From Dove to Guinness, Kathy Parker Has A Gift for Creating Timeless Campaigns

Kathy Parker knows a thing or two about creating memorable experiences. Aside from it being a central part of her day job as the global president and cmo for Grey Goose Vodka, Patrón Tequila and Agave brands at Bacardi, Parker has a history of creating memorable brand positioning. Her portfolio includes the iconic Dove Real Beauty campaign, known for disrupting the brand category and redefining the definition of beauty itself, and the Guinness ‘Made Of More’ campaign—still in play 12 years after it was created. How did you get to where you are today? I began my marketing career at Unilever and was fortunate to be part of the strategy team that created the Dove campaign for Real Beauty in 2001. It was really energizing to be part of this initiative and equally challenging to create the positioning. Next, I moved company, category and country to live in Dublin, Ireland and lead the Guinness brand there. It was such an incredible opportunity to market such an iconic brand in its spiritual home. We turned the Guinness performance around in Ireland and grew both volume and value for the first time in 10 years. I then became global CMO for Guinness where we embarked on creating the Guinness ‘Made Of More’ campaign and a yearlong celebration for the 250th anniversary of the brand. Find those people in your career who ... can support you when your confidence is knocked.Kathy Parker, global CMO at Bacardi I feel so proud of the work the teams were able to deliver on both Dove and Guinness and how, because of strategic thinking and creative execution, both campaigns are still in play today after 20 and 12 years, respectively. Can you share a situation in which you've been unfairly characterized in the workplace, due to conscious or unconscious bias? How should women address these microaggressions and slights when they occur? I was born in Manchester and although I went to University in London, I never lost my northern British accent. I once heard a marketing director say about me “anyone who talks like that can’t be clever.” Thankfully, I had previously worked for someone who had built my confidence and there were enough people around me who saw the value I brought to the business. Find those people in your career who champion you and who can support you when your confidence is knocked. What's one thing we can start doing today to help close the wage gap between men and women? Something we’ve done at Bacardi is bring in a third-party to complete a pay equity analysis. That way you get a full view of how people are compensated across genders, races, functions, cities and more to ensure pay equity. I’m a big believer that you need information and transparency to then find solutions. Same goes for pay equity—you need to understand the gaps and then push the business to make a change. The past two years have proven to be challenging for our mental health. How have you prioritized your own mental health? My personal purpose is to create amazing possibilities and have fun along the way. If I’m not, I actively try to remove the blockages. Giving yourself the permission to remove or reframe these impasses is key to making the best of every situation. Thankfully I have a very close family and a close group of friends who have supported each other through the pandemic. Without the ability to travel during Covid-19, my family decided to “travel” around the world at home by planning theme nights twice a week. We’d pick a country and prepare cultural dishes, curate musical playlists and occasionally dress up for dinner. It was a way to escape our routines, recharge and have fun as a family. At work, it was important to have open conversations with the team about how they were feeling and to find ways to constantly refresh our energy and enthusiasm. Giving permission to feel “off” or to take personal time to reset was so important—as was creating a safe space where people could express what they needed to find balance. What’s one effective way you’ve seen companies address the existing need for diversity-related initiatives? It is absolutely critical that leadership teams role model a workplace of appreciation, drive change, catch their own biases and give passionate teams the opportunity to make programs happen. Some of our most successful programs were launched by people who simply had a personal passion to make an impact, not a D&I title. For example, our annual women’s empowerment conference was created by a team of volunteers who had this inspiring and, ultimately, hugely successful idea. The job of leadership was to give them the support to make it happen. In just a few years, the conference, which first launched in Miami, grew from 300 to 800 participants and also expanded to other markets. Tell us about one major setback you've had in your career—how did you handle it? Setbacks are all about mindsets. What may seem at the time as a delay or detour in your plans can actually become a moment of growth and personal gain. It’s all about how you approach it. Earlier in my career I became pregnant just as I was leading a huge innovation project. I had a choice to make: take a short maternity leave and resume leadership of the project upon my return or take the extended full year (this was in the UK) to care for my child. This was a real dilemma, as I had poured my heart and soul into the project and I did not want to walk away. I decided to leave it to fate and took my full maternity leave. What I originally saw as a setback ended up being a blessing in disguise. Not only did I get to enjoy my little one to the fullest but, once I returned to work, I was offered a bigger role and had a refreshed energy to excel. I wouldn’t trade that time with my family for anything. What’s one way you’ve broken the rules and challenged the norm in your career? I approach challenging norms as just another way to be curious and explore the possibilities. People get hung up on whether they can do something. If mindsets were shifted to think about attempting rather than doing, then people would be more open to opportunities, to change and to challenging the norms. What’s the single best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Be yourself, live authentically and with positive intent. The rest will take care of itself. Former PR Exec Makes the Earth Her Client as Eco-Activist