- Well, thank you all for joining us
for another edition of Taking Stock Live, where we do that.
We actually just take stock with real thought leaders
around the retail and brand world.
And today is a really special one for me, I have to say.
Because we have someone here with us, Lisa McKnight
who I will let introduce herself
who I have known not just as a professional
but really honestly since kindergarten.
And watching her rise in success and impact
really globally around the world for girls
around the world and people around the world
has been one of the things
I am most proud of and grateful of.
So that's what we're going to really learn about today
is Lisa, her role at Mattel and Barbie,
the leadership she's had
and what she's learned along the way.
So Lisa, huge thank you to you for being here today.
Tell everyone a little bit about yourself.
- Well, thanks Shell so much.
It is such an honor to be on your show,
and also of course to watch your amazing career,
couldn't be more proud of you.
And you know it's funny, I think about where I am today
leading the number one girl empowerment brand Barbie
and a lot of that fire and interest in me
to ensure there's an equal playing field for girls
and to use Barbie as a role model,
started from my early days when we were together at school
at an all-girls school in San Francisco.
I think we were always empowered
and felt that we could do anything the boys could do
but not every girl has that opportunity.
So I couldn't be more thrilled.
I'm in a dream job.
And I pinch myself every day
when I think about what I get to do
and the impact I get to create.
- It's incredible and you're right.
I think we did play with dolls
and we thought we could do anything
but now, you know the opportunity for you to do this
on this global scale, it's incredible.
So, take us back maybe not all the way back
but sort of how did you get started?
What was your first job in this industry?
- Well, I've had many careers before I got to Mattel.
I started in advertising. I was always interested
in brand building and brand storytelling.
So loved my time in advertising.
From there I had the great opportunity to go
what we say client-side and go work for The Gap.
You know, major retailer of course, global company
and work in the marketing department
for The Gap. Absolutely loved that.
Loved working at the global headquarters.
Loved helping to define the positioning
of the brands I worked on Gap.
So got to work on Gap and GapKids and babyGap
and you know, helping differentiate the positioning
between those lines, absolutely loved it.
And then from there I had the opportunity to move to LA.
My husband actually decided to go
to business school at U.S.C.
So we relocated and started my career at Mattel.
And what I like to say about Mattel
and what's kept me here so long.
I've been with the company for 22 years
is I've had the opportunity
to have a career or many careers within the career.
There's always been a new challenge, a new business
a new brand, a new portfolio to work on.
And it's been an incredibly fulfilling ride and journey.
But of course my true love has always been with Barbie.
I've had the fortune of being able to work
on aspects of the Barbie brand for many years
and now I'm overseeing the global franchise in its entirety.
And couldn't be more proud of the work that we're doing.
- It's incredible. I mean, obviously we were sad
to see you move from San Francisco to LA
but you know, your framing of sort of the career
within the career is such a great message for everyone
who's watching trying to figure out sort of
what their career path looks like.
Now, obviously Barbie is such an iconic brand.
It sounds like you guys actually were just...
Do you have some something you want to share
in terms of the number one toy property?
- Oh! Shell Yes.
This is breaking news, you know
couldn't be more proud of the work
we've been doing over many years.
And I'll talk about that in a minute
but we were just notified by NPD that Barbie is in fact
the number one global toy property, you know, for 2020.
So this is up against, you know, juggernauts like Star Wars,
Disney Princess, some of our own amazing brands.
And it's a real tribute to the team
and certainly to receive this recognition in 2020
which we know was extraordinary, couldn't be more proud.
- Yeah and one of the things as you shared with me
about what you do over the years
one of the things I love is that you really are
a reflection of where the world is and where we as women are
in terms of how we see ourselves.
So this moment in time to be the number one property
toy property just says where the world is moving.
and, you know, I think the world needs it.
So, but you've been around for six decades I believe
and I, as we said, we've almost grown up with this brand.
How have you seen Barbie evolve even in your tenure?
- Well, it's really extraordinary
just to give your viewers a little context.
You know, the average life cycle
for a toy is three to five years.
So, you know, toys come and go.
There's a trend-based aspect to toys.
There's a novelty aspect to toys.
So, to have a brand like Barbie and a toy like Barbie
that has stood the test of time
that has been in the marketplace for over six decades
spanning multiple generations is truly a testament
to the the unique positioning of Barbie.
Barbie's always been about inspiring
the limitless potential in girls
but candidly in the past, over the past six decades
we've had some, you know, hits and misses
in terms of how we've really embraced that positioning.
