I recently went one-on-one with Rene Federico, Head of US Marketing for Primark.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Rene: I started my career on the retail sales floor – a huge step in shaping the career I’ve built since. From that experience, I saw firsthand the power of brands and consumers coming together. I became consumer-obsessed and haven’t stopped searching for the storytelling that resonates and meets the moment for shoppers in an authentic way.
From helping customers feel more confident in reaching their potential to ensuring their experience was one that brought them back in store, the lessons I learned on the shop floor have stuck with me, and I think are some of the most crucial to the work I still do to this day as a brand marketer. I have a passion to connect consumers and brands together, and my early career work lit that flame.
In addition, I am an athlete, and that mentality continues to shape my approach to all that I do. As an athlete, particularly as a basketball player, I was very connected to sports brands, like Nike. It was a pinnacle moment for my career when I spent several years working in the basketball category – connecting my passions in marketing and in sport.
As an athlete, I understand the importance of fundamentals. You have to get the fundamentals right in order to build momentum. It was important to me in my career to work with brands that have a great foundation on which to build a brand presence. This has guided all of my career decisions.
Adam: What are three things everyone should understand about marketing?
Rene: Data and metrics are half the story. There is a real intangible in brand marketing right now, but also, we’re seeing this obsession with data and efficiency. Understanding your return on investment is obviously a powerful tool, but I do worry we’re getting away from the drivers of building brand equity when we spend too much time chasing numbers. We’re losing some of the importance of long-term value and the ability to drive those longer-term connections. You can’t measure everything on a 30-day dashboard and make all your decisions based on that dashboard, because those are only indicators. Metrics are important, but I also suggest taking a step back. Considering the intangible and forging emotional connections will be crucial to build equity for your brand.
Don’t be interchangeable. As a marketer, it’s important that you are creating a journey of brand connectedness. Aligning your brand story with your customers and potential customers so that they really understand who you are and how you benefit them is a key driver of loyalty. This is how you become a choice that consumers will not interchange with any other retailer.
It’s a moving target; be agile. The way consumers interact with brands has changed because there are many more platforms today than ever before from which brands can engage with consumers. The power of social commerce and digitally native shopping has changed what we do. What we once considered to be at the bottom of the funnel is moving up, and it converts. Marketers must create an ecosystem for consumers and make sure that they can operate really efficiently within it.
Adam: What are three things everyone who works in marketing should understand?
Rene: Don’t neglect emotional connections for transactional outcomes. There is a spectrum between the transactional and emotional. I worry as metrics and data increasing drive the work we do, we begin to lose an important ingredient of successful marketing – emotional connection. I urge marketers to consider what ways they can capture hearts and minds, in addition to what ways they capture wallets. Both, combined, are critical to building true brand loyalty. Consider how you can become less interchangeable with retailers that may look on the outside like they have a similar proposition.
Fill the top of the funnel. You have to fill the top of the funnel to deliver the bottom of the funnel. As marketers, our job is often first, creating brand perception, and then driving the desire to shop our stores and our products. You cannot skip the top of the funnel to get here. In marketing, it’s important to understand all the levers to pull. There are so many channels, so understanding what channels at the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel you need to tap into is crucial to a strategy that gets people to 1) know who you are, 2) check out your value proposition, and 3) become a repeat, loyal customer. We currently face the challenge of more and more pressure on the ability to invest with a measurable return. This approach ensures we unlock investment to turn awareness into conversion.
Don’t underestimate the value of creators. I believe creators are cultural symbols. They are creating connections with consumers beyond just in the transactional sense and can do wonders when partnering well and authentically with a brand. Strong brands do great storytelling, and then they find ways to put the right messages in front of customers at the right time. What’s really interesting in the creator landscape is their ability to take their everyday lives and turn them into their own brands. I urge marketers to consider the power of creators and tap into this channel as an important tool going forward. This is how we connect with our target audience with credibility and cultural relevance.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Rene: I get such energy from a new challenge and finding places where my team and I can have a real, outsized impact on the role we play in elevating the organization for which we work. In my leadership, I look for these opportunities to ensure I have an engaged and enthusiastic team that feels ownership over the change we’re driving for the better.
The best teams in retail and brand marketing are those who understand the full retail and consumer journey. At Primark, for example, our whole US leadership team essentially started on the shop floor. We all have a special appreciation for this work, given our background. We all understand what store teams mean to the business and are truly customer-obsessed. Building and galvanizing a team that has that deeper level of understanding and passion makes for the best outcomes.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Rene: I’ve been really fortunate in my career to work under great leadership. A big part of this is really strong skills in peer leadership. An effective leader, in my opinion, is someone who is extremely self-aware and is a great listener. This approach leads to more understanding, honesty, and authenticity, which ultimately garners trust and good, hard work from your teams. Additionally, leaders need to be decisive and drive clarity. Being able to do both those things effectively enables teams to do their best work.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Rene: I think it is a privilege to be able to lead a team and to be able to help people reach their potential in terms of their skill set and their career goals. Understanding not just your own growth objectives, but those aspirations of the teams you manage, and helping them reach these goals, is so rewarding and has been the crux of what has driven me to the position I am in today. Leadership comes down to really dedicating yourself to be able to put your team in a position to contribute at their maximum potential.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Rene: I think there’s an innate optimism in future generations. I recommend leaning into this optimism. There’s a real chance to do something meaningful. This shift, as a marketer, really excites me about the future. Let’s focus less on chasing metrics and more on creating connections.
Future leaders should always look for new ways to challenge themselves and grow. Where can you have an outsized impact? This industry is ever evolving, and there’s so much to learn. Being agile in that is your best bet to success. In addition, if you’re passionate about something, go after it. If you love what you do, the work will show it!
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Rene: I have benefited from such great advice and guidance throughout my life and career. It’s really challenging to pick one thing. But if I had to pick something that has had a significant impact on me, it’s that every day is an opportunity to decide. Decide who you want to be, how you want to feel, and what you want to give your precious energy to. Starting every day by answering these three questions grounds me in the present and helps me set the tone for how I want to show up for my family, my team, my peers, and everyone I interact with. And believe me, most days you are faced with something that really tests these commitments – when that happens, I go back to each question and answer it again to recommit myself and ensure I am bringing my best to every situation.
