Jill Layfield discusses her approach to brand-building, and it's about to get snackable

"Every consumer wants to feel smart and inspired. The best brands feed the mind and the heart." In this week's You've Got This, co-founder and CEO of luxury fashion brand Tamara Mellon Jill Layfield shares her insights on brand-building, the future of commerce, and advice for other direct-to-consumer brands. Don't miss her answers below, or our next guest, VP of Sales and Marketing and Corporate Secretary at ice cream company Casper's Keith Lawes.

Victoria: "How do you incorporate community and digital storytelling into your process and strategy, and what are some unique aspects around building a luxury brand?"

Jill: "We build community through shared purpose with our customer. That purpose is rooted in women owning their voice, with a focus on pay equity and women’s health. As an example, we have been outspoken advocates of closing the pay gap for women with both online and offline activations each year which address pay inequity. Traditionally, many luxury brands have built pride of association through shared status, but the modern woman demands pride of association through shared purpose. Do we still have to make beautiful, desirable shoes? Absolutely. The brand can be inclusive but the product must still feel exclusive. This is obviously a delicate balance for a brand, weaving in product storytelling (fashion, features and function) alongside purpose-driven storytelling (what else can we do for the woman wearing our shoes). It’s a very modern approach to building a luxury brand."

Victoria: "What are some of your predictions for the future of technology, experiential marketing, and retail?"

Jill: "I believe that there will be a new form of commerce in the US that scales very quickly. We are already seeing this in other markets, with new models/experiences/businesses which are scaling very quickly (like Pinduoduo, China’s fastest growing e-commerce platform in history). Advertising has moved online and yet, even with COVID-19’s cliff impact, US online sales are still only at ~27% of total commerce. I don’t expect another sizable jump until there are significant innovations outside of what we have today with retail, web, app and mobile commerce. I believe the biggest shifts will be driven by commerce via messaging (conversational commerce), AI (to scale messaging and further tailor the experience), payments, and social shopping."

Victoria: "What advice would you have for others who may be growing or evolving direct-to-consumer brands?"

Jill: "Spend as little money on marketing for as long as possible. This will force you to build the very best product/service, content, experience and brand so that you earn growth (via word of mouth).

"Force yourself to answer, in one minute, why your product must exist for your customer. Every consumer wants to feel smart and inspired. The best brands feed the mind and the heart."

Follow Jill on LinkedIn.

___________________________________________________________

Next week's guest: Keith Lawes

If you enjoy ice cream, you'll want to hear from Keith Lawes. As VP of Sales and Marketing and Corporate Secretary at ice cream brand Casper's, for the past 16 years Keith's work has helped the Utah-based family-owned and operated 96 year old company grow and scale. With that in mind, here's what I'll be asking Keith:

• Can you tell us about your professional journey and what led you from production to sales?
• How do you engage with the different communities you work with year-round, and how has that strategy evolved around the pandemic and accompanying changes in snacking trends?
• Beyond plant-based and gluten-free options, what do you see as the next innovations in your field?

Hungry to learn more? Ask your question for Keith in the comments below, and as always, thank you for being a part of You've Got This.