In a recent episode of the Beyond Beauty Podcast, the host welcomed Kate Connor Archibald, a seasoned marketing executive with over 15 years of experience in the beauty industry. Kate’s impressive career includes roles at Estée Lauder, Tom Ford Beauty, Bobbi Brown, and La Mer. Currently, she serves as the Chief Marketing Officer at Dash Hudson, a B2B SaaS company that provides innovative marketing solutions for beauty and fashion brands. This blog post delves into the key themes and insights from Kate’s journey, offering valuable advice for professionals in the beauty industry and beyond.
Early Beginnings: The Spark of Interest
High School Project: The Genesis of a Career
Kate’s passion for marketing was ignited during a high school economics project. Alongside a friend, she developed a product—cozy pajamas adorned with their school mascot, a lion. This project involved:
Product Development: Designing and creating the pajamas. Marketing and Sales: Promoting and selling the product to their peers.
This experience provided Kate with a foundational understanding of the business side of creativity and instilled in her a competitive spirit. It was a pivotal moment that set the stage for her future career in marketing.
College Education and Early Career Moves
After high school, Kate pursued a college education, majoring in economics with a minor in French. Her time studying abroad in Paris deepened her interest in luxury brands. In 2007, just before the financial crisis, she sought opportunities in the beauty industry. With the help of her mother’s connections, Kate landed an assistant role at Estée Lauder. Despite the challenges of entering a competitive field, she was determined to learn from the talented individuals around her.
Climbing the Corporate Ladder: From Assistant to Executive
Gaining Invaluable Insights
As an assistant at Estée Lauder, Kate gained invaluable insights into the decision-making processes of executives. She worked closely with the brand, immersing herself in the company culture and understanding the nuances of brand identity. This experience laid the groundwork for her future roles.
Transition to Skincare Marketing
After two years as an assistant, Kate transitioned into skincare marketing, managing the North American market for Estée Lauder’s skincare products. This role allowed her to work on iconic products like Advanced Night Repair, providing her with hands-on experience in:
Product Relaunches: Revamping and reintroducing products to the market. Consumer Engagement: Developing strategies to connect with consumers.
Embracing Digital Marketing
As the beauty industry began to shift with the rise of social media, Kate recognized the need for brands to adapt. She was part of a team that integrated e-commerce and social media strategies, helping Estée Lauder navigate this new landscape. Her passion for digital marketing led her to a role focused on social media, where she contributed to the brand’s online presence and engagement.
The Impact of Social Media: A Game Changer
Embracing Digital Platforms
Kate reflects on the significant changes in the beauty industry due to social media, particularly platforms like Instagram and TikTok. She recalls a pivotal moment in 2009 when she advocated for Estée Lauder to embrace digital marketing by featuring their website in print ads. This was a turning point for the brand, as it began to recognize the importance of online engagement.
Choosing the Right Platforms
Kate emphasizes the need for brands to understand their identity and choose the right platforms for their audience. She encourages brands to:
Focus on Key Channels: Select a few key platforms that resonate with their identity rather than trying to be everywhere at once. Maintain Authenticity: Ensure that their online presence aligns with their brand values.
Transition to Tom Ford Beauty: Global Consumer Marketing
Leading High-Profile Campaigns
After her time at Estée Lauder, Kate spent six years at Tom Ford Beauty, where she led global consumer marketing. This role allowed her to work on high-profile campaigns and collaborate with talented individuals worldwide. Her experience at Tom Ford further solidified her understanding of brand positioning and consumer engagement.
Leveraging Technology for Efficiency
During her tenure, Kate recognized the potential for improvement in operational efficiency and sought to leverage technology to enhance marketing efforts. This desire for innovation led her to explore opportunities in marketing technology.
Joining Dash Hudson: A New Chapter
Embracing Innovation
In 2021, Kate made a significant career move by joining Dash Hudson as the Chief Marketing Officer. Dash Hudson is a social media management platform that focuses on creative content and analytics. Kate was drawn to the company’s innovative approach and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a smaller organization.
