Heading into the third year and 5th wave of the pandemic, facets of the retail landscape continue to play catch-up with rapidly evolving consumer behaviour and brand strategy. So, in this episode, let’s take a moment to refresh our look at the latest trends that are influencing consumers and brands in the ongoing COVID era. Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer and Senior Advisor at Edelman, joins me from across the pond in London for today’s deep dive on The Voice of Retail.
Welcome to the The Voice of Retail , I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Heading into the third year and 5th wave of the pandemic, facets of the retail landscape continue to play catch-up with rapidly evolving consumer behaviour and brand strategy.
So, in this episode, let’s take a moment to refresh our look at the latest trends that are influencing consumers and brands in the ongoing COVID era.
Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer and Senior Advisor at Edelman, joins me from across the pond in London for today’s deep dive on The Voice of Retail.
Jackie stands on years of entrepreneurial experience in global brand, creative and business strategy and calls on her work to guide us through a reality check on the evolution of retail marketing in the post-pandemic world.
Thanks for tuning into this special episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven’t already, be sure and click subscribe on your favourite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically twice a week, and check out my other retail industry media properties; the Remarkable Retail podcast, the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and the Food Professor podcast. Last but not least, if you are into Barbeque, check out my all new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbeque, with new episodes each and every week!
I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company & Maven Media, and if you’re looking for more content, or want to chat follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co! Have a safe week everyone!
Entrepreneur, brand and reputation strategist, protector and promoter for noteworthy individuals, business and causes. Special interest in the intersection of brand, culture, entertainment, and impact. NED for Jamie Oliver, Trustee for Grow, a children’s teaching programme on food & nutrition, Advisor for start-up brand business.
Jackie currently oversees the business of brand at Edelman, a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. With over 6,000 people in more than 60 offices delivering communications strategies around the world, she leads a global brand network that creates integrated campaigns for commercial and purposeful impact.
In 1987 she co-founded PR & Marketing agency JCPR, awarded for cultural impactful campaigns including the launch of O2, Wonderbra, Mary Kate & Ashley, PlayStation, Wembley Stadium and the final flight for Concorde. JCPR was acquired by Edelman in 2004 and Jackie served as Creative Director on campaigns including Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, Dirt is Good for Omo/Unilever and the Halo launch for Xbox. She then became Global Creative Chair, joining the Executive Committee and establishing the firm’s formal creative offering, building a global community of 650 creatives, planners and production talent. She led Edelman’s debut at Cannes and overseeing the firm’s first foray into entering the Lions, garnered 65 awards within the first 3 years.
Jackie ensures that brands nail their potential via seamless multi-stakeholder, omni-channel campaigns, driven by the agency’s extensive resource across data, insight, innovation & creative ideation. She continues to work with high profile names who have achieved fame, ensuring they are protected, while helping them establish the foundations for a compelling business and legacy.
Jackie became the first woman to be inducted into the PR Week UK Hall of Fame in 2018 and is an industry mentor. She is married with two grown up daughters.
About Michael
Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated on thought leadership panels worldwide. Michael was recently added to ReThink Retail’s prestigious Top 100 Global Retail Influencers for a second year in 2022.
Michael is also the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts, including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus the Remarkable Retail with author Steve Dennis, Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Most recently, Michael launched Conversations with CommerceNext, a podcast focussed on retail eCommerce, digital marketing and retail careers - all available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and all major podcast platforms. Michael is also the producer and host of the “Last Request Barbeque” channel on YouTube where he cooks meals to die for and influencer riches.
Michael LeBlanc 00:04
Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada. Heading into the third year, and the fifth wave of the pandemic, facets of the retail landscape continue to play catch up with the rapidly evolving consumer behavior and brand strategy.
Michael LeBlanc 00:19
So, in this episode, let's take a moment to refresh our look at the latest trends that are influencing consumers and brands in the ongoing COVID-era. Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer and Senior Advisor at Edelman, joins me from across the pond in London, for today's deep dive on The Voice of Retail.
Michael LeBlanc 00:36
Jackie stands on years of entrepreneurial experience in global brand creative, and business strategy, and calls on her work to guide us through a reality check on the evolution of retail marketing, in the post-pandemic world.
Jackie Cooper 00:48
You know, your, your advice is, is to double it. I, I, I agree with, I, I think, you know, retailers and, and, and were, for the most part, late to social. So, they're getting a head start, you know, they, they have to, they have to catch up with, with the DTC businesses that have had a head start above them. Then we also see everything that's exploding with the metaverse and NFT's. You've got to look at that and you've got to embrace that.
