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BETHANY POOLE: I'm Bethany Poole,Editor-in-Chiefof "Think with Google."And today I'm joined by MarieGulin-Merle, Chief MarketingOfficer at Calvin Klein, andChief Digital Officer at PVH.Thank you for joiningus today, Marie.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE:Thank you, Bethany.I'm thrilled to be here.

BETHANY POOLE: Solater today, you'respeaking on one of ourpanels at Google MarketingLive about the endof digital marketingand why it's time toshift our mindset.Do you believewe're now in an erawhere digital marketingis just marketing?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: I do.

BETHANY POOLE: I can't waitto dig a little bit moreinto that.But let's start out by tellingthe audience a little bitabout your two roles atCalvin Klein and PVH,and what you're focused on.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: So atCalvin, I'm the global CMO.So I'm in chargeof brand marketing,product marketing, also consumerinsights, data, retail storedesign, visual merchandising.I'm trying not to forgetanything in case my--

BETHANY POOLE: Andthis is your first job.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE:--my team is listening.COMS, CSR, and inaddition, I've beenappointed to chiefdigital officer for PVH.So I oversee the full digitaland data transformationfor the company.

BETHANY POOLE: Very exciting.Congratulations on both roles.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Thank you.

BETHANY POOLE: We'reincredibly excited to have youhere with us.You're talking on thispanel about the endof digital marketing.Why is it so importantfor the industry leadersto shift their mindsetaround digital marketing?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE:Because I thinkit's misleading, orvery duplicative,to talk abouttraditional marketingand digital marketing.If you think about it, consumersreally don't act that way.So you research online.You buy offline.You have your mobile withyou throughout the journey.So the consumption ofvideos, the search behavior,all of this is presentthroughout the journey.I also think it createssilos within companies,instead of infusingtech and digitaland data at the coreof everything we do.

BETHANY POOLE: So youpull everything together.Let's see, I have actuallya question alreadyfrom the audience,if you don't mind. Adamola asks, as you talkabout this new mindsetshift, who should be championingit-- the CEO or the marketer?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: That's agreat question from Adamola.I think both CEOs andCMOs should champion it.And then I'm goingto add some nuances.I think the CEO should signalthe entire organizationthat the world has changed.So it comes from the top, andthere is this new behavioralready infused from the top.Then CEOs are driving thepart that is consumer related.But they have topartner with CFOs,for instance, on newnorms, new financial norms,on how you measureperformance in today's world.The CMOs have to partnerwith CHROs, the heads of HR,on identifying talent gaps,for instance, upskilling,reskilling of the teams.And obviously, as Ialways say, the CIOis the best friend-- thenew best friend-- of any CO.

BETHANY POOLE: It's really afull company transformation.It's not just onevertical or one function.You were talking a little bitbefore about the need for this,because consumer the consumerjourney has changed so much.Consumers are getting moreand more of their informationonline.And we've been talkingabout this a loton "Think with Google," abouthow this change has happened.I mean, you're sitting thereright in the forefront.How have you seen theconsumer journey change?And how has that impactedhow you go to market?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: So I'veseen three traction points.And I think there isone stat that everybodyshould keep in mind.So the three tractionpoints that I'veseen over the past fiveyears, I would say,and it has stayedvery consistent.That's kind of good newswith all the changesthat we're going through.One, the discovery phase,the research phase,or what marketingnerds called ROPO--research online,purchase offline.This has become probably,in some instances, up to 50%of the consumerbehavior pre-purchase.And then the secondinteraction pointthat I've seen, that is verynew and not going anywhere,is the peer-to-peeradvocacy driver.The fact that you're going totrust brands much better whenit comes from other consumers,or influencers, or advocates.And then the thirdthing is that consumerswant to buy everywhere andanywhere, wherever, whenever.And overall, I thinkthis stat that Ikeep reminding the C-suite andmy team, is that 50% of salesare now digitally influenced.And this is across the board.This is across industries.

BETHANY POOLE: That is amassive change, though.In the world thateverything is changing,having it be stablefor the last five yearsis a wonderful thing.How should marketers beapproaching this changingconsumer behavior?For example, one ofour audience members,Hillary, wants toknow how you keepcustomers engaged once they'vestarted the online journeyonto your website.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: So Hilary,we're doing four things.We're doing for use cases.And again, this is a piece ofstability in a world of change.The first one isthat we acquire.We keep acquiring.So we focus a lot of effortson acquiring new consumers.Then we focus on the secondpurchase, that you buy once.And you're getting theconsumer to buy a second time.And the third use casethat we're focusing onis cross sellingor deep selling.So you go deeper into loyalty.And then the fourth usecase is about preventingchurn, and retention.So the job is really to marryand combine the four use casesall the time.In order to dothat, you need tech.And you also need what Icall, another acronym--I'm sorry for the audience.

BETHANY POOLE: No.I like the acronyms.MARIE GULIN-MERLE: You alsoneed DCO, digital contentoptimization.So this constant optimization,differentiation, of content,so you know what works best.

