Consumer Motivations With NielsenIQ’s COO Tracey Massey

Summary

Podcast Summary: The CPG Guys – "Consumer Motivations With NielsenIQ’s COO Tracey Massey"

Podcast Information

• Title: The CPG Guys
• Hosts: Peter V.S. Bond & Sri Rajagopalan
• Episode: Consumer Motivations With NielsenIQ’s COO Tracey Massey
• Release Date: March 22, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The CPG Guys, hosts Peter V.S. Bond and Sri Rajagopalan engage in an insightful conversation with Tracey Massey, the Chief Operating Officer of NielsenIQ. The discussion delves into consumer motivations, leadership philosophies, and emerging trends in the CPG and FMCG eCommerce industries.

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Guest Introduction: Tracey Massey [01:40 - 05:26]

Tracey Massey opens up about her role at NielsenIQ, emphasizing the company’s position as the largest consumer intelligence provider worldwide. Operating in 90 countries, NielsenIQ equips CPG, tech, and durable goods companies with data, information, and analysis to optimize their business strategies. Tracey highlights her prior experience as CEO of the confectionery and pet food divisions at Mars, underscoring how NielsenIQ’s data was instrumental in her strategic decision-making processes.

Notable Quote:

“I used the Nielsen data tremendously when I was running my business... So I know firsthand how important the company is.”
— Tracey Massey [05:10]

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Tracey’s Career Journey [06:29 - 09:16]

Tracey shares her diverse career path, starting with a Chemical Engineering degree from Loughborough University. She joined Mars at 22 through a manufacturing graduate trainee scheme, eventually transitioning into finance. Her tenure included significant roles such as CFO of the North American confectionery business and President of the Global Pet Food division. Tracey’s move to NielsenIQ was driven by her recognition of the pivotal role data and analytics play in modern business strategies.

Notable Quote:

“My message to everybody would be, hey, just take the chances when they come along. You never know where you're going to end up.”
— Tracey Massey [08:45]

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Leadership Principles [10:11 - 12:47]

Integrity and Honesty: Tracey underscores the importance of making decisions that benefit the business rather than personal interests. She believes that ethical leadership fosters trust and respect within teams.

Notable Quote:

“If you treat other people well, you will make amazing things happen.”
— Tracey Massey [10:48]

Authenticity: Being genuine is crucial for leadership. Tracey emphasizes that authenticity builds trust, enabling employees to bring their best selves to work.

Notable Quote:

“People can see through it. So just be yourself and be the best that you can be.”
— Tracey Massey [12:04]

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Consumer Trends: 2025 NielsenIQ Report [13:34 - 23:21]

Economic Concerns:

• Rising Food and Utility Prices: Approximately one-third of consumers are worried about increasing food prices and utility costs.
• Climate Change: Concerns about natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and fires impact consumer behavior.
• Economic Downturn: Fear of an economic slowdown leads to cautious spending.

Consumer Spending Behavior:

• Cautious Spending: Consumers are less inclined to spend on out-of-home entertainment, favoring in-home alternatives.
• Private Label Growth: With inflation stabilizing, there's a resurgence in consumers opting for private label brands if they offer better pricing.
• Innovation as Growth Driver: Companies like Coca-Cola thrive through continuous innovation rather than relying solely on pricing strategies.

Notable Quote:

“Inflation is dropping, prices aren't rising as far. Most of them are saying they would use private label if it was cheaper.”
— Tracey Massey [14:45]

Private Label Dynamics: Private labels experienced fluctuating growth influenced by supply chain challenges during COVID-19. Currently, as inflation moderates, private label products are regaining market share, posing a challenge to national brands to innovate and maintain relevance.

Notable Quote:

“The name of the game now is going to be innovation. And the ones that win it are going to be the ones that win.”
— Tracey Massey [25:08]

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Gen Z Consumer Behavior [16:00 - 22:07]

Spending Patterns:

• Omnichannel Shoppers: Generation Z spends approximately 50% of their dollars in-store, despite their heavy online research before making purchases.
• Influence of Social Media: Platforms like TikTok and Instagram significantly influence their purchasing decisions, with 53% likely to buy via social media or live-stream platforms.

Behavioral Insights:

• Authenticity and Trust: Gen Z values authentic brand messages and scrutinizes brand claims through online research.
• Health and Wellness Focus: This demographic prioritizes health-conscious products and sustainable practices.

Notable Quotes:

“They are heavy omnishopper... every generation is getting higher on Omni.”
— Tracey Massey [18:44]

“They are very authentic. Health and wellness is very important.”
— Tracey Massey [17:30]

Social Media Conversion: TikTok reports a 40% conversion rate, with 53% of Gen Z consumers likely to purchase through social media platforms. This underscores the necessity for brands to maintain a robust presence across digital channels.

Notable Quote:

“40% of people are saying they would leverage AI to make their purchase decisions.”
— Tracey Massey [25:19]

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Role of NielsenIQ in the Industry [23:21 - 29:20]

Comprehensive Consumer Insights: NielsenIQ uniquely combines data on consumer behavior ("what" they are doing) with insights into motivations and sentiments ("why" they are doing it). This dual approach enables brands to make informed decisions that drive growth.

Global Perspective: With a presence in 90 countries, NielsenIQ helps brands understand and anticipate global trends, ensuring they remain competitive in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Optimizing Spend: NielsenIQ assists brands in maximizing their budget by evaluating the effectiveness of trade and promotional spending, ensuring optimal allocation of resources for advertising and product launches.

