Kellanova’s Louise Cotterill on Turning Clean Room Data Into Sales Impact and Cultural Change

In this episode, recorded live at Groceryshop, Sarah Hofstetter sits down with Louise Cotterill, Global Senior Director of Insights and Intelligence at Kellanova, for a wide-ranging conversation on how to turn complex data into business results and build cross-functional trust along the way.

Louise shares how her team built a proprietary clean room solution to drive more precise audience targeting, tailor creative to shifting shopper behavior, and ultimately deliver a 36 percent sales lift for Special K in the UK. She also explains how marketers can move from one-size-fits-all campaigns to dynamic, behavior-based segmentation, even without first-party data.

Beyond the tech, Louise emphasizes the importance of soft skills. From speaking the language of the CFO to running test-and-learn pilots that bring skeptical teams along gradually, she shows how marketers can lead with both credibility and curiosity. In a standout personal moment, she reveals the bravest thing she’s ever done: spending a summer living with nomadic eagle hunters in Mongolia.

Key takeaways:

• Insights only matter if they drive action. Clean rooms enable smarter targeting and measurement, but results come from applying those insights across creative and media strategy.
• Buy-in is built through transparency. Louise outlines how gradual testing, third-party validation, and a shared focus on sales help teams embrace new tools with confidence.
• Transformation is both technical and cultural. Success depends on aligning stakeholders, evolving incentives, and creating a safe space to test, learn, and adapt.

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