And about seven or eight years ago,
we didn't like the playback we were receiving on the brand.
We were not dialing into this empowerment positioning
as well as we could and, so longer story
and we can get into it in a minute
but we did a lot of things to evolve the brand.
It's been a multi-year journey.
And today, you know, I think we're really resonating
and we're as timely and as topical as ever before.
- It is an amazing story
and I think a really important lesson.
You know, even in my own journey
at Microsoft, you know, coming in.
I know when they first called me, you know,
it was sort of like I said, Microsoft for Retail?
And it is also a company
like we miss search, we missed mobile
but we got the cloud right.
You know, and so I think the ability
to kind of fall down but come back
is as important as, you know,
being that hit toy for three to five years.
So then of course the pandemic, which, you know
on the retail side when I talk to customers, you know
we were sort of already going
through this retail apocalypse.
What's been interesting to see is that, you know,
some of those brands that laid sort of digital tracks early
have been able not just to respond or recover
but actually go faster and be more agile.
Curious what you're seeing on your end
in terms of how the pandemic has affected your business.
- Yes. I mean, like you said, I think what we've seen
is it's actually accelerated many of the programs
and initiatives that we had started a few years ago.
Not only for Barbie but across Mattel.
So absolutely our e-tail business
has accelerated dramatically and of course
we've been working very closely
with our important retail partners
but also the the evolution of the brand
has accelerated even further.
You know, we knew that we needed to stay relevant
and to do that we had to connect to culture.
We've built up really amazing social channels
where we're able to have conversations with fans
with members of society and play back
what's happening in the real world.
We've shown vulnerability with Barbie as a character.
She has a vlog on YouTube. And we immediately
addressed the pandemic and had her talk about
how she was feeling, how she was feeling
being isolated from others and showing vulnerability.
So all of those sort of things
really came to play last year.
I think the biggest pressure test on Barbie
was actually the Black Lives Movement.
- Yeah. - As we know
really sort of peaked in the summer.
And while I've always been proud
of the work we've done to have diversity in our line,
to celebrate black female role models with dolls,
to celebrate black women in our content
we still knew we needed to do more.
So it was a great opportunity to reflect,
to listen and to chart a new course.
And we did it with urgency
and now I'm really proud of our renewed commitment
to support the black community through Barbie.
- Yeah. I mean, it's also not easy
to know how to reflect and listen.
And sometimes when you're in these positions not feel
like you have to have the answers or a quick response.
And you know, one of the things
I've always admired about you is
you are such a good listener and you ask the best questions.
And so it was delightful for me to drive home
from dropping my son off at school last week.
And here after the inauguration in the United States
even you saying they need a pulse on hearing Amanda Gorman
and what you guys could do.
It's just incredible how you've stayed close to culture.
- Well thank you Shell.
- It's true. I mean, where would you say
you've had to pivot the hardest not just to survive
but really to thrive, what's been the biggest shift?
- Well, I would say it's certainly a shift in many places.
We have always loved the opportunity to create experiences,
events, connect with our consumers directly.
And I'll be honest we had a huge, very ambitious
You Can Be Anything Festival planned for last year.
- Yeah. - It was going to be
sort of a women's conference
for girls meets, you know Coachella.
I mean, it was ambitious. - Cool.
- And obviously had to pivot dramatically.
And what we've appreciated about
knowing that we need to do more virtually is of course
the benefit of getting more scale.
You know, we can certainly reach more people
through virtual events and communities
than you can with in-person events.
So that's been exciting to get comfortable there.
And it's also just made us think differently
about where is our consumer going?
How do we go everywhere the consumer is?
One thing we're also talking about now are podcasts.
So I don't have one to share with you yet
but we're thinking about Barbie
as an influencer and how can she provide, you know
teachable moments to kids or co-listening audiences.
So lots of different ways we're thinking about the world now
and how we connect to consumers.
- That's great. I mean I think and you're right
there have been so many of those, would have should have
like this amazing event you were planning.
But I think we've learned that on our side too
that actually in some ways some of these conferences
and events that we've held digitally have made them
more democratic because so many more people have access
to the content that never had access to the content before.
So what's have been some of your surprises
things you wouldn't have expected that have come
out of all the lessons learned here?
- Well, like you said, I mean, I think
the inclusiveness of the virtual world.
And certainly just from a team-level
I've gotten much more exposure
to the more junior members of my team.
You know, we don't have the constraints of a conference room
where we can only have a few people in a meeting.
And so we have broader sessions
and I've been able to hear more directly
from some of our junior marketers and our junior designers
which is really so satisfying and fulfilling.
