MAD//Fest Moments: Boots Director, Consumer Healthcare Futures, On Why The Is Risk In Not Taking Risks

16 Sep, 2022

Marni Allen, Boots' Director of Consumer Healthcare Futures, believes that brands can only satisfy consumer demands by taking risks, in the latest of MAD//Fest's ‘MAD//Fest Moments’ series

If firms are not willing to take risks, they can't satisfy what consumers are looking for, believes Boots' Director of Consumer Healthcare Futures, Marni Allen. 

Speaking at MAD//Fest London as part MAD//Fest’s ‘MAD//Fest Moments series’, Allen said, “No guts, no glory really speaks to me because I feel like a lot of big companies are very risk averse. But consumers are demanding more and more from brands. ” 

Explaining further, she argued that, “ if we're not really willing to take risks, we can't satisfy what consumers are looking for. I'm super consumer centric in my work. So for me, as long as we are staying true to consumer insight and really checking in with consumers about how our propositions are performing for them. It's not really such a big risk after all.”

In the MAD//Fest Moments interview she also stressed the importance of personalisation. “ It’s now a huge consumer expectation. It's not innovative anymore. It's sort of table stakes. Consumers are looking for brands to really know them understand them and cater to them,” she added, “working for a major retailer one of the biggest things that I can do is help bring more personalization into our marketing activities.”

In the short interview, Allen also gave us an insight into the the energy she gets from meeting young start-ups, who she feels are the driving force behind the innovative solutions to the challenges facing brands. Watch the interview here

‘MAD//Fest Moments’ is a series in which prominent industry leaders share emerging trends, challenges and opportunities. Guests include Rachel Waller, Global VP Innovation, Burberry, Sarah Barron, CMO, Dominos, and Peter Zillig, Marketing Director, Ford (Europe). We’ll be covering these interviews across the Autumn in MAD//Insight.