Catherine Wolpe
101 Great Minds on Music Brands and Behavior
Catherine Wolpe, VP of Brand Marketing, Billie
Vice President of Marketing at Billie Inc., a company that creates shave and body care products designed specifically for womankind, Catherine Wolpe’s 15-year career includes everything from global advertising to brand strategy to disruptive marketing, across a slew of different industries, both agency and brand-side.
Insatiably curious and immune to mediocrity, Ms. Wolpe is an authentic and self-driven leader who genuinely cares about the success of her teams. Catherine has led innovative, captivating strategies and creative projects for some of the most recognizable businesses in the world.
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“Many brands don't know where to begin, and because the process of creating a sonic identity can feel overwhelming, they end up defaulting to what's comfortable and familiar.”
— CATHERINE WOLPE, VP OF BRAND MARKETING, BILLIE
Uli Reese: You went to Princeton to study psychology and were also on their swim team. Draw a line from there to where you are now.
Catherine Wolpe: My family emigrated to the States from South Africa in the early 90s. I remember feeling, from an early age, the weight of what my parents had sacrificed so I could have every opportunity, and that really instilled a sense of personal ambition and work ethic. I was good at sports, swimming in particular, and I find that so much of what I learned in being an athlete for so long has shaped how I show up in my career and life to this day. In terms of psychology, Princeton is a liberal arts institution, which means there are no communications degrees. I chose Psychology because I've always been fascinated by why people make the decisions they do, what drives them, and what might make someone say yes to something and no to something else. Initially, I wanted to be a journalist, but over time I was drawn to branding, and in the roles, I've had, psychology actually factors prominently in the day-to-day.
Reese: Sonic grew up quickly, but do you agree that brands are struggling to catch up?
Wolpe: For Marketers, sonic hasn't evolved like the other tools within our arsenal. As an industry, we’re behind in terms of giving it the attention I’d argue it deserves, and it feels like most people are only just starting to acknowledge the value and potential within the sonic landscape.
Many brands don't know where to begin, and because the process of creating a sonic identity can feel overwhelming, they end up defaulting to what's comfortable and familiar.
Reese: So, how do we get into the headphones of Gen Z?
Wolpe: I think the key lies in authenticity and not trying to do everything all at once. Brands go wrong when they think they need to be on every platform just to check a box instead of testing a few strategies and approaches to figure out what resonates and what makes sense for their specific brand and consumer. Much of the landscape has changed so quickly; it wasn't that long ago that every social video we did included title cards because "social was a sound-off experience." That’s been blown to bits. What's going on with TikTok now is impacting how we deliver content for Instagram or Facebook. So a lot of it is being willing to try things and fail and doing it in a focused way that’s true to the core of your brand.
Reese: In that case, what would your advice be to more established brands who look to younger brands like Billie?
Wolpe: I’ve always felt that one of the most essential first steps is to understand in its simplest, most human terms what your brand stands for and why it exists. Organizations tend to write in corporate speak, but if you were to say it to your friend who works in a different field, they’d have no idea what you meant. I see brands trying to evolve into a space they think is going to resonate with that consumer in a way that feels performative or inauthentic. That always rings false, especially to Gen Z.
Reese: How important is ownership in terms of the different touchpoints we have now?
Wolpe: There's literal ownership; in other words, do we, the brand, own this thing. And then there's perceived ownership from a consumer lens, which I’d argue is more important. Touchpoints should feel like a natural extension of the brand, unique to its point of view. If not, it warrants going back to the drawing board and asking why you're doing it or how you can create something that feels more identifiable.
Reese: Measurability is essential, but can we get better at it and understand the real outcome?
Wolpe: Creative testing, ad testing, and being able to track every sort of consumer index or metric leaves a lot to be desired in the current landscape. It's difficult to pull apart pieces of an asset and still get an accurate read, and that’s because so much of the success or failure of an asset isn't its individual components but what story all of those components tell when they come together. When you’ve got consumers sitting at a computer completely focused or sitting in a room with eight people talking about a brand or campaign and pulling them apart, those are very artificial scenarios. So I always consider those as directional inputs rather than bullet-proof predictors of a real-world outcome.
Reese: But what about when it comes to using a piece of pop culture and licensing music as opposed to a brand’s IP?
Wolpe: There are times when the power of music can take something from good to exceptional. I've been a part of work like that where we’ve used licensed, and sometimes expensive tracks. The visuals or voiceover on their own might be great, but then you put that track on it, and because that piece of music means something to so many people, it can contribute to the narrative in a meaningful way. Then there are other times when it feels like brands are just trying to borrow equity from artists who are more culturally relevant than them and are spending millions to make it happen. The former is something that will probably always have a place in marketing, and the latter is something that I would hope most brands are moving away from. But it is really difficult to measure. Even with the metrics we get that are really rigorously arrived at and valid, the world we live in is one of art and science, where decision-making, I believe, should always be data-informed but never data-dictated. There's always creative intuition and gut, and applying your own common sense to a problem that’s required (even in the presence of good data) to get to the right decision.
Reese: But CMOs tell me they don't feel safe talking about sonic and audio, so moving forward, we need to ask better questions. What are your thoughts on that?
Wolpe: We have to make it okay for people to say I don't know anything about this; help me understand, make me smarter. That ability to be honest and vulnerable about where you’re lacking in a particular expertise is such an essential step in getting to a better place when it comes to things that feel new and unfamiliar, like sonic identity for brands.
Reese: And, of course, sonic is now something CMOs need to sell. Let’s say you want funding for an idea; how do you get your bosses, or your team, to follow you?
Wolpe: It’s about how you lead effectively. I feel comfortable asking questions and also asking for help. From day one at Billie, I was vocal about wanting to be a student and learning from everyone. In terms of how to get people to follow you, a huge element often missed is setting the context for your audience of why you're coming to them and how whatever you're asking for or talking about relates back to a bigger goal that's been set by the organization. I'm also a massive proponent of transparency and treating everyone on your team like an adult. When you do that, they tend to rise to the occasion.
Note: The interview took place in New York, USA on the 29th of November 2022.
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