“You have to have people who respect both sides. You have to have storytellers who want to understand the impact. And you have to have performance marketers who understand the power of creative and storytelling.”
— Dana Marineau

As a key figure in the growth of Rakuten's brand image, Chief Marketing Officer, Dana Marineau joins an insightful conversation about the modern landscape of marketing and shares the thoughtful strategies they've implemented to build brand awareness and succeed in the competitive market.

Dana is an accomplished marketing executive with a profound passion for building innovative and inspiring marketing campaigns. She possesses a unique talent for blending creativity and motivation in her strategies, resulting in remarkable outcomes. Her approach to fostering a thriving workplace revolves around her ability to assemble and nurture extraordinary teams.

Dana's exceptional contributions to the marketing field have not gone unnoticed. In 2023, Forbes recognized her as one of the top 50 Entrepreneurial CMOs, highlighting her outstanding achievements. Her impressive track record includes a wide collection of distinctions, with 11 Cannes Lions, 13 Effies, and 11 Clios to her name.

Check out the key takeaways of this episode or the transcript below to learn about Rakuten's brand transformation.

• Transforming Marketing in the Gaming Industry - During her impressive fifteen-year tenure at Electronic Arts, Dana led global advertising, design, and creative efforts for popular video game brands like FIFA, Madden NFL, Need for Speed, and Battlefield. She highlights the dynamic nature of the gaming industry, where each console cycle feels like you’re changing jobs, especially when EA transitioned to digital marketing during the emergence of the PlayStation 2 console.

• Brand Marketing Versus Performance Marketing - Dana believes that managing and developing creative teams is unique to marketing, emphasizing the need for meaningful stories and measurable impact. Finding the right talent requires individuals who appreciate both art and science of marketing, as well as storytellers who understand the importance of performance marketing.

• The Super Bowl Effect - To leverage marketing's biggest stage, the Super Bowl, Rakuten tapped into 1990s pop culture by featuring Alicia Silverstone from the iconic film Clueless, appealing specifically to the Millennial generation. The team prepared for two years, rebuilding its voice, design, and brand identity. After analyzing metrics from their Super Bowl participation, Rakuten saw remarkable results: a 4.5-point increase in brand awareness, a ten percent boost in buyers, and a twenty percent increase in reactivated buyers.

• Driving Business Metrics in the Digital World - Rakuten has a dedicated growth performance and analytics team in addition to its in-house team. Data plays a crucial role in the brand's decision-making process, influencing media planning, investments, targeting capabilities, and audience generation. The presence of an in-house team allows Rakuten to be highly agile and responsive. Furthermore, when it comes to AI, it's important to note that Rakuten's approach is what Dana calls “human-made and machine-delivered.” While they learn a lot from these innovative tools, they make a conscious effort to not let the machines do all the work.