Bringing Sexy Back to Manufacturing: The Art of Reinventing a Legacy B2B Brand

Speaker A: Winning is crazy.

Speaker B: Your opportunity. Your opportunity.

Speaker A: So then I told my CEO, I said, I'm going to bring sexy back to manufacturing. And it's actually something that stuck. It's come out in different articles. Um, they joke around the company when I'm doing anything creative that, you know, I better be bringing sexy back. And I think since what we've done is elevate the brand, look and feel, I want to take a guerrilla approach and really do something, you know, outrageous that stands out so that by the time you get this package in your desk, you know that World Dumplin was, you know, World Dumpling was here. Colorful packages, you know, unboxing really became part of the brand. Um, so much so that uh, it became a talking piece. And even if you were not interested in the product, you were calling World Dump them to say, I really like your packaging. The customers were calling them and saying, I just got this really big box from you. This is really cool. Um, so it was a different approach to the way we were doing business and it was, I have to say it was very well received by the never ending war between marketing and sales, you know, um, which we, we don't always understand each other. So our CEO created a, ah, commercialization team and it's the head of marketing and the head of sales are one person even though we're two people. But he really chooses as one. Indirectly, what started as a branding strategy has turned into a lead gen strategy because what's happening is that our followers and the likes and you know, uh, the evolution of LinkedIn, right, or social media is people are learning about our company through the perspective of the CEO of um, uh, the leadership team.

Speaker B: Hello and welcome to the We Marketers podcast. I'm Andrew and today I'm joined by Carolina Rodriguez, VP of marketing at World Emblem, the world's largest patch and emblem manufacturer. Carolina has over 15 years of experience running high impact marketing campaigns for global and national brands, managing multimillion dollar budgets and leading diverse teams across US Latin America and beyond. In this episode, we'll dive into what it really takes to modernize a legacy brand. Carolina, happy to have you today. Uh, could you tell our listeners more about what you do and uh, uh, and more about your current role at uh, World Emblem.

Speaker A: Sure. Thank you for having me, Andrew. Um, so I started my career out of college, started working in an agency as an account executive, um, and I had the opportunity to also be a media buyer which gave me the opportunity to really learn traditional media. Um, and it gave me the foundation of advertising. Then Moved into the digital space. I believe I was an early adopter when Google Ads and first media buys were happening. Um, and as I continued m my journey then I went to the client side, worked uh, with retail and e commerce and then I spent the prior uh to coming to World Emblem. Ten years in the luxury space and working in luxury really gave me an opportunity to learn about you know, customer experience and hyper focus, um, customer uh, customization journeys. And then World Dumplin recruited me about five years ago and now I am leading multi brands and markets, um, leveraging strategies, storytelling and data. Um, I think my experience across agency clients uh, in different industries has really helped me bring it full circle to World Emblem where I'm having the opportunity to really utilize all skills.

Speaker B: World emblem is a 30 years ah old business. It's a big manufacturer. And uh, what's the story when you joined joined it. Uh, they had kind of legacy, old fashioned brand and then you started modernizing it. Could you tell more about this?

Speaker A: Of course. So um, yeah. World of Lisboro for 30 years and to be honest, and I've said this to my CEO manufacturing, um, when I first thought about it, it's not something that's beautiful, it's not, you know, it's not attractive. Um, the more time that I spend in the floor, uh, in the production floor, I, I got to see the beauty and the art of it all. You know, the threats, the colors, the precision of a needle, you know to get this perfect image, um, the final touch. So then I told my CEO I said I'm going to bring sexy back to manufacturing. And it's actually something that stuck. It's come out in different articles, um, they joke around the company when I'm doing anything creative that you know, I better be bringing sexy back. And I think since what we've done is elevate the brand look and feel, um, really upgraded the creative quality, um, and try to stay relevant with the trends that are happening. Um, one big campaign and it's become um, a theme in the company is really telling the behind the scenes. Um, we call this campaign the art of manufacturing and it's taking our customers or our viewers, um, our followers behind the scenes and really showing how much work it takes and how much precision it takes to actually get an MLM out.

Speaker B: And when you started working on rebranding, what's the process, what it looks like?