Notable Quote:

“If you don't understand the consumer, you're not going to win.”
— Tracey Massey [27:30]

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Mentorship and Career Advice [29:21 - 39:29]

Importance of Mentors: Tracey highlights the critical role mentors play in career development, especially for women who may need encouragement to pursue opportunities beyond their perceived qualifications.

Notable Quote:

“Mentors push you to try things that you didn't think you could do.”
— Tracey Massey [29:51]

Reverse Mentorship: Embracing reverse mentorship allows senior leaders to gain fresh perspectives on modern tools and trends, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability.

Notable Quote:

“Reverse mentoring is important... it helps you understand how the young people in your organization are looking at, thinking about.”
— Tracey Massey [30:30]

Advice for Aspiring Professionals:

• Start at the Ground Floor: Gain foundational experience in data and analytics by joining specialized firms like NielsenIQ.
• Develop Learning Agility: Demonstrate the ability to learn and adapt by exploring diverse roles and responsibilities.
• Understand Data Utilization: Learn how data drives business decisions to enhance effectiveness in future roles.

Notable Quote:

“Join Nielsen IQ because it's the best place to learn.”
— Tracey Massey [37:50]

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Emerging Challenges and Solutions [39:30 - 45:19]

Private Label Competition: Brands must confront the rising prominence of private labels by focusing on innovation and authentic brand messaging to maintain market share.

Impact of GLP1 Drugs: With 31% of global consumers likely to use GLP1 medications for weight control, brands must adapt to changing consumer health trends and preferences.

Notable Quote:

“They've got to take notice of it and they've got to come with a solution, like to just stick your head in the sand. It's not going to work.”
— Tracey Massey [26:18]

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Closing Remarks [41:01 - 46:04]

The hosts and Tracey reiterate the importance of authenticity, innovation, and understanding consumer behavior in the evolving CPG landscape. They also emphasize the significance of women's leadership and mentorship in driving industry success.

Notable Quote:

“Whoever you are, be yourself, be the great leader that you were born to be, but also uplift others with you.”
— Peter V.S. Bond [41:02]

Tracey expresses her gratitude for the opportunity to share her experiences and insights, encouraging women to engage with mentorship networks and leverage their collective strength.

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Conclusion

This episode of The CPG Guys offers a comprehensive exploration of consumer motivations, particularly focusing on Gen Z behaviors and the pivotal role of data analytics in shaping successful CPG strategies. Tracey Massey's leadership insights and career journey provide valuable lessons on integrity, authenticity, and the importance of continuous learning and mentorship in the dynamic world of consumer goods and retail.

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Access Additional Resources:

• Full Transcript: Available in the episode’s digital liner notes.
• 2025 Consumer Outlook Report: NielsenIQ Website
• Gen Z Study with World Data Lab: Contact via Tracey Massey’s LinkedIn

For more episodes and content, visit www.cpgguys.com.

Transcript

[Sri Rajagopalan]

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[Tracey Massey]

Hi everyone, I'm Tracey Massey. I'm the Chief Operating Officer of NIQ and you're listening to the CPG Guys Podcast.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Welcome to the CPGuys podcast. Your host, Sri Rajagopalan and Peter V S Bond explore how brands and retailers engage consumers in an increasingly digitally driven world. And now, here are the CPG Guys.

[Peter V S Bond]

Hello and welcome to this episode of the CPG Guys. I'm of course sri co founder and co host of the CPG Guys and co founder and partner of Think Blue Consulting. As builders, connectors and amplifiers, we shape the future of commerce to drive your growth. Please do listen to my older daughter Rhea Raj's music www.rhea rajshah and a new song, Hot Couture has just been released and my younger daughter Lara Raj is a member of the Geffen Records Universal Music Group. Cat's Eye, the hit song Touch is now nominated for two iHeart Music Awards and they've crossed 250 million streams. Officially joining me today is of course my fellow co founder Peter V. S Bahn. When he's not co hosting this podcast, he serves of Head of industry and client engagement at Flywheel, the E commerce acceleration division of Omnicom. Mr. Bond, shop Doc Beckins, you ready for it? You know, our party will be FOMO for those who can't go and must attend. Kind of the hottest party at Shop Doc. You ready, man?

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Yeah, Shree. I've been testing out these new Ray Ban meta glasses, taking photos. My daughter's obsessed with it more than I am, so they'll be useful as we're walking around the show floor. You know us always having to geek out on the latest technology, but I am looking forward to shop talk. It's great to get together with all of our friends and the people we know from the industry. We're doing the kickoff party and a couple of other things going on. It should be a terrific time in Las Vegas. How you doing?

[Peter V S Bond]

You know, speaking of fomo, at the time of this recording, I don't have those glasses yet. They've been sitting in your home for 10 days. That's serious FOMO. So I can't wait to get together next week as we go to Cornell and get those glasses from you. But before we get to our guests, we want to ask you to consider following us on Apple podcast and give us a rating, which actually helps us know how we're doing and whether we're having the right conversations with the right guests. So now let's get to the main event. This episode, of course, is part of our March Women's Leadership Month here on the CPG guys. In Women's Leader Month, you will actually hear directly from the amazing female leaders that have helped shape both the CPG industry and the omnichannel retail business. And our guest today is one such leader who has certainly shaped the industry and someone who spent a career in CPG both on the pet side and the confectionery side. Please join us in welcoming Tracy Massey, Chief Operating officer of Nielsen iq, to the show. Tracy, welcome to the CPG guys. How are you doing?

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah, I'm good. It's great to be here. Thank you.

