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Suzy Davidkhanian: Hi, everyone. Today is Wednesday, November 11th. Welcome to EMARKETER’s weekly retail show, Reimagining Retail, an EMARKETER podcast made possible by AI Digital. This is the show where we talk about how retail collides with every part of our lives, and I'm your host, Suzy Davidkhanian. On today's episode, we're talking about how brands can build something bigger than a marketing campaign by staying true to who they are and bringing the right partners along.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Joining me are EMARKETER analyst, Rachel Wolff. Hi, Rachel. Hello. Very excited for this

Rachel Wolff: one.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I am so excited to have you. And special guest, Heather Malenchek, chief marketing officer at Land O'Lakes. Hi, Heather.

Heather Malenshek: [00:01:00] Hi. Happy to be here.

Suzy Davidkhanian: We are so excited to have you. Before we even get started, let's do some speed intros.

Suzy Davidkhanian: In 30 seconds or less, Heather, tell us what do you do?

Heather Malenshek: I am the chief marketing officer for Land O'Lakes, which is a food and agricultural business, uh, based in Minnesota

Suzy Davidkhanian: Perfect, and we'll dig into that a little bit more. Tell us what's your one, and pick, favorite book, podcast, TV show, movie right now?

Heather Malenshek: Uh, I'm a big Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard fan.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Oh, me too. I kinda love-

Heather Malenshek: He has- That's cool ... some really interesting guests on there too, so.

Suzy Davidkhanian: That is true. That is very, very true. Um, so we talk a lot about partnerships, kinda like guests a little bit if you think about it. Um, partnerships in retail and marketing. They're a way to reach new audiences, stay relevant, and ultimately grow the business.

Suzy Davidkhanian: But increasingly, marketers are expected to show how those investments translate into [00:02:00] sales. So what happens when the goal isn't necessarily to sell more products tomorrow? Land O'Lakes is definitely taking that approach. It's very different, and through its Modern Rural Collective, it's working with partners from Getty Images to Hollywood to change how rural America is represented in advertising and entertainment.

Suzy Davidkhanian: And while that might seem pretty far removed from the dairy aisle, it's actually rooted in who Land O'Lakes is as a farmer-owned cooperative. So today I'm super excited that we'll be talking about how brands can turn an authentic idea into something much bigger, why the right partnerships really matter, and whether doing good also equals doing well.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Okay, but before we even get started, I wanna ask you both the same question. What's the last thing that a brand did that really stuck with you? And it doesn't have to be about doing good. It could just be anything, and I'll kick us off by saying for me, which I know this is maybe an old example 'cause it's from a few, few, few weeks ago, but I [00:03:00] loved, and I'm still stuck by, that Wet Ones ad campaign, the just for hands, no ifs and, and/or buts.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Did, do you guys know what I'm talking about? Where it was all the finger- Like, you saw ... It was especially in New York, there were all these billboards. So Wet Ones had the, which is a hand sanitizer wipes- Mm-hmm ... had this consumer insight that apparently many more people than should are using them for other parts of their body.

Suzy Davidkhanian: And so they did this whole campaign around actually this is just for your hands. And then another company, Good Wipes, which that one is for other parts of your body, jumped in to playfully challenge and, like, jump into that and say, "Well, actually, we are just for butts." Um, and so it became this really playful exchange that was unexpected, and, and the original intention was maybe not to sell more products, but it certainly left a mark in every way.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So I thought maybe we could start with that. Anybody? Thoughts? I mean, it was that or I was gonna talk about Bombas.

Heather Malenshek: I, I, I don't think I have [00:04:00] any words for that.

Rachel Wolff: It is, it is quite clever, right? It is. I think anything to do with butts is always gonna get people's attention. Especially if, you know, major brands are involved.