Speaker A: So I think the first thing I did was really do a deep dive into the brand and what we were doing, um, most of our creative was really outdated. So the first thing was really elevating our creative, our photography, our product is very details focused. So these threads are microscopic. So how do we get the right lens, the right team to be able to capture that level of detail? Um, the next thing I think was, um, for products. So we have a new. We have an R and D department. We're developing new products. The way that we were sending packages to our customers was traditional mail. And I said, I want to take a guerrilla approach and really do something, you know, outrageous that stands out so that by the time you get this package in your desk, you know, that World Dumpling was, you know, World Dumpling was here. Um, colorful packages. You know, unboxing really became part of the brand. Um, so much so that it became a talking piece. And even if you were not interested in the product, you were calling Royal Dump to say, I really like your packaging. I really like how you told the story, um, the nostalgia behind, you know, the chenille. Um, so it became a talking piece between sales and marketing and became a talking piece between sales and clients. Um, and even today, actually, we have clients who come to us, and we're a manufacturer, we're not a creative agency, but they come to us and say, hey, can I have Carolina, can I have your creative team create a concept for us similar to what you guys are doing so that they can market our products or even their own products with some of the strategies that we've

Speaker B: put together and when. I'm just curious. So you mentioned, uh, that you got, uh, pretty quickly buy in from, uh, CEO, but when it all started, was there any resistance, maybe from other team members? Like, oh, no, we don't do things in this way. We. We want to do it in more traditional way.

Speaker A: I would say no from the beginning, I think. Um, and it's one thing that I love about Randy, our CEO is like, he's always given me the space to create and the autonomy to say, he's like, this is your department, as long as there's logic and KPIs. So I always have to back into whatever I'm doing. Um, from the sales team. It was disruptive. It was a fresh approach. Um, and it really helped them. Instead of being the ones following up with a customer to say, hey, did you get this? The customers were calling them and saying, I just got this really big box from you. This is really cool. Um, so it was a different approach to the way we were doing business. And it was, I have to say, it was very well received by the team.

Speaker B: That's Always great when you have uh, such a, such a support from internal teams and uh, on your way. What uh, were the biggest challenges for you?

Speaker A: Um, I think learning about our customers needs has been the biggest challenge for me. Right. So I mentioned that our product has precision, there's certain backings or certain techniques or certain ways that you express or trade ah, terms, terminology. So I think we at first we had these beautiful kits, uh, but they were missing the market with the customer was looking for. Um, so then that allowed me an opportunity to really work closer to the sales team and say okay, I can make, have the concept, I have everything. But I really depend on you to tell me the technicalities and what is the solution we're trying to solve for the customer. Um, and now anytime that we do any project there is a better collaboration between the two of us because I'm able to create the concept and sell it, but I need them to give me the right terms for them to be able to sell it to the customer.

Speaker B: And um, in terms of collaboration between your uh, marketing team and sales team, you uh, already mentioned uh, how you work together, maybe any other aspects you can share that will uh, be useful for other marketers.

Speaker A: So um, I think when we first started, when I first started and it's the never ending war between marketing and sales, you know, um, which we don't always understand each other. So our CEO created a commercialization team and it's the head of marketing and the head of sales are one person even though we're two people but he really chooses as one. Um, I think he brings a ah, perspective, I bring another one. And then having to work together and having almost like the same KPIs has really forced us to unify, have one voice, uh, one delivery. Um, it's also helped us. If the leaders are following this approach then the teams are doing the same thing. So naturally what's happening is my team is actually going, reaching out to the sales department and there's a better collaboration. They're having team meetings together to make sure that everything is in sync and aligned. Um, so there's definitely work that we need to do but we're definitely getting better at unifying our efforts so that we have one product for one brand.

Speaker B: And your internal marketing team, what it looks like, how it's structured, what resources do you use?

Speaker A: When I first started we were a team of eight. We're now 18. Um, so we're growing and so it's a company we have in house and we also have external partners and I Think external partners, we use them um, strategically when we need them. Uh, in house we have uh, in Mexico we have our creative team, our creative studio. So we have photographer, videographer and the graphic design team. And then across the US we have email marketing, digital marketing, E comm specialist, um, social media. And then we also outsource uh, to India. So in India we also have talent that helps us with E comm.

Speaker B: What challenges do you see managing such a big, big marketing team?

