Here is a transcript generated by otter.ai of The Content Mix podcast interview with Irena Bozhilova who is EMEA international brand manager for Keds and PRO-Keds at Wolverine Europe:

Carlota Pico 0:13
Hi everyone, and welcome back to The Content Mix. I’m Carlota Pico and I’m excited to be here today with Irena Bozhilova who is EMEA international brand manager for Keds and PRO-Keds at Wolverine Europe and has over five years of experience in marketing and communications. Welcome, Irena, and thank you so much for joining us today on The Content Mix.

Irena Bozhilova 0:37
Hi Carlota. Hi everyone. It is great to be here. Thank you for having me.

Carlota Pico 0:42
The pleasure is ours. Well, I love Keds and I can’t wait to learn more about what you’re doing with the brand. But to get this interview started off, let’s talk a little bit about your background. How did you get to where you are today?

Irena Bozhilova 0:52
It’s been a long journey. It started off in 2005, which really focused on customer service and operations, really spending time into that part of the industry and business. And then after a few years, I really decided to follow my passion. And I moved to marketing. After five years or so, I added in product experience to my portfolio as I’ve always felt product is absolutely key and integral to everything that we do in marketing and communications. It is the product that we create. And I’ve always been in a footwear industry. So I focused on the process of really developing our collection, the inspiration, how to really put together briefs and requirements that really capture a global brand point of view to a product but also capture the local needs for our markets here in Europe, Middle East and Africa. So it’s been really amazing, a journey, and for the past year, I’ve added in as well sales to my experience under the brand role of brand manager for the region.

Carlota Pico 2:11
Okay, excellent. And for our audience who is unfamiliar with the brand Wolverine group, could you give me the thirty-second elevator pitch of what Wolverine group is and in particular Keds and PRO-Keds?

Irena Bozhilova 2:26
Thank you. So for about Wolverine Worldwide first, it is a global corporate company and it was founded back in 1883. It is really a global company with headquarters in the US. We’ve got our main headquarters in Rockford. We’ve got another one in Boston, and for Europe, Middle East and Africa, our HQ is here in London, where I am based myself as well. We have offices in Asia, too, in Hong Kong, where we have the team looking after the APAC region for the business. Through Wolverine Worldwide, we have an umbrella of different companies and the portfolio includes Merrell, Sperry, Hush Puppies, Saucony, Wolverine, as well as a brand, of course we’ve got Keds and Stride Rite, Chaco, and Bates. The company also has the license to distribute globally, the Cat and Harley Davidson Footwear brands as well. So it’s a pretty big company with over 130 years of experience and the company’s products are carried by leading retailers in the US and around the world in more than 170 countries. For more information, we do have a website where you can check it but of course I’m super excited to be here representing Keds and PRO-Keds. So I want to share with you more about Keds. The brand is made for women, and our message is that we are made for women, whatever that means. Since we created the first sneaker for women back in 1916, Keds has been about helping women expand the possibility of what they can do and who they can be. It’s an amazing message, which is very inspiring and really empowering for women and myself as a woman, I fell in love with the brand the moment I found out more about it. And we believe as well that women, we’ve come a long way since 1916—a lot of things have changed. But there’s still some rules written, unwritten, on the right way to be a woman. Keds as a brand is about helping women break these rules by reinforcing the idea that every woman should feel comfortable asserting your true self, whatever that means. There is no box, there is no ideal, there is no right way to be a woman and there is certainly no wrong way to be a woman. So the brand is here, not to define, not at all, or redefine as well. It is really here to create meaningful product and messaging to the women around the world, and to share the stories of women around the world. Were truly inspirational. And we’re here as well as part of the brand and behind the brand to do this with everything that we that we do, with every task, every day.

Carlota Pico 5:29
What a beautiful message, Irena. Talk about women empowerment!

Irena Bozhilova 5:35
Yes.

Carlota Pico 5:37
Okay, let’s talk a little bit about the skills that are necessary for the job. So, skills can be acquired throughout one’s career, right? You can learn new skills, you can train for new skills, you can educate yourself about new tools and about new products. But what can’t really be learned are qualities. Qualities are something that we’re born with and we acquire throughout our life. And we’re shaped into these qualities, right, we’re shaped into the way that we are, and the way that we react to news, to whatever we see, to life in general. So let’s say that you’re promoted tomorrow, and you are tasked with the job of finding a new candidate for your role. What combination of skills and qualities and qualities would you look for in that new hire?

