Transcript

Bennie F Johnson 

Hello, and thank you for joining us for an episode of AMA’s Marketing And. I’m your host, AMA CEO, Bennie F. Johnson. In our episodes, we explore life through a marketing lens, delving into conversations with individuals that flourish at the intersection of marketing and the unexpected. We’ll introduce you to visionaries whose stories you might not have heard of, but are exactly the ones you need to know.

Through thought-provoking conversations, we’ll unravel the challenges, triumphs, and pivotal moments that have been shaped by marketing. Today, I’m really excited for a super special guest, a brilliant marketing leader, an engaged global strategist, and a dear friend, Corinda Frushour. Krenda is the Senior Director of International Marketing for Blistex. She has served in numerous global marketing roles, including time at the Johnson Nutrition, where she was served as a marketing director, and her start early in her career at Procter & Gamble, where she rose through the brand management ranks. She has an incredible deep understanding of global marketing, brand management, product innovation, and consumer products. Krenda, welcome to our podcast.

Krenda Frushour

Thank you, Bennie. Thank you so much for kind introductions and inviting me to your podcast. And so glad to be friends with you. I’m glad our lives have intersected between the passion for marketing and a passion for business ethics. And for our listeners, we’ve been connected through CBBB or the Council of Better Business Bureaus and also through AMA. And being

Bennie 

Right.

Krenda 

part of a board member for the CBBB. I had the opportunity to fly into DC every three months and work with you. And I always enjoyed your passion and new ideas for building trust in the marketplace.

Bennie 

Yes. Well, thank you for the kind words. And likewise, our paths cross when we get a chance to work with the Council of Better Business Bureaus and focus on brand and marketplace ethics. And what was interesting is, what I always loved about our conversations is we could focus and talk about things that were happening in the US, but you always had an equally involved and informed lens of marketing across the globe. I know sometimes we talk a little bit about marketing.

But you’re one of the true marketing leaders who really lives marketing. I think when we had dinner a few months ago, you told me you had been in 24 countries in 24 months at one time period.

Krenda 

That’s right. I love international business. I have always wanted to learn from other people from different cultures. Very early I was learning Spanish and being an exchange student in high school in Spain. And what a joy to continue that in my career and in marketing. I get to learn from leaders all over the world. Right now I’m marketing in 70 different countries.

Bennie

Wow. It’s amazing when you say it out loud, right? When you kind of live into the space in 70 different countries. How do you manage both a complex portfolio of products that you have at Blistex across a complex set of locales, a regional space in there? How do you approach that?

Krenda

I am always learning from our partners and finding out what’s next. So what are they testing and learning? How are they innovating? And then how do I take those positive stories and share them with our other partners around the world? And I appreciate that there’s different ideas and thoughts and just encouraging that.

Bennie 

It’s really, you we talk about learning in a space. There was a time in business where we thought of the ideas as hitting a wall when they hit the borders. But in today’s world, you know, we have a space where there’s none of that friction and none of the false structures in there. What have been some of the things that surprised you most of ideas that have come up in the most unexpected places but inform your larger business?

Krenda 

Right. Well, that’s a good question. I think in always trying to start with the consumer first and listen to what’s their habits and practices, what are their hopes and dreams, and that those may not always be the same across countries So you want to build a global brand and consistency in communication, but you also need to act local and find out

Bennie 

Right. Right.

Krenda

How that brand is really helping in their lives and how can it help better? So an example would be that we had Stridex here in the United States, it’s targeted to teens. And one of the ideas is that it’s a one step process, right? So my teenage son, of course, loved this. Like all he had to do is use Stridex. But when we went into Asia, it was different. We couldn’t really…

Bennie 

Okay.

Krenda

It didn’t make any sense to say one step process because in Korea they have a seven step cleansing system. So we to change the way that we communicated and understand that it wasn’t also just for teenagers, it was for women of different ages and that they were using it for exfoliation. So we changed the way that we communicated to match what they were looking for.