Rachel Wolff: Um, yeah, I mean, I think for me it's a similar example of a brand being, like, very playful and tongue-in-cheek, um, and kind of also- A little bit combative. So the one that came to mind for me was JCPenney, and they had this great ad that's essentially making fun, or not making fun, but, like, taking aim at off-price retailers.

Rachel Wolff: And so the setup is that it's, like, these people who are going through almost an AA meeting where they're talking about their compulsion to shop at a- at these off-price retailers. Oh, that's so

Suzy Davidkhanian: cute.

Rachel Wolff: Um, and, and so, like, the whole, it's the intervention about why you should stop spending all your money there and, you know, go to JCPenney instead.

Rachel Wolff: But it's a very cute ad

Heather Malenshek: Yeah, and I'm, I'm trying to think of a good example 'cause I think there's, there's a lot out there. But, um, I, I love, [00:05:00] I love the authenticity of what e.l.f. Beauty is doing, and I, I've talked about e.l.f. Beauty on a, a number of different sessions. But I, I love what they're doing because they're very, very grounded in who they are as a brand.

Heather Malenshek: They're doing fantastic collabs. They've got, um, they're having some fun with it, right, with the whole elfin beauty thing, um, which is cool. And I, I know, uh, Corey, who's now president of the company, and their growth is just outstanding. But I think they've been very true to who they are. They're not trying to, uh, deviate from that in any way, and I think they're getting, um, they're getting rewarded by their communities as a result.

Heather Malenshek: So I have a lot of, uh, I have a lot of, uh, um, a lot of admiration for them. And I think also there is a lot of shock and awe stuff out there, right? So you talk about the butts thing. Yeah. There's a lot of marketers, you know, you've gotta work really hard to get people's attention these days. So you do see people really pushing the envelope.

Heather Malenshek: Sometimes you're like, "Wow, I ne- didn't think that was possible." But, um, but I think they've been [00:06:00] doing a nice job of it, staying true to who they are and still having fun with it and still breaking through, and in a, a very aggressive, competitive category. So I give them a lot of credit for what they do.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I mean, that's such a great example, right?

Suzy Davidkhanian: This idea around, and that whole sort of the idea around you need unexpected but also stay true to who you are- Yeah ... so that you can cut through the noise. And we know, Heather, you guys, I mean, there's a lot going on in your, in your world. And so maybe before you talk to us a little bit more about marketing, maybe you can tell us a little bit more about what you guys do.

Suzy Davidkhanian: You sort of touched on it, but I think most people associate Land O'Lakes with butter, but you're so much more than that. Can you tell us a little bit more?

Heather Malenshek: Yeah, I mean, Land O'Lakes is a fascinating company, to be honest with you. Number one, because we're owned by farmers, and also, um, ag retailers, who are the people in the communities who are supporting those farmers with fuel and, and feed and grain and things like that, and agronomic services.

Heather Malenshek: So we're owned by this combination of people who are really rooted in agriculture, um, dairy farmers [00:07:00] and these ag retailers. And then, um, our business really runs the gamut from everything from, uh, how we take care of, how farmers take care of soil, the nutrients they put in the soil, the crops they grow, uh, the seeds that bring the crops to life, the, uh, uh, insights, data, technology in the agricultural side.

Heather Malenshek: We also feed animals, uh, so we have an a- very large animal nutrition business. Nutri- Purina is actually one of our brands. And, uh, we do a lot in the horse category. Cattle category, goat, sheep, swine, uh, all lots of four-leggeds The whole gamut Whole gamut. Uh, we feed zoo animals as well, which I think I mentioned to you when we were talking earlier, Suzy, um, which people don't know about.

Heather Malenshek: And then we have our dairy foods division, which is about 15% of our business. So smallest part of our business, but most visible to consumers, where we produce the most amazing butter and cheese. So, um, really we run the gamut of the whole food system, and it's... that's what makes it super interesting as an organization.

Heather Malenshek: Very diverse, very complex, but very [00:08:00] diverse

Suzy Davidkhanian: And you're responsible for marketing for the entire ecosystem?