Irena Bozhilova 6:28
I think the first part of the job which is absolutely pivotal is the passion for international businesses and really that desire to understand their needs and the fact that there are many differences. And really, when we talk about different cultures, understandings of different needs, it is absolutely key. So having experience of working with international businesses would be absolutely a must But so is the passion for it. Because a huge part of what we do is driven by what we believe, in our purpose. So it’s absolutely key to have that. Other skills really tied in with that are communication, and really having a mixed background to understand, from a marketing point of view, from a product point of view and commercial side, what are the needs for the business partners that we work with, to grow the brand from a global point of view, but also to make sure that we are true to building a healthy business for us under the Wolverine company but also for our partners, which is absolutely key. A huge part of the role would be also having experience and quality of being there as a team player, and also being able to liaise successfully with many different stakeholders, be that internally within the company between different teams, as we do have a very complex hierarchy and structure between our teams internally but also externally, with suppliers and agencies. And as well, of course to third party businesses who are working with our partners as well. This is a huge part of this. And I think another skill is also to be able to be highly organized, and to have that can-do attitude, to be always with a positive mindset. It will be really important.

Carlota Pico 8:38
Yeah. Okay, excellent. So I want to talk a little bit about you personally, and the risks that you’ve taken throughout your career because I think by taking risks, we learn a lot about ourselves. And by pushing the envelope, we oftentimes land in a place that we wouldn’t have thought we would ever get to and it brings a lot of positives, growth, to our career. So Facebook CEO actually said, I quote him saying, “In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” So looking back on your experience and obviously taking COVID-19 into account, what personal risk have you taken that has really paid off?

Irena Bozhilova 9:27
Well, I think, for me personally back and this was before COVID-19, but it was a huge risk that I took. And it was my decision to move to marketing to leave the operations world and really venture into an area which I did not have any experience of. I knew I was very passionate about, I wanted to learn, but in the end, it was a huge pivot in my professional life. So I took the plunge and it was within the Wolverine group, so the company was extremely helpful in connecting me with a mentor internally, and working with the right stakeholders within the business who could help me acquire the skills that are needed to give me insight into what is it to actually work in a marketing team. And then it took a year of actually going through that process of development of myself. And without knowing whether there’s going to be a role that I could actually go in and apply for, to be actually working in marketing. I just went in it following my gut instinct, and it happened! After a year there was a role and I got the role and I became a marketing executive, which was the best feeling ever and I really believe that that was a huge turning poin for me personally. I wouldn’t be here in this amazing role speaking with you right now if that was not the decision I had made. So yeah, definitely, but a huge risk.

Carlota Pico 11:08
Well, congratulations on taking that risk, and on really following your dreams. So during that time you were already park of the Wolverine group.

Irena Bozhilova 11:16
Yes.

Carlota Pico 11:16
Okay. And so the Wolverine group supported you in your dream?

Irena Bozhilova 11:21
Yes.

Carlota Pico 11:22
Oh, beautiful. What a great—

Irena Bozhilova 11:25
Yes, I’ve been—I did not say this, but I’ve been with Wolverine for over eight years now—eight years and a half. And I have moved in different departments and brands, during my my time with the company and I’ve always been really supported and empowered by the company, which has been great.

Carlota Pico 11:47
Okay, and it goes in line with their messaging as well with their branding, right, like women empowerment, define who you are. Nobody else will be defining who you are as a woman. It’s okay to be this or that or whatever you decide—just follow your dreams. So it looks like they’re not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk.

Irena Bozhilova 12:09
Yes.

Carlota Pico 12:10
They back up their branding with actual actions which is extremely important, especially nowadays we can see that throughout different brands actions. As a result of the Black Lives Matter movement, a lot of brands are reacting to the messages that they posted across their social media channels instead of just communicating about what they hope to achieve or how they support a certain movement. Okay, excellent moving into your field of expertise, Irena, according to the CEO of Walt Disney: “The heart and soul of a company is creativity and innovation.” In light of the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement that we briefly touched upon right now, what brands have you really admired lately and why?