Michael LeBlanc 01:12
Let's listen in now. Jackie, welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. How are you doing this afternoon?
Jackie Cooper 01:18
I'm doing really well, thank you. And thank you so much for having me.
Michael LeBlanc 01:21
Well, thanks for joining me. Now, I think you're on the other side of the pond, physically. Where am I reaching you today?
Jackie Cooper 01:27
I am physically in London.
Michael LeBlanc 01:30
London.
Jackie Cooper 01:30
I am spiritually in a global job, so on calls all around the world. So—
Michael LeBlanc 01:35
Yeah.
Jackie Cooper 01:36
It's a very strange existence right now.
Michael LeBlanc 01:38
Well, let's talk about your strange existence. I mean, pre, in the before time, you must have spent a minute or two, or an hour or two, on airplanes. What, how's that transition been like for you, go, from going to, I mean, in your role, we'll talk about what you do and who you do it for. But I imagine that's been a tremendous change in, in how you work and how you live, yeah.
Jackie Cooper 01:58
It hasn't actually been as much for me as it has been for some people. Some of my colleagues were constantly on airplanes, and going from country to country, as so much of our work, if you're working on stuff where there's a global team, then quite often a chunk of you have to be on Zoom calls anyway.
Jackie Cooper 02:15
So, I haven't actually traveled as much in the last few years before COVID, as I had prior. When I was doing fashion, I was literally on a plane every six weeks where, you know, different, different, different things have, have driven different experiences for me with travel.
Jackie Cooper 02:30
But I think when you're working with global teams, you know, there's, a country's always right for a few of you, but not for all of you. So, I've been really lucky actually, I think this hasn't affected me as much as some people.
Michael LeBlanc 02:43
Well, this is actually my second interview from London, or from Europe. I was speaking to someone, Dana Thomas, remember from, or not you remember, but from the fashion industry. She's an author, based in Paris. So, it's great to be on, over in Europe and get that global view.
Michael LeBlanc 02:58
I'm really looking forward to our conversation, both, just, you know, basically from what you've written and, and, and your role. So, why don't we, why don't we jump right in. Tell us, tell the listeners about who you are and a bit about your background, and then what you do at Edelman.
Jackie Cooper 03:12
Well, thank you. I'm a person who didn't do well at all in formal education. It was really not for me. I'm very creatively minded, and some might say strangely minded. And the, sort of, formality of education didn't, didn't work for me. So, as soon as I could, I got out to be in the workplace. And I got a summer job in a PR firm at the age of 18.
Jackie Cooper 03:14
And really felt like I had come home. Suddenly, my, my slightly strange brain process seemed to actually be welcomed. And I stayed there, for a few years, worked my way up. It was a consumer-brand PR firm, and then went, sort of, into business and, and more industrial-orientated PR. And so, learned so much about how media works, how to compile a story, how to get a narrative, right.
Jackie Cooper 04:03
And so, after a few jobs, I ended up making a big mistake. I actually got headhunted into a job where my gut told me not to do this job, but it was a lot of money and I was flattered. And within six weeks, I realized that was really, really wrong. And I went from the sublime to the ridiculous. I left that agency and a lot of money, and went to work for Greenpeace for 45 pounds a week.
Jackie Cooper 04:25
And, and launched their anti-fur trade campaign, which was controversial. And I realized that I love the controversy, and I love the storytelling, and I loved this, sort of, battle to get stories into media, but I didn't really like the politics of, of companies. And I started freelancing, which led me to then set up my own agency, Jackie Cooper PR.
Jackie Cooper 04:48
Traded for 15 years. We had amazing cultural moments in the UK, predominantly, the retirement of Concorde, the rising of the arch for the Wembley Stadium. We also worked on international business, Italian designer, Emilio Cavallini. I ran Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's business, globally, for many years.
Jackie Cooper 05:09
Which was my first experience working with retail in the US, with Walmart, when their line was sold there. And then Richard Edelman came along and visited us one day when we were casting for the Wonderbra ad, and he tells this story to this day, that he really hadn't ever been into a reception in a PR agency where there were a load of lingerie models waiting to get a job. And he said, this is good.
Michael LeBlanc 05:33
Another day, just another day in the lobby.