Bennie 

Mm-hmm. Wow. Now, listening to you talk about teenagers and different generations, just as you think about, you know, ballistics, you’re at the nexus of health and beauty and space. How are you thinking about managing multiple generations in the marketplace along your products? We see that our younger generation has a different embrace with the products for use and purpose. How is that informing the way that you market it across all the generations?

Krenda 

Right, I think it’s really exciting, the younger generation, how they’re really embracing wellness and being proactive in their health. And so there’s a lot of listening that we do, not just in the traditional ways of listening in a focus group or a quantitative type of research, but also going out to the places where they’re talking and having conversations. whether that’s you know, social media, if it’s TikTok videos, we’re learning from them about what’s happening in the future and what do they expect out of our offerings.

Bennie

So you mentioned TikTok videos, kind of globally in space in there. Do you ever have a focus group of two at home? Do ever reach out?

Krenda 

I do. Bennie, I do. And in fact, I talk about marketing so much at the dinner table that I’ve simplified it and made it so easy for my two kids to bring it back to me in unexpected ways. you know, it came back. That’s right.

Bennie 

Yes. Okay. I love the unexpected. Let’s talk about this. The teacher has become a student here. What’s going on?

Krenda 

You know, actually, I asked them for advice for this because I’m their college students. I’m hoping that I have some college students listening to this podcast, too. So I asked for some advice and they said, you know, they tried to be encouraging. You’re you’re interesting. You’re engaging, inspiring, but you’re not going to be you’re not going to try to be funny, are you? And why? Why can’t I be funny? And they said, well, that’s not your brand character.

Bennie 

My goodness.

Krenda

They said, why don’t it just be you be you, right? And that’s a lot about, you a brand is you be you be true to your core and who you are. And at the same time, you know, innovate and find new ways to connect to people.

Bennie

My goodness. My goodness. So that’s awesome that it comes back in there. My daughter has become chief product sampler now. So she, she stocks who I’m interviewing and talking with and she realizes the brand that she knows. And then when I come home or travel, there’s always a hand reached out to go, can I see the samples? So, you know, some Blistex product came her way from the last time you stopped the opposite. It went straight. She was like, yes, yes. Thank you. Yeah. She, she loved it.

Krenda 

Okay, well. That’s right, that’s right, I hope she – good, did she like it? That’s awesome. Well, I would love a review. That’s fantastic.

Bennie 

And she’ll probably she’ll probably give you a review as well. This is the fun of having marketing kind of writ large in our entire lives. So, but I want to go back to the beginning. You talk a bit about foreign exchange experiences and learning new cultures. When did you realize that you could wear your love for global engagement with your love for marketing? When did it kind of click?

Krenda 

Sure, I can pinpoint it back to the eighth grade. I think I always was inspired by my dad who was working in 3M sales. And we would go along on customer visits. As I got older, I found out that it wasn’t normal that your family took you on vacation to plant tours. But I found that

Bennie 

Okay.

Krenda 

Business was very exciting and that you could really drive a difference in people’s lives. There was other experiences like Junior Achievement, which is a nonprofit to encourage entrepreneurship that started at the eighth grade that I got involved. And then I really narrowed it down to marketing because of that intersection of art and science. I found myself doing theater and a lot of communication and photography and art. And I even taught

Bennie 

Mm-hmm.

Krenda 

Comedy sports, but then at the same time, I also love science and I loved, I was computer programming and I was doing economic competitions and then I would be part of the international club and work with foreign exchange students. And so I was like, how could I put this all together? And that’s how I ended up majoring in marketing and strategy and minoring in international business.

Bennie 

Wow. That’s an incredible path. And then you get a chance to spend time in Cincinnati, spend time studying brand. Remember, you talked a bit about how you found mentors and like -minded troublemakers in marketing in your space in there and kind of keeping it in local market. Talk a bit about your professional community as you kind of built in and maintain these relationships.

Krenda 

Hahaha.

Bennie 

What were some of the things that you really valued in that space?