Irena Bozhilova 12:59
What I would say is that in terms of COVID-19, and really the unprecedented challenges, really sadness in the world that we’ve all experienced, and it’s been a truly turning point, with a lot of troubles for everyone around the world, I think from a brand’s point of view, and when we talk about the Black Lives Matter as well movement, I think from an outsider, you know, there could be brands that are doing an amazing job. But I steer away from actually thinking that way because I know that truly to know what a brand does and a company does, you need to be inside. Because you want to make sure that there is no, you know, there is in some cases there are pretenses. So for me personally, I wouldn’t say that I’ve admired brands, I have admired communities and how people everywhere—humanity—really came to the front. The people around me, my friends, my colleagues, the people that I work with, we were all very much impacted, and we did everything possible to support one another, but also to think about what can we change within what we do to actually be there to support the people who need that help and support to, even if it is opening up conversations that can be quite tricky, and quite challenging to have we we were having those conversations, which was absolutely amazing to see. And it’s only the beginning of what is has been happening. So I’ll definitely say that it’s more communities that I admire and individuals who I have seen and their efforts have really spoken out with many actions as well. And some those communities close to my heart are based from the UK. One of them is the AllBright, the collective that we have actually partnered with Keds. And based on our plan to work together in 2020, we actually pivoted the whole strategy, so that we are there to support women during these challenging times, and also during the Black Lives Matter protest to give the voice to women who have not had that chance and to really help in that way. So AllBright have been amazing in being there, open to to really work with us and to do this. And another community that is based here in the UK, but has global representation is The Female Narratives, that is a creative community of supporting women in the creative industries and actually with them, the moment that COVID-19 happened, and we went into lockdown, we started off speaking every week, and really getting the community online, on some coasts, to share any anxieties any, any problems and really support one another through through these difficult times, which has been extremely helpful for me personally, as well. So yeah, more about communities, rather than brands as such, I would say.

Carlota Pico 16:31
Okay, beautifully put. Spinning off of that response, and also question, what major lessons have you learned about marketing during this time? And what do you think branding means today versus pre-COVID-19?

Irena Bozhilova 16:45
I think branding is about communication. It’s about creating a meaningful connection with with people around the world. It is the way to connect businesses and really to support, as well, people to really help with their needs. And I think with COVID-19, we understood that first of all, you definitely need to be very conscious and aware of how you’re communicating during a different time, and definitely being very quick to pivot to change, to be flexible, to be nimble, and ready to welcome a change every single day. To really be able to scrap the previous plan, start fresh, and then do that again the next day. And then again, which is what has happened. To be honest, it’s definitely one of the biggest lessons is to be always ready for change.

Carlota Pico 17:46
Yeah, that’s been a common theme throughout my interviews because of COVID-19, but also because of everything that we’ve learned during COVID-19. At the end of the day, brands have had to adapt overnight, their marketing strategies, their products or services—everything has had to be adapted. And that’s required a lot of flexibility as well. And internal adaptation, external adaptation, family adaptation, because there’s so many elements that we’ve had to adapt to make this work for all of us, right? Not only as professional but also on a personal level.

Irena Bozhilova 18:19
Yes, absolutely.

Carlota Pico 18:21
Okay, Irena, and now moving into the nitty gritty: what metrics are important to you as a brand manager?

Irena Bozhilova 18:28
I think from a brand point of view, we always strive to grow our brand presence. So this is definitely a way to measure what we do. And really to look at how healthy the businesses of our partners are to make sure and especially during COVID-19, is having those conversations very openly understanding what are the challenges that they’re facing, because every business had to pivot and change and plan and replan and again, replan, to execute so many different changes to their strategies, and really being there to support them in rebuilding and making sure that they are in a direction where they would be having a healthy business, even if another wave comes in. So these are the two very important metrics really, from a brand point of view. It’s the brand presence and having that healthy partner business around our region.

Carlota Pico 19:33
Okay, how do you measure the performance of those metrics?

