5 Questions with Aligned Speaker Gina Thesing of Cargill

The Aligned Conference kicks off THIS WEEK! To wrap up our Aligned speaker series, we invite you to get to know Gina Thesing, Brand and Digital Marketing Manager at Cargill.

Gina Thesing, Cargill

Cargill’s animal nutrition business is fueled by innovation and research, evident in both their wide range of products and in the ways they support their local retailers with solutions like Promoboxx.

Gina has been with Cargill for over fifteen years, starting as a Marketing Coordinator and working her way up through the ranks. As the Brand and Digital Marketing Manager, she leads analysis, planning, and execution for multiple retail marketing campaigns, promotions, and launches with a specific emphasis on digital communications for the Cargill Feed and Nutrition business unit in the U.S.

Gina will be lending her brand leadership skills and retail expertise to the Aligned panel, “Reaching Local Customers at Scale.”

Can you speak to the importance of aligning local retailers to the national brand messaging?

It’s so important for consumers to have a consistent brand experience, regardless of the touchpoints they have with the brand. It’s a team effort to create a positive consumer experience and keep them coming back into the store for more. The retailer and the brand need to work in unison.

[Tweet “”It’s so important for consumers to have a consistent brand experience.” – @gthesing”]

When the experience from online with the brand to offline in the local retailer’s store is smooth and consistent, it’s a win all the way around – for both the local retailer and the brand, as well as the consumer!

How does Cargill empower its local retailers?

We have our amazing sales team that partners regularly with the retailer to bring the right products to the local market, the right training to sell those products, and the right events and promotions to get the word out.

We work hard to pull consumers into their stores with the power of our brands nationally, while providing the tools the retailer needs to push the word out on a local level – which includes the use of Promoboxx!

This is your first year at Aligned. What are you most excited for?

I’m really excited to see the breadth of brands using the platform and learn how others are putting it to work for their retailers! Even though we all come from vastly different industries, the principles of good marketing and reaching busy consumers remain the same. I love the idea generation of events like this.

Best career advice you were given or personal motto you live by?

I’m not much of a motto gal, but if I had to pick, it’d be, “Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.” It’s a fun way to remind myself that it’s okay to step out and try new things!

Who is your favorite local retailer?

This may sound funny, but I’d have to pick my local grocery store. I live in a small town of about 2,000 people, and Glenn’s Super Value serves our community really, really well!

Glenn himself is around most of the time, knows pretty much everyone who walks in the door, and is super involved in the community. Whether it’s donations of food to a local club hosting a hot dog stand or special ordering some strange ingredient or new food you want to try, he and his staff are a great example of living and working in the local community.

Oh – and they still bag your groceries and carry them to your car with a smile, rain or shine!

Thank you, Gina, for the insights! We can’t wait to hear more from you and all of our other featured brand speakers later this week. Learn more about the Aligned Conference and the event’s featured brand speakers here.