Jackie Cooper 05:37
And so, we, we sold our business to Edelman. And that was an amazing thing for me. My mom comes from Manhattan, and my family are all from New York. And I loved that I was working with a business that was, you know, established so well in the US, and had, had, had really founded PR, consumer PR, Dan Edelman had established what that was, you know, so many years ago.
Jackie Cooper 06:02
And it's been an amazing journey, leading creative in the UK, and then went on to lead global creative and employed over 600 people around the world to be formally in our business as, as global creative, as a creative global force. And then, last year, took on this mantle of Chief Brand Officer.
Jackie Cooper 06:23
I'm, I'm working on, you know, the business of brands, which is really where my heart is. That sort of intersection of brand, culture, entertainment, and, sort of, moments in people's lives. It's, it's a great job to have.
Michael LeBlanc 06:38
Yeah, let, now, this isn't a podcast, our interview is really focused on your observations of consumers. But I can't have you on the mic without talking a little bit about your trade craft and how that's changed over the course of your career. I mean, you know, from social media influencers, it's not like influencers is new, there were always product placement, I guess we would have called it.
Michael LeBlanc 06:57
So, what, what's been the most startling change that you've experienced in, I guess in your tradecraft. Different ways that you work from when you began your career, to what you do today, or, or what the firm does today.
Jackie Cooper 07:08
I think the main thing is that we're not the poor relations of the marketing mix anymore, we're actually the lead of the marketing mix. So, when I was, you know, a publicist, the advertising agencies were the lead. And the advertising creative was kind of the arrowhead, and then everything else came behind that.
Jackie Cooper 07:30
And we were sort of amplifying a 32nd spot, or a poster, or a byline. And now, it's so much more woven into, you know, a conversation, a story, a visual. Which is really how PR people are trained. So, suddenly, our craft is really, really relevant for all areas of the marketing mix.
Jackie Cooper 07:53
We're not anymore the poor relations, we're quite often leading as an agency of record. And PR people are quite often inherently and, sort of, just naturally able to drive, you know, multi-format, multi-platform campaigns in, in ways that they have always had the skill set, but it wasn't as needed as it is now. And so, that's been really liberating for our industry.
Michael LeBlanc 08:20
Have you found, concurrent with that more prominent role, more focus, or more emphasis, or more demands for measurement of impact of, of, you know, the traditional PR versus the, the advertising, the advertising run. You run impressions, you get in, you know, you get views, have you, have, has that brought with it, more demands for measurement and accountability
Jackie Cooper 08:42
100%. Because I think, grown up marketing people of, of maturity and sophistication, have probably grown up within an advertising model and that measurement. And so, if they're moving money, and spend, into areas that don't have that, sort of, traditional benchmark, they absolutely need the reassurance of impact.
Jackie Cooper 09:06
And so, we've had to spend as much time making sure that we can do that. I always said that DX IR, sort of, data and analytics, and research, make us invincible, they make our ideas invincible, because they can support and give the backbone to the idea, or give a backbone to the knowledge that we have of the audience, or give a temperature check on the impact of it by the research and the data.
Jackie Cooper 09:30
And our clients absolutely need that if they're spending money in slightly unusual ways for them, you know, to many clients this is still somewhat untraditional, to not lead with advertising. To the more, sort of, on the edge or contemporary clients, it's obviously second nature to them now, but yes, measurement is fundamentally needed.
Michael LeBlanc 09:50
Well, we've, kind of, great, thanks for that, thanks for that feedback. Let's talk about Edelman. I mean for my listeners that would be a, a super familiar name, but as I often find, they might know the name but not the full scope and scale of the enterprise. So, talk to us about Edelman.
Jackie Cooper 10:06
Well, we're, we're really a very large firm. We're the world's largest communications firm, we're global. Our legacy and heritage, as I've, sort of, mentioned is in PR. Dan Edelman, who founded the firm, I think, was, sort of, one of the first people to ever run a consumer roadshow in the world. He had this amazing ability to mix consumer knowledge with business knowledge and, and was a journalist in his heart.
Jackie Cooper 10:34
And so, this has been the legacy of this business over, over the decades. What maybe people might not know, if they do know Edelman, I think quite often people think that we're a sort of corporate communications firm. But actually half of our business, nearly 50% of our business, comes from brands and consumer marketing, and in work that has historically been done by ad agencies, and we're taking on more and more of that work.
