Profile: Pamela Velarde, Elizabeth Buffum, Christina Cullimore, Alicia Crespin, Luba Petrovich, Mattel

How did you end up in your current role?My background is in computer engineering. I spent seven years working with semi-conductors before getting an MBA. Post MBA, I worked in management consulting and eventually joined Mattel, where I’ve worked in strategy, product marketing and now omnichannel retail marketing. What I love about retail marketing is that I am able to apply every single skill set I’ve gained along the way. This is a role that requires heavy analytics, the ability to think strategically to solve the challenges of evolving retail, and the creativity to develop programs to bring our amazing brands to life at retail.— Pamela Velarde, Senior Director, Head of Omnichannel Retail Marketing How have your team’s job responsibilities and skill sets changed since the beginning of the pandemic? My team has taken on more responsibility for our retail advertising strategy. Now more than ever, our marketing programs must pivot quickly to reflect changing shopper needs and we rely on retail media to amplify those messages. Closely aligning retail advertising with shopper marketing has made us more nimble and more effective. — Elizabeth Buffum, Senior Manager, E-Commerce Marketing – Amazon With the acceleration of e-commerce during the pandemic, our team had to quickly adapt and expand our skills and responsibilities to take a true omnichannel approach. E-commerce is now a critical component to any campaign right alongside brick- and-mortar. We’ve even launched brand segments online first, which was unheard of in the pre-pandemic days.— Christina Cullimore, Senior Manager, Omnichannel Retail Marketing – Walmart What is your team’s best accomplishment for this year so far?The relentless focus on evolving and being obsessed with the customer. We study our retailer, our shopper, our brands, and ideate the best way to bring stories to market in a truly unique way. This drive of purpose has secured a record-breaking 12 incremental features at Target to date.— Alicia Crespin, Director, Omnichannel Retail Marketing – Target What has been the biggest opportunity for your team during this pandemic?The ability to deviate from traditional shopper marketing plans and try new tactics. At the onset of lockdowns, most of our accounts had to close their doors, cancel promotional programs or change operational, marketing and business models. Given this landscape, my team was able to offer their expertise in tactics and new platforms that retail marketing partners were now willing to explore. Despite all the uncertainty many of us were facing in our work and personal lives, embracing change allowed us to offer our shoppers toy-centric solutions. This in turn allowed them to bring home a sliver of happiness, a smile and a chance to come together as a family and enjoy play.— Luba Petrovich, Senior Manager and Emerging Channels Lead, Omnichannel Retail Marketing

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