Krenda 

Right, I really valued my professors and I kept in touch with my professors. Actually, I’m still in touch with my professors. So I think the academics part is really important to continue on with those relationships. And then of course, I appreciate my bosses and official mentors at my companies. But I do think it’s important to join outside organizations to get a different perspective than just your own companies. So it could be the AMA. For me, I’m also passionate about empowering women in leadership. as part of NextUp, I was a digital co-chair for the region here. And I met so many inspiring other people who know, told their stories and we connected and you find out that they’re also coming into similar marketing challenges and you have a chance to work through those challenges together in a place that’s really safe for you.

Bennie 

Right. Right. I’m going to talk a bit about challenges, as you mentioned, working, coaching and mentoring and being connected to women in leadership and marketing. Now you’ve had this really robust career in global marketing. You’ve been in 70 countries. You know, one of the things that we know is that as a woman in leadership, each of those environments aren’t necessarily the most hospitable. How have you been able to navigate that with such tremendous success? How you have any advice for

Krenda 

Right.

Bennie 

Our listeners who may be looking into global spaces and are coming up against often unspoken, but we know challenges being a woman who’s a leader in marketing going into these global marketplaces.

Krenda 

I think that’s a good summary of people who may be concerned about going into international marketing because it might not be as comfortable. But I would say to move forward. Don’t be fearful. And I was personally inspired by my own mother and grandmother who were told, you can’t do something.

Bennie 

Mm. Mm-hmm.

Krenda 

And I say, how do we figure out how we can do it, right? And for my mother, she was not allowed to take an advanced math class because she was a girl. And my grandmother fought it, and she won. And she would always tell me that story at the dinner table. And I was so inspired of someone who

Bennie 

Right, right, right. Right. Wow.

Krenda 

Was told not to do something and then they did it and then they really excelled in it and she became a math and science teacher. And then if you think about her two daughters get an MBA, are directors and then board members, we’ve really continued on that. And so someone needs to create the path and why not? Why not do that? And so in working in other…

Bennie 

Right. Right. Right.

Krenda 

Countries, have found that just letting people know how much you’re interested in them and interested in their business and that you’re there to help them really builds that relationship and that respect, no matter whether you are female or male.

Bennie 

Mm. I love the energy direction and I love the story of your mom and the multi -generational push. It really resonates for me as well. I think I’ll be telling you before, my wife’s a mathematician and software engineer by training and being in that and being the only girl in the math classes and pushing forward and she’s really being committed to that. It really is a gateway for things that are possible. And I think about that as you look and you

Krenda 

Yes. That’s right.

Bennie 

And you’re building teams and doing such dynamic work across the globe on how much the world has changed. I have a question for you. Is it easier today to market globally than it was when you started 25 years ago? Okay, as I’m asking that question, going, well, let me just ask anyway. I asked that question because in some respects, our world was really one dimensional.

Krenda 

No.

Bennie 

Two dimensional at best. And now we have a multi dimensional AI driven AR, you know, festival of things that are happening at any given time. I just wanted to know if the tools have made, you know, some parts of your global marketing portfolio easier to deal with or just create it more complexity.

Krenda 

Right. Right. Right. Well, I do think the tools are helping us in global marketing. We can listen to consumers in so many other ways that we couldn’t do 20 or 30 years ago, and the information is instantaneous. But then you also have to think about that what you do in one country can impact how consumers feel in another country. And so you’re always thinking about that and looking for that consistency in messaging.

Bennie 

Right. Right.

Krenda 

And I think just overall in marketing that it has become, more challenging. hope people feel like it’s also more exciting, but you know, back when I started, you could have one TV ad that was a big success and that would make all the difference in your, results for sales. but now you really have to work across many different, types of media.

Bennie 

Right.

Krenda 

In order to reach that same audience.

Bennie 

So true. When you think about kind of developing new strategies and new product innovation, where do your ideas, where do your inspirations come from today?

Krenda

It’s always starting from the consumer. it’s not just asking them what product they want, but it’s really understanding what is their life about and what is their lifestyle. And so one example that I would give you is when I was working for Enfamil, I went into Chinese homes and we did three hour in-home interviews.

Bennie 

Mm-hmm.

