Alums Forecast the Latest Marketing Buzz
Liz Eavey ’98 can trace the start of her career path in marketing and branding directly to a classroom visit from a Winsor alum. It was pre-Internet days, and the alum—whom Eavey said she wishes she could recall so that she could thank her— worked in marketing at MTV.
“It was at that moment that I knew what I wanted to do,” said Eavey, who indeed went on to work at MTV, and Nickelodeon, too. She recalled those stints as being “overworked and wildly underpaid” but providing an incredible experience. She is now an investor and advisor to a range of startups, including Liquid Death Mountain Water and Sequel Tampons. “The theme of my career has been to point myself in the right direction but to remain open-minded.”
The panel “Winsor Women on Building Brands” was chock-full of career anecdotes from three alums from the Class of 1998. Anushree Gupta ’13 moderated the panel and fostered an engaging conversation on such topics as setting professional/personal boundaries, artificial intelligence, employee retention, and social media.
“High risk and high reward seem to be the themes here,” said Gupta, as the panelists described their careers at major luxury brands, media, beauty companies, and well-known startups.
“Sometimes I feel so bombarded with the information I am getting digitally,” said Kristina Baynes-Reid ’98, who has worked for close to two decades at Chanel. “I am constantly unsubscribing and unfollowing people because it can be overwhelming. When social media can be done authentically and it feels personalized, it can really help.”
Authenticity and sincerity came up over and over again as the panel talked about social media in marketing. Ambika Patni ’98, who has worked at Estee Lauder and Joe Malone, said social media can be a “double-edged sword.”
“A lot of luxury brands, for a while you just didn’t know what to do with it. You were shoe-horning it in. It didn’t make a lot of sense in terms of brand equity, but you were trying to use it. And now I think you are seeing a real correction,” she said.
Patni, who also advises startups, added, “With a lot of my clients, we’re going back to basics: old-school word of mouth.”
The marketers also shared thoughts about artificial intelligence—what Patni called the “elephant in the room when it comes to marketing.” Each panelist agreed that the key to brand success with AI is maintaining an emotional connection.
“Technology is inevitable, but human connection is essential,” said Baynes-Reid.
“The deeper we get into AI and the metaverse, the brands that keep that loyalty and connection” will be the most successful.
“AI is meant to enhance every job, not replace it,” said Eavey.
Baynes-Reid touched on employee retention and her efforts to achieve brand loyalty, both internally and externally, at Chanel. “I was really excited to be a part of an internal digital strategy to break down those walls and open up that communication for building brand loyalty from an employee standpoint.”
As the discussion came to a close with rapid-fire questions from the moderator, panelists shared some of their favorite brands, which included Nike and Warby Parker, as well as advice on how to weave your personal and professional life together.
“You bring your work life to your personal life, and your personal life to your work. You have one life,” said Patni, as she returned to that ongoing theme of authenticity that could be heard throughout the panel. “You have one life that you bring with yourself everywhere.”
“Be humble, but don’t make yourself small,” added Baynes-Reid.