Jackie Cooper 10:59
When I took over and established our, sort of, first formal creative network, we went to the Cannes Lions Festival for the first time, which was an immense challenge for us. But we've won awards at Cannes, which has really been a, a fantastic experience for everybody in the teams. And this year, or last year, as it is now, we won our first Cannes Lion Grand Prix, as a standalone entrant, entrant, which was amazing, for our work with ASICS and the campaign was called Eternal Run.
Jackie Cooper 11:32
So, I guess that the key thing about Edelman's work is that we're, sort of, very driven by action and impact. It's, sort of, beyond PR and, and, and marketing. We're actually encouraging our clients to understand that consumers and stakeholders need to see action.
Jackie Cooper 11:48
And we're, sort of, weaving our campaigns and our narratives for clients into the tapestry of people's lives. And that's, sort of, very, very multi-channel, omni-channel, omni-channel work. It's a great time to be in this business, actually.
Michael LeBlanc 12:02
Well, I guess, and your role reflects that right, Chief Brand Officer. When I first, when Kelsey first reached out, I'm like, they have a Brand Officer. That's interesting, let's learn more about that. So, I guess that's encompassed in, in the transformation of the, of the organization.
Michael LeBlanc 12:17
So, you took a long train ride up to Scotland, and you penned a note about your thoughts on retail, concerns, inside optimism. I had a look through it. Very interesting stuff. Take us through, take the listeners through your, your thoughts.
Michael LeBlanc 12:30
These are crazy days, I often talk about this circuit breaker of, circuit breaker of behavior that has been the COVID-era, and trying to understand the difference between short-term adaptations by consumers versus long-term structural changes. How have you been thinking about this time in your work and, and take us through that?
Jackie Cooper 12:50
Well, for those who don't know, Scotland's a long way on the train, so—
Michael LeBlanc 12:56
I've been. I've, I've, it is a long, it is actually a long way.
Jackie Cooper 13:01
So, it's six hours, you know, to ruminate on the world. And it's a really, I think, a wonderful thing to have this train cut through from London, through the whole, you know, length of the country. And I, I got picked up. It's a journey that I have, I do, kind of, fairly regularly and, for a client, and I got picked up by the driver. And he could never park near the station.
Jackie Cooper 13:27
So, he'd always ended up going through, through parts of the streets of Glasgow, and I couldn't believe how many shops were shut. And I realized that I've been living in this bubble of COVID life in, in my house in London, and sometimes making it to the, to the office, but not really, not, you know, I've loved always walking streets, and looking at stores, and seeing what's happening, and I'd miss that.
Jackie Cooper 13:50
And the big shops had gone, and I'd gone to pick someone up at St. Pancras station, and a lot of the shops there had shut down, which is where a lot of the travelers would come in to the Fortnum & Masons or, you know, the, the big name shops like John Lewis and, and yet the Oxford Street itself was super, super busy. And so, a lot of this is connected to money, you know, parts of Scotland are challenged with, with, you know, the, the economy.
Jackie Cooper 14:18
Some of their COVID restrictions were different to the, the, the English restrictions. But I think what really made me think, got me thinking was what's going to happen with shopping and how do we have this habit in our life? And what's going to make us go, you know, back out and, actually Jamie Oliver and I were talking about his amazing experience in the first lockdown where he went, you know, and cooked in his kitchen.
Jackie Cooper 14:47
Literally filming on a phone and releasing stuff for Channel 4, releasing, you know, mini TV shows that the Channel 4 couldn't get enough of, because the British public were like yes, this is what I need. I need Jamie to tell me—
Michael LeBlanc 15:01
Yeah.
Jackie Cooper 15:01
How do I swap out things? How do I cook with what I've got in my cupboard, because I can't go out to the shops so much. And we were talking about super solver brands, where, the companies that we really loved during this time were the brands that had, basically nailed, you know, being accessible, being agile, being affordable, and being online.
Jackie Cooper 15:22
And so, the Glasgow experience was, well, I'm not going to be mooching around the shops for on a Saturday and then having lunch out. And if I'm not doing that, then a lot of the stores are going to lose their footfall, and lose what they're, what they, what they, you know, relying on to survive. And so, you know, we were shopping as utility shoppers, but we weren't shopping socially.
Jackie Cooper 15:45
And of course, then as soon as COVID lifts, we wanted to go back to that, because there is something about being in a shop and having that social experience that's really, really important and, and getting to know the people behind the till. And I think, we were talking in the office about the fact that you suddenly talk to people behind the till in a different way, post-COVID. Because you're actually so glad to be out and speaking to them.
