Get To Know Buy Box Experts’ New VP of Growth & Sr. Director of Brand Growth
How did you support the BBE team before, and how do you support the agency and its brand partners now?
Brad Saksons:
“As the previous director of business development, I was brought on to focus on new business.
My goal was bringing in new brand partners and trying to find those collaborators that had strategic goals that really aligned with our capabilities as an agency. For example, looking for those clients that lean heavily into advertising and optimization, where we know that we can drive a ton of growth.
Now, becoming VP of growth means that I am responsible for growth for the whole agency. This new change allows me to interact and engage with all of our existing clients. It’s opening up additional lines of communication in hopes that my role can become an additional leadership role that they can feel comfortable reaching out to.
It’s about having the brand partners really be my direct reports, in a sense. It’s about being able to help assist and drive growth within those existing accounts and making sure client sentiments stay high so we know we’re performing at a good level and operating as close to best in class as we can for them.
For me, the next few months are really just going to be focused on integrating myself into those existing accounts, learning the players, learning the strategies, and spending a lot of time on calls listening, which is a really great way to learn our current business.
I ultimately plan on just being that connection from a more senior perspective, to make sure that we’re delivering excellent service and providing those additional pathways for communication that keep our brand partners’ trust in our process.”?
Erik Minter:
“I joined Spreetail four years ago, having previously been at Target Corporation for over ten years. I have had the fortunate opportunity to help brands grow from $0 to $1M and from $1M to $1B across numerous categories and across many roles. From supply chain to planning to merchandising to finance to strategy to marketing, I have seen how each variable and capability is critical to the success of a brand’s playbook.?
Around a year ago, I stepped into a leadership position in our marketing vertical from our Channels Team to get closer to our brands and be at the forefront of growing their business through marketing levers. My background working for a retailer and a marketplace operator positioned me to help bridge our brands’ desires with opportunities across our channel partners.?
As I transition into this new role at BBE, I am ecstatic about doubling down on my passion for product. As a leader of our Brand Growth Strategy Team, I look forward to diving in and helping brands maximize their potential and open new opportunities.”
What actions will you take in this new role to support BBE's brand partners?
Brad Saksons:?
“What being a VP of growth means is that I’m protecting revenue at the end of the day, and that extends to the revenue of our brand partners.?
In the interactions that I do have with them, I help with auditing and understanding the goals that they have in order to be able to continue that revenue growth. Facilitating that growth also comes with leveraging the experts that we have on our team that I have complete trust in to come up with and carry out the strategies that support those needs.”
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Erik Minter:
“My first order of business while transitioning is going to be focusing on listening and learning, both from our brand partners and my team. I believe in the structure, processes, and approach that exist today but am excited about sitting down to understand our brands’ visions and building a road map for how we get there—quickly and strategically. I am an impatient optimistic who is excited about ecommerce but also the ever-growing importance of marketing. We need to, and will, showcase why you will accomplish more by working with us than you would have without.”
What factors do you think will determine success and growth for BBE going forward?
Brad Saksons:?
“When it comes to success, it’s really about growth for our brand partners and not about growth for our agency. As our brand partners grow, we naturally grow with them.
The more efficient that we are with advertising and working with brand partners that are strategic, the more we’ll gain success by supporting their success.
We love working with folks that understand profitability, understand testing and learning within the ad space to go out and find new customers, and understand their brand and who is coming in and searching for it on Amazon. Our team holds those same understandings and standards, so we love supporting and achieving more together within those types of partnerships and collaborations.
So, growth as an agency is really going to be dependent upon the success of our brand partners and how they’re growing, both profitably and within any new opportunities.”
Erik Minter:
“Defining and aligning on success is the most important thing to do first. You can expect us to always take a moment before we start running to ensure we’re running in the right direction.?
Once we have an aligned vision and measures of success, we can hit the gas to accomplish that. I believe in collaboration, alignment, and communication along the way as variables enter the equation and favorably and unfavorably impact our opportunities.
We know that competition will only continue to grow, but being in lockstep with Amazon and the opportunities brands have will only allow us to capitalize in the short and long term.”
Be sure to keep an eye on BBE in the coming months as Brad and Erik lead the charge in maximizing growth and brand impact. We’re confident that their expertise and dedication will continue to elevate the level of service we provide to our valued partners.?
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