how do you balance between that's something that I should leave to my sales organization or is that something that I as a brand should be all in on trying to encourage? Because it does help with that effort. That, that's kind of how I think about it.
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That's interesting. I mean we are seeing strong consumer interest in subscription in, in many parts of pet care. And it's because for those reperto kind of and repetition types of products, it's convenience. And that overarching desire for convenience is what's driving it. So I think for me, whether it's trade or marketing that focuses on the consumer and the consumer, a shopper, what do they need? And then if we're better meeting what their need is regardless of then who's funding it, where it comes from, then we're positioned to win.
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I just didn't want to have my dog look at me on that day that I forgot to order a product and there was nothing in the cupboard for her. My family would be on my case. That's why I have subscribe and save for my pet supplies.
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Absolutely. And when you find something that is working for your pet that you trust, then it is convenient. That's why many have been turning to it.
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Peter
So in leading North America Pet Care.
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Alana McDonald
For Mars, you have a vested stake in the long term customer value of your brands and that they remain relevant to consumers. How are you focused on ensuring that that long term brand equity continues to not only sustain but improve.
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Either with long term consumers or with new consumers that are becoming pet parents for the first time. I think it's those overarching pet parent needs, brands that they can trust trust to be the right product and proposition for their loved one. And so that's relevance is just staying close to what the consumer needs and desires are. We have so much history on pets and what's best for pets. You know, decades of research on that. I think the overlay is we reach the pets through pet parents.
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Yeah.
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And therefore we need to understand the perception of pet parents in order to deliver the best to pets. And that's the piece that is constantly changing. You know, the core health Dynamics for pets have been fairly consistent over years. And we learn and we evolve and we're finding solutions over those decades. But it's the pet parents and their perceptions that are changing. And that's the piece that if we stay close to that, then we're able to deliver what's best for pets in a way that pet parents see and value.
- [23:22]
Peter
I love that.
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Alana McDonald
Consistently through our conversation, you've used the term pet parents. And for those of us who are pet owners, that is, I have a good friend of mine who refers to his not as his cat or his dog, but his fur babies. And that is, you have to recognize these are important parts of the family. They are not just pets historically.
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Peter
I want to close by asking you about, looking forward. What are some of the biggest trends.
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Alana McDonald
You see shaping the omnichannel pet industry in the next couple of years?
- [23:59]
I think from my seat, I see the macro trends being very similar, but the execution of them is what can end up changing. And by that I mean there has been a macro trend of e Comm. Of convenience that has been there. So easy delivery, if something was heavy, it's now on my doorstep if I have subscription, so I don't have to think about it. But now speed is fascinating. You know, the ability for retailers to get products same day, you know, in that convenience that. That is very interesting. So although convenience has always been there, the. The how we're delivering the convenience is ever evolving. Another area would be information. I think information, access to information. Being able to have the right information on a product at the right time to be able to convert has always been there. But the how we can deliver that has been evolving. So, you know, it started with something as simple as just product pages. Somebody knows that they can go there for it. But now with retail media networks, you know, being able to target that information when someone is most receptive is valuable to be able to provide information that will enable conversion in the right moment. And so that's where I think we'll continue to see evolution and that you want to stay on the forefront of.
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Yeah, I'm really amazed at how quickly in store retail media has been developing in this country. First they had screens, and now it's relevant. And now I even see some retailers offering personalized advertising in smart carts and even in the smartphones. It's amazing. We carry around these little computer devices. And if you are a brand and you aren't thinking about how you can get content to your consumers that find that data ubiquitous, you know, if you don't do it, somebody else will. And so you have to stay. You have to stay really ahead of that. Thank you for taking time to speak with me today.
- [26:06]
Peter
I appreciate it.
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Alana McDonald
Thanks so much, Peter the content in.
- [26:09]
Peter
This podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGuys LLC where the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGuys LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own, and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. The views expressed by CPGuys LLC do not represent the views of their employers or the entity they represent. CPT Guys LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we present in this podcast.