Dana Doron
- Marketing
- Fractional CMO
- Fractional Marketing Director
- Marketing Consultant
- Advisor
- Brand Strategist
- Growth Strategist
Marketing leader focused on DTC & CPG brand, growth, GTM, and innovation strategy
I have 20+ years of diverse experience in traditional brand management, new product development, direct response, and DTC e-commerce.
My superpower is my ability to immerse myself in a business to quickly understand a brand, category, and target audience and identify growth opportunities, while also staying deeply involved in driving successful execution.
As a consultant, I've brought entrepreneurial, innovative thinking to large companies, like Del Monte, Clorox (Burt’s Bees brand), Guthy-Renker …
- Google Analytics
- Shopify
- Facebook Ads
- Klaviyo
Work
BRAND REPOSITIONING
- Promotions
- Marketing
- Branding
- Brand management
- Brand Strategy
- Integrated marketing
- Go To Market
- Packaging development
Background: Recognized primarily for their digestive benefits, prunes began to experience double-digit sales declines as the core consumers—women 55+—were dying off. Sunsweet realized that market expansion was imperative.
Action: I executed a repositioning effort to appeal to a new 35-55 year old target with:
- New contemporary packaging and displays communicating taste, health & convenience, and facilitating product relocation to produce departments.
- Transition of product name from "Prunes" to "Dried Plums".
- New perception-shifting ad campaign with focused regional media strategy.
Integrated themed promotions with national and in-store components
Results: The repositioning reversed sales declines, giving prunes equal footing with other dried fruits. Specific results tracked included:
- 800,000 sweepstakes entries.
- 60 retail chains participated in trade promotion with diplay shipper and POS
- A sales lift of 4-6% attributed to the new TV ad campaign
- Sales lifts as high as 22% from the themed national promotions
- Significant sales lifts maintained 6 months after promotion.
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER START-UP GROWTH
- Marketing
- Branding
- Brand Strategy
- Fractional Marketing Director
- Fractional CMO
- Ecommerce
- Email Marketing
- Content strategy
- Content Marketing
- Social Media
- Digital Strategy
- Digital advertising
- Creative strategy
- Go To Market
- Customer Acquisition & Retention
- Go-To-Market Strategies & Implementation
- Consumer Experience & Insights
- Primary research
https://www.mealenders.comBackground: MealEnders started selling their weight management product direct to consumers online in January, 2015. Cost per aquisition was too high and the company was unable to scale.
Action: After taking over marketing in May 2015, I jump-started the company's growth primarily by:
Shifting the brand from a pseudo-medicinal image to a warmer, more accessible personality with a focus on cravings control (versus overeating at meals), which customer feedback revealed to be a more common concern.
Personally scaling Facebook advertising from $5000 to 6-figures/month while reducing cost per acquisition.
Launching and optimizing on Amazon, adding significant incremental sales.
Launching an Email marketing program (and opt-in strategy) that increased repurchase rate by almost 80% and more than doubled the percentage of sales driven by email in 3 years even with tremendous topline growth.
Securing and then leveraging an appearance on Shark Tank leading to over $500K in sales within 2 weeks following the airing, and several hundred thousand more in the following months.
Results: I increased sales almost 5x in the second half of the year (after joining the company) versus the first half, then another 5x in the next two years.
- Google Analytics
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Shopify
- Klaviyo
- Mailchimp
- Magento
- WordPress
- Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin
- SurveyMonkey
REVIVING GROWTH OF A MATURE SMALL BUSINESS
- Growth
- Go-To-Market Strategies & Implementation
- Product Strategy
- Innovation
- Primary research
- Marketing
- Pricing
- Customer Acquisition & Retention
- Retail strategy
- Creative strategy
- Digital advertising
- Audience segmentation
Background: Rise Bar's growth had slowed and then plateaued for the last 5 years of its 11-year run. The founder needed strategies to reinvigorate sales.
Action: I conducted a complete audit of the brand, its financials/sales data (Shopify, Amazon, & Google Analytics), all its touchpoints (website, social media, Amazon PDP, etc.) and advertising/promotional activity. I interviewed stakeholders and conducted primary research among its one-time customers and repeat customers to gain a better understanding of who they are, their buying behavior, and their perceptions of the brand, its products, and the protein bar category.