Speaker A: I would say so, um, that's actually a great question. So recently, so the company for the last three, four years has been involved in lean manufacturing. And lean manufacturing traditionally is for manufacturing and it's something that's implemented at the production level, um, but we're rolling it out to all the different departments. So as we continue rolling out um, lean manufacturing to the teams, one thing that's come up is I cannot have more than five direct reports because it's not fair to them or myself to be able to properly give the attention to everyone. So what we've done is as a team has grown. We continue adding layers. So I have five direct reports and then my direct reports have sub teams um, that they report to. Um, I have daily calls with my five direct reports. So I know at a high level what the team is doing. Um, that's from a structural perspective. Then from a KPI's perspective we also use lean manufacturing and some of the lean, um, reporting tools which allow us to report by the five different main functions. And then if one function is performing then it's like, okay, keep doing, keep doing what you're doing. But if one, if one area is um, underperforming then we dig deeper and do eight step problem solving to see where the gap is, try to fix it and then keep on looking at it. So the structure seems to be working. I don't, we don't have it perfected yet. It's still relatively new but I think it helps everybody really stick to their lanes and it also helps me just really have four pillars to focus at a high level.

Speaker B: It sounds like a really uh, structured organization.

Speaker A: We're getting there slowly.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's great. With such a product, uh, like emblems, uh, what channels do you use to promote your brand to bring it to customer?

Speaker A: I would say right now our best performing channel is LinkedIn. And um, LinkedIn for us it's, it's still, I think it's still a very untapped market or, or a platform, sorry, where um, the C suites and the decision makers that we're trying to uh, attract, you know, spend most of their time. Um, we've also, and this started indirectly. So um, you met you. We, we mentioned that I've been in that the company's been around for 30 years. I've been in the company for five. Um, we gave the brand an uplift. In the process of uplifting. It was really telling the story of the brand but from the executive point of view. So each executive has, you know, pillar their own channel to be able to tell the world of story. So we started doing a lot of thought leadership and through thought leadership, indirectly what started as a branding strategy has turned into a lead gen strategy because what's happening is that our followers and the likes and you know, you know, you know the uh, the, the evolution of, of, of LinkedIn, right or social media is people are learning from about our company through the perspective of the CEO of the you know, the leadership team. And it's no longer the like and obviously I'm in marketing but like the gimmicky advertising that I'm selling you what you, what I want, what I want you to know, right? It's raw, it's true, it's honest. Um, so we, we continue to spend on that, we continue to build on that so that um, if you want to ever work with us or partner with us, you're getting a really true story of how we work and who we are, what kind of people we are and who you're getting into business with.

Speaker B: And let's dive deeper into this thought leadership piece. Uh, what exactly do you do?

Speaker A: So right now the approach is each. We have active, we have five executives who are actively on LinkedIn telling their, really telling their story. Um, whether it's failure, success, um, sometimes it's about family, sometimes it's about struggles. Um, but we try to really try to tie it back to our professional life, you know, and how World Emblem has been an outlet, how World Emblem has helped us, how our CEO has given us the tools. Um, so what it's really. And then it. And it's, and it's also very uh, customer based. Right? So we're telling the story of how because we were able to do this and we're ultimately helping our customer, we're also helping the department or the business. Um, and I think people want real stories. So it touches deeper than a traditional banner. And don't get me wrong, we still do traditional banners. We still do the traditional.

Speaker B: Yeah, of course.

Speaker A: Um, but what it does is that it creates a 360 approach. Right? So um, you're seeing me on LinkedIn, um, by my story. But then you hear a story of us on Bloomberg or the New York Times, because we have come out of some of these publications recently, then you come, then now we're, you know, remarketing to you and you get an ad and it creates a 360 where you're like, oh, I read about Carolina's story. Oh, Carolina's company was in, you know, the New York Times. And here's an ad that tells you fill out a lead form, right? And by then it's almost like you know us and you're comfortable enough that you say, I want to learn more about you.

Speaker B: Amazing. This, this, this is amazing how you managed to uh, connect such a. I would say for me, it sounds like a boring product. Uh, emblems, right? What is it? Emblems. It's just, just emblems. Sorry, but at the same, but at the same time you created such a great connection so with, with humanity. So through thought leadership, through humanity, you really make, uh, people interested in, in this like what they are doing. Right? It's a top marketing approach. As for me, when marketers are ah, able to, to, to really effectively do this.

