Building Iconic Consumer Brands With Kathy Maurella of Waterloo Sparkling Water

Kathy Maurella is the Chief Marketing Officer of Waterloo Sparkling Water and previously founded her own strategic marketing consulting firm, drawing from over 25 years of experience working for iconic CPG brands like Nabisco, Kraft, and Atkins Nutritionals. In this episode, Maurella shares her wisdom on brand building, leadership, and marketing.

During her career, Maurella has led marketing efforts resulting in highly successful acquisition deals and IPOs. Her unmatched passion for the consumer is evident as Maurella emphasizes the importance of foundational consumer insights research to inform authentic brand positioning and storytelling.In this interview, Maurella pulls back the curtain on her leadership style, career pivots, incorporating AI, and on her thoughts on the evolving marketing landscape. Key highlights include actionable advice for young founders on maintaining strong company culture in remote work environments, leveraging media mix modeling data to optimize decision making, and why brand tracking studies are crucial, regardless of company size.

This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs and marketers looking to level up their leadership abilities, better understand the modern shopper journey, and build memorable brands that stand the test of time. Maurella shows that patient, consumer-centric marketers who stay true to their core values will thrive.

 

OUTLINE: 

 

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:01:12) Kathy's upbringing and early career path

(00:04:57) Experience going through Kraft acquisition

(00:07:49) Leadership style and building relationships

(00:09:29) Mentoring younger employees

(00:13:27) Macroeconomic factors affecting brands

(00:14:42) Core principles of brand building

(00:17:27) Power of consumer insights

(00:21:52) Gathering insights in current landscape

(00:24:15) Evolving marketing tactics

(00:25:03) Changes in marketing over past year

(00:27:49) Consumer shifts around spirits and beverages

(00:28:53) Adapting brand strategy to reach Gen Z

(00:30:43) Importance of meeting consumers where they are

(00:33:04) Transition to consulting role

(00:36:19) Characteristics of good consultants

(00:41:04) Perspective on rise of AI

(00:42:57) Waterloo's use of AI in branding

(00:46:31) Day-to-day use of AI as a CMO

(00:49:18) Short CMO tenures and pressures

(00:52:56) Attributes of successful CMO leadership

(00:57:29) Striking balance between brand building vs performance marketing

(01:01:50) Wrap up and final thoughts

 

EPISODE LINKS:


Kathy’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-maurella-1294641/
Waterloo Sparkling Water: /www.drinkwaterloo.com/
KJM Marketing Inc: https://kjmmarketing.com/
Atkins Nutritionals: https://www.atkins.com/
Kraft: https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/
Nabisco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabisco

Waterloo AI branding campaign: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/waterloo-sparkling-water-ai-campaign-trail/652188/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk69AIBrTlQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkKLGhnQ3nA

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