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Dig In is your go to source for insights innovation. It's for anyone with a genuine interest in fostering brand and product growth, exploring groundbreaking innovations, and embracing the dynamic world of expanding businesses and brands.
Jess Gaedeke (00:00)
Hi everybody, welcome to the Dig Inspiration episode. So this is where I get the lucky job of chatting with one of my colleagues here at Dig Insights about the client episode that launched last
So today I'm so thrilled to be joined by Marcie Connan She is EVP, delivery excellence and client here at Dig that we both kind of laugh about what a mouthful that is. But the reality is you have a very big job, and you are an OG. You are, I say this affectionately, you are an OG here at Dig.
Marcie Connan (00:28)
Yes, almost 15 years in the making, Jess. So yeah, close to day one for me.
Jess Gaedeke (00:32)
my gosh,
it's amazing. So I consider it an honor to talk with you. The reason I wanted to chat with you, Marce, is that I was really lucky to talk with Cristina Marinucci at Mondelez And the topic of our conversation was a lot about these global frameworks and how to have local flexibility. And so the reason I thought of you,
is that obviously at Dig, we are really expanding globally and it's something that we know that our from us. And so I'd love for you to just talk about, especially from your seat, leading our insights consulting group, why does this global with local nuance conversation matter so much right now?
Marcie Connan (01:08)
Yeah, it really does Jess. And I think what's not changed is like whether local nuance matters. think, you know, clients assume it does. And we've kind of worked that way for many years. But I think what it boils down to is that many of the global clients that we're working with.
are just under more pressure than ever move quickly, to really operationalize their insights in an efficient way. And as their own businesses are scaling, they're expecting the same from their partners as well. But well speed and efficiency consistency is really great that local relevance for their teams and their business. There's a lot ⁓ of risk their stakeholders at the end of the day.
I think the challenge for us is how do you scale without kind of flattening the markets that they're trying to serve at the end of the day? in practice, that ensuring that we're not just treating markets as interchangeable. can't be assuming that insights or behaviors or even kind of the ways that their stakeholders are making decisions across markets are very uniform and kind of unchanged over time. I think there's been a tendency
in research and insights for a while to kind of over rely on global averages instead of really kind of making the right pause points from from your process standpoint to make sure that those meaningful local differences are really able to kind of bubble the learning and the risk to clients is that you know just those signals can get lost at a local level you might run into slower adoption or
or even resistance to the learning in markets if that's not really managed in a smart way. So, when that nuance is kind of missed for clients, the cost isn't that the insights are weaker, but it's that, bad decision can travel, can travel globally. So that's where that kind of delivery and client experience becomes becomes really critical for engagements like that.
Jess Gaedeke (03:02)
Yeah,
yeah, that's a great, great example. I mean, it just sounds like there's, there's a lot of, I don't know, things that could go wrong, right? When it comes to the local nuances. And so I'd love for you to talk about, you know, how we think about structuring our teams, our workflows, that this, you know, goal of global consistency doesn't crush that local specificity. what's something that clients are often surprised that like we get right about local markets?
Marcie Connan (03:29)
Yeah, I think one thing that's kind of core to how we approach it at DIG is that that kind of consistency isn't just about identical outputs. yes, sometimes clients absolutely want like identical outputs, but it kind of lives in just in how we're thinking and how we're kind of deciding and designing for projects. So very early on, it's about understanding ultimately, what decisions does the work really need to support? What does success look like?
and importantly, what standards are really non-negotiables and where is there a bit of room play, either with some, even some experimentation or just to kind of create some time and space to kind of create room for the right moments to get that local nuance captured.
Jess Gaedeke (04:13)
yeah, that's so critical. there's a lot that could get lost in translation. that's kind of a pun in this situation, isn't it? Okay. I didn't mean to do that. There's just no avoiding the puns that dig. I'm telling you. yeah, I mean, I'd love to also kind of talk about, you know, our delivery excellence, which is part of your title, right? This is something that we really believe in and, not wanting to feel like they're just getting handoffs, their service teams.
Marcie Connan (04:17)
Yes.
Yeah, yeah.
So as we're thinking we set our internal team up for success on these kind of global mandates and projects, I think one thing that's often kind of underestimated by teams as they're kind of preparing for engagements like that is yes, the methodology is important and the kind of doing and execution is really critical to strong results at the end of the But similar to the way that we're kind of focusing on that kind of decision support upfront, I think you can't underestimate some of the softer skills
that kind of need to be brought to the team you're working through that kind of local lens. And I have a kind of an acronym that I've used with the team to keep in mind to kind of set them up for success on engagements like that. And it's CAST, so a little Marcie-ism, but it stands for Cadence, Activation, Storytelling, and Team Dynamics. Because these are the elements that I think can either work to really help you or hurt you if it's not done right.
And often it's about kind of that stakeholder management side. So from a cadence standpoint, just recognizing that, on cultural nuances within teams, understanding, you know, how many touch points does the client need? How you expect, you know, feedback loops to be closed and, recognizing that what feels kind of appropriately kind of fast and speedy in one market may feel rushed in another or kind of disengaging based on how those teams
Getting that cadence piece right, it's I think a tricky done well, it can kind of just keep good momentum going on a project. equally important is kind of the activation side. So how do these local teams operate and what do they need to be able to turn the insights coming out of your project into action? Some markets might rely pretty heavily on really explicit guidance, like, hey, this is what this means and this is what we should be thinking about next.
Others are really comfortable kind of doing more translation and kind of acting a little bit more independently. And I think a lot of the signals that we can pick up on in consultation with our clients around just how mature the category might be or how their resourcing locally can really feed into making that successful. storytelling. So, same insights, kind of different emphasis. And this exclusive to you.
know, multi-market projects, but you know, some stakeholders are going to respond more to more narrative and, you know, storytelling. Others want more precision and proof. So kind of that know your audience element, of being thoughtful about that and giving that consideration very, you know, upfront in the early stages can be helpful to make sure that, you know, expectations are managed and we're able to get clients more quickly from the insight to the action ability of that.
And then finally, the team dynamics. Often these types are led by centralized global teams, but they may have their own challenges in terms of who actually holds influence in the market and how are they building consensus with their teams. Different teams have different kind of cultural comfort levels with things like challenge or ambiguity. kind of getting a real sense of the decision culture.
with those local markets can go a long way.
Jess Gaedeke (07:46)
my gosh, I feel like each of letters, so it was cadence, activation, storytelling, team dynamic, right? Each of those can be a whole chapter in the Book of Marcie And so I love that, that Marcie-ism I think that's dynamite and picks up on some of the nuances that you talked about, but also a lot to manage. mean, that's a lot of dynamics and components and considerations.
Marcie Connan (07:54)
Yes.
Jess Gaedeke (08:11)
I don't know, how do we coach our teams to make sure well set up in order to do that?
Marcie Connan (08:16)
Yeah, you know, it's really about kind of recognizing that,
kind of the project delivery side, that's relatively easy to scale. What's really difficult to scale though is the relationship side of things. So I think really investing heavily it means kind of showing up as a thought partner, not just an execution arm to your client's team, right? when to push clients forward, when to slow them down, knowing when to challenge maybe what they're asking comes through
practice certainly, but I think internally as well we benefit from lot of continuity terms of the teams that have been structured around the work as well so that we're not in a situation where it's just very functionally efficient and we're you know we're just effectively managing handoffs. I think the best delivery teams are those that can kind of anticipate the questions that clients haven't even asked yet and that kind of trust and
is built over the long term and just through that consistency. So when it goes right, I think those longer tenured relationships are ones really deeply understand the business, not just the insights ask. And they don't just know what the clients want, but they know why, Being curious, being able to ask the right questions beyond just the immediate brief.
goes a long way. we spend a lot of time kind of training and developing that within the team. Once that trust is established, it really helps everyone in terms of just making faster decisions, being able to just have those more honest conversations. And sometimes I even hear from clients that willingness to hear like, hey, maybe this isn't the right move. So there's a bit that rapport building and kind of trust that's built.
then of course, I mean the teams genuinely like find it so rewarding just to kind of grow alongside their clients, right? Not just service them, so.
Jess Gaedeke (10:11)
Yeah, I love that. I mean, I can think of so many illustrations of that, and I'm sure we're thinking about some of the same and partnerships, we really are an extension of those teams. It feels like we are part of that company's staff in a lot of ways. know that we love to see those partners get promoted and grow, and they love to see the same for the dig folks. And it's just such a wonderful kind of community that we've built, what I observe.
Marcie Connan (10:36)
Yeah, absolutely. It's a really special place to be.
Jess Gaedeke (10:38)
So another reason I was so inspired by the conversation with Cristina is, you know, I listened to her podcast, She Commerce. It's really a brilliant, brilliant podcast. And they do talk a lot about female leadership and how we can support one another. And Marcie, you and I have been allies, you know, since the day I started at I've always felt like you and I are kind of in this together in terms of what female leadership looks like at and how that leadership can help, you know, support systems, navigate complexity, right? That's like a lot of the things that I think we do.
So how do you see female leadership shaping how teams serve clients? Like what is the impact has?
Marcie Connan (11:13)
Yeah, well first thanks for putting me on to Cristina's podcast, You know, those kinds of conversations I think are just so important to have. you know, think one thing that really resonated with me in Cristina's conversation was just how leadership shows up in different ways through systems, behaviors. It's not just about the classic labels, male versus female. that is a bring true because I think there isn't one right leadership style. I think that's a strength, right?
Jess Gaedeke (11:16)
Yeah, right.
Marcie Connan (11:39)
especially in a really complex world. So, you know, there are trends and whatnot, in my experience, think female leadership is often
adaptive. I think it's a superpower that I've kind of, seen within yourself and other female leaders I've had the privilege of working what really matters is that kind of adaptability and range, right? Being able to appreciate, you know, different communication styles, kind of being able to meet people where they are, know, there are different ways to show experience and authority. it through presence? Is it through trust? And I find that the female leader
that I've learned the most from are really able to kind of read the adapt. And I think when people just lead authentically at the end of the day, know, teams respond well, they become resilient, helps them navigate ambiguity a bit I mean, ultimately, it helps us all in terms of how we show up for each other and for clients too.
Jess Gaedeke (12:35)
Yeah, absolutely. And I do think two things that female leaders tend to have a superpower of is giving space to others. And I know that you do this beautifully, Marcie. And, know, I try to. know that I don't always do it. But like, just giving space, it's in group settings, meetings, but also just, you know, in building plans and strategies, giving voice to others. And then I also think females maybe don't care about having the right answer more so than getting to the right answer.
And I just think that's so important. again, it's not that male leaders don't have those qualities or that all females do. It's just more that we do see it. And I'm proud of the female leaders at DIG that do those things and embody those qualities. I think it's part of what contributes to this being a great place.
Marcie Connan (13:01)
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
Jess Gaedeke (13:18)
Okay, so as we kind of wrap up our conversation, Mars, and back to the, global nuances to local nuances, the reflections on leadership, what does it feel like to a client when this is well set up, you know, that they're serviced in a way that we want them to feel in our ideal in our ideal world.
Marcie Connan (13:34)
I think that at the end of the day, clients want to feel confident that they can make smart decisions, even if there's some uncertainty kind of surrounding them. need to feel that they can kind of move at the pace that today's reality is demanding of them, but they don't have to cut corners to get there. And I think for a long time when it comes to these ideas of these massive, often very layered engagements,
clients have felt that they've had to kind of make trade offs terms of some of the standards and consistency that they need at that global level. But they want the confidence to know that that local nuance won't get lost. And as part of that, should feel that the partners that they're working with the same goal and vision as them at the end of the day, that they're curious and open learning how they can make collaboration better along that process. And their local teams should feel
coming out of the work, not just overridden or that, that they were just kind of a transactional part of a bigger piece there. So at the end of the day, I think that we want the work that we're doing to feel human, if it's being done at a large scale, clients and the agency side as well.
Jess Gaedeke (14:40)
couldn't agree more what she I love it. Thank you so much for taking time, Marcie, to talk with me. I think you're just one of the biggest reasons that Dig is successful and that our employees feel motivated and inspired to do great things for our clients. So I just appreciate that you took a few minutes to chat with me today.
Marcie Connan (14:42)
you
Of course, thanks Jess.