Cynthia Ferngren

Hello! I’m Cynthia Ferngren I am an award winning marketing strategist and outsourced CMO. I help businesses increase their profits and connect with their customers! let’s connect! My background I am an award-winning strategist and marketing thought-leader that has been launching successful brands for over two decades. I have developed strategy and marketing campaigns for some of the most iconic brands of our time including IBM, Dell Software, Botox, Johnson & Johnson, Neutrogena, Verizon, AT&T, GSK, Novartis, Trafalgar, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Pfizer. I have brought over 10 startups to life, serving as the strategic lead for launching brands such as Peace Out, DwellBeing, GigUp, AltroSmart, Taylor Pass Honey, Brochu Walker, Engle Roberts, Spectrami, and PeaPod. My wealth of knowledge in successfully launching brands has led me to a mentor position at Make In LA, a hardware-focused incubator. I am an expert speaker and published author. I have recently spoke at Digital Marketing LA, The Authentic Marketing Conference, 2018 CEMA Summit, and the 2018 Video Marketing Conference. In addition, I was a featured expert contributor to the book Digital Marketing Tactics and have won over ten industry awards for my marketing efforts. My awards 2018 Teen Vogue Acne Awards 2016 Stevie Award Best Digital Video Campaign 2015 Telly Award for Video Excellence 2014 Silver Communicator Award for Consumer Web Design 2014 Silver Communicator Award for Consumer Mobile App 2013 Platinum AVA Digital Award for Mobile Application 2013 Marcom Platinum Award Consumer Mobile App 2012 Marcom for Mobile Application 2012 Platinum Marcom Award for Best Corporate Website 2012 Gold Marcom for Online Video 2010 Howie Award customers buy a product based on how it makes them feel about their own lives “ 1 your brand is a story that is always being told when your audience can emotionally connect with your brand, they won’t just buy your product, they won’t just be loyal customers, they will be your best salesforce to make a market impact you need to figure out your brand’s blueprint your brand brand blueprint your customer the process is easy Tapping into your customer insights Getting the story right Analyzing the data Analysis Creating the right mix your customer 2 customer insights it doesn’t start with you it starts with them. The process starts with customer research to learn how they think & feel insight mining secret shopper quantitative surveys I start with research to uncover insights about the way your customer and key stakeholders act, feel, and think about your brand, the market and the world in general. when necessary, I conduct research in retail store fronts to uncover how your product is being presented, what barriers customers may face in store and how we may overcome them. sometimes you need to quantify the data. when it is about the numbers, I can get them for you with quantitative surveys that produce the type of results you need to make a claim. the brand 3 getting the story right value prop is key to conversion your value proposition needs to clearly communicate your company’s unique offer and benefits in a way that connects into their needs! “ affiliate SEO/SEM email marketing digital/social media video content lead gen Creating the right story for your brand connects to the hearts & minds of your audience, and should be carefully woven throughout your brand ecosystem. 4 case studies taking skincare by storm taking skincare by storm The Problem Peace Out Skincare would be launching in the U.S. The owners of the company were two men in their late 20’s with no prior business or skincare experience. They needed help with branding, marketing strategy, positioning, pricing, retail, content, campaign development and PR - basically everything. The Solution The Results Since the skincare market is so crowded, I set out to disrupt it by taking creating a fun, instagramable brand that connected to millennials visual and emotionally. The product was launched in Sephora stores and sold out two weeks after launch. In addition, we wanted to differentiate our product line by positioning them as one-step solutions. Women were tired of having complicated multiple step skincare routines and the fun sticker solutions were appealing and easy for them to incorporate. They have received national press coverage and won the 2018 Acne Award by Teen Vogue for being one of the most unique and breakthrough skincare products. Through market research, I uncovered a common stress among millennial women. They were incredible stressed with the pressures of social media, and always coming across perfect. This insight was used to create the launch campaign “Live a life unfiltered. You Be You.” which went on to win awards and be touted nationally in the beauty community. going from last place to first place in the market going from last place to first in the market The Problem Aczone is an acne product that launched into the crowded market, positioning itself as a product ideal for “sensitive skin” The results of this lack-luster positioning, put the product in a last place market position at launch. The Solution As a first step, I looked at the overall data and realized that although the overall efficacy data for the product was not ideal, the product had a unique efficacy profile in adult female women. This was an underserved target in the acne market, and an opportunity for ACZONE. Through market research it was uncovered that in fact, most women in their 30s and up still got hormonal acne, and 85% of them had tried the over the counter acne product Proactiv, which was spending million of media dollars on Television Ads at the time. This was key, as most of the competitive acne products on the market had the same active ingredient as Proactiv. The Results By repositioning the product and targeting Adult Females who had failed on Proactiv, I took the product from last place to first in category in a period of one year. turning a product into a household name turning a product into a household name The Problem BOTOX had it good for the first 8 years on the market, as the only product in its category. Then, its first competitor came along, Dysport in 2009, and Allergan panicked. BOTOX was their golden goose and the need to reposition the product became critical to maintain market share. Despite the market crash around this time, the injectable filler market remained stable. People may not have been shopping, and the housing market was a mess, but people still found the money to be wrinkle free. This was the bread and butter of many dermatologists and plastic surgeons at that time, who were supplementing the loss of doing larger cosmetic procedures. The Solution Realizing physicians need for stability at the time, I dug for further insights by looking into the competitive data, and realized that Doctor’s were going to have to be retrained if they wanted to use the new competitive product, as the injection sites were different. In addition, physicians were skeptical about the