BETHANY POOLE: Wetalked a little bitabout this yesterday, thedigital content optimization.So are you constantlycreating new content?How are you thinking about that?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: I thinkit's two types of flows.One is the hero content.And we can talk more about that.It's not going anywhere.It's still how consumers connectto the bigger brand values.And then you have thisalways on flow of content.I call it high volume,high velocity of content.High volume, highvelocity, and high degreeof personalizationand differentiation.

BETHANY POOLE: So thatactually is a perfect segueway into my nextquestion, which is,with so many consumertouch points,you have this wealthof informationthat can be used forads' personalization.Can you talk aboutthe importanceof being relevantin today's marketingclimate with so much competitionfor people's attention,and how you use personalizationto be relevant in the moment?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: So this isactually a gap in measurement.I believe we measure eitherbrand lift or sales lift.We rarely measure what Icall the return on relevance.And it's a combination ofengagements, past behaviors,obviously, conversion.But we have to be ableto measure if we actuallyprovided the rightcontent at the right timeto the right consumer.So I call it ourreturn on relevance.

BETHANY POOLE: So that'sa metric that you use.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: It'sa combination of metric,and this is thesort of North Starthat I always keep inmind in everything we do.

BETHANY POOLE: It's fascinating.On that note, we have anotherquestion from the audience.Mike asks, there's a lot oftalk about machine learningand big data.But how can marketersactually use these toolsin their day-to-day?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: So marketersremain very much human, fleshand blood, with alot of intuition.I think tech helpson I would say,level 1, automation,repetition of what works.Level 2, identificationof patterns of what works,what doesn't work.And then you need human beingsto make sense of the data.Great marketers will bethe one who really knowhow to embrace tech the best.And it's not an either/or.Again it's an"and" relationship.I will also say that creativeteams cannot be afraid of tech,and that intuition--I call it intuition-- isaugmented by data and insightsand technology.

BETHANY POOLE:Augmented intuition.Well it is true that the machinelearning can pull up the data.But the actual interpretationand figuring outwhat are true insights thatare based on human behavioris only somethingthat a human can do.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Andwhat ideas are going to be.

BETHANY POOLE: Exactly.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Becauseat the end of the day,marketing is about ideas.

BETHANY POOLE: Whilewe're on the topic of adspersonalization, weknow that data privacyis at the top of mindfor a lot of people.Google is committed to ensuringthat our users understandour commitment toresponsible data use.We talked a little bitabout this last week at IO.What are your thoughtson user trust?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Ithink companies and brandsneed to comment.On the Calvin side, thereare three strong commitmentswe want to maketo our consumers.One is transparency.We want to be transparenton how we use data.The second one is security.We want to apply thehighest standards when itcomes to keep eating data safe.And the third piece, becauseif things don't happen the wayit should, brands and companiesneed to be highly accountable.So the third principleis to be accountable.BETHANY POOLE: That's wonderful.We have so many questionscoming in from the audience.Thank you, everyone.I'm going to go with thefirst one, from Lara.Do you have a marketingtrick or life hackthat you'reparticularly proud of?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: I thinkmy first mentor at work,something like 20 years ago--yes I started to workin the 20th century.So my mentor taught mea mantra that I alwayskeep in mind every day.Come to work like it'syour first day at work.So don't ever get comfortable.Don't ever think thatyou know everything.The more you grow,the more you haveto listen to newgenerations, and the more youhave to really practicethe muscles of curiosityand humility.So every day is my first day.And I'm happy to start myfirst day with you Bethany.BETHANY POOLE: That's wonderful.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE:And the audience hear.

BETHANY POOLE: That CarolDweck growth mindset, you'veembraced it fromthe very beginning.For people who arejust tuning in,we are here withMarie Gulin-Merle,who's the CMO of Calvin Kleinand the chief digital officerof PVH.And we're answering afew of your questions,because we've gottenthrough most of mine.We have anotherquestion from Brian.Consumers seem tobe less brand loyal.Digital native brands seemto focus on their productsrather than selling their brand.Has Calvin Klein shifted theirfocus from brand to productsas well?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: It'sanother yes/and answer.So another mantrathat I learned whenI started my careerin marketing isthat consumersconnect to a brand,but at the end of theday, they buy a product.So you actually needto do both jobs.If you go to YouTube,for instance,today on the CalvinKlein channel,you're going to seethe latest campaign.It's a lot ofemotional engagement,but also a lot of productfocus on what's new,and why it's new,and why it matters.

BETHANY POOLE: And YouTube'ssuch a great channelfor creating both ofthose connections.We have a question from Ahmed.Do you think clothingbrands are adaptingto the changes of digitalmarketing innovationsthat we see every day?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Ithink, like every brand,I don't think there isany industry exception.I think every industry isgoing through massive change.And it's not anindustry point of view.At the end of the day, it'sa consumer point of view.So if consumers change,brands have to adapt.So we're no different.I would say, I thinkthat the way peoplechoose, the way people aregoing to prefer a brand,the way you create brand love,the way you develop brandbuilding, has changeddramatically over the past 5,10 years.So there is no exception.