Heather Malenshek: Yes.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Yes, I am. That's amazing. Yeah. And what, what strikes me is that even though it's all different parts and pieces, there is really a shared mission, and so there's probably a common thread. 100%.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Yeah. That's cool.

Heather Malenshek: Yeah. I was just gonna add to that, 'cause when I first joined the company, I was just like you, where I was like, "Ugh, Land O'Lakes, butter and cheese. That's, that's great. Interesting." But when I heard the whole story, I was like, "My God." Like, people should know about this, right? Which I think at the time the CEO said to me, "Well, that's your job."

Heather Malenshek: Yeah. Um, which I'm like, "Good point." But, um, I think it, it's, it's, uh- It's diverse, it's interesting, it's, it's challenging. You know, we're in a lot of commodity businesses, which is challenging too. We are 105 years old now, which makes us a brand with a ton of legacy, so we have to think through that. But what was interesting when I first joined is sitting with, and actually I joined during COVID, so I actually had the benefit of getting everybody on Zoom that I wanted to get ahold of, [00:09:00] and talking with them about, you know, why they came to Land O'Lakes, what made them stay there, and it is very much in our DNA.

Heather Malenshek: This idea of being a cooperative isn't just our business model, but it's actually just how we work together. It's how our d- it's how we operate as a d- in our DNA. And the stories that people told about their, uh, their pride and their, their feeling of privilege of being able to work on behalf of these member owners, who are some of the hardest working people you will ever meet, who maintain our food system, who feed the world, and, uh, being able to work for them and their families, and we have a lot of interaction with them, which is very fulfilling, um, really is what sort of holds us together as an organization.

Suzy Davidkhanian: It's so great to see that that mission goes across and over the years, and you sort of said it sort of indirectly, but I'm gonna push a little bit. It is a company with a rich history and legacy, and, you know, after 100 years, you do still need to think about current and getting people- Mm-hmm ... into your fold.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So how do you think about a brand that has so [00:10:00] much history, but staying sort of more relevant without dipping too far away from what makes it the brand that it has always been?

Heather Malenshek: Yeah. I think, you know, I always, I always think if you're, and part of what I did when I came in was thinking about how do we pull this story together in a way that we can actually get out and tell people about it?

Heather Malenshek: It was much less about, uh, telling the, the nostalgic story. Um, and I love what Mellie from Dove said to me, we were on stage together at Brandweek this year, and she said, "You're not a legacy brand, you're a brand with legacy." And I was like, "That's a really cool distinction." And so as we were developing our story around the enterprise, how we went out and told of this, is all of that history and legacy is what enables us to do what we do today and how we can spring forward into the future.

Heather Malenshek: Um, and so for us, it's really staying very true to the whole mission of the company, which has existed since 1921, and then thinking through, "Okay, how do we make that relevant today?" So you'll see us, and we've done some really fun [00:11:00] stuff, particularly in the dairy division, where we're showing up in unexpected places that people wouldn't necessarily see Land O'Lakes.

Heather Malenshek: We're a beloved brand, there's no doubt. We have some very loyal customers on the dairy side. Um, we are trying to reach a new generation, so we're doing interesting things with collaborations with sneaker companies and getting engaged with, like, emerging artists in the music space. And, um, you know, we've, just trying to do a different twist on how we tell the story that feels very relevant to things that are happening in culture today that we can harness.

Heather Malenshek: And I think- I als- also have a belief that, you know, I hear ... And I, I'm on the board of a startup, and it's super exciting, and I get that people can think sometimes new brands are, like, the mos- the best place to be, right? I, I am slightly biased because I've worked with brands with legacy m- pretty much my entire career.

Heather Malenshek: But you have to work a lot harder as a brand with 100-year history to be culturally- Mm-hmm ... relevant at times than you do if you're a brand-new brand that's just starting off. So it gives you a really good challenge as a marketer, and, [00:12:00] uh, and it's something we work on every day, to be honest, making sure we're right.

