In order to find the world's top marketer, The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has partnered with The Drum for the Global Marketer of the Year award 2018.
The shortlist for this year’s award features heads of marketing from Coty, Diageo, Ikea, Mastercard, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. With voting ending on January 25, the marketing heads spoke to Coty Consumer Beauty's chief marketing officer, Ukonwa Ojo, at the company's offices in New York's Empire State Building.
Coty is a multinational beauty company that owns around 77 brands, including Bourjois, Clairol, ghd and Max Factor. Yet, it is Ojo's role in transforming Covergirl following its acquisition from P&G back in 2016, that she is nominated for.
Ojo not only revamped the whole brand vision in only 11 months, but she also introduced “I am What I Make Up”, a powerful tagline which highlights her vision of a brand that is strong on diversity and inclusion.
"Empathy" is the skill that Ojo thinks is the most important for any marketer. "I ask my people to listen," she said, "because I’ve found that when they do that, its a mindset shift that makes you listen more intently and it’s really interesting the level of empathy that you have once you put that mindset on."
This year, Covergirl became the biggest makeup brand to be completely certified cruelty-free - making it the largest beauty brand to earn the Leaping Bunny logo.
Discussing the achievement, Ojo said: "everyone thought it was impossible for a brand of that size," adding that she was proud that the company "pull[ed] together to do something so monumental and so large that actually makes a difference in the world."
Her hope for her marketing and creative teams is to "really push inclusivity forward - beyond talk," and "build teams that are as diverse behind the camera as they are in front of the camera."
Discussing how to become better marketers, Ojo again referenced empathy: "I think we become more empathetic people. We become humans who listen to other humans, with an intent to make their lives better and if we do that, then I believe that we’ll win every time."