Krenda 

And by that time, you leave enough time to not just ask the questions, but to understand the family dynamics, how they interact with their spouse, how they interact with their in -laws, what is it that they really want, and ask the tough questions. In that case, we really learned insights. Like, we had thought that what they wanted was for their child to be the number one student. And that was like a lot of the messaging that was happening. But when you really got into the depth of understanding, you understood that that was actually the generation before who wanted them to be the number one student. And that mom was the number one student. And she actually had a different dream for her kids. And we actually said, well, what number do you want your child to be in the class? And sometimes she said, it’s number eight or number nine. And then you get into understanding like, well, why would you?

Bennie 

Hmm… Mm-hmm.

Krenda

Not want it to be number one, and she wanted that balance. She wanted her child to be happy and not miss out on their childhood and also be the smartest, most interesting person at a party. And so that changed our thoughts about, well, we can’t just have brain development. We also need to have immunity and digestion and show that this is everything is possible for this child. And that inspired a whole new innovation, which

Bennie 

Right. Right.

Krenda 

Became a nine figure in sales, MFML Infinitas, and you would know that in the United States as MFML Inspire. Really understanding the consumer first then should lead what type of innovation you need to fulfill that need.

Bennie 

Wow. Right. It’s really interesting as you have brands that have a longer tail, you’ve been able to kind of look at the insights as your consumers changing across a generational space where, as you said, your initial insight may have been true 10 years prior or 20 years prior, right? But it’s adjusting in there.

Krenda

Right, exactly. Yeah. And I think that’s part of the, you know, what I count as success is like, not just did the innovation bring in sales for the first year, but did you dig deep enough that that innovation lasts for a long period of time?

Bennie 

Mm-hmm. Wow. When you think about the complexities of the marketplace, do you ever have creative tensions where your messaging in one country rubs up against consumer needs or perceptions in another? It’s close enough where someone sees or is engaging with the brand differently outside of their home country and comes back and there’s a tension.

Krenda

You can have some tension, but I think the way to get ahead of that is to actually inspire each of the groups of what your core marketing and reason for the brand is with the brand pyramids, with examples, really showing the positives of what we’re doing to make a difference in consumers’ lives. So I think in marketing, you have a choice of

Bennie 

Mm-hmm.

Krenda 

Are you communicating fear or are you communicating love? And when you go down that path of love, you’re less likely to have an issue of that conflict and negativity coming into the market. if, know, Blistex consumers, you know, it’s common to have problems with dry lips and chapped lips, but we’re not showing

Bennie 

Right.

Krenda

Bleeding chap lifts in our advertising, right? We’re showing the positive of people who are going outside in the sun and the wind and dry atmospheres, and whether they’re skiing in Finland or they’re doing water sports in Panama, it’s still the same theme of that you can go out without fear and your lifts will be protected.

Bennie 

Right. Mm-hmm.

Krenda 

Because Blistex will protect your lips. So that seems to go in a positive manner, no matter where you are in the world.

Bennie 

Wow, I love the kind of leading with positivity. And I never thought about showing the pregame of the Blistex in this space. That never would have crossed my mind as an option, but directly, it could have been an option. And I’m glad you’ve gone with the other one.

Krenda 

Right. Yes.

Bennie

So you’ve had a chance to do marketing with a lot of intimate products that we kind of connect with. Our lives are important. What has helped you really elevate from the kind of pragmatic space in there to using storytelling to kind of bring you in? And you talked a bit about being in the Alps just now and this kind of adventure narrative that I can just feel in the conversation when you’re talking about Blistex.

Krenda 

Yeah, think definitely you’re right. I’ve been in very intimate categories. I’ve purposely tried to kick the space of health and beauty care. What a joy to market and show women in a positive, strong place. One of those examples would be working on Tampax Pearl. And that’s probably one of the most intimate places that you could ask questions of your consumers. But understanding the emotional part and not just the functional part is what’s going to set your story apart. So in this case, this was way back. And in the feminine care industry at the time,

Bennie 

Right.

Krenda 

I remember that the ads were really a lot of a functional, so that we would call them the blue goo demos. Yes, you remember. And so we also knew from shopping with consumers that they would actually hide the feminine care products in their grocery cart. And just watching that behavior and then asking about feelings really made a difference because

Bennie 

Yes, yep. Yes. Mm. Mm-hmm.