Maximizing Social Media Presence
At Dash Hudson, Kate has been instrumental in helping brands maximize their social media presence and engage with consumers effectively. She highlights the importance of:
Staying Plugged into Trends: Keeping up with the latest trends in the fast-paced beauty industry. Understanding the Competitive Landscape: Analyzing competitors and adapting strategies accordingly.
Career Advice: Insights from Kate Connor Archibald
Embrace Credibility and Authenticity
Kate recalls a pivotal piece of advice she received early in her career: “If you don’t know the answer, don’t pretend that you do.” This advice emphasizes the importance of credibility and authenticity in the workplace. She encourages professionals to:
Embrace Limitations: Acknowledge what you don’t know and seek help from colleagues. Continuously Learn: Stay curious and open to new knowledge.
Align with Industry Trends
Kate stresses the significance of understanding industry trends and positioning oneself in a growing field. She advises aspiring professionals to:
Consider Future Trends: Think about where the world is heading and align your career with those trends. Seek Growth Opportunities: Look for roles and industries that offer potential for personal and professional growth.
Build Expertise and Learn from Others
Kate believes in the importance of building expertise in a specific craft. She encourages individuals to:
Focus on Becoming Experts: Develop deep knowledge and skills in your chosen field. Surround Yourself with Talent: Work with smart, talented individuals from whom you can learn.
Finding Balance: The Importance of Recharging
Taking Time to Recharge
Towards the end of the episode, Kate shares her anticipation for an upcoming vacation, highlighting the importance of taking time to recharge. She acknowledges that stepping away from work is essential for maintaining creativity and energy in one’s career.
Continuous Learning and Balance
Kate reflects on the journey of continuous learning and the balance between work and personal life. She expresses her excitement about her current role at Dash Hudson and her eagerness to continue growing in her position.
Conclusion: Connecting with Kate
In closing, Kate invites listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn, offering her support to anyone seeking guidance in their career journeys. She expresses her passion for helping others achieve their goals and is open to virtual or in-person coffee chats in New York City.
Podcast Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:01 Welcome to the Beyond Beauty podcast, a platform to highlight the beauty industry’s talent, deconstruct their learnings and spark ideas for your own business. The Beyond Beauty podcast is created by Dilley, the leading creative agency working with the fastest growing brands and beauty. Here, we’ll interview guests from major beauty corporations, creative directors, influencers, founders and risk taking entrepreneurs. Our guests are not only changing the traditional beauty landscape, they are also innovating in ecommerce, branding and digital marketing. Join us as they share valuable advice, how they launch their businesses and most importantly, ignite thought provoking conversations across beauty, tech and marketing. Hi everyone! We are so excited to have Kate Connor Archibald on today’s Beyond Beauty podcast. So Kate, thanks so much for coming out today.
Speaker 2 00:00:55 Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 00:00:56 Kate Kenna Archibald is a seasoned international marketing executive with 15 years of experience in beauty, marketing and technology, Kate advanced her career at the S.A. Lauder Companies, contributing to the success of brands such as Tom Ford Beauty, Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder and La mer.
Speaker 1 00:01:13 In 2021, Kate joined Dash Hudson as Vice President of Product Marketing, later becoming Chief Marketing Officer in 2022 to better align product positioning and marketing strategies for the company. Kate resides in New York City with her family and enjoys outdoor activities in the Hudson Valley. So Kate, thanks so much for coming on today. Let’s take it back to where it all got started. How did you get started in the beauty world? Marketing world? What is the beginning point?
Speaker 2 00:01:40 I think I’m going to bring it back to high school. I still remember like my junior year, I think I was of high school, if anyone’s listening to this. I went to high school. Please text me. Encouraged me. We had this, like, economics assignment to come up with a product, sell it, marketed, do the product development, then come up with a campaign and actually sell something? So my friend Sam and I, we came up with, I think it was a cozy, something cozy PJs, and our school mascot was a lion.