It's great to hear their perspectives.
So that's been refreshing. I would say also the fact that,
that our creativity hasn't been stifled.
You know as a toy company
we're almost like a fashion company where we turn out
new product lines season after season.
And since we've been in quarantine or sheltering in place,
you know, Mattel and Barbie has developed
three different seasons of product.
It's incredible we're working on Fall 22 right now.
And to see the design team pivot and think of new ways
to show product concepts, to show scale,
that's been the biggest challenge.
Looking at product and evaluating it
is getting the scale and the texture of product,
but the team has figured it out.
We've had great retailer meetings where we've
presented the product lines and sold the lines virtually.
And I think the retailers have liked that session
those sessions, and that intimacy a little bit more.
So I think lots of wins even though of course
we're all looking forward to a little more normalcy.
- Yeah. And it's true. I did a similar interview
with the C.O.O of IKEA and you know,
obviously a work for more company built around
like you know, design experiences of a physical nature
but like you said they were shocked.
You know, they have been designing lines
and designers, you know
all over the world collaborating inventory planners.
And I think they've been surprised
at how much they have been able to do digitally.
So let's get your crystal ball out.
- Okay.
- And I know nobody knows what the rest
of 2021 is going to look like but
just as you think about, you know,
your business in the future, where are things going?
- Well, I think that the one learning that we've had
is we've sort of taken stock over the brands, you know
at least past 20 years when been at Mattel is that
if we stay connected to culture
if we stay connected to our consumer, we're going to be okay
You know, so we've got to go where the consumer goes
and I've said this before.
So what you're going to see from us is just that.
We're going to be leaning into our brand purpose even more.
We know that millennial parents
want to buy into brands that share their values.
They don't want stuff.
They want things that they can connect to personally.
So we'll be really driving more of the true benefits
of playing with Barbie in our messaging.
How that actually unlocks empathy in kids
which is a skill that's highly valued
by parents and in the world.
We're also looking at, you know
Mattel made a corporate announcement last year
about our commitment to sustainability
and our goals between now and 2030.
The brands are all going to be engaging.
and what I can share is there'll be
some exciting news coming from Barbie
in the near future in that space.
So those are just a couple examples
but we have to be constantly evolving.
We can't stand still if we're going to, you know
have another 60 years.
- Wow. The hardest things
are always the simplest things.
I say it's easy to be complicated
but staying connected to culture,
staying close to your consumer,
making sure that it's always rooted in purpose.
I mean I can't think of
a better message for all of us
either who have kids or employees and where you're going.
So thank you for that. Anything as we sort of close out here
that you want to make sure
to say to this audience who's looking to you.
- Well Shell, thank you. I know what I again
I would just say that, you know, final thoughts
are not only ensuring that our products and our brands
are driving purpose and are authentic
but also I think it's how we show up as leaders.
You know, one thing I've certainly learned
this past year was to be more authentic
to spend more time with people
to again to continue to listen to my own team more
and really be an empathetic leader.
It's important that when we put out these marketing messages
that we're also internally, you know, walking the talk. So.
- Yeah I'm so glad you closed out with that.
And I think that for me too has been
one of the silver linings
of being in what looks like a beautiful background
but sometimes feels like, you know, a cell in terms
of just never going anywhere anymore.
Is that opportunity like I've had, you know, virtual coffees
with my team and, you know, just kind of fun.
I was always so on the go and part of the busy
but to be, you know,
sitting more, seeing chats more
it has been an incredible opportunity as a leader.
And I think something we're all going to take with us
when life resumes to some sort of
a different kind of new normal. So, huge thank you to you.
I know you have an incredibly busy schedule and busy life
and your work is really incredible work for all of us.
And I really, really
as a friend and as a leader
and someone that I admire, I really want to thank you
for joining me today in this conversation.
- Well, thank you again Shell so much.
Again, so admire everything that you're doing
especially I want to give a shout out for you
as an incredibly successful female executive
in a tech industry where we know women
are still a bit underrepresented
and that's a big tip of the hat to you
but thank you so much for the opportunity.
It's been great to catch up.
- It's been great and for all of you who have tuned in
to another edition of Taking Stock Live
thank you for being here.
It's definitely the bright spot of my day
when I have these conversations.
We love getting the feedback that we're getting from you.
So keep giving us suggestions.
We're going to keep making it better.
And who knows maybe at some point we'll even get
to listen together to one of Barbie's podcasts.
But thank you to all of you for tuning in today.