What are you reading this article on? Phone? Laptop? Tablet? Are you walking to work? Grabbing a coffee? Riding/driving (safely)? Our world is always on the go. We have things to do, people to see and advertisements to make! Speaking of people to see, the Times Center Theatre had no empty seats as Danny Wright of SVP Strategic Partnerships welcomed the panel of Drew Barrymore, actress and Flower Beauty founder; Harry Kargman, CEO of Kargo; and Arie Kopelman, Vice Chairman of Chanel, Inc.
The “Building a Brand in a Mobile-First World” presentation started with Kopelman asking his daughter-in-law, Barrymore, and Kargman about building and positioning a brand. Barrymore repeated one motto throughout the entirety of the presenation that really resonated for her entrepreneur self, “Slow and steady wins the race.” Who knew the tortoise gave such great business advice? Barrymore stressed the importance of creating a solid, sturdy framework for the rest of the company, brand and business to grow upon. She was very insistent about the solid groundwork before expansion. The next bit of importance was staying current on the industry.
“There are many opportunities in advertising for publishers,” Kargman said. “You have to be very careful to listen to the market and change and adapt to their feedback.”
Kargman said he has done many small changes with Kargo, but four prominent times he has adjusted the company to fit the industry better and its consumers. He also highlighted the importance of finding a need, focusing on it and trusting the market. Once you have trust in the market, there is nothing that can hold you back, as he stated in his experience.
Barrymore was very thankful for her business history. She started her own business at the age of 19 and has continued to learn about entrepreneurship since then. Her passion for the fields she has become involve in–acting, directing, cosmetics–have consumed her ambition and gone even further to express her love by starting her own businesses. She then expressed another possible passoin, “I would love to work in an advertising agency! Advertising, like acting, is storytelling.”
The conversation then shifted to opportunities. Both Barrymore and Kargman expressed the need to take initiative, work hard and go out to take advantages of opportunities. They have both experienced failure and success, both want the best for their companies. Opportunities like digital media have also been a part of their company’s image. Kargman complimented Barrymore on her successful use of her image and social media to bring Flower Beauty to its prosperous state, plus its not so expensive media buying when using a personal account. Yet, Barrymore was a late bloomer to the Instagram platform. So, she built a personal Instagram to show the personable connection her products have in her life. Barrymore isn’t a huge fan of the product promotion that doesn’t flow into a person’s life. She, like many advertisers, believes it is the experience more than the product. The cosmetic products in her line are quality, but affordable because she knows average people don’t have a big budget for cosmetic splurges.
Kargman and Barrymore both support digital media, but also know that is where the industry is going, no matter how hard they may want to fight it. Kargman has had business disrupted by technology before, but adjusting, moving ahead and staying up-to-date about the field is vital, or failure is not too far away in your future.