Speaker 2 00:02:13 So we had like lion paws all over these PJs. We actually, at 16 years old, went and met with a manufacturer in the garment district and then got people to give us the $20 for the pants. I don’t think we made a lot of money. That wasn’t the point. Our margins are quite thin, but I know I still remember this. I’m a very competitive person, but I know that we had the best project and I think we sold the most and I don’t know, it just gave me that like bug that it’s like, oh my God. Like I can create something, I can sell it, I can market it. And like some people actually will pay me to do this. It’s amazing. So I loved every minute of it. I still have those pajamas, like, seared in my mind. I don’t still have them and nor could I ever finish them.
Speaker 1 00:02:56 But what a great project to begin, especially in high school where you can learn both like the business side, the creative side, the management side, the sales side, and it sets you up for success to start your career from there.
Speaker 2 00:03:07 Totally agree. Loved it.
Speaker 1 00:03:09 So then how did you like launch your career post-high school? How did you navigate the wild world of business? Understanding what company you wanted to work at, how did you get to the company? What position and role? What vertical do you focus on?
Speaker 2 00:03:25 Yeah, I did go to college after this incredible high school experience, and while I was in college, I was talking to my parents and they were like, what do you want to do? And I was like, I think I was an economics major and a French minor, and I lived. I was fortunate enough to be able to go abroad to Paris. And my mind it was Emily in Paris. It was absolutely not Emily in Paris. I lived in a homestay with a lovely French woman, but. And French class. But I was like, luxury just seems so interesting to me. And I think a lot of young people feel that way. And I applied really everywhere in anywhere that I could. It was 2007.
Speaker 2 00:04:00 So right before the financial crisis. So things were starting to dry up and it was very fortunate. My mother started her career 20, 30 years prior in beauty. Through a few friends, I at least got maybe a returned email or some sort, and I ended up getting an opportunity at slaughter for an assistant role. I was interviewing at Ralph Lauren, I was interviewing at slaughter, LVMH, and honestly, anywhere that would take me to meet with me and what I really was looking for was like, I want to go to a blue chip company. And now I know, like, people don’t know what a blue chip company is. It’s like a former stock market. Statements like, you want to go to a company that like has a dividend, like actually is stable and has cash on hand. If something crazy happens like a pandemic or incredibly smart, people are often at those types of companies. And again, it was incredibly fortunate to get my foot into the door as an assistant, and I had no idea what I was getting into.
Speaker 2 00:05:00 I’m just going to be totally honest. I just was like, I know that there are smart people here. I can see in this GM building, like there are smart people everywhere. And I was like, I just want to sit and learn from them. So you’re an.
Speaker 1 00:05:12 Assistant. You’re probably doing a million different things of everything, from answering phone calls back in the day to building PowerPoints and decks and and you’re almost managing up as well, I’m sure, where you’re trying to organize and you see how and I always say, I think the best part of being an assistant is you can see how smart people or executives make decisions, and that puts you, like in a prime position so that you know how to climb the corporate ladder and make your own decisions later on.
Speaker 2 00:05:39 Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1 00:05:41 And then you work across like the different brands. Is there a brand you preferred to work on or. Yes, you work on the smaller, larger brands.
Speaker 2 00:05:47 So I when I started, I worked for the Estée Lauder brand as the assistant to the vice president of North America marketing.
Speaker 2 00:05:55 And so, Annie Finch, shout out to Annie. She now runs an incredible beauty brand. And we I just worked on the Estée Lauder brand. I say just a huge, incredible brand to to work on. And I think the incredible opportunity and I know Anne, you also worked on Nestlé Lauder is you are literally in the mothership of this incredible organization, right? Like you’re surrounded by the brand touches that you can’t always feel right, like the carpet was blue, the everything like looked and felt as slaughter. And I felt as someone coming into my career that was such an amazing experience to be have this like tactile and in-person opportunity to really feel who the brand is and really live and breathe it. And no matter whether you’re Skims, which I’m sure has very different brand cues and I say a lot. But like every one, every brand has their brand cues. And I thought that was such a valuable experience because it ingrained in who you are for future decisions. So know who the brand was and why they would make those sort of decisions.