Michael LeBlanc 16:09
Yeah.
Jackie Cooper 16:09
And we've all gone through something together, so you, sort of, share these stories in a way that you, perhaps wouldn't acknowledge that person. So, we have this sort of utility shopping, which is just what we need, and, and how we have to get the super solver brands to help us, or the super solver stores to help us.
Jackie Cooper 16:26
We have the social shopping where we just want everything to feel normal, and we want to chat, and we want to be out there. And then we have what Forbes Magazine actually covered, which was revenge shopping. Which is just, you know what, I'm here, I'm out—
Michael LeBlanc 16:40
Yeah.
Jackie Cooper 16:41
And I'm desperate to just have my revenge on, on, on this, you know, restricted existence, and I'm going to go out, and I'm going, I'm going to buy stuff. And so we, kind of, that, that trip to Glasgow prompted me to, sort of, look at what's going on without those, sort of, habits, and how it's an emotional thing, shopping for us. It's not just about getting stuff. And so, the emotion, hopefully will come back as we come out of the grips of COVID.
Michael LeBlanc 17:11
It's actually my podcast partner, Steve Dennis, who talks about the word bifurcation. Specifically, we talk about a spectrum, as well, where on the one end, there's efficiency. And on the other end, there's experience. And it's been our experience, I'm curious for your insight, that both need to exist concurrently. I mean, you might shop online, which you know, at its best, is often just very efficient, right.
Michael LeBlanc 17:33
There's low emotional engagement, maybe you're subscribing to get your detergent delivered each and every day, but really needs to be a mix of both. How do you see retailers, resolve, retailers and brands resolving these two things? I mean, mostly, I think they need to pick a spot. But how do you see it? And how do you see it coming out of, out of the COVID-era? Is it, is it even that much more important to pick that spot and, and be, as Steve would say, remarkable.
Jackie Cooper 18:00
You know, when you've experienced something we can't pretend we haven't, right. So, we've experienced better online shopping, and we've missed the experience of in real life shopping. And so, I think both things are going to have to raise their game. We have a need to be out there, we’re social creatures, we want to experience new things, we're hungry for, for feeling good in those experiences and shoppings.
Jackie Cooper 18:30
You know, magic is the release of endorphins, when you have something that you love, and, or you, you know, found something that makes you feel better. But we also have the need for, you know, the support of just what we have to have in our life and the groceries that feed our family. And we don't necessarily want to go shopping around the supermarket anymore. We'd like it to come to our doorstep.
Jackie Cooper 18:54
And we'd like to be able to get it into the kitchen quicker and get stuff on. So, I think we can't put the lid back on what we've had, what we've missed, we will embrace and what we've experienced, it's made life easier. I think we're going to want to know more about, and we're going to want more of.
Michael LeBlanc 19:12
You know, there's a lot of changes during, of shopping behaviors, bigger baskets, fewer trips. I mean, those are really driven by, you know, I just want to, you know, I want to be safe when I shop and it's an unusual time. Are you thinking about any of these permanent structural changes in behaviors? For example, Walmart in the US is launching a service, and actually they launched it pre-COVID. But they're gearing it back up again.
Michael LeBlanc 19:35
Where they'll actually deliver and put groceries into your house, into the fridge. Their, their associates wear body cameras when they're doing it. So, you can watch them do it. You know, that or what's been called anticipatory retail. In other words, don't order anything. It's just, it's just going to show up.
Michael LeBlanc 19:50
Do you think these things are going to become a bigger thing? Or is it a counterforce, kind of, the roaring 20's argument, that people just are so missing experience that, that there's a renaissance or a revitalization of physical retail? How do you think that's gonna play out, and what are you seeing so far?
Jackie Cooper 20:07
I think maybe this is going to split. That the quality of both is going to have to go up. I was attending a breakfast at the beginning of this year, when we came back to work. A virtual breakfast with a lot of different brands, supermarkets, banks, and everyone was talking about experiential. And everyone was talking about the fact that they felt they had to be much more innovative in the experiential space, and that the theater of retail was going to be demanded by consumers as they came back.
Jackie Cooper 20:35
And I don't think they saw it, Michael, in the, sort of, 1920's way. I just think they saw it in a way that we've actually, unfortunately, opened the door to more expectation, and more competition, because if we're not something different, and we're not something that really engages people, and makes them feel inspired, they're just going to click and collect or—
Michael LeBlanc 20:56
Right.