Suzy Davidkhanian: It's such a great point, right? Because when you have all this history, it's so easy to jump into trends and to try and chase the- Yeah ... relevance, and it's probably not always the right thing to do. But Rachel, what are you seeing more broadly speaking? What are some of the brands with history, let's call them, not legacy brands, um, doing- Mm-hmm

Suzy Davidkhanian: that's making them a little bit more cultural relevant, but also not losing who they are in the first place?

Rachel Wolff: I mean, there are two examples that really came to mind, and the first one is Ralph Lauren, right, which is probably- Mm ... you know, one of the brands with a lot of heritage and which, you know, is certainly leaning into that heritage but also making sure that it doesn't overshadow- Yeah

Rachel Wolff: what it is today. And, and, you know, not everybody ... Like, yes, the '90s are back in fashion, but people don't want a carbon copy of what people were wearing then. You need to make sure- Right ... that you are still relevant for the modern-day, um, consumer, and I think they've done a really good job of doing that, as well as tapping into the fandom around the brand.

Rachel Wolff: Yeah. And I think that's been really [00:13:00] key. Um, and the other one that came to mind was Barnes & Noble. I mean, there's been a lot- Mm ... about, like, how reading is dying. But Barnes & Noble is on an incredible upswing, and that's really because they've leaned into that community aspect of, you know, centering the bookstore as a place where people can go not only to buy something but have a cup of coffee- Hang out

Rachel Wolff: hang out- Yeah Yeah ... spend time with friends. And that has enabled them, again, to stay relevant, but not in a way that's like, "Oh, we're following this latest trend on TikTok."

Heather Malenshek: Yeah.

Suzy Davidkhanian: And it's an interesting ... You, you said it, but I'm gonna say it, paraphrase you a little bit. L- nostalgia is, like, this entry point into the current conversation.

Suzy Davidkhanian: But it can't be your strategy, 'cause it's all- Right ... you're leaning on. Then you're not gonna win.

Heather Malenshek: Right. I think Burberry's another good example in the clothing space, right? And it's a little bit of an outdated version, 'cause they did this a while ago, but I thought they did a beautiful job of bringing that brand into a younger generation.

Rachel Wolff: Yeah, and I think the other thing about nostalgia is like, you know, a lot of, to take Gen Z as the example, I mean, they're nostalgic [00:14:00] for a period that they never lived through.

Heather Malenshek: Yes.

Rachel Wolff: Right? So their understanding of what that period is is not necessarily the experience of actually being in the '90s. And so as a brand, you have to figure out, well, how do you, you know- Yeah

Rachel Wolff: accommodate the sort of like contradictory, um, sense or, you know, ideas.

Heather Malenshek: They don't yearn for the '80s in the same way that I do.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I do think that's a great, that's a great place to pivot to. When we met Heather, it was during one of the Earth Day events- Mm ... and you were so passionate about the Modern Rural Collective.

Suzy Davidkhanian: There is a little bit of tension that goes with that, too. It struck me that it's not just another marketing campaign, and that you are really trying to embody something so much bigger versus getting people- Yeah ... to think about you in the dairy aisle. Tell us how you thought about building that. Tell us a little bit more about what you were trying to accomplish.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Tell us everything, because I was so- ... excited about this.

Heather Malenshek: Yeah, absolutely. So, um, if I give you the, like the stimulus for this for me, [00:15:00] which would maybe help give some context, because, um, we are fortunate to have a, a CEO, Beth Ford, who, uh, is, uh... I mean, we talk about people who are connected to our mission and purpose.

Heather Malenshek: She is the, the lightning rod for that. I mean, everything that she does is so, um, so key to thinking about our member-owners. She will say, I think daily and many times daily, that our success starts with our members' success, so she's very rooted in that. Um, she cares deeply about them, their families, and the communities.