Speaker 2 00:07:03 So yes, I did everything from get coffee to set up meetings. Maybe I was allowed to do a PowerPoint once in a while, but I loved it. I thought it was just such an incredible opportunity. And then from there I was fortunate enough. I will say, for anyone who’s in the assistant role, it is very hard to get out of the assistant role to make that jump. I do think that is one of the hardest jumps. And so my friend of my mother’s, who also worked in beauty, she said that is the hardest jump to make. And so that took me about two years. And then I ended up going into skincare marketing, where I was, along with my manager at the time, managing all skincare for the North America market. I had the opportunity to work on advanced night repair for anyone on this. Listening to this podcast, there’s a really high likelihood you have used or purchased that product for a very good reason. It’s an outstanding product. And yeah, I think it is just such an incredible opportunity to learn how to manage a category in such a big market and also learn like the process of relaunching and getting such a hero product constantly in front of consumers.
Speaker 1 00:08:16 And it’s all stepping back and looking at like beyond. As a Lauder companies and at the beauty industry, there is so much change happening in the world, but especially within beauty because of Instagram is coming out in 2010 and then social media, digital marketing, paid ads, the world is really changing, but it’s affecting, I would say, the beauty industry almost more than any other one, because the power of beauty, right, is that it’s highly transformative quickly. So if you put on a lipstick, you can look different instantly versus maybe like health or fitness or a vacation or retreat. And so how did that affect your role within beauty marketing and like the impact of the external world?
Speaker 2 00:08:55 Yeah, it’s such a great question. So I have a very real answer for that. So I remember working at the time with Donald Robertson, who was the creative director of Essar Lauder, who now you may or may not know him as Dr. Robertson, who’s he’s phenomenal person. And I remember we were it must have been like 22,009, 2010 and challenging him.
Speaker 2 00:09:16 Can we put S.A. lauder.com on a print ad in vogue? And I remember it was at first like a struggle. We absolutely got there. The team is amazing but it’s a big change. It’s a big change for anyone whether you’re $1 billion company or not. It’s a big change. And I remember after that being like you know what? Like I need to be a part of the change. I need to, like I need to feel like I can help shepherd the company into this new era. And at the time, Marissa Thalberg, who’s a very well renowned CMO. Most recently, she’s at SeaWorld. And so she was leading this entire function for the company where she was really trying to help converge e-commerce social and demystify it for the brand so they can move quickly. And so through that, that team, she was really, again, like helping to shepherd the company into the next generation. And so a junior role assistant manager role came up on her team. And I remember saying to a mentor is like, look, I really I really want this job.
Speaker 2 00:10:22 Like I am so impacted by Instagram, everything I buy, Pinterest, etc. everything. And and like the internet, I was like, I feel like I can help do more for the company. And she’s like, you know, you got to go for it. So fortunately, I got that role. And from there it’s like full circle to where I am today. Help the company really align itself to be successful across all social channels. That was really my focus area and bring on the company’s first content management system. So again, like how do brands really maximize social media to create maximum impact?
Speaker 1 00:10:56 And it was a really scary time too, because I think people are saying, what impact is this going to be? And I think especially within luxury, I still remember brands saying, oh, luxury brands would never be on social. They were the last ones. And even still in the 2015 2016 era, I remember even UGC coming out and luxury said we’ll never do. UGC and now in 2024, wow, every brand is on Instagram, every brand is on TikTok, every brand is leveraging UGC, maybe in different capacities, like, how can you stay ahead of these trends and understand what’s coming and what’s right for your brand? Because not everything is like a good fit, right? So how do you navigate what’s good for the brand you’re managing and spearheading versus another brand, especially in a even more competitive place now than it was maybe ten years ago, I would say.
