Seventh Generation CMO Joey Bergstein Comes Clean About Marketing Focus
“You want people to get to know your brand just like they would want to get to know a new friend,” said the chief marketer, who shared his fresh approach to powerful, purpose-driven consumer marketing.
Seven Generation has been making a name for itself for the past 27 years—pretty much a generation in itself. The Burlington, Vt.-based maker of “powerful plant-based solutions for your home & family” has grown at a 23% CAGR over the past 10 years, with a mission “to set a course for a more mindful way of doing business, where companies act as partners with other stakeholders to create a brighter future for the whole planet.”
Helping Seventh Generation fulfill that mission is general manager and CMO Joey Bergstein. CMO.com met Bergstein at the 2016 Cojones Awards, where he won the “Be Bold” category for disrupting the status quo and breaking out of the sea of sameness.
CMO.com had the opportunity to speak with Bergstein, who came clean on his fresh approach to powerful, purpose-driven consumer marketing.
CMO.com: Tell us about your business and marketing journey before you came to Seventh Generation in 2011.
I then left to join Molson in Toronto, charged with expanding an iconic Canadian brand globally, working on M&A, starting up their innovation group, and eventually running marketing for English Canada. I was then recruited to Diageo to run the Smirnoff Ice and then the global rum businesses, like Captain Morgan, where we doubled the size of the rum business in the five years I was there to over $1 billion.
I then came to Seventh Generation, where I brought my knowledge of the home and personal care categories that Seventh Generation competes in, my experience building lifestyle brands, and my intrapreneurial experiences. I came here to work on a purpose-driven brand and to make a big impact–both in the world and on an amazing brand. This has been a fantastic fit with my personal purpose.
CMO.com: What is Seventh Generation’s approach to marketing, brand building, and consumer engagement?
Bergstein: Our mission leads everything we focus our marketing efforts on, from the story about our company and brand to the purposeful issues we engage with our consumers on. Our marketing strives to create a meaningful dialogue with our customers about the brand. A good example of that is our newsletter, which goes to nearly 1 million people every two weeks. There is little focus on brand selling. It speaks more to an eco-friendly lifestyle with the hopes of inspiring people to take action, to get involved in making the world a better place, and better understanding what we stand for. Importantly, it also helps build advocacy for these issues. We also do this on our website and our social media communities.
People sometimes question, “Does green clean?” We have amazing scientists who have formulated products that work as well as conventional brands, but using bio-based ingredients. … But it is not enough to clean as well as the conventional brands. We give consumers another reason, which is the mission and purpose that we care about protecting the next seven generations in every decision we make. This is what differentiates us from competitors. Our laundry-cleaning products have as much consumer loyalty as conventional brands, but once our consumers come in through one product, they will then buy into other products in our portfolio because they buy into our mission.
CMO.com: Tell us about the #ComeClean campaign. How has it impacted the brand and business results? My sense is that you’ve either created a movement or are fueling one, like “Women’s Voices For The Earth.”
Bergstein: For us, this campaign is about redefining “clean.” What’s interesting is that for seven generations, we have been trained to believe that the smell of clean is the smell of all of the perfumes in laundry detergent that ends up on our clothing. What we believe at Seventh Generation is that clean is odorless, colorless, and spotless, and that true clean is also transparent about what goes into the products that you are using. So the “Come Clean” campaign is all about bringing this story to people to inspire them to think differently about the products they use for their families every day. … What we are trying to do is find an easy way to get people to think again about the products they use but do this in a light-hearted, engaging way.
CMO.com: Within the “Come Clean” campaign and in support of your feminine-care product line, you recently introduced a new TV spot with Maya Rudolph. What has been the reaction?
Bergstein: We have traditionally focused on digital, so TV is an alternative media for us to give us scale. For the “Come Clean” campaign, we wanted to find someone who could credibly tell this story in an authentic, fun, and engaging way. We think Maya Rudolph is an amazing parent and spokesperson. She is a mother of four and longtime Seventh Generation user, starting before her first child was born.
One of the spots with Maya is the “Vajingle,” which we wrote on the set and did in one take. We knew that we had created something magical but did not know how people would react. We launched the campaign in mid-April. We are very pleased with what we are seeing. It is building awareness, engagement, and penetration. Our search results are up. If you read the comments on social media, people love the spot and are cheering Seventh Generation on for what we are trying to do.
We are creating a movement that people are joining, and also helping to amplify the voice of aligned movements. And, ultimately, our sales are responding well.
CMO.com: I know you have a strong belief in the power of storytelling. Why is storytelling so important, and how have you done it at Seventh Generation?
Bergstein: Storytelling is an incredibly important part of our communications plan. You want people to get to know your brand just like they would want to get to know a new friend. Think about when you meet someone new. You each tell stories about who you are, what you do, who you know, and share experiences. We think these types of stories are an important way for people to get to know Seventh Generation and what we are passionate about, so they become passionate about the brand and the mission.
When we think about storytelling, we go beyond talking about what we do and what we make—we talk about why we do what we do and what we believe in. We like to bring our scientists to the forefront of our content, many of whom are amazing young moms who are developing incredible bio-based products. We also created a community called “Generation Good” a year ago, which is 200,000 people strong, where moms and advocates can share their stories among themselves.
CMO.com: What have you learned at Seventh Generation that you had not elsewhere? Why is this learning important?
Bergstein: The most important thing I’ve learned here is the power of purpose and how it aligns an organization, vertical partners, and consumers. This is incredibly powerful. It provides focus and alignment as you are making big decisions and choices of all types. Everything we do comes back to the mission. It is our North Star. Everyone at the company understands it. You don’t join the company if you don’t buy into the mission. The people who join Seventh Generation share the passion.
CMO.com: What are the top three marketing principles you believe in and think other CMOs should practice?
Bergstein: First, the power of authentic storytelling. Every brand has a story to tell. The job of the marketer is to figure out how to tell that story in incredibly powerful, motivating, and engaging ways.
Second, I’ve always believed the old adage, “The client gets the work the client deserves.” Great work comes from great briefs. If the work isn’t great, you have to first look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are giving your agency partners what they need, including what the brand story is, so they can do great work. This burden always lies in the hands of the marketer, along with the agency.
Third, I think marketing is part art and part science. At the end of the day, these two components need to come together to deliver ROI and grow the business in a responsible, sustainable manner. The best marketers focus on driving performance and results through marketing programs that are built to deliver.