Heather Malenshek: Back in 2019 before I joined Land O'Lakes, uh, she created this, um, coalition called, or convened this coalition called the American Connection Project, uh, to address a problem that was there existing, especially in rural communities, where people didn't have access to broadband internet. Um, so she convened with a group of maybe about 150 very large companies to put, um, pressure on the administration at the time to put money in the infrastructure bill to fund broadband internet in those communities, and [00:16:00] it worked.

Heather Malenshek: And she was successful, and so was the co- so was the coalition. So again, if you go back to our cooperative roots, it's, it's, uh, it's not just our business, business model, it's how we work. We don't do things alone. We pull partners in. We work with others to make some things happen. And I was so inspired by that coming into Land O'Lakes, and, and, and I thought about us as a marketing organization, that we have an enormous, uh, power to change perception.

Heather Malenshek: So how do we think about rural America? Because our lived experience of rural America is not what you see in culture at all. And so we did some research around this, and then decided that we would do something similar in convening, uh, a group of partners and brands to come together to help change the narrative around rural America.

Heather Malenshek: So it's really, uh, a collective of storytellers and creators, um, brands, media organizations, community leaders coming together to help us do that. And it's not a-- I don't see it as a marketing campaign. [00:17:00] Uh, it's not a sponsorship model. It's more of a participation model. And as we've, as we've gone through, we have kind of l- sort of soft launched it at the end of '24, and as we've gone through this, we've started to think about, how do we work with big culture shapers that can help us do something at scale?

Heather Malenshek: And so, uh, one of our first partners, and continues to be a great partner of ours, is if you think about the visual narrative around rural America, so for example, if you went on Google, uh, today and did a search or AI and did a search on rural America, you would get some very stereotypical, uh, imagery come back to you And so, and I've, I've been aware of this work that Getty's done in the past.

Heather Malenshek: So we did some research on their repository. There were only 5% of their images that were actually in rural America. Most of them had no people in them. Um, and then when you did get images with people, they were very stereotypical. So young adults had no technology, they weren't with friends, they tended to be on their own.

Heather Malenshek: Women apparently don't work in rural America- ... 'cause that was pretty clear from [00:18:00] the images that they had. So we put together some research with them. We went out to fill the gap. So we had about, I think we've had almost 40 photographers now out in rural communities taking, uh, uh, images of areas where we felt there were real gaps, like how women show up, how young adults show up, what does farming look like, um, what do veterans look like in rural America?

Heather Malenshek: 44% of the military comes from rural communities. Mm. Just fun fact. So, um, so we've been doing that work with them. We then put the collection on Getty Images for everybody to use. So there's a thing called the Rural Collection, if you go onto Getty Images. All the images is there for people to use, and we're seeing marketers do that.

Heather Malenshek: We're seeing it come up in the media. There's been about a million downloads of these images so far, which is fantastic. So that was one sort of pillar of what we wanted to do, and then a second one was, um, in the written narrative. So media's part of that, but what about film and television? So, uh, we were fortunate to get engaged with and meet with, [00:19:00] uh, Imagine Entertainment from Hollywood, which is Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's, uh, production company.

Heather Malenshek: Ron Howard is a farm kid, so he was really passionate about this work. And so together with his team, we put together a writer's toolkit, not to tell them what stories to write, but really more about how do they think about character development, how do they think about location, what, what, what jobs should they show in rural America?

Heather Malenshek: Like, not everybody's a mechanic in rural America. Mm. Like, think about how do we showcase entrepreneurship, a lot of small businesses in rural America, a lot of, uh, people really innovating and creative, creating in rural America, so how do they think about those things? Um, so that toolkit was launched at Sundance this year and had, uh, a tremendous response from the industry, and that's continuing to be the case.