Jackie Cooper 20:56
Click and get delivered.
Michael LeBlanc 20:57
Yeah.
Jackie Cooper 20:57
And that's easier. And the one thing that we have less of is time. So, when we're working from home, or someone said to me, I'm actually living at work now. There is much less time. We might be at home, but it doesn't mean we have time to do more things. So, I think the need for convenience means that we're going to be tougher on wherever we get our supplies from.
Jackie Cooper 21:23
The need for inspiration means that we're going to be tougher on the experience that you give me, the innovation that you give me. And I think the, the, the need for that, sort of, emotional feeding is going to be as, as much as that need for convenience and safety feeding.
Jackie Cooper 21:44
And then our, we've just done some research around Gen Z, which has been fascinating because this generation are desperate for safety. You know, when you go to my local supermarket yesterday, you know, you expect now to see the hygiene (inaudible) [1]you know, when you go in, right.
Michael LeBlanc 21:58
Yeah, it’s table stakes right now, right. It’s table, it's table stakes right now, right. I mean, you, you mentioned time, and I want to hang on that note for a second, follow that thread. So, I don't know how many people are going to go back to work in the office full-time. I think anyone who thinks that everybody, and conversely, nobody is going back to work in an office is probably wrong on both ends of the spectrum.
Michael LeBlanc 22:18
I want to talk about time as an artificial construct. Because I bet there's lots of brands who, when they brief you, say I'm wanted to dress the time, press the time, short the time, poor consumer. And I have to think, though, that there's got to be some upside in this transformation of how we work, you even relating how, you know, you travel less, which is very time consuming.
Michael LeBlanc 22:44
Do you think that the brief, do you expect your briefings to change a little bit? Like I know that the demands of, of family don't change, in some ways got worse, you know, home schooling. But let's say post-COVID more people working from home, instead of spending those hours, and hours commuting. What do you, are you starting to hear that, or talk about that with the brands and, and the retailers you speak with?
Jackie Cooper 23:08
100%. We feel that hybrid is 100% here to stay, and the, the service aspect of how brands have to show up is so much more focused, right. So, not only, the service of what the brands do for you, beyond the product that they supply. How the brands show up, where the brands show up, how you get the brand delivered to you, how you embrace the brand online, or how the brand gives you the experience in real life.
Jackie Cooper 23:38
And also what the brand does away from the product. So, you know, the purpose part of the brand, or how it's giving back, the planet, or the transparency, of how it treats its employees. All of these areas are now coming into our briefs because we ask questions of the company and the brand, way beyond where we used to be.
Jackie Cooper 23:57
And so, these are definitely affecting how we're being briefed, definitely affecting how clients are asking us to, sort of, provide our services and we're no longer just having brand teams on the business. We've got purpose teams, we've got data teams, we've got retail specialist teams, we have, you know, retail is specialist sector[2] for us. And that's way before you even get into, you know, creativity and measurement.
Jackie Cooper 24:23
So, it, they're no longer the divisions. And while we do talk about our brand business being so much part of the, of the whole of our universe, you know, equally the corporate companies are being much more aware of their need to show up as a brand, and almost to have, you know, semi-retail experiences with their employees, and with their stakeholders. So, it's a really interesting merging of, of areas that are definitely affecting how we're being asked to be partners to our clients.
Michael LeBlanc 24:53
So, I was reading a study that, and, and I've talked to many retailers who've shared this experience, and many brands that, the estimate is about 45% of consumers shopped a new brand, either out of necessity, maybe boredom or, you know, 40, you know, in our lifetimes, 45% shift of anything is, is unheard of, right. We fight for single points of share with some of your brands.
Michael LeBlanc 25:14
Does, does brands still matter in all this, because it didn't, did that, is that what drove trial. Like, are you doubling down on, with your clients, and your clients doubling down on, on the importance of brand, and you've mentioned, you know, sustainability and other, you know, other deeper attributes. Is that even more important? Has that been accelerated by COVID, or has it gone sideways?
Jackie Cooper 25:35
Yeah. There's this great quote from John Furner, from Walmart, who said, recently, that loyalty in retail is the absence of something better, when they find it, they're gone.
Michael LeBlanc 25:47
Yeah.
Jackie Cooper 25:48
We think, actually, that brand matters, sort of, more. Because it is the personality of, and it's almost tribal, right. That the, what does the brand stand for, and what, and who am I, and then what does the brand stand for. And that, sort of, recognition, that the brand knows me, or I know the brand. And that's why we give them money, and that's why we engage.