[Peter V S Bond]

Tracy, before we get started with our Q and A segment here, can you give us a quick overview of Nielsen IQ and your role there? You know, this is a short, quick overview for our audience.

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah. So Nielsen IQ is the largest consumer intelligence company in the world. We're in 90 countries. We support CPG, and we support tech and durables clients, basically providing them data and information and analysis to be able to run their businesses better. As previously CEO of confectionery and for pet food, I used the Nielsen data tremendously when I was running my business, whether it be to help me with pricing, promotions, advertising, anything you can think of, strategy. So I know firsthand how important the company is. And I'm the Chief Operating Officer. I've been here about two and a half years and thoroughly enjoying it.

[Peter V S Bond]

I'm going to take a moment to give hats off to Nielsen iq. Peter and I were at Cagny, the Consumer Analysts Group of New York's annual conference just a few weeks ago and I got to tell you, time after time, the amount of references CFOs and CEOs made to their Nielsen data and their Nielsen sites, I didn't really hear that much on the other side. So you'll obviously doing something right in the first place when it comes to that. So thank you for that overview, Tracy in the digital line. And also this episode will of course include links to Tracy's LinkedIn profile, Nielsen iQ's corporate website, as well as LinkedIn page for our listeners to access on the Go mobile as we go on with the conversation. So if you're ready Tracy, let me shoot the first one off. So first one is about leadership and our audience would love to hear from you. Take us through your career journey from the early days at Mars and then through your role here at Nielsen IQ and what were motivators and how did you actually ascend the ladder and become this amazing leader that you are for our industry?

[Tracey Massey]

Thank you. So I did chemical engineering degree at Loughborough University, the uk. You can probably tell from my funny accent I'm English. So I did an engineering degree but decided I didn't want to do engineering. I really wanted to work with people. So I joined Mars at 22 in the UK on a manufacturing graduate trainee scheme and used my engineering but working in manufacturing. So I did shift management, I did industrial engineering and then I took the opportunity to move into finance. There was an opportunity which I was like, okay, I'll try that. I moved into finance for about 10 years and then Mars moved me to the US in finance working for the pet food division in Los Angeles. I did that for a couple of years and then I got an opportunity to run a factory and that's always been my dream job. And I was like, you'd have asked me, 15 year old me, what do you want to do? I said I want to run a factory. I want to just get in there with the equipment and run a factory. So I was very lucky. Mars is a great company to work for. They give people lots of chances so they Let me go run a factory, pet food factory in South Carolina. Did that for a bit and then I got dragged back into finance. So I moved to New Jersey and I was the CFO of the North American confectionery business. I did that for a few years and then I moved up and became the CFO of the global chocolate business. I did that for about five years and then I moved into general management. The business in North America needed some help and they asked me to go run it. I said no three times because I loved being a cfo. I didn't want to go run a business and I think that role is so important. But I did it because they needed me to and it's the best job I ever had. So I ran that North American confectionery business for five years. It's probably one of the best jobs I've ever had. Working with all of the retailers, really learning about the consumer. It was a great role. I then moved and was the global pet food president for Mars Pet Food. I did that for about three years and then two and a half years ago I made the leap change to Nielsen iq really because of the importance of data and analytics. You know, if I looked at what we were looking at, at Mars data and analytics was right at the forefront of everything we were talking about AI, all of those things. So it was an opportunity to drive to join a company that I knew was really important because of how I used their data to run my business. I could not have run my businesses without the NIQ data. It just, it wouldn't have been possible. So to move there and do that, that's how I ended up there. It wasn't planned, it was opportunistic at the time. And that's really been. A lot of my career has been opportunistic. So my message to everybody would be, hey, just take the chances when they come along. You never know where you're going to end up. And that ended me up here. I never. 15 year old me did not say they wanted to be running Nielsen IQ. 15 year old me wanted to run a factory.

[Peter V S Bond]

You know, there's a little phrase that comes to my head from factory to management, right. And what's clear to me is as a CEO, your background is so well rounded, both in commercial leadership category. Leadership and then the engineering part I think is actually a little precious because you actually understand manufacturing and for the clients you serve, which are both CPG providers as well as retailers, having a knowledge of how they make things is precious as well. Whether it Be private label actual CPG brands. So pretty early start here on the CPG guys. This episode on if you want to make it up top. Well rounded backgrounds are a must have.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Peter, Tracy, welcome to the podcast. You know, at 15, I knew one day I wanted to launch a podcast with this gruffy old guy. I don't know how. They didn't even have podcasts when I was 15, but I knew I definitely didn't have one.

[Peter V S Bond]

Did they even have cell phones, Peter, when you were 15?

[Sri Rajagopalan]

I don't.

[Peter V S Bond]

They didn't when I was.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

No, I don't think they did. No, not when I was. But listen, Tracy, thanks so much for taking time out of your day to speak with us today. I want to double click down on leadership because I think to achieve what you had have done so far, having strong principles anchoring the decisions you're making probably have served you well. So what are those kinds of leadership principles that you have based your, your career around?

[Tracey Massey]

I honestly think probably the most important things, integrity and honesty. You know, if you're doing, if you're making the right decision for the business, you're probably making the right decision not for yourself or for anything else. And what's really important to me is treating other people well. I'm a people leader. That's what I love to spend my time with, is developing and working with people. If you treat other people well, you. You will make amazing things happen. And I'm not saying don't be tough on performance. I'm extremely tough on performance if you ask my team. But be kind to the person. You can be tough on performance and kind to the person at the same time. And if you put your energy into your team and your people, they're the ones that drive the business, treat them well and, you know, push them. Don't get me wrong, you know, push them, but treat them properly and they'll, they'll respect you, they'll work for you, they'll go through, go up mountains for you. And that, that for me is probably the most important thing.