Krenda 

It inspired our agency and team to go off to, I held a brainstorm session offsite. I think we’re in some barn in Ohio. And we started saying, why, you know, and why not? Why are, is this still a taboo subject? It’s a health subject. And why can’t we turn it around? And instead of girls having less confidence, as they reach this time in their life, why couldn’t we build up the confidence and turn it around? And so then that connects with both your innovation and your messaging. And instead of the blue goo, we were showing girls strutting down the runway. And Pearl Girl was at a party and she had a problem and she solved it. And Pearl Girl had a

Bennie 

Mm-hmm.

Krenda 

Rowboat with a leak in it, and she used her Tampax Pearl and saved the day, right? And we got a lot of positive feedback right away. Sales certainly shot up with Tampax Pearl for the brand. It’s still a brand that’s in the market and is connected to girls. And so I’m really proud of working with creative people.

Bennie 

Right.

Krenda

Who understand that it’s not just the function and the claim, but how do we understand the emotions and connect with our consumer.

Bennie

Which is really powerful. One of the things that I always love is your commitment and position as a marketing leader. And so I want to pick your brain for a bit. How do you inspire the next and then the next generation of marketing team members? How do you, you know, you have, I’m certain your team is covering, it’s helping you cover the 70 countries. How are you coaching, mentoring and leading in today’s world?

Krenda 

Yes, I think we are coaching and mentoring and training on a daily basis and on the fundamentals of marketing. But also, I’m coaching on how do you build the stories not only externally, but also internally. So how do you make what you’re doing really matter? You’re probably going to be asking for resources, whether you’re trying to get

Bennie

Mm. Right.

Krenda 

Clinicals or you’re trying to get a budget and how do you get the entire organization excited about the future? So, you know, one of the things that I’m looking for is what is the bigger cause than just the sales? Like the sales increasing, that’s great, but that’s not enough. A lot of people are looking for purpose in what they’re doing on a daily basis. So one of the examples, I have comes from Enfamil. There’s both in the infant industry. There’s both formulas that are for babies who have no problems. So those are routine formulas. And then there’s formulas for babies who have some type of problem, whether it’s reflux or allergies or fussiness, gas, and crying. Our team, you know, I would encourage the teams to really understand what’s the problem. And so our team was listening to mom’s stories about how their babies had reflux, how they feared that their babies would spit up on their friends and family, and they worried that their baby was in pain. I think the markers start connecting right away to, want to solve this problem for the mom. But then how do you take that to the larger organization? And we were trying to crunch the numbers, like,

Bennie 

Right. Mm.

Krenda 

Marketers do, and we say, why is this such a big problem? And yet the category numbers don’t match that. And so you’re always asking why, and then why not to change things? And in this case, we found out by talking to pediatricians that they were actually prescribing off -label reflux drugs for the babies. And then we would go back to the moms and ask them, how do you feel about

Bennie 

Hmm.

Krenda 

Using reflux drugs for your babies and they’re not feeling good because there could be side effects, right? And that just gets you more pumped up about how am I going to solve this problem. And so we brought it to the broader group and to the sales team. And instead of just doing, you know, a written document or

Bennie

Right. Right. Right.

Krenda

Or recording, what we did was we created a video and the whole theme was America’s Most Wanted. We had the list of the top prescribers of infant formula. And then I dressed up like a reporter and my brand manager pretended like he was John Nash. why not make it fun, right? It can be a serious problem, but you can make it really exciting as a

Bennie 

Right. Right.

Krenda 

Solution that the whole organization can work against.

Bennie 

Well, I think it’s really powerful. You started off really, I thought, was going to be a narrative of how do we market marketing, which I think is important in this space in there. But then freeing ourselves up that we can bring all of ourselves to problem solving. It’s just not the quiet state, serious part of ourselves that’s a part of problem solving. It is the fun, silly -filled, let’s figure out what the solution is to this problem that’s helpful as well. And that’s a great thing.

