Fashion Marketing Student on Marketing Mentorship Program for Seniors: Highlighting NIKE’s Senior Director of Brand Marketing & Creative

Andrea Tatevossian-Caloumenos – In her words:

As a Fashion Marketing senior who recently graduated in May 2021, I had the amazing opportunity to learn from several inspirational mentors and marketing advisors who Professor Wendy Bendoni brought in as guest lecturers. One who stood out was Lauren Gallo, senior director of brand marketing and creative for Nike.

Lauren, who was in the 2017 issue of Forbes 30 Under 30 for Marketing and Advertising, took immersed my class in the world of global marketing and integrated brand development. Her expertise offered a progressive perspective and broad knowledge of the digital landscape, focusing on the importance of building/leading teams, driving strategy, innovating and creating multi-platform content opportunities. Her main goal at NIKE is to build deeper relationships with athletes across all consumer constructs driven by insights and innovation.  Previously, she held the positions of  senior brand marketing executive for Apple and Snapchat.  Her expertise in building some of the most iconic global brands has put her on the map.

One of the most interesting takeaways from Lauren’s lecture was around our discussion around break-through brand positioning and go to market (GTM) strategies.   Lauren emphasized that a solid GTM strategy is critical  for a successful launch.  GTM strategies address the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How around a product or service.  Who is the audience?, What is the service/product?, When will it be launched?, Why does the audience need the product?, and How are they going to reach their audience?

Lauren also pointed out the four P’s of marketing; Purpose, Positioning, Partnerships and Personalization.    She believes these four P’s are essential to a successful launch. This marketing mix entails a value driven approach, creating a brand culture through narratives and experiences, and being able to collaborate with brands that are complimentary to your own.  “Storytelling is the soul of the brand and the narrative through the voice of their athletes brings the soul to life,” she said.  This point connected with me, as every advertisement or commercial that has resonated with me has had a story that I  could not forget.

When it comes to management style, Lauren values being an empathetic leader.  Similarly, in my leadership classes, we always reflected on the most important aspects of being a leader.  In these classes I would always be the “lone wolf” stating the most unconventional answer, empathy.  Most of my colleagues went the traditional route of stating that organization or drive are the most important qualities of a leader.  Similarly, to my view, Lauren stated that empathy is the most important quality to have as a leader.  She stated, “To me, empathy is recognizing and understanding someone else’s feelings.  It’s really being able to be in somebody else’s shoes and understanding their perspective. I think having empathy is important because it brings you closer to others.”

“To me, empathy is recognizing and understanding someone else’s feelings.  It’s really being able to be in somebody else’s shoes and understanding their perspective. I think having empathy is important because it brings you closer to others.”

I couldn’t agree more. By being an empathetic leader, one is able to bond in a deeper way and understand where someone is coming from.”  It was truly an honor to have such a vital player in the marketing world give me and my colleagues advice that will last a lifetime.

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Last Updated on May 19, 2021.