[Peter V S Bond]

Just a follow up on that one, Tracy, before I hop to the next one. Authenticity. Much has been said about authenticity over the last 10 years. You have to bring your whole self. You gotta be who you are. What's the importance of authenticity? And then do you bring that authentic self yourself every day to Nielsen iq?

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah, I think it's critical. People need to know who you are as a leader. And if they don't trust you, if you're not authentic, people won't trust you. If they don't trust you, they won't bring themselves their best selves to work. So for me, it's important. I'm just me. I grew up in a manufacturing environment, in a company that has very strong principles about equality, treating everybody the same and making decisions with the right thing in mind. So I think it's critical and people can see through it. If you're not so anybody, when people say, oh yeah, I'm really authentic and the audience is going, yeah, yeah, right, they can see through it. So just be yourself and be the best that you can be.

[Peter V S Bond]

So true. So true. Peter, are you and I authentic? What do you think to our audience?

[Sri Rajagopalan]

I think we lay it out all out on the table, sri. We talk about all the ups and downs in our lives, our family foibles and everything. I'm pretty sure.

[Peter V S Bond]

Forget the Yankees and the Dodgers and.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Of course, oh yeah, we're pretty honest about that.

[Peter V S Bond]

For those of you who haven't picked it up already, we put out a summary of Cagney. We did daily coverage. We were about as authentic as we can straight from the boardroom. But all that said, Tracy, there's absolutely no one better than you to weigh in on what's motivating consumers globally. We just came back from Gagny. Leader after leader said there's no growth left, maybe with the exception of Coca Cola and McCormick, for obvious reasons. What trends are you seeing from consumers that are impacting how they shop?

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah, we just, we've just released our 2025 consumer outlook report. So it's a good read. You know, I'll give you a few a headlines, but it's a really good read for anybody who wants to understand more about how the consumer's feeling. For sure. Their concerns still, the biggest concerns are global food prices rising. That's about a third of the concerns. You know, climate change is in there. It's, it's towards, it's about the fourth one because we are seeing just so many issues, whether it be hurricanes, floods, fires, and that's on consumers minds. But the biggest ones are increasing food prices, increasing utility prices and the threat of an economic downturn. So they are still holding back. They're being cautious with their spending, certainly not spending as much on out of home entertainment, eating outside out by doing takeaway. They are still spending on inside entertainment and using things at home. So I would say they're cautious. You know, inflation is dropping, prices aren't rising as far. Most of them are saying they would use private label if it was cheaper. So a Lot of the trends are there, but as inflation slows, the question now for companies is how are they going to get that growth back? And the ones that are doing well, like Coca Cola, have got fantastic innovation. They're doing all the right basic things. There's no more pricing left, so these guys have to do the jobs properly now. You know, it's easy to take price, it's much, much harder to grow with innovation and all those sorts of things. And that's what the best companies need to do and will be doing. Consumers will buy, but they're just cautious.

[Peter V S Bond]

That global report you refer to, Tracy, if anyone listening wants to get a copy, what's the best way for them to do it? Just go to niq's website.

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah, I, I'll ask the team. I think just go to the website. You should be able to get it from there, but if you can't, there'll be a, there'll be a contact name. Just, just email them and they'll make sure you get it. We would like people to have their hands on it. It's a great, it's a great report. More people that have it.

[Peter V S Bond]

We'll make sure to put a link to it and the contact name on the digital liner notes of this episode. So for those of you listening in, there'll be an easy way for you get a copy.

[Tracey Massey]

Promotion's definitely on the rise. You know, there's deals out there as well.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

So, you know, it's, it's interesting. You talked about private label and the price differential. You know, that's one of the things we, we didn't hear too much about at Cagny. I think it was the elephant in the room trying to manage that price differential, the delta between what those two are. And the fact of the matter is private label isn't my father's Oldsmobile, as the saying goes. Right. It's now a multi tiered, multi segment approach and so brands have to be very concerned about that. And in the age where ratings and reviews for all sorts of products are easily accessible, that can get them over the, over the hurdle of the trust on quality and really lead them to try. So national brands have a real challenge in the digital age. So you talked about these trends. I want to focus on one particular demographic cohort and that's a Generation Z or Gen Z. That seems to be where the advertisers are focusing their attention from the buying power. I kind of still think even us Gen Xers have some good, strong buying power, but they seem to want to skip right Past the millennials and onto the Gen Z. So what are you seeing different among Gen Z consumers that you think that our audience should be paying attention to, Tracy?

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah. So I'll give you a similar opportunity to get an in depth report and then I'll hit the high points. So we worked with World Data Lab to issue Spend Z that goes into a lot of detail about Gen Z. So I would. Let's do that again. You know, put the link on there and the number, the email contact so that people can get that. But they are, I mean people are focusing on them because they are going to be by far the largest spenders. They'll be the largest spend group. They interestingly enough, spend more in store. So 50% of their shopping is in store. But what they do is they first look online. They're heavily influenced by ratings, what other people are saying about what's good. And when they go in store, they're on their phones checking things online. But they do shop in store. So it's an interesting dynamic because you think, oh no, they're all tech, they don't shop in store. But they do that. They just really check online first. They're very authentic. Health and wellness is very important. Companies doing the right thing is very important. So getting that brand message that shows that you. And it's got to be an authentic one. You talked about authenticity and leadership. It can't just be, oh yeah, we do this sustainable and stick a label on it. They check, they look at what you're saying, they go to your website and they check whether you're telling the truth. So don't think you're going to pour the wall over their eyes, but do make sure your brand is contemporary and it's meeting them where it's important because they are going to be the ones with the, with the spending power. They're going to be critical.