Krenda 

Right. Yeah. And I think the business is in the business of problem solving and it’s getting bigger than just solving the problems of a product for the marketplace. But it’s how does business engage in sustainability and other issues that we’re having on a global basis.

Bennie 

It serves a great example of that. You know, I mentioned earlier, I asked you that question, if it was harder to market today globally than before, and you acknowledge, yes, it’s more complex. One of the things that comes through to our guests, I just wanted to let you know, to sit here with Krenda and watch you light up with the complexity of the challenge. It’s like, yes, it’s harder, and I’m here for it. Right?

Krenda 

Ha ha ha ha! That’s right. I love it, right? It’s energizing to me. And I want it to be energizing for everybody else too.

Bennie 

Right. It’s really amazing to talk about that. Because for so many of the marketers and the work we do now, we are global, kind of full stop. And it’s often, I tell my team all the time that these are things that are like gravity. You don’t have to believe into it for it to take effect. I’ve talked many times with organizations that don’t realize that they actually are having all these global engagements and conversations. And the really successful ones are able to understand where they are.

Krenda 

Right. Right.

Bennie 

Internalize it and use that as an advantage. And you’ve been able to do that. I’m going ask a little fun question before because you’ve now worked with 70 plus countries, right? So I’m going to ask personally, what are two places that are on your list to go that you haven’t worked with?

Krenda 

Yes. So, you know, there’s always places I still want to go. And okay, I’ll give you two. I would like to go to Nepal. We just launched Blistex in Nepal. And what a perfect fit, right? The outdoor lifestyle, there’s, you know, eight of the 10 tallest mountains are in Nepal.

Bennie 

Right, right. Okay, yes, that’s good one. Right. Right.

Krenda 

You have trekkers, thousands of trekkers coming every year. And I’m just so proud of our team there because Blistex is now at the highest retail spot in the world. So Blistex is there for those who are taking an adventure of a lifetime. And every time I work with people from other countries, I just become more and more intrigued.

Bennie

Wow, right.

Krenda 

By that country and wanting to learn from the people there. So it sounds like an absolutely beautiful place of allotted adventure. And I’d like to go to Nepal. The other place I’d like to go to is India. It’s really a hot spot right now for business with the growth. Not only that the

Bennie 

Mm-hmm. Nice. Okay. Right. Right.

Krenda 

Population is so high, but that it’s also changing and it’s dynamic. And I love the fast pace. I loved the fast pace when I was working in China and understanding how almost like they were in a different time collapse than we were where things were changing from not having cars to 10 years later, busy roads. It’s amazing to see that. And so I’d like to see that in what’s happening in India too.

Bennie 

Right. Yeah. Right. Well, we’ll have to plan a joint trip. Last week, I just had the privilege of sitting with a delegation of newly minted PhD scholars and researchers from the top business schools in India who came to our AMA summer academic conference. So here we were in Boston and we were having those exact conversations in the backdrop of Boston, but talking about the growth and dynamism of both marketing practice, scholarship and community in India. you maybe…

Krenda 

That’s fantastic! See, that’s another connection, right?

Bennie

Yeah, that’s another connection. Maybe we take a trip together and we’ll go there and have a spot in that. So yes.

Krenda 

That’s awesome. You know, talking about connecting to academics as I reached back out to my alma mater, one of them, Indiana University, and they actually put me as an honorary Indiana University, India alumni. And so I’m listening to their conversations every day, just trying to learn. And so you can connect your work and go back to the academics and make that connection.

Bennie 

Yes. Right, and make that connection in the space. You referenced the school and the experience of that. How important has it been to you to kind of keep that connection with both your grad school in Indiana and Wisconsin-Madison? You know, as a practitioner, how is that connection? Because that’s an intentional connection that you’ve maintained.