Speaker 2 00:11:44 Yeah, I think would I challenge everyone? So we still get people saying, I can’t go on TikTok. That’s not how I am in the luxury sector. Like that still exists and I respect everyone’s opinions on that. I, I don’t think everyone should be on every platform. I think you should know who you are. Going back to what I said about Estee Lauder. Like I knew who say Lauder was not the person per se. The brand, like I knew the brand in my bones and I knew that Estée would the Lauder like we wouldn’t do. I’m trying to think of some gauche advertising mechanism. We wouldn’t necessarily light up the Empire State Building blue and white for a brown for a new campaign. That’s just not who we were. But I think people need to know who they are as a brand and really use their brand pillars to then in turn say, how do these brand pillars actually convert into your brand? Becoming a person, right. And that’s what social media does. It makes you into being a living being.
Speaker 2 00:12:51 And even at Dash Hudson, I have this conversation with our social team all the time. Okay? We we’re here to educate people on social. We’re here to provide informative data and generate awareness about our campaign. So what are the channels in which we do that? So I have complete respect for brands really. You know what I don’t want to be on YouTube. That’s not who I am. I am just on TikTok because that’s who I am. I’m fun, I’m irreverent, I’m funny, and I’m here to provide education. And I can just do that on TikTok. And and I have the bandwidth to just do it on TikTok. So I would say that I think what I think is fantastic is brands that really pick their lean and go after what they are looking to accomplish on, let’s say, three particular channels.
Speaker 1 00:13:35 That’s It’s smart, especially like navigating these very competitive waters. And you’re seeing like indie brands. I know we were talking earlier, like indie brands are coming to the space. They’re competing with the heritage brands.
Speaker 1 00:13:44 There is less of a barrier entry to become a brand. However, it’s definitely getting more and more of like a pay to play moment on social. So it’s how do you start something, build something, scale something, have your horse blinders on, but also know what is happening all around you. There’s more than ever that’s occurring in the space.
Speaker 2 00:14:02 Yeah. It’s hard, I will tell you. It’s incredibly hard. We were talking about earlier like trends, right. So it’s like one the competitive factor, like how do you know competitively what’s happening and like what kind of what trends are out there. And like how do you maximize upon those trends. So I’d say the competitive piece is we have a competitive tool where like all of our brands follow everyone in their entire industry, which is a really good capability to understand that. In addition to that, I’m always going to Sephora, always going to Ulta. See who’s in your category. Use social listening. So I think between those three things, like the competitive benchmarking, social listening is really important for your competitive set and that actually going in store matters is so tactile.
Speaker 2 00:14:45 You need to feel on your skin, you need to get a.
Speaker 1 00:14:48 Merchandising who’s going over which gondola versus the other one, or what’s getting the most traffic. What has a sold out gondola? That’s true. That is true.
Speaker 2 00:14:57 Who has the end cap versus the gondola.
Speaker 1 00:14:59 And placement in the store. Talk about that for an hour.
Speaker 2 00:15:04 And then I think it’s like who’s killing it on the trends. Right. And that’s really important.
Speaker 1 00:15:09 It’s like moving quickly and like almost a trend comes out and then you’re on it the next day or even the same day of the memes. Or like we were saying, the demeanor trend. Right now, it’s everything. Exactly how virality.
Speaker 2 00:15:22 Who is acting on those trends in a good way. I’ll give Florence Mills. I think they do a phenomenal job of acting on trends. They’re definitely ate more of an indie brand to chart more of a large brand as a phenomenal job. So it’s like, how do you act on trends while still being yourself and relevant, which is not very tricky.
Speaker 2 00:15:48 So I think between knowing your competitive set and then acting on trends and knowing what sounds to use, it’s all you have to be so plugged in. You have to be so plugged in. That’s all I can say to anyone who is looking to build a brand is you need to be plugged into TikTok. It is the maker of all things culture. I would say Instagram is all about influence. Culture is built by TikTok.
Speaker 1 00:16:19 Yes.
Speaker 2 00:16:20 And whether it’s been guy in finance, summer or summer, like everything has originated on TikTok. And so if you’re not listening to what those things are and engaging them, if they make sense for you, you’re really missing a moment.
