SAMPLE OF KEY PROJECTS
WOODWICK 2018 SPRING COLLECTION
I was part of a small brand team that helped integrate WoodWick into Newell Brands. After purchasing WoodWick, we conducted a brand perception study and determined that we could differentiate WoodWick from Yankee Candle by positioning it as a premium multi-sensory candle brand. We partnered with Consumer Insights to create a new buyer persona and rewrote the brand guidelines. We eliminated low performing SKUs and products that did not align with the brand's positioning. At the same time, I led the development of 54 new decorative candle vessels and fragrances which resulted in an incremental $7.2M of net sales.
THE HAWAIIAN RIBEYE
We were working on a new limited-time menu offer. After exploring various options, we were ready to recommend the Hawaiian Ribeye. I partnered with a diverse cross-functional team (Finance, Culinary, Operations, and Supply Chain) to develop a profitable pricing strategy, ensure ease of execution at the restaurant level, and gain stakeholder buy-in to launch the product. We received approval and were ready to roll out the new offer in under five weeks! The new steak received positive guest satisfaction scores and grew the category by almost 3%.
INNOVATION ROAD MAP
We had several line improvement projects in the mix and were now ready to start work on our innovation pipeline. I was a brand lead on a group that included R&D, Industrial Design, and Creative team members as we embarked on a weeklong trend trek in New York City. We generated over 100 ideas ranging from implementing new sustainable practices to launching innovations that solved consumer pain points. We received approval to move forward with some of the concepts after presenting our top ideas to the Chief Marketing Officer and other leaders. I led the development of several innovations that we identified during the session. The products generated $11.4M of gross revenue.
QUALITY ENHANCEMENT
We conducted a competitive benchmarking and trends analysis to identify various unmet consumer needs as well as several menu gaps. We then decided to optimize the menu and develop several new products to test in a subset of new restaurants. I managed the $5M quality enhancement project and then partnered with Finance and Consumer Insights to present a final recommendation to the leadership team. After receiving approval to launch, I managed the creative agency through the development of new merchandising, which would support the items. I also Partnered with Supply Chain, Operations, Culinary, and the Training Teams to create an educational program that would help local operators successfully execute new menu items in 500+ locations.
TREASURES COMPETITION
Yankee Candle brings back fan favorites every year, also known as Treasures. We would receive several requests from fans to bring back their favorite scents; many would become upset when we didn't. So we decided to let our fans select which candle we brought back and allowed them to win their favorite fragrance by posting why a particular candle was special to them. We partnered with our Social Media Agency and implemented the first-ever Yankee Candle Treasures Campaign. The campaign beat previous social media records and generated 19%+ engagements & 85%+ impressions vs. pre-established KPIs.