Citi CMO Carla Hassan: Now is ‘not the time’ for brands to be bystanders

Welcome to Marketer Must Read, a weekly newsletter that’s packed with inspiration, perspective on challenges, and a look at what other marketers are watching. Click Subscribe above to be notified of each edition.

Anytime someone says, “You’re either a performance marketer or a brand marketer,” Citi CMO Carla Hassan sets the record straight. 

“I don't believe you're either one or the other,” she says. “I believe you have to be both.”

One of the hardest parts of being a marketer today, Hassan says, is “understanding how to merge the technical analytical know-how with traditional brand smarts.” 

But the two don’t have to be at odds with each other.

“There are a lot of people who are looking for short-term results,” she says. “They look at performance marketing as something that gives them short-term results and brand marketing as something that gives them long-term results. To me, it’s the combination of the two that drives the business and builds the brand.”

Hassan is deeply invested in the idea of brands using “their balance sheet for good.” 

“It’s now a marketer's job to say, ‘How do we articulate how we're living our values, not just in external communication and campaigns, but also in internal ones?’ People can sniff out if it's inauthentic. So, now more than ever is not the time to be a bystander.” 

Hassan has held two CMO roles prior to joining Citi, one at Toys “R” Us and the other at PepsiCo where she was the chief marketer for the Middle East Africa Region in Dubai. In more than a decade at PepsiCo, she worked with Quaker Foods, Gatorade and the Global Beverages Group.  

One of the most refreshing parts of talking to Hassan is her unique combination of optimism and candor. She doesn’t hesitate to lean into the personal. When discussing what’s had the greatest impact on her perspective as a marketer, she shares the story of her daughter being diagnosed with Wilms’ Tumor at age four. It was a moment that changed her life both personally and professionally, she says, when she saw how empathetic her boss, Brad Jakeman, and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi were.

Empathy, she says, “is the most critical element not just for effective leadership, but quite frankly, for powerful marketing -- to rely on human connection, empathy, authenticity and vulnerability.” 

“That moment taught me that and has led me to a perspective that is very different: Setting a vision and strategy is critical, but how do you extract the most value from your team to really accomplish all of your objectives? That’s driven by humanity. That's driven by empathy.” Below, she shares more of her story.

1. What has had the most impact on your perspective as a marketer?

I've been fortunate enough to work in different business units at some of the most amazing companies in the world. I've been able to see different-sized businesses from commercial roles and staff roles. That gives me a great perspective overall about the world of business and the role of marketing in it.

But interestingly enough one of the most defining moments in my life, and subsequently in my career, actually had nothing to do with business, and it happened while I was at PepsiCo. My daughter Noor was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer called Wilms' Tumor at 4-years-old. You can imagine, it just turns your world upside down.

From a professional standpoint, what stood out to me most was how empathetic my leadership was and how well they supported me. My boss at the time, Brad Jakeman, jumped in without my even knowing. He sent a note to everybody I work with and said, “As of right now, indefinitely, please do not get ahold of Carla, she's dealing with a personal issue. Anything you were working on with her comes to me.” Our CEO at the time was Indra Nooyi, who I'm very fortunate to consider one of my mentors. To this day, when I text with her or talk to her, the first thing she says to me is, “How's my Noor?” The empathy that they demonstrated has stayed with me. 

That has really colored so much about not just the leader I am, but the marketer I am. This notion that you must put yourself in other people's shoes because you never know what someone is going through. It makes you curious, it makes you understand human connection more. That is the most critical element not just for effective leadership, but quite frankly, for powerful marketing -- to rely on human connection, empathy, authenticity and vulnerability. That moment taught me that and has led me to a perspective that is very different: Setting a vision and strategy is critical, but how do you extract the most value from your team to really accomplish all of your objectives? That’s driven by humanity. That's driven by empathy.

2. What's changed the most about your job as a marketer over the course of your career?

The complexity of the marketing mix and the role marketing plays in an organization has changed dramatically. When I first started, there were three or four levers you could pull. Now, there is so much out there that it's hard to keep up with what defines marketing.

A big driver of that is the acceleration of digital. We have seen digital grow at exponential rates over the last 10 years and COVID has accelerated this trend in a way that will never go away. Here’s an example: Some people would never have deposited a check on a phone. They felt like, “No, I want to see that. I want to sign it, give it to a teller and have the teller give me a receipt.” But then COVID hits and they may no longer feel comfortable going into a bank. So they're almost forced to learn that behavior. Once they do it and realize that it actually works, they're never going back. It has really challenged us as marketers to embrace change to be successful.

Another huge change has been the importance of brand purpose, and the role that marketing plays in identifying that. Marketers are the advocates for consumers, clients and customers in a company. From a marketing standpoint, we have the opportunity to step up and enable progress. It's time for companies to use their balance sheet for good, and consumers, clients and other constituents are expecting that. I'm fortunate to be working for a company that has embraced this kind of thinking for years. We've had a voice on a range of issues that are consistent with our values, and for us, that's really important. It’s now a marketer's job to say, “How do we articulate how we're living our values, not just in external communication and campaigns, but also in internal ones?” People can sniff out if it's inauthentic. So, now more than ever is not the time to be a bystander. 

 3. What's the hardest part of a marketer's job today?

Understanding how to merge the technical analytical know-how with traditional brand smarts. People say, “You’re either a performance marketer or you're a brand marketer.” Every time they say that, I get on my soapbox. I don't believe you're either one or the other, I believe you have to be both. Even in an email channel, you have the ability to bring the brand's persona to life and creating content without leveraging the data you have to drive engagement is a missed opportunity.