Results: I delivered a comprehensive growth plan that laid out recommendations by priority (based on impact and resources required) and helped to hire staff and agency to help execute. Recommendations included:
-New products--my research saved costly investment in new product lines that veered too far off-brand and led to launch of two new successful flavors.
-Channel/pricing strategy--on the surface, Amazon appeared more profitable than the brand's Shopify site, but a close look at LTV (lifetime value) changed the picture, leading to a recommendation for better pricing parity with the Rise Bar site.
-Product differentiation and audience segmentation, particularly with regard to the vegan bar line.
-Facebook ad creative strategy and new agency hire leading to tripling of ROAS.
-Subscription strategy--an analysis of retention rate revealed how beneficial it was to get customers to subscribe and led to several recommendations around how to increase sign-ups.
-Retail--I recommended that they reconsider brick & mortar distribution (previously discontinued due to promo costs) after uncovering signs that it led to long-term DTC customers.
-Increasing AOV and LTV--via tactics to boost new flavor trial among existing customers.
-Formulation--identified a polarizing ingredient in several flavors to be avoided in the future.
-Social media strategy for increased engagement.
-Product differentiation and audience segmentation, particularly with regard to the vegan bar line.
- Google Analytics
- Facebook Ads
- SurveyMonkey
CUSTOMER RETENTION
- Ecommerce
- Marketing
- Customer retention
- Subscriptions
- Customer Experience
Background: Guthy-Renker experienced several years of decline in the subscription stick rate and overall sales for Proactiv Solution. The product team's primary goal was to reverse that decline.
Action: I worked cross-functionally to ensure that the brand messaging of the infomercials was consistently conveyed via other tactics, thus reinforcing neglected elements of the Proactiv brand story and moving away from hard-sell and discount-driven tactics.
I also addressed issues with usage compliance revealed by consumer research with a new website that guided users through the Proactiv experience. I created the marketing plan for promoting use of the site to encourage correct product usage and prevent subscription cancellations.
I also created a knowledge base available to website visitors and to customer service representatives to ensure that customers and prospects were properly informed and to once again establish Proactiv as the premier acne expert.
Results: Online visitor engagement, usage compliance, and customer retention all increased. The Guthy-Renker team increased acne brand Proactiv's subscription stick rate by almost a full turn, growing the topline by 40%.
BRAND STRATEGY AND ARCHITECTURE
- Branding
- Brand Strategy
- Creative Direction
- Creative strategy
Background: Mountanos Brothers Coffee & Tea Company had a long heritage and small, but loyal customer base for its direct-to-consumer business. They hired a design firm to update their logo, packaging and website while still staying true to the brand. I was the brand strategy partner for the firm charged with developing the brand identity, architecture, and design briefs.
Action: I started by delving into market trends and competitive dynamics. Then, I led interviews and branding exercises with the Moutanos team to understand the current brand identity, the brand and operational strengths and challenges, customer and competitor perceptions, and the company's forward-looking strategy and vision. I followed with telephone interviews with existing customers to understand who they are, their brand perceptions, and purchase/consumption behaviors.
Results: I delivered a brand identity recommendation including brand essence, brand personality traits, competitive positioning, and possible brand and sub-brand names to reflect Mountanos' genuine, enduring qualities and lead to competitive advantage. After getting client buy-in, I developed design briefs for the logo, website, and packaging, including architectural systems for the various sub-brands and sub-lines within the coffee and tea assortments that shaped the direction of the redesigns.
BRAND EXTENSION INTO NEW CATEGORY
- Innovation
- Go To Market
- Primary research
- Product development
- Marketing
- Branding
- Packaging development
Background: Nature’s Cure, an Acne Treatment company, struggled to transition into new categories.
Action: I identified the Yeast Infection segment as a good fit with the key equities of the brand, including its "inside-outside positioning," and its appeal for desperation categories. And, I recognized that the less cluttered and image-driven nature of the segment would work to a small company's advantage.
I developed the product and marketing strategy using consumer insights and overcame various regulatory, operational, and cost challenges through close supplier partnerships and mobilization of the Nature’s Cure team.