Irena Bozhilova 19:37
So when we talk about brand presence, for Keds, it’s brand we relaunched in the UK in spring 2020, exactly in March when COVID-19 happened, which has been, of course, challenging, it’s been challenging for everyone. But it’s been a really interesting time as well for the brand in a way that we were able to create still meaningful connection with women in the region and in the UK specifically. So for us to really grow the brand presence, we used PR agency. And so a lot of the coverage that we were receiving through the press was a way to measure how many people we’ve reached. And really in terms of how how are we growing from a brand awareness point of view. Of course, social media has been absolutely instrumental. And our focus has been on Instagram, we have a Keds Europe, Instagram page, and really through the reach and engagement. We’ve been seeing you can really measure how you’re growing the brand presence. When it comes to the healthy partner business. The way to measure it is through two things. First, is always having information around what is the sell through that we’re getting in each of these those markets. And really during COVID-19, we’ve seen a huge shift, of course to online and supporting our businesses and our partners towards online strategy has been really important. And the other metric is really to look at the our partners business, and to really talk about how do we implement and have we implemented growth year on year. So usually we look at it that way.

Carlota Pico 21:29
Okay, so I’m guessing that means that you work across many different departments, and you rely on a lot of different numbers in order to measure of how well your brand is performing across the EMEA region.

Irena Bozhilova 21:41
Yes, and working very closely with our partners who are representing the brand and distributing the brand in each of the markets within our region as well, as a lot of the data will come from them.

Carlota Pico 21:54
Yeah. And do you rely on those local partners to also adapt your content to local nuances?

Irena Bozhilova 22:01
Yes, we’re there to support them, and this is a part of having that really healthy relationship with our partners to support them. But also, it is really a partnership in that way, as we do need to understand what their needs are, but we need to be there to support them. So this is really important to building our business.

Carlota Pico 22:22
Okay. And is there like a guidebook or a style book that you ask all of your partners to follow just to maintain this—

Irena Bozhilova 22:28
Yes

Carlota Pico 22:30
—reassure yourself as brand manager that your story is being told correctly across all your different markets? Although obviously, there’s different local nuances.

Irena Bozhilova 22:41
Absolutely. So we actually launched the new brand message made for women, whatever that means, at International Women’s Day, back in March, and we had a lot of work being done in the background driven by our global team in Boston, where our HQ for Keds is based. And there was a huge work going on behind from a consumer insight point of view. And then working with an agency to put together the visual guide of what is our identity as a brand. So there is a huge brand book, which captures absolutely everything. It is more than 100 pages. So it’s quite extensive. And that’s a way to show to our partners, what is actually Keds, and how is the brand represented in the right way so that we are consistent across the globe as we are a global brand. But also there were ways to really take the content and make it more local in terms of showcasing women and stories who are from each of the countries where the partner is based. And the product that has been actually purchased as well for that market. That is very important as there are nuances in the style and there are variations In how women dress from the US versus let’s say, Italy, and France.

Carlota Pico 24:06
Yeah, no, definitely, The Content Makes is actually powered by VeraContent, which is a localization agency. And we help multinational brands, localize and adapt their content according to local preferences, really. And a lot of that has to do with culture. And there’s also visual adaptation that’s required of us, because it’s like what you said, I mean, just outfits are different, the way that we eat. The way that we drink can be different. The way that we shake hands can be different. There’s just so many visual differences tthat also have to be adapted to local nuances just to make sure that your message is getting across in the manner that your audience actually consumes that content.

Irena Bozhilova 24:51
Exactly. And this is linked as well with the language being used and the copy and how to translate as well from English to let’s say Spanish, French still carrying that message and really meaning in the right way.

Carlota Pico 25:05
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Okay. Well, you know what I was gonna ask you for a practical example of good branding practices of a campaign that you’ve led. But I think you’ve already spoken about the woman about the International Woman’s Day campaign, which I think is quite powerful. And unless you want to zoom into any other campaign or project in terms of brand management, I’m happy to move on to the rapid set, rapid fire set of questions.