Speaker A: And I'll tell you this, you said just emblems. M. Um, it's really funny that you say that because I would have said the same thing when I started. And even, and as I mentioned, I went from luxury. So it, you know, the product I was dealing with is very different than just an emblem. Right. When you think of an emblem, I think we think of, oh, the, the patches for the, the Girl Scouts or um, you don't really think of how massive they are, but MLMs are everywhere, right? So, and um, I'm walking through our journey for a second. Do you have, do you have a favorite, you know, I'm sure you have a favorite soccer, uh, team and you go out to the soccer field and go watch your favorite team and you buy a hat. Well, that hat has, has your logo. And guess who's the one behind the hat putting that logo there or that, or that brand, right? The shirt that you're wearing right now has a tag, right, that says your size. That's technically a patch or an emblem is just attached differently. Um, your water bottle, you know, your water bottle has a name that, that can also be an emblem. Your umbrella has a brand that is a transfer, which is, you know, a type of, um, a decoration. Right? So the more. And, and I think that's where the beauty. And I say the art of manufacturing Is we all have emblems and patches and everything that we own. We just don't realize it. So part of what my job to do is to show companies, you know, and business leaders, hey, we're the right partner for you to help you bring your brand to life. Right through the hat, through the shirt, through your mug, through your pens, through. Because all of these. These are all the things that we do. All the touchpoint is we truly take your logo or your image and add it to almost anything. So it's not just an emblem. It's. And even the other day I was. I was in the airport and, um, I was. I was on the. On, like, the walk. The movie walking thing. And some guys, like, walking by with the hat. I'm like, we made that hat. Because I actually saw that in production. And I walk through the stores now, and I'm like, did we make that just because Emily.

Speaker B: Yeah. Now I take. Now I take my words back about boring product. I will definitely now notice all the emblems around me. Yeah, thanks.

Speaker A: But it's. Sorry, go ahead.

Speaker B: Yeah, thank you, actually, for pointing. Pointing this out. So, yeah, one more thing to consider.

Speaker A: But, Andrew, I would have said the same thing. You know, when I first started, I was like. And I remember like, oh, where do you work? And I was like, oh, it's an emblem manufacturer. You know, the Nike Squish. We're the ones who put it there. No, like, we're on, like. And I've been in front of friends and say, that's an emblem. That's an emblem. That's an emblem. You know, and we're probably the ones behind the scene making that for you.

Speaker B: Yeah, it's very exciting because emblem actually is part of, uh, your client's brand. And, uh, it's also marketing. Yeah, I didn't even think from this, uh, point of view. Exciting. It's very exciting. Always learning you in the company for five years and what, uh, results do you see? Uh, from time when you just started, uh, with update or rebranding, and now. So what's the difference? Do you notice?

Speaker A: I'll tell you this. So when I first started, um, I didn't know who worlddoman was, you know, um, and the same thing happens to a lot of our clients, um, over the last. And I would say probably over the last two years, uh, has been a stronger focus on really elevating our brand image and our brand presence and gaining that market share. Um, I think the biggest efforts are going into, or I see it when a sales rep comes back from a meeting with a new client for the first time or a lead, and the lead says, oh, yeah, I've heard of you guys. Oh yeah, I saw your, your, your ad or so, um, we are really starting to, in the industry to create the noise and the voice so that by the time that sales rep is knocking on your door, you know who you are. And I'm really proud of that. I'm really proud to be able to say that, you know, and every time a salesperson comes, it's like, oh, they saw your LinkedIn post or they saw the campaign or their seat of the box, then it means that everything that we're doing is, you know, touching and leaving a mark.

Speaker B: That's so good, so good that you, you feel proud. Yeah. And, and I feel this through the screen because how passionate you are about, uh, what you do.

Speaker A: I truly do love what I do.

Speaker B: Being VP of marketing, it means that you constantly need to be on top of trends, things that actually happen in marketing. What's your personal, um, recipe to stay connected with current trends, current news, and overall, keep learning.