[Peter V S Bond]

One thing that comes to the top of my mind when you speak to Gen Z and spending part, etc. There's a common notion that they're all online and that's where they shop. But I think you're dispelling a little or debunking that myth. Did I hear you say that majority of their dollars, 50 plus is actually in store?

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah, 50 is in store. But they do go online first. So they'll go online, they'll look at what they want to buy, they'll look at the reviews that will heavily influence what they're going to do. And then 50 of time they'll go, they'll go in Store So they are heavy omnishopper. You know every generation is, is getting higher on on Omni. I mean E Commerce is definitely the fastest growing, you know, it's much easier. But the Gen Z's really do like that store too.

[Peter V S Bond]

I wonder how much of that online you refer to is also social media and social influenced and things of that nature. Any high level thoughts there Tracy? Like does the TikToks of the world, the Instagram reels, all that matter for them?

[Tracey Massey]

It really does. They heavily use social media and they're heavily influenced by those, you know, the celebrities or the people on TikTok they listen to that a lot. So again influence is what they're going to do. So those that generation really, really, really do high, high TikTok users and high sort of appreciation of what these people are telling them and saying and trying they, you know somebody's online saying hey try this, they'll probably go try it.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Yeah, I think we saw an interesting stat a couple of weeks ago. TikTok claims that they're able to convert 40% of their users to commerce on their platform. That is an astounding number if you think about it. 40% of their users see something and they actually buy it on TikTok shop. That is remarkable.

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah, so we would. 53% of Gen Z are likely to make purchases on social media or live stream platforms.

[Peter V S Bond]

Those are all big numbers. Big numbers Peter. The social media piece wasn't a surprise, but the in store one Peter, is something we gotta stay tuned to and advise all those listening in not to take it for granted that Gen Z simply buys stuff online.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

The thing we have to remember SRI about the in store is that many of those people, much more so than other groups, have already cut the cable and they're basically not using cable television or linear television anymore. They're streaming. And so that's why I think, you know, in store is still a very important part of how you communicate with these shoppers because to Tracy's point they're still going in the stores but using traditional methods of advertising is falling flat on them because they're just not using them. So they're we it requires a whole new ecosystem of advertising communication.

[Tracey Massey]

And they're on that phone in the store, they've got that mobile phone, they're checking, you're saying, you know, they're looking at reviews before they by. So you've got to be able to do both. You can't just say hey, I'm going to be great online and I'm going to focus there. You've got to be able to do both.

[Peter V S Bond]

As, as we mentioned, Tracy will make sure to include the link to the report in the digital liner notes of this episode. Of course, on the CPG guys, we've actually featured Marta Cyan Bowles who actually came on the show and talked about the Gen Z report. I think it's been a few months. One quick question on that one. I mean, obviously it's amazing thought leadership to put it out there. How often can listeners kind of anticipate updates on big topics like that? Is it typically annually?

[Tracey Massey]

We regularly posting things. I would say probably maybe an annual update on something like a Gen Z, but every, every few months there'll be something coming out from us on thought leadership. Different topics depending on what's going on in the world. But we see it as our role to educate and help people understand what's going on. Because you know, the only way you can improve your business is if you know what's happening with the trends. You know where consumers are going, you know what they're doing, and you can respond to it. And we're best placed to give that information to people because, you know, our consumer panels are the biggest in the world. You know, 250,000 panel we're now putting into the US and that will just continue to increase so that that type of knowledge and analysis and data on what consumers are thinking and feeling is so, so important to a marketeer or a CEO. It's critical. So you'll continue to see that from us regularly.

[Peter V S Bond]

So true. A reminder to audience that we're speaking with Tracy Massey, CEO of Nielsen iq. So it's not just consumers that are wrestling with a lot of change. Given your work with the largest retailers and CPG brands and manufacturers around the world, what are all the shifts you'd like to highlight here that the brands are actually seeing and therefore being impacted by?

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah, so you know what, the one we just talked about earlier was private label. So if you think about private label, it was really increasing in its sales rate and becoming a bit of distraction. Everybody was focused on. Then Covid hit and that stopped largely because it was hard to get supply. So, you know, the brands were the biggest manufacturers, they had the best supply chain. It was hard to keep things on shelf. So private label really sort of stopped for a while. And I don't know whether they got complacent or they just weren't as attuned to it. And now with the inflation from the brands being so, so high, people are now Going back to private label. So it was like a trend, then it flattened and now it's a trend again. And I think some of them are caught off guard. You know, for sure, during COVID pricing was a big lever, no volume growth. People were really struggling for volume growth, but now the pricing's come off. What they're really focused on is volume growth and innovation is the game. You've really got to be good at innovation. That we're helping most of the top manufacturers, our bases reports, is what helps them to say, will your innovation work? Will consumers like it? Is it priced right? Is it advertised right? That's really, really important. But the name of the game now is going to be innovation. And the ones that that win it are going to. Are going to be the ones that that win. I think also just this readiness for AI, it's, it's becoming more and more important and they all need to be on top of it. They all need to be making sure that they understand the impact of AI, are using it. A very large percentage of consumers are saying, hey, I would take a suggestion from your AI person. People trust this AI. They're not saying, oh, my God, that's, that's terrible. 40% of people are saying they would leverage AI to make their purchase decisions. So for both retailers and brands, that's really, really important. And I think the other big one is just the increase in use of these GLP1 drugs. 31% of global consumers are likely to use medication to help with their weight control. And that's going to impact.