Speaker 1 00:16:39 I’m missing out on this train that you can hop on. And totally it helps you go from ten miles an hour to 100 miles an hour if you can join that trend, if it’s the right one for you of course. So moving. Taking a step back. So you’re at say Lauder Companies. Where did you go next. How did you move away from the brand side into the more marketing side.
Speaker 1 00:16:57 Or was before you got to Dash Hudson? Was there something in between? How did you roll into the new job?
Speaker 2 00:17:02 Yeah. So after my role in social marketing, I actually spent six years at Tom Ford meeting. So I really was there during an incredibly transformative time. I started out leading marketing, consumer marketing in North America and globally. And then I ended up just eventually as the brain got so much bigger, leading global consumer marketing. So really anything from the brand that touch the consumer, whether it was all media events. CRM is in charge of all photo shoots, which is really, as you can imagine for that time was. I’m still recovering from some of those days, but incredible. Like I had such an amazing experience there. I learned a tremendous amount and while working on the global side, I had the opportunity to travel the world and work with such smart people around the world. And I genuinely felt like we can do this better. It was like that same feeling I had like almost a decade earlier.
Speaker 2 00:17:59 I was like, I know we can do this better. I was like, I know we we’re smart people. We can be more efficient with our time, and we don’t need to be working just in spreadsheets. And I ended up taking a bit of a left turn, which is a precursor to where I am today, where I joined the technology organization. And so I ended up being in charge of all technology for Bobbi Brown and La mer, and with the goal of really focusing on marketing technology to help brands a understand how to use what they have and then be sourced the right technology for them if there were gaps. And so through that experience, that’s where I met the team. So for those of you who are not familiar with the assets, and we are a social media management platform, really how we differ from others is that we really focus in addition to the, you know, scheduling and posting and analytics. We additionally focus on the creative, right? We have proprietary AI where we can predict with a 98% accuracy, how your content will perform before it goes live.
Speaker 2 00:19:00 I stumbled upon this tool. I was actually telling my colleague not to use it because I’m like, no, we don’t have a budget for that. Like, the corporate team won’t pay for this. I’ll pay for it for my own budget. I was like, why would you pay for anything out of your own budget when we have other things? She’s what you’re providing me isn’t good. And I was like, okay, let me lean into that. Let me learn why it’s not good, and started meeting with the team and how technology companies work is in general. You have a really great product and then you’re. That’s where you invest, or you have a really great sales team to help mitigate the challenges on the product side. And I didn’t get it because I was like, they have an incredible product. They still do. And the the team is phenomenal. And I was like, how is this happening? And I really fell in love with the product. I fell in love with the people.
Speaker 2 00:19:51 I was like, I always in my heart. I was a bit entrepreneurial, like I moved every two years at slaughter to a different area of the company, and you do have to have some sort of entrepreneurial spirit to actually do that. And so I was really ready for a change to make impact at a smaller company. I think after 14 years I was had an incredible ride, but I saw that this product had such opportunity and I wanted to be a part of it in September 2021, going on three years now. I took the leap, went fully remote to a startup based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and have never looked back. It’s been an incredible experience.
Speaker 1 00:20:38 And what a great time to especially in 2021. And like the world of e-commerce is been booming because of Covid and is having such a moment. And I know Dash Hudson does more than just beauty, but a beauty probably is such a big component of the platform in terms of like social listening and understanding what’s next for content and navigating the world of very visual communication.
Speaker 2 00:21:00 Yes, exactly. No. It was a great time to join. And beauty is we really do work with everyone. In beauty. There’s like five large companies and we are lucky to work with them all in some capacity. And a lot of the smaller up and coming brands as well. But I think what’s exciting now for me is that we are also really expanding into other industries that were not just at all were not beauties. Definitely not a huge not a minority at all of our customers. But we’re really expanding into other areas and seeing how excited people are, whether it’s in travel and food and CPG and wellness, it’s really nice to see the products complement their workflows and strategy as well.
