MarTech Interview with Rachel Conforti, VP of Marketing at LoopMe

Could you tell us about your role and journey into Technology?

I’ve been in B2B Marketing for the past 20 years, making the pivot from out-of-home advertising to ad technology in the late 2000s. I was fortunate to work alongside some of the best AdTech leaders out there including Brian Lesser, Nicolle Pangis and Paul Dolan while I was at 24/7 Real Media. That is where I began my journey into digital AdTech, where I saw the industry mature and evolve. I’ve had various Marketing and Communication functions at Tremor Video, DoubleVerify and Innovid, all leading up to my current role where I run global marketing for LoopMe, where technology and Artificial Intelligence are at the core of our business.

What inspired you to take up the role at LoopMe?

LoopMe is at an exciting crossroads where AI meets Advertising to drive towards business outcomes. The seven year old UK-based company is experiencing a massive growth period fueled by its US expansion and the opportunity to join this growing business was very exciting for me. The team at LoopMe has done a tremendous job of building a great platform, with products that work for our clients, and I’m lucky to be able to share that story with the world.

As a woman CMO in MarTech, what unique challenges did you face in your various roles? How did you tackle these?

As many women face in my shoes, I’ve seen everything from ‘bro culture’ to finding the work-life balance entering motherhood and dealing with workplace biases for working moms. I was fortunate enough to have a great network of supportive women in business to draw from and to help navigate the course effectively. I’ve turned those experiences into teaching moments for younger women in tech, and as a result, I have started corporate initiatives for women looking to scale their careers. I’m a mentor and brand ambassador with She Runs It, an organization focused on supporting women in Advertising and Marketing, to help guide and coach those below me who may be experiencing similar things. Helping to inspire a new generation of women leaders is personally very rewarding and I’m grateful for my ability to give back.

What drives the current competition in the ‘Data Economy’? What lessons did you learn from your journey in Marketing Technology?

As a marketer myself, I understand the challenges our clients face on a daily basis. The ‘data economy’ has brought so much promise to further understand our Marketing efforts, and how effective our Marketing dollars are in bringing in a return on the investment. However, the data also begs more questions on data quality, trust and transparency. We need to be really clear on what we are trying to measure and what the data is actually reflecting, so we can discover insights – not just analytics.

My trick is always to ask “so what?” If I see numbers from my team, I always push for a larger reason to explain the data, and often times that simple question does the trick. Weeding out the insights from the noise is the first step to uncovering the strategies that will work best for your brand.

You have a long history of leading Marketing campaigns for various advertising data-focused companies. When you look back into the past, which Data Management platforms and tools do you really miss having, or working with?

I’m a big fan of HubSpot – it’s simple and easy to use interface combines Marketing efforts from a host of areas to give you a bird’s eye view of performance. Of course, it all has to link to Salesforce to marry our Marketing efforts to our Sales efforts – a key measure of success. My favorite moments are when we deliver MQLs to our Sales teams that came from Marketing efforts.

Technology and Customer Success

Tell us how you work with technology. What Marketing, Sales and Messaging tools do you use for your business?

At LoopMe we run the gamut on tools and technology – from managing our Marketing team projects in Asana, to Google docs for collaboration, and a whole host of messaging services including Slack, Skype, Zoom and Google Hangouts.

What makes LoopMe products unique in the modern Customer Experience-focused industry? Which titles, geographies and industries are you currently focusing to grow your consumer base?

LoopMe is unique in the marketplace closing the loop on brand advertising through our AI-powered platform that drives media campaigns towards business outcomes when it counts – in-flight. Typically, when a brand marketer needs to measure their ad campaigns for uplift in brand perceptions, or increased foot traffic in-store or ultimately delivered higher sales for that product, they need to employ a post campaign analysis that can take weeks or months following the end of the campaign to see if it moved the needle. That’s where LoopMe is changing the game with its signature product PurchaseLoop, which optimizes in real-time to drive towards those business outcomes.

Our platform is integrated with the leading third-party data providers and our AI optimizes that data to drive campaign performance, shortening the cycle to see results. Campaigns not only perform higher in terms of media metrics, but they perform better on brand KPIs – the most deterministic measure of success. The most successful verticals where our solution is making a big impact is across retail, CPG, restaurants (QSR), and direct-to-consumer brands where data is at the heart of their campaigns.

Tell us about your most outstanding Digital Marketing and Ad campaign.

I’d actually say my most outstanding Marketing efforts in B2B may have been non-digital in nature but rather IRL –  guerilla marketing. While at DoubleVerify, we wanted an innovative way to launch a new product for video verification, so we took to the streets of NYC. With a short tagline “DV Does Video” we hired a guerilla marketing firm to stencil the sidewalks of NYC targeted area major ad agencies and venues during an advertising convention in the area. It was a really fun campaign to work on and we got our clients sending pictures, tweets and other ‘spottings’ of the stencil throughout the month.

In the last 10 years, which MarTech/brand story made the most impact on you? What lessons did you learn from these to improve your customer success?

I’ve learned the most from watching other companies in our space market themselves. I’ve admired how Moat stayed the course on their messaging and positioning towards the ‘attention economy.’ The streaming wars for Connected TV right now is very interesting to watch. The Xandr brand is one that is doing it right – from their Relevance conference to the way they market their products it’s clear what they are offering to the marketplace. Ultimately, it’s about the brand promise to clients, and how Marketing efforts mirror that promise. The companies that get it right, soar.

What unique skills and abilities should young MarTech professionals acquire to compete in this highly disruptive industry?

Agility, curiosity, a desire to learn, patience and generosity go a long way in this business. Surrounding yourself with good people, developing a professional network, finding a mentor and being self-aware are all skills that are rarely talked about but are critical to success.

How does working in data economy with a AI ML and Automation tools empower Marketing leaders in enhancing brand visibility?

Marketing Automation tools make it easier to scale Marketing efforts to drive even higher performance. I’ve found it particularly important in scaling emails and driving effective response rates for content downloads and event registrations that ultimately build the brand awareness and nurture leads throughout the Marketing funnel. When you marry brand awareness efforts and scale via automation tools you can discover insights that will drive even more success in the future.

Insights and Predictions

What are your predictions for your industry and technology markets for 2020-2024?

Outcomes will be even more in demand as the role of the CMO is questioned. Technology and AI will remain at the forefront but will battle with privacy legislation and data quality controls. Advertising will be more addressable, relevant and impactful thanks to technology and consumers will purchase at a higher rate, collapsing the funnel.

What startups in the technology industry are you watching keenly right now?

LoopMe of course ☺ I’m also following the Connected TV/OTT trend so companies that play heavily in that space.

Tag the one person in the industry whose answers to these questions you would love to read:

That’s a good question. I’d love to hear from Wanda Young, newly appointed CMO of Samsung and LoopMe data advisory board member on her take on data and marketing.

Thank you, Rachel! That was fun and hope to see you back on MarTech Series soon.