[Peter V S Bond]

Whoa, Tracy, can you give that number again one more time?

[Tracey Massey]

31% of global consumers are likely to use a medication or drug to support weight loss.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

It's interesting because one of the things that Sheree and I were trying to pay attention to at Cagny was the mention of GLP1. And sadly, only two, to our, to our recollection actually mentioned. And there was one that did a really good job and even are starting to tag their items as being high in protein, which is good for a GLP1 diet. But most of them just didn't want to talk about it because it seems to us they were using the excuse of GLP1s for why they were seeing volume declines in the past. And that's now not really a convenient argument. And so it seems like they're in a bit of a pickle here. But we agree with you. We think it has transformational effects.

[Tracey Massey]

They've got to take notice of it and they've got to come with a solution, like to just stick your head in the sand. It's not going to work.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Well, it seems to be the approach on volume, it seems to be the approach on private label. It's like the trifecta there. But anyhow, we'll leave that for.

[Peter V S Bond]

Well, wait a minute, Peter. Nielsen IQ is in the house at many of these large brands and retailers. Walk over to your Nielsen IQ client service leader and ask for help.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Absolutely. If I'm a brand person or I'm in analytics and a major brand, I'm looking to Nielsen IQ to help me understand some of these trends and the impact. So when you open up. Tracy, you made mention of the fact that Nielsen IQ is the world's largest consumer intelligence provider. I want you to try and open up the hood and show us in so many words, you know, why is it so important what you do to help the industry run and actually thrive? What are the components that really drive brands ability to succeed and grow?

[Tracey Massey]

So we have like two parts to what we do. The first part is measuring what people are actually doing. We know who's buying what, what price, where they're buying it, all of that. And then the second piece is what they're doing and why they're doing. What are they thinking, what are they feeling, what are they. And you have to get both. It's much better off to get both from us. We're really the only ones that do both. Most people, they'll either tell you what they're doing or they tell you why they're doing it. If you can bring the two together and match them, which is what we do, that's where the real power is. And then of course, we can do it across the world, because it is. Consumers are different in different parts of the world. And trends move. So you don't want to be sat in the U.S. thinking, oh, well, I just have to worry about my trends. No. Know what's coming from Europe, know what's coming from China. That will help you be better, you know, ready for any trends that move. Because they do move. They're moving a lot faster now than they used to. But what we're able to do then is help people maximize their budget. So let's say your trade spend, we can help you understand, is your promotion working or not? Now volumes down. There's a lot more promotional spend in the marketplace, a lot more deals to be had. Manufacturers need to understand, is this dealer, what good one or is this a good one? What's the best use of my money? So we really help Them optimize their spend, they're going to spend it, but spend it in the best way. Same thing with their advertising. You know, if you run advertising, you can see if the product pops or not. Look at our data match when you ran your advertising to what's happening in store. Was your advertising successful or okay, it wasn't. Go fix it. You know, if you're going to launch a new product, can, can we can tell you whether it's going to be successful or not? If you talk to a marketeer, they'll always quote top two basis scores. Are you in top two box basis? Because the chances of your product being successful is much higher if you are. And we're now able to do that analysis much faster with AI so that marketeers can screen their ideas quicker and get through to it. But really it's just about understanding the consumer. If you don't understand the consumer, you're not going to win. And we're the foremost authority on the consumer.

[Peter V S Bond]

You know, Peter, I'm not going to start challenging brands and ask them for their basic scores. But coming back to leadership, you know, as you grew in your career, obviously you've got a very well rounded background, cross functional. I gotta imagine there was mentors in your career who helped pick you up, gave you the right advice at the right time. So I'd love to hear from you. What are the role of mentors in your career? Do you believe in reverse mentorship? And then how are you being a mentor today to others at Nielsen IQ in the industry in general?

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah, mentors, I think are critical. First of all, they've got a wealth of experience that they can help you with when you've got a challenge that you're not quite sure how to address. But most importantly, if I think about my career is people pushing me to do things that I necessarily didn't necessarily think I could do myself. Like, especially for women. Women are less likely to put themselves forward if they're not absolutely convinced they can do something. So there's a stat that says if there's 10 job requirements, a woman's looking to have eight or nine before she would even go put her name in for the job. Whereas a man will say, oh, I got two or three, yeah, I can do that job. So women need more push than men and it's really important. It's important for everybody, particularly for women though, to have mentors that will push you to try things that you didn't think you could do. Push you. Like when I was in Mars, somebody pushed me to go run North America. I was happy being a cfo. But having a mentor that understands you, knows what you can do, and can give you that little shove sometimes that you need is really, really important. I do think reverse mentoring is important too, because, you know, when you've been in the industry like I have for 30 plus years, you know, you're not as attuned on the new stuff coming in. So I did some reverse mentoring when I was in Mars with young associates who were helping us out with how to do much more on social media and the value of social media and how do I use, you know, Twitter, right? And how my kids do it for me because they think I'm useless. But Twitter, Instagram, all of those things that actually can help you and can help you understand as a more senior leader, what are the young people in your organization looking at, thinking about? So if you reverse mentor, you get a head on insight into how they're behaving. You don't have to have three children like me to get the feedback from Gen Zs and millennials.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Sree, I know of a very notable former chief customer officer at a big CPG brand who recently made the statement that if you're a, if you're a chief marketer at one of these brands, I'm not asking you to like actively post things on TikTok or Instagram, but if you don't know how, you don't have them on your phone and you don't know how to use them, you really shouldn't be in that role. I mean, you just shouldn't be in that role. And it's good to hear that, Tracy. You know, I have a good friend of mine who I was, I was online a week ago and I noticed someone that I know post a job position. I thought this person would be perfect for it. So I sent it to her and she got on the phone with me and she goes, well, I've only got eight of the 10 qualifications. And, and, and I said, and here's the problem, guys, look at that. And they say if I've got one or two, that's it. I'm, I'm applying, I'm all in. And I think there's a, we have to encourage people, you know, you can do it. I wouldn't have sent it to you if I didn't think this was the right role for you. And the fact that you're worried that you only have eight of the 10 qualifications like the other two you can pick up, right? And having people who will not only mentor you, but they will sponsor you. They'll kind of, to your point, push you forward. Very important. Right?