Heather Malenshek: We're having conversations with writers and storytellers. So hopefully it's, over time we can impact that. Um, the missing piece, to be honest with you, has been brands, because I said this is a [00:20:00] participation model. We had a ton of interest in the early days on, like, "This sounds like a really good thing to do.

Heather Malenshek: We should do something." But actually getting participation was tough. And so we've sort of thought, thought about this a lot, about how do we get ga- brands engaged, and I've been speaking on this recently, is we're not necessarily looking for funding here. What we want you to u- do is use the tools. Mm. Use the tools that we have here.

Heather Malenshek: Um, use your platforms. Use your influence. It's really is a participation model. Don't just, as my- My boss says to me all the time, my CEO says, "Don't stop- stop admiring the problem and actually go out and do something about it." So we want people to think, "Yeah, this is great work, but what can I do as a brand to help here?"

Heather Malenshek: So that's been sort of part of our, uh, our work in the last, in the last couple of months.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I think it's, it, like, should be said again, this idea of participatory, because we don't talk a lot about that, right? Yeah. And you're, what you're looking for are multipliers. Yeah. People who will take- Exactly ... you've done the base work of- Yeah

Suzy Davidkhanian: [00:21:00] like, let me make sure everybody in America understands that every person who'd... And, uh, also, uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but rural America is not always farmers either, right? We were talking about- No, no ... it could be sea fishing villages and like Right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And like other sort of- Not city

Heather Malenshek: Yeah, I mean, it's very, it's very diverse.

Heather Malenshek: So to your point, I think the other thing that I've pushed on a little bit is like, you know, people say we wanna talk about the Heartland or the Midwest, and like it's so much more than that. I mean, yeah, that's a part of rural America, but there are rural t- ex- exactly what you said. There are rural towns on the East Coast of Maine.

Heather Malenshek: There's rural towns in California. There's, uh, there's a tremendous amount of rural communities in the South, and they're all look very different. So that's part of what we wanna bring to life as well, is it's not a homogenous view of, uh, you know, a town in Iowa. It is that and, uh, many other communities across the US.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So Rachel, consumers do a really good job of understanding what is [00:22:00] truly, uh, like an authentic message versus, like, jumping on a bandwagon and trying to just lean into that message that everybody is sort of talking about right now. How do you... Like, how do th- companies... Heather was saying, like, it's hard sometimes to get brands to jump in on this particular sort of messaging.

Suzy Davidkhanian: How do companies think about being genuine and jumping in in a way that is trustworthy and, and authentic?

Rachel Wolff: Yeah. Well, I think, you know, a lot of brands have kind of outsourced the work, right, to influencers- Mm-hmm ... in part because it's a lot easier to get somebody to pay attention to UGC or, you know, content that's coming from a, quote-unquote, trusted source versus something that they consider to be branded.

Rachel Wolff: And so, um, and in some ways, I think, you know, for a lot of brand that works, brands that works because you can tap a wide range of influencers with a wide, much wider audience base than maybe, you know, your content can address. But I think, you know, the, the [00:23:00] difficulty is as a brand is, you know, really knowing what that audience responds to, and that kind of goes back to the central problem, Heather, that you're trying to solve of, like- Yeah

Rachel Wolff: brands don't know what they don't know, and how do you get them- Yeah ... to be aware of the scope of the issue?

Suzy Davidkhanian: And so Heather, how do you guys think about that? Like, how do you, as the owner of the movement, I'm gonna call it, how do you guys think about the brands that come to you or the brands that you reach out to so that it doesn't become a one-off, uh, sort of moment in time activation, but it's something that's sustained over time?

Heather Malenshek: Yeah, and I, I think it's a great question because it- for us it's very important to have people who really understand what we're trying to do, and don't see it as a commercial opportunity, because I've had a lot of those calls. Um, but actually feel very deeply about this, this mission that we're on and the, and what we're trying to do.