Speaker 1 00:21:42 And you can probably learn from each others like verticals to like what works and travel. How can you apply that to beauty and what works in beauty? How can you tie that to wellness? I think there’s definitely a there’s merging personal care, wellness, beauty. They’re almost becoming one entity within its own.
Speaker 2 00:21:57 Absolutely.
Speaker 1 00:21:58 So taking a step back to advice, what advice would you like to share or what advice have you received that has helped you? Whether it’s personally, professionally, a blend of both that has helped you grow in your career, stay focused or to your point, know when to move and not get stale in a certain role.
Speaker 2 00:22:17 Yeah, I think a really great piece of advice I received early on in my career was, if you don’t know the answer, don’t pretend that you do.
Speaker 1 00:22:30 Wow.
Speaker 2 00:22:32 Yeah. And I thought that was like, really? And it goes. It’s such a bigger statement, right? It’s like all about your credibility is everything and reputation is everything. And, don’t pretend to be someone you’re not really own. And if you don’t know something, quickly learn what you need to know or like. Don’t be.
Speaker 1 00:22:48 Afraid to ask the question.
Speaker 2 00:22:50 100%, but don’t. No one knows. Everything I think was really how I interpreted it. Beyond the credibility piece is like. And how can you then lean on your team and colleagues to really help each other? I think that has that piece of advice from the late Thea.
Speaker 2 00:23:08 Brene really impacted me. She was an incredible leader and just had such wisdom when it came to helping mentor young people around her. I think the advice I would give to people, which I’ve really tried to mimic throughout my career, is I’ll work for Canadian companies, I’ll have to. Hockey first is go. You should always go where the puck is going, and I’ll tell three three kids as they get into this phase of their life, like, where do you see the world going? Where do you see things happening? And I think I’ve tried to emulate that, whether it was around social or adding Estee lauder.com to print ads. Are you in an industry that is growing? And I think that is so important because ensuring that you’re in a place that is growing will just forfeit you. So many more like it will give you so many more opportunities and personal growth versus working in an industry that is does not have the same. Yeah. I was very lucky I didn’t sit. When I was graduating college, I’m like, oh, like beauty that’s going to grow.
Speaker 2 00:24:22 No, I can’t have that claim to fame at all. I feel fortunate that I think Estée Lauder grew, I think 300% in my tenure there. I think social media is what grew beauty. But again, like it’s how do you find what you feel will be the future is really important.
Speaker 1 00:24:42 And what’s next? Yes. And understanding like how you fit in. Like you said, if you don’t know the answer, then don’t pretend like you do. So it’s also not only what are you good at and what do you like doing? And that will blend together. But it’s also understanding, like how to delegate and how to work with a team and use everyone’s individual expertise. And that will help you grow as an individual as well as like a corporation and company. So if someone comes up to you and they said, Kate, I want to follow in your footsteps. I want to follow in your career. And I’m sure you might be thinking, oh, everyone’s career is so different. Everyone’s job today.
Speaker 1 00:25:14 What is I will never get this, stat correct, but I think it’s 60% of the jobs today didn’t exist 20 years ago. So yes, maybe ten, 15 years from now we’re all in a different, I don’t know, economy of or what jobs are trending. But if someone comes up to you and said, I want to follow in your footsteps, I want to replicate your career, what advice would you give to this person?
Speaker 2 00:25:37 I think similarly to what I just said, like, where do you think the world is going and how can you get involved in that? And I think being very useful with who you work with is also super important. Like I feel fortunate I have worked for only two companies, but I would say they’re both ten out of ten companies. Like I feel like that is is really true. So I guess my advice would be like, where do you think things are going? How can you jump on that bandwagon and make an impact? I think the other piece is like, what craft are you building towards as well? It’s not just it has to be.