Jackie Cooper 26:09
And then there's that, that badge moment of, you know, having the bag, or having the garment, or having the product. And so, I think the brands matter more, because we want to have that tribal connection. But then the challenge for the brand is, make sure that you show up in a way that consumers today expect you to show up, with the priorities today that the consumers have.
Jackie Cooper 26:40
And they ask very searching questions, beyond the look and feel, right. So, the, the consumer wants to understand the supply chain, understand the provenance of the product, understand how the manufacturing is done, and how the employees are treated.
Jackie Cooper 26:59
And so, brand now stands for so much more than just the stamp of, the look and feel of, of, of something, and it's way beyond how clever your, your creative is. And our Gen Z data shows that actually nine in ten of them want brands they buy to actually be involved in causes that better the world. And 63% of those Gen Z shoppers say that they use or buy brands that actually choose to take a stand. So, that's very telling.
Michael LeBlanc 27:30
Last question for you. And I want to, kind of, pick up on, again, that thread of, of the, what matters with the people you do business with. Let's talk about social media. So, you know, I was speaking with a CEO of a retailer recently, and they were asking for a bit of advice. And I said, listen, I don't know what your social media budget is, influencer budget, but I suggest you double it.
Michael LeBlanc 27:51
On the other hand, there is, you know, some moral qualms about how much work to do with the platforms. LUSH, for example, said, you know what, I'm, I don't even want to be involved in social media. It's, kind of, a last question. It's a bit of a tough one. But how do you see, and how do you advise brands who care about all these elements, and their presence and use of social media?
Jackie Cooper 28:14
Yeah, I mean, I wonder if LUSH, call me cynical, but I'm wondering if LUSH did that just to be different and to get noise, but, kind of know that it's, it's not, you know, they are going to take up, you know, going to lose some of their audience by doing that. I, I think that, you know, your, your advice is to double it. I, I, I agree with, I think, you know, retailers and, and, and were, for the most part late to social, so they're getting a head start.
Jackie Cooper 28:41
You know, they have to, they have to catch up with, with the DTC businesses that have had a head start above them. Then we also see everything that's exploding with the metaverse and NFT's, you've got to look at that, and you've got to embrace that. And if you, you know, want to be contemporary, and you want to reach multi-generations, that's got to be something you've got to put creativity and funds into.
Jackie Cooper 29:05
And I, I think you've got to be everywhere. Especially when you can earn your way, and you don't necessarily have to pay your way. If your story and your content is compelling enough it'll travel across platforms, and works for you, and drives momentum.
Jackie Cooper 29:19
So, I think the key thing is make sure your story is magnetic, make sure your content is shareable, and make sure that you put it out there so that some of these social channels can actually do the work for you, beyond, you know, beyond what you're paying for, which obviously is the backbone of, of making sure that works, too.
Michael LeBlanc 29:36
Right. Well, great advice. Great way to wrap up a great conversation. I want to thank you again, and how do people get in touch with, with you, or learn more about all the great work that Edelman is doing. Where can they go work, and social media, speaking of that, links and all that stuff, where can they—
Jackie Cooper 29:51
Michael, we've got edelman.com. So, there's the ability to reach out to us there. I'm on LinkedIn as Jackie Cooper, so please feel free, and thank you so much.
Michael LeBlanc 30:01
Well, Jackie, it's been a real treat. Thank you again for joining me on The Voice of Retail. I wish you continued success and, and safe travels and let's, along with the listeners, explore this new post-COVID world that we're living in. So, thanks again for joining.
Jackie Cooper 30:17
Thank you.
Michael LeBlanc 30:17
Thanks for tuning in to this special episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven't already, be sure and click and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, so new episodes will land automatically twice a week. And check out my other retail industry media properties, the RemarkableRetail podcast, Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and The Professor Podcast with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.
Michael LeBlanc 30:37
Last but not least, if you're into barbecue, check out my all new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbecue, with new episodes each and every week. I'm your host, Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E LeBlanc & Company and Maven Media. And if you're looking for more content, or want to chat, follow me on LinkedIn or visit my website at meleblanc.co.
Have a safe week everyone.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
brand, retail, edelman, consumers, people, business, shopping, shops, clients, experience, calls, pr, jackie cooper, podcast, global, world, year, measurement, talk, driven