Heather Malenshek: And also, as I've talked to, uh, brands in New York recently, um, I was like, there's 46 million people who live in rural America, so if you're a brand [00:24:00] that wants to reach those 46 million people, this is a great initiative to be part of, because you're actually walking the talk about you really care about these, this audience.

Heather Malenshek: And so even if you're not rooted in rural America, whatever, most brands wanna reach 46 million people. So, or if you wanna ignore them, then just go right ahead, but that would seem strange to me. Um, and again, it's not, you know... I, I will also say, though, and, and couch this a little bit, again, I feel very fortunate that I have a CEO who is a big advocate of this work, and she has said to me on more than one occasion, "This is probably the most consequential work of your career," and I agree with her.

Heather Malenshek: Um, and I feel really privileged to be able to do it. Not every, every brand can do that without telling people, like, you know, "We're gonna sell 10 pounds of butter tomorrow based on what we're doing today." That's not what we're in this to do. It is a long game. So it is hard, especially if you're a publicly traded brand, for example, about showing return on investment.

Heather Malenshek: It's not impossible, but it is harder. So I, [00:25:00] I do understand that from a brand perspective. But, um, yeah, I think I, I just, you know, it's very important for us to bring the right sort of like-minded, shared values type of brands to the table on this. And we're not looking for 500 brands to join us. Um, we want to have a core group of partners that really will be able to participate and, and engage and, and, uh, help us move the narrative forward.

Rachel Wolff: Yeah, and on that note, I mean, we talk a lot about, like, authenticity, but I think- Yeah ... in order for brands to be authentic, you actually have to do the work, and you have to recognize that that is a long-term investment.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Yeah. A long-term investment, but as chief marketing officer, I mean, it's great you have so much support for long-term sort of capital M marketing, and also just a commitment to doing good, but you're also responsible at the end of the day for bringing sales in.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Mm-hmm. And you might not be able to do a one-to-one tie. How are you thinking about this as success? Like, how are you measuring success here in this moment in time that is not necessarily about selling more butter, let's call it?

Heather Malenshek: Yeah, so we [00:26:00] think about it, and I mean, there are some traditional marketing metrics that we're looking at, as people are engaging with the content that we're putting out there, so that's part of it.

Heather Malenshek: So if I think about, like, the Getty Images work, as I mentioned, like, a million image downloads. We are definitely hitting a sweet spot of things that people need. Um, we're, we're on the comms side as we look at earned impressions and everything. They're, they're very strong. So those are all great. Uh, we also measure, uh, brand influence.

Heather Malenshek: So for us, that's actually very important, because part of the work we do, uh, with our team too is, um, helping to advocate for things that benefit our farmers, whether that's at the policy level in Washington and others. So brand influence for us is actually very important in this space, and it feels very authentic to who we are, because it is, and it feels like we are walking the talk in terms of what we're doing in supporting these communities.

Heather Malenshek: And there's a halo, right? So people are seeing us talking out and out there as Land O'Lakes. We didn't call it the Land O'Lakes collective, because it's really not about us. We [00:27:00] just wanna make this change. Um, but we are at the head, at the forefront. We're the ones who created this, so we are, by definition, getting the credit here at the moment, and that's, that's terrific.

Heather Malenshek: But I would love it if a brand just came and grabbed these tools and went off and did their thing. I mean, that, that to me would be great. Put it on your channels, share information, tart st- start telling stories about rural America. That would be, to me would be, uh, nirvana.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I want to keep going, but unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Thank you so much, Heather.

Heather Malenshek: Oh, thank you. I appreciate it. Always love talking about this stuff, and it's really nice to talk with you guys.

Suzy Davidkhanian: And thank you so much, Rachel. Thank you. I've had a lot of fun. And thank you to our listeners and to our team that edits the podcast. Please leave a rating or review, and remember to subscribe.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I'll see you for more Reimagining Retail next Wednesday. And on Friday, join Marcus for another episode of Behind the Numbers, an EMARKETER podcast made possible by AI Digital.