Irena Bozhilova 25:33
Thank you, I think one really specific project that I’m super proud of, and I feel really, really grateful that I’ve been able to put together it’s actually linked with the launch of the brand message at International Women’s Day as it was part of our partnership with the AllBright community and as a project this started back in 20—well, the second half of 2018, and then we kicked off with a UK only partnership between Keds and AllBright in 2019, which then grew to a global partnership for 2020. And together with AllBright we’ve been able to really connect in a meaningful way and and support women on the ground here in the UK, but also in the US where, AllBright opened a club in LA last year, and it’s been really an amazing journey because we have organic synergy between the brand and the community that is AllBright. The team at AllBright is amazing. It is the best team I’ve ever worked with. And the women there are truly inspiring and starting as well with the founders, Debbie and Anna, who are absolutely inspirational women and super empowering, believing in sisterhood, which is women supporting women, and really from a personal point of view as well,it’s been amazing because I’ve seen the efforts that we have, from a professional point of view really paying off on a more personal level as well, as myself, I’m a woman and I have benefited as well, from being part of that sisterhood and actually creating that network around me, with women who I truly, really admire, and I’m inspired and inspired by.

Carlota Pico 27:23
Okay, what a beautiful message. I’m sure that they will really appreciate this shout out. A sisterhood for me is something that’s extremely important as well. When I was in university—Actually, I’m, I’m Spanish, I’m from Spain, but I was educated in the US—and as part of my international experience, I decided to join a sorority. And that was really my first experience in terms of sisterhood. And the “sisters” that I made during that experience are some of my closest friends to this day. And although this is dating me, that was probably what 12 years ago now? And I’m still benefiting from that those relationships and I love watching them grow. And I love just learning about how they’re doing different things in different ways and across different cultures.

Irena Bozhilova 28:13
That’s beautiful.

Carlota Pico 28:14
So sisterhood is definitely very powerful. Very, very powerful. Okay, now moving into our set of rapid fire questions, like I mentioned earlier on, I like to ask you about your source of inspiration. Who do you admire? Is there an influencer or professional role model that you’d like to zoom into?

Irena Bozhilova 28:31
I think it’s the people around me and the community around me. AllBright is one of them, Female Narratives as well—we’ve become very close during the pandemic. But also it’s my friends, my family. I do get a lot of power from them, by being connected with them, so they do inspire me every day.

Carlota Pico 28:50
Okay. I love the energy of this interview, Irena.

Irena Bozhilova 28:53
Thank you.

Carlota Pico 28:54
What a like inspiring and strong energy we’re creating. Okay, what about a resource that you’d like to recommend? So for example, a book, an event, a group?

Irena Bozhilova 29:09
Well, what I would say is, I am reading right now a book, which is amazing. It has really helped me to go through some tough days where there’s been so many things to do, and trying to, to really get through everything and to be motivated. So that book is the “Atomic Habits”. And it’s really the best book ever. So definitely, from a personal point of view, but professional as well, of how to create a routine and a habit that can really pay off and help you grow and really follow your dreams and achieve your goals, which sounds really, really out there, but actually sounds very small. So it’s a it’s been really great. Great book.

Carlota Pico 29:54
Okay, excellent. I’ll have to add that to my summer reading list and to finish up today’s interview, I’d like to ask you, what’s your favorite app at the moment and why?

Irena Bozhilova 30:04
So I actually don’t have a favorite app. I do try, because I do use my phone all the time for work as well, and I think, I mean, one app that definitely stands out that I use all the time is Instagram. And it is for both work and for pleasure, as all of my friends are on Instagram, and that’s an easy way to see what are they up to, if they’re on holiday right now, and I can see a bit of Croatia and some sunshine somewhere. It’s always good. But yeah, Instagram, if I have to name an app then, yeah, it’s Instagram.

Carlota Pico 30:41
Okay. Yeah, I’m a big fan of Instagram as well. I use it multiple times a day, not only to see what my friends are doing, but also, I follow several different industry influencers, who have just really great quotes that they put out stories, and that’s quite inspiring as well. It’s just makes me really proud of what we’re doing as marketers.

Irena Bozhilova 31:03
Absolutely.

Carlota Pico 31:05
Okay, Irena, well, this was a great interview. Thank you so much for joining us on The Content Mix. It was awesome to meet you and pick your brain on so many different subjects.

Irena Bozhilova 31:14
Thank you so much for having me, Carlota, and wishing everyone an amazing weekend.

Carlota Pico 31:20
Thank you, and likewise, I hope you have a beautiful weekend ahead. And to everybody listening in today, thank you for joining us on The Content Mix. For more perspectives on the content marketing industry in Europe, check out The Content Mix. We’ll be releasing interviews just like this one every week, so keep on tuning in. Thanks again, have a fabulous day, and see you next time. Bye!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai