THE C-WORD

02.06.24 | SUMMER NILSSON

CONNECTION IN A MODERN WORLD

CEO, C-level Consultant, Content Strategist, Award-winning Creator and Author (2x Bestseller). What do these words have in common? Yet another: CONNECTION.

We live in a world where consumers are privy to as much information as the corporations from which they purchase products. As such, brands are held accountable to their promise and purpose. Far more, they are expected to lead with both.

With a 25-year career, I have had a front row seat to the transformation of traditional media, omni-channel content, and consumer demand for transparency. I built and sold a national marketing and media rep firm that represented brands including People, Food Network, Taste of Home, ELLE, InStyle, The Dodo, House Beautiful, Departures, Who What Wear, Elle Decor, Town & Country, Outside, Men's Journal, and partnered with companies including Walmart, Neiman Marcus, AT&T, American Express, among others. I also serve on the National Advisory Council for Girls Inc.

I learned about messaging and promise early on in my career. As a member of the Food Network Magazine launch team, we were taught to consider brand equity from the very beginning. Facebook had just launched, but social media as a content wheel had not fully emerged. We positioned cross-platform deals to align vignettes with advertorials based on retail merchandising priorities and CPG integration.

From tv programming to tentpole development, and from in-store activations to in-flight menus, we didn’t think outside the box. We built a new one. The Food Network Magazine followed Hearst Publication’s recipe for success with the Oprah Magazine. Both media brands garnered accolade after accolade: #1 share of market, #1 at newsstand, #1, #1, #1. Both deserved it, too. Why? Because they owned their intention and consistently delivered on their brand promise.

Then, social media took off. We saw it coming. No one doubted the seismic shift that would occur when people could capture and post every aspect of their lives. Or at least the version of their lives they wished to share, in a digital world with a permanent footprint. Therein lies the rub.

As a collective, people shared photos, updates, and experiences. Then, kids began to compare themselves to a new filtered ‘reality’. Success no longer equated to one’s quality of friends, but the quantity of friends, and ability to attain likes from strangers. The open invitation yielded opportunities to bully, and the true ‘reality’ is that we had an obligation to educate today’s youth about the consequences of comments.

The statistics are undeniable. As social media use among teens has risen to 95%, so have reports of anxiety and depression. One in three (30%) of adolescents contemplated suicide in 2021, the result of a mental health crisis among youth. The C.D.C. declared that 57% of teen girls experience persistent sadness, a 60% increase from a decade before. The World Health Organization declared the second leading cause of death among teenagers is suicide/self-harm. These numbers speak for themselves, as do the congressional hearings regarding reports of tech giants using features to target and lure children.

At a time when we can share or research any product, person, or company, and when our phones have become an extension of our bodies, we feel more isolated than ever. Less connected. More alone. For those reasons, brands must pause to consider what connection means in a modern world.

As a media veteran, I speak to cohesive content across platform all day, every day. However, it’s no longer a matter of always being ‘on brand’. Connection equates to real relationships. Real conversations. Real emotions. We must understand that authenticity is not a buzzword. It’s a reasonable expectation among informed consumers.

Four years ago, I created Loodor for all these reasons. I saw an opportunity to write an original series with storylines to support mental health and reinstate self-worth among youth. Told through the lens of animals, the four-book fantasy series follows a cat with a magical voice that can only be used for good. The series, which launched with Amazon bestsellers, The Land of the Pines and sequel, The Land of the Strays, plants the seed for dialogue among tweens and teens regarding social anxiety, imposter syndrome, and mind chatter. The Loodor Tales books have been hailed by Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, InStyle, CultureMap, etc.

I am now embarking on a “HOO Are You?” School Tour to provide books to students and engage in real conversations about the power of words and the effects of social media. These conversations matter. They provide opportunities to sit down with today’s youth and redefine the word ‘share’. I plan to share my own experiences with social anxiety and instill tools to overcome self-doubt.

I am proud of the work that I do through Loodor and the Loodor Tales Series. It is a case study in one’s ability to make a difference, as well as the compendium of my career in publishing. With over two decades spent storytelling, marketing, and developing complex content strategies, I am also proud of the network I have built.

Through my consultancy firm, NIIS Corporation, and as a founding member THE BOARD, I work alongside dream teams of seasoned executives to guide clients, from startup to scale, and across verticals including beauty, fashion, entertainment, retail, epicurean, and home. It’s one thing to tout yourself as a creator of fresh ideas and purpose. It’s another to execute with a track record of engagement and excellence that spans 20+ years. That’s the benchmark at THE BOARD. Brand equity is earned by establishing authentic relationships. This requires experience.

I am proud to work with a community of experts, disrupting the agency model by combining fractional forces to provide the most important deliverable of all: CONNECTION.

We know the landscape. We build the path. We provide dream teams based on proven track records and best-in-class connections.

#connection #leadership #branding