Krenda 

Right. It is intentional. I’m just so appreciative of being a student at top schools that set me up to be at the top companies. But also I know that marketing moves too fast for you to sell, right? So even now, you know, my title or level doesn’t matter. I need to continue to learn and push myself. So last year, I actually went back to my alma mater, University of Wisconsin -Madison. I’m not a chief marketing officer, but I took the chief marketing officer executive education program and I took a week out. And I think that is really important. You get so busy in your job, but you need to also take time out to sharpen your saw and learn yourself. And if you don’t do it as a leader, then how are you going to encourage your own people on your team to take that time out and do it. So I really believe in demonstrating what you want to actually happen. And then, you know, I also in touch with my former companies, too. So you mentioned Procter and Gamble. I took a week of vacation. I flew into D.C. I went to their global alumni conference and just recharged and learned from

Bennie 

Yeah.

Krenda 

The exciting things that other alumni are doing. definitely, you should always go back to your university and other companies to continue those relationships.

Bennie 

I think that’s wonderful advice. I was going to ask you what advice you had for you, but you’ve really given it in that space in there. Kind of, you know, the notion of taking time and investing yourself to recharge, to expand and extend. And no matter what role or title you’re in today, what can you do to help build these skills for tomorrow? You know, we started our friendship talking about marketing ethics and showing up in the right way.

Krenda 

Right. Yes. Yes.

Bennie 

So I’d be remiss if we didn’t get a chance to nod. What’s been top of mind for you today as we think about just how complex marketing has become and how many pressures it puts on us as marketers to do the right thing? What’s something that’s been top of mind for you as kind of an ethical consideration that our marketers, our listeners today should keep close to their hearts?

Krenda 

Right. Well, I think first for those listeners who are graduating from college, choose a company that you believe is ethical. That’s the first start, right? Maybe you’re checking, are they a member of the Better Business Bureau, like the more than a quarter of a million of businesses that are part of that organization. But also, you’re not just interviewing to tell your

Bennie

Yes.

Krenda 

Stories, but also you ask the questions that make you feel confident that you’re working for an ethical company. And then, you become part of that team and making sure that you’re taking those actions and making sure that the ethical behavior is happening. Of course, it’s really important in international business to be there in the long term and do what’s ethical. And I think that that’s a real competitive advantage for companies to talk about ethics. And for many different ways, by being ethical, you build trust with your own employees, you build trust with your suppliers, you build trust with your consumers, you build trust with retailers. And that’s going to take you into the long run, the place that you want to be. And that’s why I love working for companies and organizations that have been around for a really long period of time. It’s a real signal of their ethics and business.

Bennie 

Right. It really, think that, you know, as we look at the time and we’ve kind of stopped our hour of our conversation, we could go on and talk to you forever about this. But I think that’s a great way to close our conversation today. You know, and thinking about ethics and getting a chance. Thank you for sharing the story. That’s a story of global adventure at the nexus of marketing, culture, business and math. You know, thank you for sharing, sharing all the fun of this of this story of

Krenda 

That’s right.

Bennie 

Of going in and breaking new spaces and barriers, but also finding a way for brands and products that we need to find a space that speaks to our heart and our story. I love the way that you’ve been thinking about this and growing for a business space. And then to tell us that we need to continue to learn no matter what our level, you know, continue to learn, which we definitely get behind at the AMA and encourage everyone. Marketing is not a spectator sport and it’s an ongoing concern that we should always kind of keep our levels up and train and think about the world that’s out there. So, Corinda, thank you so much for being a part of our conversation here. It’s been a delight and I’m holding you to it. We’re going to India together, my friend.

Krenda 

That would be fantastic. Well, thank you, Benny, for having me on this podcast. I’ve always valued our friendship and your innovative thinking. I always enjoy talking with you and hearing your stories. And for the listeners, I hope that you enjoy marketing as much as I do and love the adventure of marketing and make a difference in the world. You have a really unique place to make a difference in the world. do it with enthusiasm and do the right thing.

Bennie 

Krenda, thank you so much. We love you and we love marketing. Thank you for being a part of our AMA Marketing And Podcast. Once again, I am your host, Bennie, AMA CEO. We invite you to learn more about marketing, both at home in the US and around the globe. We invite you to explore more of the great work happening at Blistex with their global products and innovation. Thank you for spending time with Krenda and I today, and we look forward to our next episode.