Katharina N.-Growth, Brand, Marketing & Digital Strategy Consultant

Project lead for the development, launch and company-wide implementation of the strategic repositioning of the brand based on the new corporate vision (CEO-driven transformation project).

Key areas of responsibility:

• Conceptualization, further development and implementation of the global brand and communications strategy (internal and external) to strengthen the strategic positioning, including subsequent concepts to foster internal identification with the new corporate vision (cross-country implementation with > 60 thousand employees) and for external activation.
• Development and implementation of new global campaigns across owned and paid channels, including channel strategy, (social) media strategy and creative concepts.
• Development and implementation of a data-driven approach to managing and optimizing brand communications.
• Management of internal communications on strategic topics, including internal events.
• Functional leadership of interdisciplinary project teams and collaboration with stakeholders across various functions and organizational levels.
• Budget responsibility as well as management and integration of external agencies and service providers.
• Driving the integration of AI into brand management and communications.
• Strategic sparring partner for organizational design as well as the further development of the department strategy and project roadmap in Corporate Branding. Result: Global brand and communications strategy implemented and data-driven as well as AI-supported foundations for future-ready brand management established, internal anchoring of the corporate vision strengthened and transformation of Corporate Branding significantly advanced; awarded the CEO Award.

• Responsible for developing and globally implementing the brand and marketing strategy for various Group brands
• Revision of the brand strategy (positioning, brand essence, Brand Pillars, etc.) and preparation/support of the global roll-out
• Definition of the marketing and CRM strategy and development of a marketing plan, including communications and campaign management to establish the new positioning
• Creation of a migration plan for various brands as part of the Group restructuring

• Advised and supported the CEO and division board members in revising the corporate strategy
• Revised the purpose, positioning and corporate strategy, including the development of the key cornerstones for implementing the growth strategy
• Facilitated the strategy process at board level and aligned the board and top management around a common direction through intensive stakeholder management

• Advising the shareholders on securing the investment and realizing the business potential of the investment
• Realigning the purpose, positioning and business model to unlock new growth potential
• Implementing initial levers for Season ’19
• Creating a roadmap for further expansion and growth over the next two years

• Supporting and advising the division management in identifying and defining structural and content-related measures to optimize the Customer Experience
• Identifying levers to strengthen customer focus and competitive differentiation
• Developing a Customer Experience (CX) concept and action plan to establish a new cross-functional Customer Experience Management area of responsibility

• Supporting the Executive Board and VP Marketing in defining the strategy for the brand’s future lifestyle concept
• Conducting extensive market, customer and trend analyses and creating a future roadmap
• Developing strategic options for the brand’s further development and securing buy-in from key stakeholders

• Supporting and advising the Executive Board and department heads in ensuring a consistent brand presence and efficient approach to international market activities (EMEA)
• Transformation from a decentralized to a centrally managed structure for marketing and budget planning EMEA
• Sharpening the brand and marketing strategy while taking country-specific conditions into account
• Creating the basis for optimizing marketing effectiveness and efficiency, with increases of up to 15 %

• Supporting and advising the Executive Board in optimizing and increasing the efficiency of EMEA-wide marketing activities
• Optimizing the planning process in terms of content and structure, including redefining the collaboration model between the regions
• Synchronizing marketing activities and leveraging synergies and efficiency potential by developing joint initiatives

• Advising and supporting the marketing department in revising and defining the future product portfolio
• Developing and supporting a future-proof brand portfolio and product concept for one of the most important SBUs

• Overall responsibility for designing and implementing the strategic reorientation (project lead followed by assuming interim responsibility for marketing)
• Developing and successfully implementing a comprehensive brand relaunch including new positioning, branding and 360° marketing and advertising concept
• Restructuring the marketing department and ensuring the full commitment of the Executive Board to the business case for revitalizing the retail brand

• Project management for realigning marketing
• Restructuring marketing and realigning the communication strategy with clear target-group targeting and an effective marketing mix
• Profiling the retail brand and increasing overall marketing efficiency by 10–15%

• Project management for implementing a functional concept from a previous sales optimization project
• Preparation of the project plan, including time, cost, and resource planning as well as detailed work packages
• Management of project committees and interface to the project sponsor, the Executive Board Member responsible for Sales, and IT
• Structuring and managing the creation of sales-relevant content (Blueprint) and implementation as planned despite high time pressure and limited resources

• Project management for the development and introduction of a multidimensional brand/marketing performance management system (Brand Score Card)
• Development and introduction of the Brand Score Card for continuous performance monitoring of all private labels using financial, customer, and market data
• Establishment of a cross-functional learning approach for continuous optimization, including defining processes across all areas (Marketing/CRM, Purchasing, Sales, Controlling)

• Led and delivered brand consulting projects from strategy definition through operational implementation in retail, industry and services
• Focus on brand management, growth strategies, marketing strategy, communications, market research and marketing organization
• Built and managed the Analytics & Research/Knowledge Management function
• Project management and functional leadership of client-specific teams (up to 40 people) and partner agencies (Design, ATL/BTL, Online, CRM, PR)
• Examples: Marketing Masterplan (+10 % efficiency), private-label strategy, corporate branding, SBU restructurings, company relaunch (+15 % sales/+11 NPS), home automation strategy (+22 % sales), service quality (+8 % NPS)

• Brand and product management with a focus on innovation, consumer insights, campaign development and P&L responsibility (up to € 60 million in sales), as well as management of up to six employees
• Development and launch of a new international umbrella brand
• Double-digit sales growth through innovative specialty detergents and cleaning products (formulas, USP, packaging, design)
• Development and implementation of international ATL/BTL brand campaigns
• Introduction of international methods/models for measuring marketing efficiency (ROI)