[Tracey Massey]

Yeah. And if. Honestly, I would say if you've got eight, you've probably got too many. You're not stretching yourself too far.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

That's so true. That. So if the only way you learn.

[Tracey Massey]

Is to lean in and do something different and challenge yourself, so probably six or seven is about right. Eight's too many.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Yeah, I agree.

[Peter V S Bond]

And so, Tracy, I did want to go back to that, which is, how are you providing mentorship to the industry? And others at Nielsen IQ might be looking at you and saying, boy, she's too senior. I don't have the guts to go talk to her. How do you disable that myth and welcome people into your trusted circle to coach them actually how to grow their own careers?

[Tracey Massey]

So I do a lot of panels and a lot of video calls with my teams at work, you know, where they can just. Just, I'll talk through my career, and they can ask questions. It's asking questions I prefer than. You know, it's really good for people to be able to just ask you anything, and when they ask you and you're honest, like, I made a ton of mistakes in my career making people realize that you're normal. And I've learned. I've made mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes. Actually, it's the best way that you learn. And when you see that the person at the top has done it and is still at the top, it's like, okay, it's worth it. You know, I had some scary points in my career when, you know, I can remember sitting at the breakfast table when I decided to move and run that factory and going, oh, my God, what have I done? Like, there's no way I can do this. I have got no experience. How the hell am I going to do this job? This was a really stupid thing to do. I talked myself into the job, and then I got there, and it was, oh, but I had a really good team, Excellent team, very good technical team. My job was to lead that team, not to know everything about that factory in minute detail. So I would be. I'll be honest, that probably the biggest mistake I've done and I feel bad about in my career is the first 15 years. I never joined any women's groups. I was very much about, I need to be as good as the men. I refuse to say that I'm different. I'm going to be as good as the men, and I'm not joining Those stupid women's groups. And in the last 15 years I've completely changed because I've realized the power of women being able to talk to each other, to talk about the things that they worried about, to get advice, to get counsel from another woman who's been there and can say, hey, you know what it does suck when you turn up at the school playground for and everybody's made these wonderful cakes and baked them and you've got your Walmart bag of cookies, you know, because you haven't got time to bake. You know, you are going to get people look down their nose at you. Who cares? You know, so. So over the last 15 years I've done a lot more of that and I just regularly try and do these talks, let people talk to me, let them know that I'm open and they can come ask me anything. I can't mentor everybody. It's. There's just too many people, it's impossible. But if I can give them access in sort of larger groups, that's sort of, that's a lot of what I do. But I do a lot of talking at women's conferences and things like that. And I just would encourage every woman, don't be like me, like you need other women and they will make you better. And we need to.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

SRI and I would argue that having male allies is also a very good component of that ecosystem. We are strong advocates for the advancement of women in business and have been part of many of these organizations. We have a good group of friends that Sri and I met during our PepsiCo days. A bunch of ex leaders from there. They refer to themselves actually as the band of sisters. And they wrote a really interesting book called you should smile more. I encourage anyone. I'm sure Traci understands the tongue in cheek reference to that. But, but yeah, we, we think it's critically important. We're our latest cause celeb is a really interesting group called the Women in Retail Media Collective. If you look around at the retail media space, there are pockets of women leaders, Uber and 8451 and what have you. But, but, but that's at the very top. The, you know, the senior one layer down, two, three layers down. Not nearly enough. We're trying to help change that. So we're big advocates of, of the Women in Retail Media Collective. So let me close this out, Tracy. Getting back to thinking about advice for people who would like to get in because you move from. I won't say that you weren't in data and analytics in your roles at Mars. But in moving over to Nielsen iq, it became a singular focus of the business that you were in. You know, what do you say to people who want to pursue this type of a career choice? What should they be thinking about? What opportunities should they be pursuing?

[Tracey Massey]

Well, first of all, I would say join Nielsen IQ because it's the best place to learn. I think if I think about my time at Mars, we had a few analysts, we had a CMI department, we had people doing analytics, but a relatively small, small group of people. So getting a job in that area is really quite difficult because people have been there for a long time. They understand there aren't that many jobs. If you come to somewhere like Nelson IQ or a similar type of company, that's what we do. Right? So we train, we, we, you know, we hire many, many, many, many more people than the CPG companies world because that's just what we do all day long. So I would say get in at the ground floor. I'm a big advocate of learning the job because when you get to this level and you know what people do down at the bottom, you can be much more effective. So get in at the ground floor. And then I would advise people to go into customer and come back again because certainly what helps me do my job is knowing how the data is used. I'm not data expert, but I know how to use the data, I know what it's used for. And that perspective is really important. So if you can learn the basics, get that skill set, that then makes you, lets you be able to go into some of these CPGs where it's a lot harder to get the job. Like learn it, get your skill set, then go back in and join a CPG and then potentially come back in again. But I do encourage people to move around and do different things. I think showing learning agility is probably one of the biggest, most important things for a career. Doing different things, learning different things, it builds your perspective, it makes you a better leader. So, so don't be scared to move around and do different things, but definitely get in at the ground floor and do that first job. It's really important.