The hardest part of a marketer’s job today is marrying the two, but if we want to be successful, we’ve got to find a way to do that and not treat “performance” and “brand” like they’re two separate functions. And that's a big issue because there are a lot of people who are looking for short-term results. They look at performance marketing as something that gives them short-term results and brand marketing as something that gives them long-term results. To me, it’s the combination of the two that drives the business and builds the brand.      

4. Tell us about the marketing campaign you're most proud of working on in your career.

In 2019, Citi was the first US company to publish our unadjusted, raw pay gap for women and minorities. The analysis itself revealed an ugly number. Our CEO Michael Corbat even talked about it that way. The transparency that we had in putting out those numbers allowed Citi to identify tangible steps to improve and made us accountable. We are very committed to closing the gap, and we set goals around representation for women and minorities to put them in more senior and higher-paying roles, and we've set goals for the end of 2021. 

Shortly after the announcement, we were going to do an internal campaign to tell people that we did this, and when I saw the idea, I was like, “This cannot be our internal best kept secret. This has to be something we share with the world.” And so we launched a campaign called The Moment. The tagline was, “It's About Time.” It shines a light on the gender pay and leadership gaps but it did it in a way where the creative features the children of Citi colleagues, which is a risk when you’re using children to talk about something so heavy. But we found that their reactions to learning about any kind of pay gap was so important for us to spark a broader conversation. They were asked how they would feel if they knew that women were paid less than men, or if they knew that women didn't get the same high paying jobs that men got. And their reactions, interestingly enough, based on the range of their ages, also ranged from anger to confusion. The reason the campaign was called The Moment is it captured their reaction at that moment, when someone said, “Do you realize that women don't get paid as much as men?” The emotion that sparked was really powerful. We have gotten great feedback from consumers and customers.

But the reason I’m so proud of it has been the impact it has had on potential employees. So many times I’ll get an email from HR, saying, “Hey, you don’t know this, but there was an open role we were interviewing somebody for today, and she said the reason she chose to do this interview and not an interview at another bank is because she saw the campaign and she knows that we're committed to women at our company.” That makes the hairs on your arm stand up because you realize that you're now a part of something bigger than just yourself and bigger than just a campaign. And I would say stay tuned because it's not a one and done, we continue to find creative ways to humanize this really sobering data. And so, particularly as we're seeing women and the issues surrounding women’s unemployment during this crisis, that's one that I'm really proud of. There are a few moments in your career where you kind of stop and you say, “This is bigger than me.”

Another one was the launch of Mastercard’s “True Name” feature a couple of months ago. We now have an offering where you can change your chosen first name on our U.S. credit cards. This is particularly important for the transgender and non-binary community. Almost 70 percent don't have any piece of ID that has their chosen name, and your name is a big one, it’s how you introduce yourself. And if you have nothing that represents that, it has such an impact, not just emotionally, but from a safety perspective, as well as giving you the ability to buy things and do things. That’s another one I'm really proud of.

But all these campaigns have one string in common, which is they are bigger than just the marketing campaign, they are actually sparking a conversation with others and changing culture.    

 5. What's a marketing campaign you wish you'd thought of and why?

The New York Times Truth campaign: “The Truth is Hard,” “The Truth is Worth It.” It was unbelievably brave and extremely simple. I remember when I first saw that I was like, “Oh my God, I wish that was me.” But kudos to them. They've evolved the campaign over the years and have made it even more powerful .

6. What's your must read, watch or listen for all marketers?

If you're a marketer who wants to learn from other marketers, The CMO Podcast with Jim Stengel is phenomenal. I've learned so much just by listening to it. Nadine Dietz’s podcast CMO Moves is awesome as well. I personally get a lot of inspiration from anything Adam Grant says-- he’s so provocative and simple in his perspectives. I recently read Unleashed by Dr. Francis Frei at Harvard and Anne Morriss. It's a phenomenal book on leadership.

7. What's an under the radar brand you're watching and why?

One is Olive and June. It’s a nail beauty brand that allows you to give yourself great at-home manicures. It’s really genius, especially during COVID. They had a very interesting insight. You're sitting at home, and you want the luxury of getting your manicure and pedicure done, but it’s so hard to replicate. So, they created an experience as close to a professional manicure/pedicure as you can be sitting in your own home, with a product that was easy to use.

Impossible Foods is a brand that I've been looking at for a long time. They were created with a purpose. They are trying to get people to eat differently. It's broader than just the food they make. They've got a purpose and a mission that's beyond that.  

8. Name a product you can't live without (that doesn't connect you to the internet) and tell us why.

That's really easy for me, and I know, it's going to sound basic, but Bounty Paper Towels. I know what I'm getting with Bounty. I'm a clean freak, I'm borderline OCD. But I know I can use them over and over again. Don't laugh, but even now, I'm buying them by the case and storing them because I'm so nervous that if they ever go out of stock again, I will have to use a different paper towel, which is just not acceptable for me. I laugh because my mom, when we first moved to the U.S. from the Middle East, there were certain brands that she bought and Bounty was one of them. And it is amazing, right? How sometimes you just continue the tradition without even thinking about it. Like why do you use this brand over that? The reality is my mom used it. That's what I saw at home. And now it gives me the quality that I need. And it's very consistent.

 9. Finish this sentence. If I weren't a marketer, I would be...

I would be an event planner. I am the master of event planning. I love to throw parties. I'm not sure anybody would want to hire me though, because I’d spend too much of their money.

10. Finish this sentence the marketer I most want to see do this questionnaire is...

Petco CMO Tariq Hassan for sure. I would also love to hear from McDonald’s CMO Morgan Flatley.

Thanks for being part of the Marketer Must Read community! Feel free to reach out to me with your thoughts on marketing or if you have suggestions for who should be featured here. And don’t forget to hit subscribe above or below to be notified when the next issue comes out.