Like any great marketer, Sarah Au knows the strength of smart, strategic partnerships can help give her brands maximum exposure, especially when working with tight budgets.
But what makes the 28-year-old exceptional is her knack for identifying mutually beneficial opportunities with some of the country’s biggest and most popular brands through the lens of a multicultural and shopper marketer.
Since starting with The Clorox Company of Canada in 2011 as an associate brand manager on the Burt’s Bees brand, Au has developed marketing programs alongside the Toronto Raptors, Disney, General Mills and Tetley, to name a few.
“When you’re working on brands that don’t have astronomical marketing budgets… finding a partner that is exactly aligned in what you’re trying to achieve and being able to broaden exposure for both sides is win-win,” says 28-year-old Au, who was recently promoted to brand manager, Brita.
For the last few years, the team at Brita has been using Chinese New Year to target Chinese markets in Canada. Research showed that as big tea drinkers, Chinese consumers use kettles that keep their water warm around the clock, but they’re also concerned with water calcification.
Rather than try to change consumer behaviour, the Brita team was simply adding a step to the customer’s routine by suggesting they filter their water prior to putting it in the kettle. “We call it: ‘Filter. Sit. Boil,'” explains Au of the strategy behind the brand’s Chinese New Year pitcher with a red lid — red symbolizing good luck in the Chinese culture.
Au saw the opportunity to take the yearly promotion one step further. At Chinese New Year it’s custom for parents and grandparents to gift younger generations with red envelopes of money. This year, Brita-branded red envelopes with year of the ram graphics were included in the pitchers and inside were coupons for Tetley’s new green tea with ginger.
Having exposure in the high-traffic tea aisle was a coup for Brita.”Being in different touch points within the store and hitting the consumer with the same promotion and messaging… it widens your pot,” she says.
Au worked closely with MLSE to help the Toronto Raptors reach its growing Chinese fan base while also promoting its Brita filtration water bottles. With a strategy of helping Canadians drink more water and less sugar, tying the product to a sport and popular team was “an effortless fit,” says Au. The program included full arena signage takeover with Chinese New Year messaging, a lucky red pocket giveaway, basketball clinics and VIP game experience for the Chinese Canadian Youth Athletic Association, a half-time show and more.
If that weren’t enough to earn a spot on Marketing’s 30 Under 30 list, during her time on the Burt’s Bees brand Au championed the need for brightening skincare products in Canada.
Already a success in Asia, the Burt’s Bees Brightening Skincare Line had six skews including a night cream and cleanser and Au knew finding marketing dollars to launch the entire line would be a challenge. Instead, she focused on a dark spot corrector and moisturizer aimed at the Chinese market.
The launch plan included television, radio, print, a celebrity spokesperson and a press event with the Chinese media that helped propel it to among the best sellers in the face care lines, says Au.
Collaboration has helped Au boost key brand metrics and bottom lines, but it’s also an approach that permeates her day-to-day and explains her excitement and appreciation for teamwork.
“What keeps me motivated and what keeps me coming to work every day [and] being happy about my job is working with people,” she says. “Whether it’s cross-functionally, whether it’s building partnerships, I think it’s where I get my motivation and my energy so I tend to gravitate towards where I can work with people.”
Based on what she’s accomplished so far, marketing teams and brands will be lining up to work with Au.
