During this 181st episode of “Marketing Today,” I interview Jackson Jeyanayagam, the vice president and general manager of direct-to-consumer businesses at The Clorox Company. Jeyanayagam’s experience spans agencies working with brands like Diageo, P&G, Jordan and NASCAR to executive digital marketing roles at Chipotle and, most recently, as CMO of Boxed.
Jeyanayagam shares the journey of his career and moves from Chipotle to Boxed to Nutranext and the shift from CMO to general manager. He discusses his approach to growing his teams, the tech stack they are building and new product launches. “I look for curiosity, empathy and versatility,” Jeyanayagam says on his criteria for marketers.
Jeyanayagam shares the important role of digital and social in customer engagement and crisis management. He dives into the critical nature of analytics and performance numbers. Jeyanayagam believes you should always be learning, growing and working hard to stay ahead of the game.
Highlights from this week’s “Marketing Today”:
- Jackson’s background in PR, agency work and path into direct to consumer. (01:35)
- Mentors and their importance in your career. (07:15)
- The interesting switch to direct-to-consumer. (09:30)
- “Sometime, the roles that don’t look sexy on paper might be the best roles for you.” (12:19)
- Nutranext: the products and the vision. (13:07)
- Building the team to be a leader in direct to consumer. (14:24)
- The “Bulldog” approach to creating a team. (16:05)
- Critical aspects of great team members. “I look for curiosity, empathy and versatility.” (17:20)
- The differences in running a direct to consumer business. (19:33)
- Nutranext’s tech stack and approach to new products. (22:53)
- The brand approach for Objective Wellness. “We felt like Gen X was a forgotten sandwich generation.” (23:52)
- The advantage of building your own tech stack. (25:55)
- Surprising challenges when working under a corporate umbrella. (28:22)
- The key to being a great Manager/Leader. “A good manager gives you autonomy” (29:53)
- The current state of the direct-to-consumer movement. (31:25)
- The experience(s) that defines who Jackson is today. (35:04)
- What fuels Jackson day-to-day? (39:02)
- Brands, companies or organizations to take note of. (40:07)
- The future of marketing. (41:48)
Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on opportunities around brand, customer experience, innovation and growth. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine startups.