Speaker A: I think it's a combination of reading, um, and staying active. So I dedicate an hour a day in the morning, very early in the morning, to just listening to a podcast or something that can help me stay relevant. Um, and that. And then secondary, it's having the right team. Marketing is very specialized. You know, like the email person only does email versus, you know, the creative person is creative. Right. So I really treat each one of them and they know this. And the team is like, each one of them is their own startup, uh, business. And for you to succeed, you have to stay relevant. So I'm trusting and I'm expecting for them to stay relevant and then come back to me and educate me and say, hey, can I try? Hey, I saw this. Can I go to the seminar? Can I go do the. I want to, you know, do you mind if I listen to this webinar? Um, and then whatever. And we will invest the money on our people. Um, because marketing is changing very rapidly. So we'll invest in the money and then say, hey, how can you apply it? What did you learn? Uh, come back and teach me. Um, I don't think there's enough hours in the day and the technology is changing so fast that it would be impossible for me to try to stay, you know, um, aware of everything. Um, and then I think lastly is really having partnerships, ah, with agencies that are going to keep you relevant. Right. So we do have different agencies. And aside from the Day to day work that they're doing quarterly. Um, I try to reach out to them and say what's happening in with AI? What tools are you using? What tools should we be using? What else should we be doing? So I am um, trusting them to keep me relevant. So I think I have like three different sources of information that I'm constantly tapping into. Um, because it's moving so fast, it's just hard to just do it by yourself.

Speaker B: And in terms of agencies, what areas do you outsource?

Speaker A: So um, we have uh, we have an, we have an internal social media person but we also have an agency, agency partner that helps us more um, with strategy. Um, we have an paid ah, ad agency that we work with and then on and off we have a B, Uh2B branding agency that will bring in for special projects and um, we have on retainer, full time PR agency that helps us continue to create thought leadership and keep the world I'm world and one brand, um, relevant to the news. I'll say the areas that I've struggled the most with agencies, um, has been SEO. So SEO, I think it's still like a mystery to a lot of people

Speaker B: why, what was the challenge for you?

Speaker A: Um, I just think we haven't found, we haven't found the secret sauce. Right. And, but I also think it's because the technology keeps changing, changing algorithms keep changing. Now AI, you know, is changing, uh, SEO. Right. So um, we'll have, we'll have an internal person. Then we'll also an agency. We challenge two of our agencies to you know, audit and come back and say what, what are we doing right or wrong? Uh, just because that's uh, your website is your, your fingerprint, you know, so you need to make sure that your, your website is performing at its best.

Speaker B: Yeah. Uh, in terms of future outlook, uh, could you maybe unveil some exciting things that um, you're working on and uh, going to implement in the future.

Speaker A: So um, World Emblem. One of our core values is continuous improvement and continuous improvement means that we always have to be, you know, evolving. This year alone we've spent over $2 million in AI technology, um, with the intention to be able to make Emblem, um, design and buying uh, as easy as possible for the customer. So it's, it's is giving you all the tools to be able to get that ah, Emblem to production ready as fast as possible. Um, and a lot of it is you know, our own technology, um, and partnerships with other AI agencies to be able to have this in house. Um, We've done competitive research and the amount that we're spending and the speed that we're changing technology in house is the fastest compared to competitors. Um, so that's really going to give us an edge. Um, and I think going back to what's coming in the 12 months, it's really elevating the B2B experience and then telling the story.

Speaker B: Carolina, what's one piece of advice could you give to marketers looking forward to update and refreshing and rebranding their company?

Speaker A: Don't throw away the history, build on it, you know, um, so there's. Yeah, and I think the, the history is the truth. The heritage and the power, you know, and it has trust to say, like we've been around for this long. Right. Um, obviously there's things that need to change over time, you know, for a 30 year old business or an old business. Um, but it's reintroduction, it's refreshing. It's not starting from, from, from scratch. Right. So um, I always say it's, you know, uh, it's finding the purpose. Right. So every business has a, every business has a purpose. Right. So bring that back to life. What was the basic of it? Don't lose it and then just refresh it, refresh it to the new audience, the younger audiences, but don't lose the essence of where it was built on.

Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's an amazing piece of advice. Not to lose, not to lose the essence and to repurpose, uh, your history. Carolina, thank you, thank you for joining me today. What is the best way for our listeners to connect with you?

Speaker A: LinkedIn. Yeah, so I think that's where I'm most active right now.

Speaker B: Perfect. I will add all the links, uh, the link to your LinkedIn in the show notes so everyone can go there and follow you on LinkedIn to follow your uh, amazing journey.

Speaker A: Awesome. Thank you.

Speaker B: This was a pleasure, it was pleasure to have you today and bye bye bye.

Speaker A: Have a good day.