Results: The Nature’s Cure 2-Part Yeast Infection Treatment ranked #3 in dollar sales during a Walgreens test market. After national launch, the line came to account for almost 30% of the company’s sales in just over a year, and became a profitable addition to the business.
Experience
Doron Consulting
Fractional CMO & Marketing Consultant
Oct 2011 - Present
Bringing an entrepreneurial, action-oriented test-and-learn approach to large companies and infusing classical brand marketing strategy along with scrappy tactical guidance to start-ups and small brands
- Developed growth strategy for Rise Bar and Emilie Heathe cosmetics.
- Assisted menopause and immunity supplements start-up HealthyUp with brand development and go-to-market digital strategy and execution.
- Worked with innovation team at Clorox/Burt’s Bees to develop non-adjacent category entries for the brand.
- Conducted fast-track innovation for General Mills and Chiquita.
- Crafted sales story for popchips leading to $3MM in revenue within 7 months.
- Led accelerated new product launch at Del Monte Foods.
- Advising Baru on business and launch strategy of tech-enabled on-demand localized manufacturing of custom furniture and cabinetry.
Qvale Technologies, Inc. (Towne)
Fractional CMO & Advisor
Sep 2021 - Oct 2022
Online marketplace and delivery service for local goods.
- Iteratively shaped brand, marketplace, and go-to-market strategy.
- Optimized growth strategy and creative leading to cost-effective visitor volume and more qualified customer acquisition.
- Built Klaviyo email/SMS program resulting in 6X increase in repeat customer rate.
Willpower Labs, Inc. (MealEnders)
Fractional CMO
Apr 2015 - Sep 2021
Direct-to-consumer e-commerce start-up selling a weight management product based on behavioral psychology and sensory science.
- In 1st year, drove sales of $1.1MM versus prior run rate of 200K and reduced CPA 40% with new Facebook strategy, proving concept for investment and publicity.
- Launched on Amazon, building to 25% of overall sales.
- Managed website revamp to increase CVR 25% and raise AOV 7%. Initiated pricing changes to further increase AOV by +12%.
- Led strategy for securing and leveraging 2017 appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank.
- Developed engagement and retention strategy that increased customer reorder rate by almost 80% and built mailing list to 100K subscribers.
- Negotiated blogger sponsorship resulting in 60% boost in annual sales.
- Crafted influencer marketing program leading to 300K views at $.03 per view.
- Began affiliate program that reached 7% of total sales in less than one year.
Naturalena Brands, Inc. (Veeda)
Fractional Head of Brand
May 2013 - Apr 2015
Natural period care start-up with e-commerce and brick-and-mortar distribution.
- Developed and executed brand strategy and launch plan for Veeda brand, selected and on-boarded vendor partners, and prepared creative for launch.
- Achieved double-digit monthly growth in Facebook and website engagement.
- Formulated sales strategy and presentations to secure distribution.
Guthy-Renker
Vice President, New Project Development
Sep 2009 - Jul 2010
Worldwide leader in building direct response TV brands like Proactiv Solution and Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford.
- Collaborated with COO to reverse decline in Proactiv sales via brand-building and retention strategy leading to almost a whole turn increase in stick rate and over 40% topline growth. Initiatives included: o Working with Drs. Rodan & Fields to develop Proactiv’s 500+ FAQ database available to consumers online, and through customer service CRM system; supported with call center scripting and training. o Creating digital and print resources to pre-empt pain points leading to subscriber loss. o Re-introducing heritage elements of the brand in all communications.
- Created brand guide for Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford and advised product teams on research and messaging for new food and cosmetic products.
- Established new product evaluation system that advanced investment initiatives by Guthy-Renker partners.
Nature's Cure
VP Marketing & Innovation
Dec 2000 - Sep 2009
Health and beauty products company combining conventional and natural treatments
- Increased sales + 52% in 3 years after taking over P&L, reversing prior declines.
- Led development and testing of several health & beauty treatments with 6 reaching successful national launch.
- Developed and launched feminine care line, growing to 26% of sales.
- Initiated Direct Response TV strategy that increased sales at cost savings of >50%.
- Built joint promotions that gained new distribution and display orders amounting to 30% of key season revenues.
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