BETHANY POOLE: I think it's oneof the most interesting thingsabout being amarketer, is that youhave to adapt to thechanging consumer behavior.And you talked a little bitabout the consumer journey.And since it's alwayschanging, and it'schanging much more quickly,you have to be on your toes.And it kind of feedsthat constant curiosity.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Andit keeps it exciting.

BETHANY POOLE: Interesting.You're constantly learning.We have a question from Leo.Have there been any campaignsfrom other brands competitorsthat you have admired recently?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Oh yes.So many.First of all, I'malways looking, not onlyat new campaigns--what's happening withthe other brands--but also whatconsumers are doing.I do a lot of UGC research.So I'm always impressedby what consumersare saying about brandsand what brands do.If I had two quotes one, Ithink the "Crazy" campaignwith Serena Williams during theSuper Bowl night was fantastic.

BETHANY POOLE: That'sa great ad campaign.Question from Prithee.How do you seequalitative techniquessuch as storytelling and designthinking effecting marketingin the next two years?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Ithink it's already there.The pace for developing astory is no longer the same,I would say.Legacy brands used totake probably a few monthsto develop a few images.And we now have to come upwith stories and narrativeson a daily basis.So the lead time hasforced design thinkingand this test-and-learnmentalityto come to themarketing workplace.So we have to, obviously, knowwhat the brand stands for,what the values are.But then be able to createand optimize content every dayon the fly.

BETHANY POOLE: Youreally have to-- you'rejust telling more stories.You're not tellingless wonderful stories.You're just having to tellthem on a constant basis.And so you really have toknow where your brand taps inand how you bring it to life.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE:Based on the same DNA,with more volumeand more stories.


BETHANY POOLE: Muchmore challenging.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: And fun.

BETHANY POOLE: We havea question from Kylie.In order to achieve thedigital maturity you are after,what types of partnersdo you need to work with?And how many are too many?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE:I keep talkingabout an ecosystem of partners.So it used to be theclient and an agency.And today, it's anecosystem of partners.Should they be creators?Should they be theGoogles of this world?The big tech partners we have?I would say, the agency'screative minds obviously,but also internally--and I was talking about IT--I have a brand techperson on my teamwho is the conduit betweenIT and the marketing team.And I think that's fundamental.So it's a internalecosystem, combinedwith an externalecosystem of partners.

BETHANY POOLE: Ithink that's oneof the most interestingthings about what you'vedone internally,is just how you'vebrought all your teams togetherinto one team with all sortsof different specialtiesand experiencethat are all workingtogether on common metricsand common goals.We have-- last question.Oh, actually we have two more.Sorry.Question from Michael.How do customer dataplatforms play in?

MARIE GULIN-MERLE:The famous CDPs.I think CDPs are going tobe central to what we do,not because it'sthe new buzz word,but because we haveso many data pointsthat you need what Icall the center of truth.So you need that centralplace to look at your consumerfrom a 360 degree standpoint.So yes, it's goingto play a big role.

BETHANY POOLE:And we go back to,the consumer journeykeeps changing.Or not keeps changing,but consumer behaviorkeeps evolving.So it becomes evenmore importantthat you're getting realtime information there.OK, so we have our lastquestion from Mario.You've moved impressively fastin transforming your marketingorganization.What guidance would youoffer brands and partnersto help enableagility and speed whenmanaging change, technology,and marketing decisions?And I can't think of abetter question to end on.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Thank you.I don't think Imove fast enough.My team would hateme saying that.I would say two things.I keep using thatquote with my team--if you ever want to gosomewhere, start walking.So most of the timewhat I do is that Ikeep designing with themoonshot is going to look like.And at the same time,I do three months.I design the 3-month wins,and the 6-months achievements,and the 12-month achievements.So there needs to be alittle bit of both whatthe Promised Landis going to be like,and what tomorrowis going to be like.And this is what exponentialorganizations are doing,I think.

BETHANY POOLE: Both settingthe vision for the short termand the long term.

MARIE GULIN-MERLE: Anddoing it at the same time.Another good metaphor is--I use it with my team alot-- is, you're on a plane,building the plane,while it's up in the air.I find it exciting.And I'm here to make surethat my team is not too dizzyor overwhelmed bythis plane feeling.

BETHANY POOLE: Puttingit all togetheras you are soaringover the world.That's wonderful.Well Marie, thank you so much.It's been great talking to you.And I know youhave great insightsthat you'll be sharing at GoogleMarketing Live later today.Thanks to everyonefor tuning in.Please follow us on"Think with Google"on LinkedIn,Facebook, and Twitter.And thanks for tuning in.We'll see you next time.

Sources of article:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG04oOdJAKQ