[Peter V S Bond]

Yeah.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

And there's no greater proof of that. Tracy, we had on a year or two ago the chief customer officer at a major personal and healthcare company. And she told, when we asked her what were your origins, she says, oh, I was a Nielsen on site at a brand. That's where I cut my teeth. That's where I really, I learned how to understand data and it served her very well in her ascension to that CCO role.

[Peter V S Bond]

And Peter, both you and I come with this indicated data, research, insights, background. That's why we cut our teeth as well right up in when we started straight out of college. Right? So let me remind our audience that you can find all of our content simply by going to a web Browser and typing www.cpgcgas.com as the URL to our LinkedIn followers. Our followers. I can't say thank you enough times. Coming to our parties, coming to our hosted dinners, listening to us on stage, listening to us at fireside chats, following the show, following our podcast, and for the unbelievable love you show Peter and me on the CPG guys episode after episode and for all the downloads. While it's a pleasure to be up top as the leader the CPG industry and podcast, we know it's a responsibility we owe you. And that's why we talk to the best of the best in the industry and one such leader, best of the best. Speaking of which, Women's Month 2025. Tracy, we want to thank you from the bottom of our heart for making time and joining us on the show today.

[Tracey Massey]

You're welcome. Thank you for having me.

[Peter V S Bond]

What a fabulous conversation with Tracy Massey over here. And to me, Peter, one of the most important things she spoke to this is Women's Month. You know, she pointed out very clearly early in her career she hadn't really spent time engaging on women's networks or uplifting other women. But the second half of her career, that's what she's been doing. So I want to stress the importance of that. Right. Whoever you are, be yourself, be the great leader that you were born to be, but also uplift others with you. Thoughts there, Peter.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

What impressed me most about Tracy is that like us, she's a practitioner, right? She ran big brands, big manufacturer for many years and so she understands the application of data in driving their business. And so I think she brought a tremendous amount of that experience with her. But I also like the fact that like a couple of the senior leaders that we've seen, and I'll say this too, sri, more often women than men are the ones that will put aside their ego and bring in a junior level person, say, listen, I don't understand how this TikTok thing works. Sit down, show me, show me. So I understand what this is all about. Time after time I hear senior women saying, I'm going to expose my vulnerability and I'm going to seek counsel from someone much junior to me who's going to be more knowledgeable. I don't see that from the other, you know, the other group of people. So I was really impressed with what Tracy had to say. She's. She's clearly very, very thoughtful.

[Peter V S Bond]

No doubt about that. She also pointed out two important pieces of research. Right. One was the Gen Z study. I think that's a very important and a very. I've read that study cover to cover. Good highlights such as. I would have never anticipated that majority of shopping for Gen Z actually happens in store. While researching, browsing, learning, everything happens online. Which kind of completes that 100% digital theory that I have, that the shoppers today 100% digitally influenced whether they buy in store or not, and that the store matters equally today, tomorrow, day after, for brands and retailers looking for that answer. Right. What do you think?

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Yeah, I think it's absolutely essential to understand that access to information is ubiquitous and that if you don't make that information available to consumers, there are other competitors of yours that will, and they'll take your business from you. We stress this at least once a month on our podcast. You need to understand that the CheerPoint digital influence is 100%. It's a matter of degree, but it's still, I do it, you do it. We're constantly doing it. We're sitting together at the back of the room and what are we doing? We're, as we're watching these presentations, we're like, hey, you know, we need to go look up this one thing. And we're. That's how we stay attuned. That's how we stay ahead of things. Right.

[Peter V S Bond]

One or two other quick, other things, Peter. One is private label. Right. Pretty clear that Nielsen. Yeah. Nielsen IQ is tracking it.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

And they find if you're a brand and you don't understand very precisely how the impact of private label is. Is affecting your business, like I thought I was kudo. Hats off and kudos to the Clorox company. When they presented at Cagny, what did they do? They came right out of the gate and said, here's how private label share of category is trending category by category. And they said, it's not growing in our categories. The. The risk is. Is fairly nominal right now. And so they, they didn't just sidestep it, they took it right on and said, okay, let's see where we are in private label. Okay, now let's get back to talking about our brand building.

[Peter V S Bond]

Yeah, it's good to hear a senior leader from the research side actually talking about why are brands not responding to this publicly, right? I'm sure inside boardrooms there's enough discussions going on about private label. It's more publicly what they are saying.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Never let them see a sweat, Let.

[Peter V S Bond]

Them see a sweat. Something like that. You and I have no problems with people seeing that we actually sweat as human beings.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

Hey Sree, thanks for taking the time to do this with me week after week. I know it's a labor of love for us. And as I said at the beginning, I'm looking forward to getting out to Vegas with you in Shop Talk. But before that, you and I have a little work to do at Cornell Tech in New York City next week.

[Peter V S Bond]

Looking forward to that. And to get my Ray Ban ARVR glasses.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

They're awesome and they are awesome.

[Peter V S Bond]

That's a wrap of this episode. We will see you soon. Stay tuned all month on Women's Month on The CPG guys March 2025.

[Sri Rajagopalan]

The.

[Unknown]

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