• by Erik Oster , October 26, 2023

ORLANDO, Florida: Mars Wrigley North America CMO Gabrielle Wesley began her presentation at the Association of National Advertisers by setting the stakes high. “I don’t think our profession could be more challenging, exciting, or essential than it is right now,” she said, adding that marketers  are navigating a time when “the very concept of brand affinity is changing fast, and the world changing faster.”

And yet, “It is through our purpose and our principles that we hold ourselves accountable, to show the world what our brand stands for. We’ve learned some lessons about giving consumers new perspective on purpose, ensuring brands show up authentically in culture, and thinking more broadly about brand experiences.”

Wesley indirectly addressed some of the manufactured “controversies” aimed at Mars brands, alluding to when then-Fox News propagandist Tucker Carlson decried the Green M&M character’s change of shoes, and sharing a slide of Skittles’ Pride packaging, which anti-LGBTQ+ reactionaries had attacked. Mars’ response to such complaints? Stay the course.

“We didn’t let the noise distract us as marketers,” Wesley said. “That’s the tension we manage in helping our brands to evolve and endure.” The M&Ms campaign in question went on to win a Cannes Lion, she noted.

When asked by an audience member what other brands should be taking away from Mars-Wrigley’s “purpose journey,” she responded that brands should cultivate elements of self-awareness and personal development, and ask themselves questions like “What are we about? What would our development opportunities be if our brand was a person?”

She added, “Really taking on that persona helps us develop who that brand is and what it’s about."

Whether driving brand purpose or embedding brands in cultural moments, authenticity is key, she explained. Brands need to “do it in a tone of voice and in a way that’s true to who you are,” she said.

Her advice for saying “yes” to bold marketing decisions? “Therapy,” she said, eliciting a chuckle from the moderator. Also:“You have to get your leaders and shareholders involved very early, and they have to trust you.”