There was a moment in the summer of 2015, during the launch of Nature Valley’s #RediscoverNature campaign, when some marketers might have panicked. Not Desiree Brassard.
In a video picked up by everyone from The Today Show and Mashable to Popsugar, the granola bar maker interviewed people about how they spent their fun time. The message was clear: The older the interview subject, the more likely they were to like outdoor activities. Younger subjects talked about screen time. Besides growing the business 27%, all that media attention and organic sharing generated a lot of comments. “Not all of those comments were positive,” says Brassard, marketing manager at the New Ventures Group at General Mills Canada. “We didn’t want to wallpaper everything with just the nice comments. That was hard at the time.”
Hard, but necessary, given the commitment to purpose-led marketing Brassard has been ceaselessly advocating within the organization. In fact, many of the 27-year-old’s accomplishments are as much about what she’s been doing behind the scenes at General Mills as they are about high-profile campaign work.
“What I think most about is the impact of marketing on society,” she says. “I try to look for fundamental human insights, what motivates people. When you can nail that down, that’s when you tap into something good.”
At Brassard’s urging, General Mills Canada flew out Joey Reiman, author of The Story of Purpose, who helped the team explore how brands can elevate their work beyond mere messaging to drive extraordinary results. Though the company’s U.S. team was also looking at brand purpose, Brassard led five sessions developed specifically for the team here.
“There was less resistance than I had anticipated,” she says now. “When you think about brand purpose, it’s really at the foundation of Nike, Starbucks – everybody innately understands why this is important.”
Andrew Davis, marketing director of the New Ventures Group, says Brassard was critical to shaping the company’s thinking, leading five sessions on the topic for staff in Toronto.
“She took the leadership for understanding it, owning it for her brand, Nature Valley, and leading the training for the entire group,” he says. “I think the results speak for themselves in terms of the creative work.”
In contrast to the notion that millennials are fickle and disloyal to their employers, Brassard has been at General Mills in various capacities for seven years. She credits the company’s values as something she can stand behind – and put at the forefront of the work she does.
“They really want to do right by the consumer,” she says. “It’s not just about putting out another 15-second TV spot.”
Brassard’s more recent efforts around Larabar, which launched a campaign in late June, has helped grow the retail business by more than 170% in about two months. Those on social media might also remember #OnlyTheBest, which showed consumers how to take BPA-free Muir Glen tomatoes and bring out their peak flavours by roasting them over an open flame. There’s more to come: though she can’t share details, Brassard says she’ll be involved in bringing other products to Canada in 2017.
“She was at the top of the list of who could take these emerging, organic brands and really bring the strategic brand-building lens and build them in a Canadian marketplace,” says Davis, noting her other passion for developing people. “She co-chairs our internal play team—a sort of fun committee—and led the marketing department offsite this past summer. She is a big part of that culture and exceptionally driven to find new opportunities to extend that across the team.”
When she’s not brand-building or team-building, Brassard immerses herself in podcasts like Hard Core History and Reply All, absorbing ideas from science or the humanities that can ultimately fuel her creative thinking. “I also probably go to the movies more than anyone I know,” she admits. The other thing that keeps her driven, motivated and recharged is to step away from pop culture entirely and go for a long walk in the woods – even with her success at telling stories and engaging consumers across multiple digital platforms, Brassard continues to find value in rediscovering nature.
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