Speaker 2 00:26:13 Yes. The industry that you’re going to and what you’re doing, what are you ultimately building, and I think that is often forgotten, is we’re here to become experts in something. Or at least that’s how I feel like I’m here to become an expert in marketing. And that’s what fuels me, is like building that craft. And it’s also who do you need to be around to build that? Who do you need to learn from? Who do you look at in a meeting and you’re like, wow, that person is so smart. How do you work for them? I have worked for so many smart people, and it’s not because there are so many incredibly smart people in the world, I think I have. I sought them, I’ve sought, drawn to them. I’ve been like, I need to work for you. I want to learn from you. And so I think that’s also really important is it’s not just the company, it’s who you want to work for, to learn from, to build your craft.
Speaker 1 00:27:09 That’s great advice. That was amazing. On our final questions. We only have a few minutes left. It’s where do you sit in the stands in your life. And so that means imagine you’re a football game or a basketball game and sitting in the bleachers, you’re saying, why did she toss the ball to him? Why did he run down the sidelines? Or maybe you were at the ballet or the theater and you’re saying, why did she deliver her monologue that way? Or why did they wear that costume? Many times in our lives, we sit in the stands and either it’s something we say we’re going to start doing, we’re going to stop doing. It could be something on our iPhone notes. It’s been there for the last two years. It could be a post-it note on the mirror saying, I’m going to get this done by the end of the week. And everyone interprets this question differently. And it’s usually a blend of personal and professional. And it’s many times people think of what are they looking forward to the most or they haven’t had a chance to commit to.
Speaker 1 00:28:00 But it’s like underlying subconsciously what they’re most excited about. So where do you sit in the stands in your life?
Speaker 2 00:28:06 Wow, what a question. And I think going back to that like Kraft statement, what I’m really excited about in my role right now is marketing is marketing, but I work at a B2B SaaS company now. We service a lot of beauty companies, fashion, media, publishing, and fortunate enough to join Dash Hudson three years ago, and they took a chance on someone who didn’t have B2B SaaS experience. And so what I’m really looking forward to right now is I feel like at this point in my tenure, Dash Hudson, like were really the team, the broader marketing sales team and our CEO, we’re really in an interesting place. We’re using data in a very sophisticated manner to reach consumers in a very unique way, at least coming from B2C. So what I’m really excited about is just this continuing to build my craft and learn something new like I love to learn. And that has been such an important part of my career, and I think I’m just excited to learn something new that I haven’t ever done before and excited to see the results.
Speaker 2 00:29:18 And then second to that, I’m going on vacation next week and I’m really excited.
Speaker 1 00:29:20 Amazing. Oh, I can finally like unplug, recharge.
Speaker 2 00:29:25 Enjoy that. I’m also not gonna lie, I’m pretty excited.
Speaker 1 00:29:29 And it’s like at the moment too, of like building something. It’s a journey. It’s like what they say is like when you’re going on a walk, there’s some people that are walking to reach the statue and it’s their destination, and other people are walking just to enjoy the walk and to keep going. And I think that’s where you talked about that entrepreneurial vision is even working within corporations, always starting something new is you’re not there to see the monument. You’re there to continue walking and learning and building and seeing everyone outside and continually finding different paths. And I think that kind of separates people from one another. And at the same time, it’s you have to step off the journey for a moment and go recharge because it helps you with the journey.
Speaker 2 00:30:03 So, oh, yeah, I’m excited for the recharge.
Speaker 2 00:30:06 I’m. And I’m excited to get back and get back on the journey too. So it’s all good. You can’t have one without the other.
Speaker 1 00:30:13 Amazing. Kate, thank you so much for coming on the Beyond Beauty podcast. And where can everyone find you or get in touch?
Speaker 2 00:30:19 Yeah, you can find me on LinkedIn. Kate Connor Archibald no relation to Nate Archibald all the time. For those Gossip Girl fans, maybe we’re distant cousins, I don’t know. But. So yeah, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn and happy to connect. If anyone has any questions on their career journey, I’m always happy to get an in-person coffee in New York City or a virtual coffee, but I love helping people reach their goals, so I’m always here to chat.
Speaker 1 00:30:48 Amazing. Kate, thanks so much for coming on to share your story and career advice and career journey. We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 00:30:55 Thanks, Anne.