efficacy results. By levering these insights, I was able to displace Dysport as a competitor in the market before it even entered. The product was repositioned as “The One and Only BOTOX” and the call to action was “Make sure to ask for it by name.” The Results BOTOX not only maintained their market share but continued to grown, even with its new competitor entering the market. To this day, Dysport has little to no brand recognition, and BOTOX is now used not only in reference to the brand but the category itself. relaunching a company to an audience who doesn’t know you exist Place your screenshot here relaunching a company to an audience who doesn’t know you exist The Problem Due to the large number of company acquisitions in a short period of time corporate alignment was a challenge at Dell Software. The company was unable to properly launch their new division to existing customers and the IT community at large. As a result, 82% of IT professionals were unaware that Dell had a software division, and most existing Dell hardware customers were unaware of the software division. The Solution Extensive research was conducted to uncover key insights among the target market. It was uncovered, that 97% of IT professionals trusted Dell for its software and would be interested in a software offering, but were unaware they had one. In addition, it was uncovered that most IT professionals felt overworked, were craving a better work-life- balance, and to be understood and appreciated. This was the life-force for the key insight of the campaign. IT professionals craved “more” out of life, as their job is one that requires them to be on-call 24hrs a day, as the security of the entire company rests in their hands. This allowed for the birth of the award-winning “Expect More” campaign, which was rolled out through a national print, outdoor and digital campaign, along with software trial packages that were introduced to every Dell Hardware customer. The Results The campaign won a 2016 Stevie Award and increased their ROI by 3 to 1. beating the big guys Place your screenshot here beating the big guys The Problem Liberty Mutual has an idea lab that focuses on home tech products. They were preparing to launch DwellBeing, a new home app that helps to make keeping your home up to date easier. They had a 4 week timeline to brand the product, create the campaign and marketing strategy, design the app, create the brand video and all of the content. They decided to have me pitch against IDEO for the job, was I up for the challenge - you bet! The Solution I created the brand strategy and tagline “Caring for your home, made simple.” This became the cornerstone of the branding and strategy. Within one week I had the website designs, copy strategy, branding strategy, and UX designs complete and they awarded the account to me over IDEO, a huge accomplishment considering they had a huge team on the project, and were competing against me and a designer I had brought on to collaborate. The Results The product is now in beta. However, the campaign went on to receive internal notoriety at Liberty Mutual, and as a result I become the main consultant they used when launching new products, going on to launch GIgUp and Sureology for them as well. creating a movement by inspiring others creating a movement by inspiring others The Problem Acorda, launched Ampyra, a medication to help improve mobility and the ability for MS patients to walk. They wanted to make an impact on patients and give them hope that with the help of Ampyra, they could potentially get back to living their life as they once did and make an impact on the general public about this debilitating disease that is rarely talked about. The Solution I created the campaign Ampyra Journeys. The campaign was a series of documentary videos that brought actual patient journey to life. I travelled the nation, interviewing actual Ampyra patients and bringing their hero’s journey to life. From a woman from the midwest that built miniature dollhouses, to a radio personality in NYC who was able to get back to taking his beautiful wife to dinner and walking the streets of Manhattan holding her hand. I brought to life not only their journey with MS, but their journey to reconnect with their passion in life. The Results The campaign won a 2015 Telly Award and brought national awareness to MS. being first to make power wearable being first to make power wearable The Problem Will i. am saw a problem with the smartphone in that they were all “power cases.” He set out to start a trend that enabled people to “wear power.” The Solution The strategy “Live a life untethered” focused on the idea that with the wrist phone, you no longer had to be tied to your phone. You could now be free to dance, and still be connected. By leveraging Will i am’s music background as the stage for the strategy, it was brought to life through bold colors, and images of movement that showcased what it would truly meant to be “hands-free”. The Results The campaign broke ground and disrupted the tech market making Puls the first ever fashion-first wrist-phone. creating extreme power in students across america Place your screenshot here creating extreme power in students across america The Problem LaDainian Tomlinson had a mission to create a character & leadership program that could be coupled with the very performance program tools that made him an NFL hall of fame athlete. However, he did not have any idea where to start. The Solution I worked with LaDainian and his team to develop the companies go to marketing strategy, all of their marketing efforts, their course materials and work with this board of directors on expansion strategies to take the program nationwide. In addition, I worked to secure partnerships with the organization with DeLoitte University, The Marine Corp, and the DAV. The Results The program has now been implemented in schools nationwide, and students that have gone through the program have gone on to secure college football scholarships at elite universities such as Stanford. disrupting a crowded market disrupting a crowded market The Problem Altro Smart came to me to launch their new smart home device, The market was already a crowded market with big players such as Ring and August locks taking up the bulk of the market share, and our small budget at launch would require us to be innovative to break through market clutter. The Solution By leveraging the product’s unique benefits we were able to create disruption in the market quickly. The device took the smart lock and the video doorbell and combined these two products into one device - making it the only product on the market to have this feature. We did a soft digital launch to test our USP and targeted, and then used this data to unveil our national launch campaign at CES 2018. The campaign caught national attention of HGTV, Consumer Reports, CNET, and DIY Network. . The Results International launch of Altro Smart including US and Europe launch, sold out in 2 months of launch. thanks! any questions? reach me at: -