Hall of Fame Profile: Mimi Dixon

Mimi Dixon thrives on connecting with consumers. That started when she worked at Barnie’s Coffee & Tea Co. in high school. It was there she got her first taste of marketing, sales and consumer interactions. And even though her first years of college took her down a different path, she never lost that passion.

Today, as director of brand activation and content at Crayola, Dixon leads a team that creates consumer connections every day, guided by four over-arching principles: authenticity, transparency, credibility and inclusivity.

THE EARLY YEARS

Dixon was the oldest of four children, raised in a single-parent household in Camden, New Jersey. She came from meager beginnings and was the first in her family to attend college. One of her earliest lessons was the value of always striving to be better and not being afraid to branch out.

Her early years included experiences through CHAMP (Creating Higher Aspirations & Motivations Project), a summer program out of nearby Rowan University that took inner city kids camping, taught them science, math and sociology so they could learn to network and connect, and eventually introduced them to college. This program helped her on her college endeavors, and she later gave back as a camp counselor.

Dixon also took advantage of a state-certified emergency medical technician program in high school. She was an EMT for a few years, and says it opened her eyes to the world around her. It also dimensionalized the deep roots of prejudice when she encountered racism on the job.

Throughout high school, Dixon also participated in a summer program called PRIME (Philadelphia Regional Introduction for Minorities to Engineering) and was encouraged to follow the engineering path in college. After two years, she pivoted and went on to earn a degree in sociology from Rutgers University, following her passion for understanding people and connections. She minored in political science, which led her to a masters of public administration from the University of Delaware, during which she was a legislative fellow with the Delaware House of Representatives.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

After graduating, Dixon moved back to Camden and landed as a temp at Campbell Soup Co. “I had been around Campbell’s headquarters all my life, but never thought about working there,” she says. She proved quickly that she was more than ready for a permanent position after working on one of its signature education programs, Labels for Education, and they created a role for her.

She started as a promotions associate, and during her 16-year tenure took roles of increasing responsibility, ultimately holding the position of senior group manager – shopper marketing, Campbell North America. It was a lesson in transferable skills entering the world of CPG. “A lot of what I learned working on my master’s transferred over to Campbell Soup, almost like an MBA but for the public,” she says. “Being able to put products together, fulfilling a need for the consumer and witnessing the ambassadorship. I liked that, and I wanted more of it.”

Through her Campbell Soup years, she worked in consumer promotions and then moved into shopper marketing, working on different brands in each of her roles. She led the Chunky Soup Mama’s Boys Campaign in partnership with the National Football League for eight years, and eventually led Labels for Education as well, which was her first experience with a cause-focused program.

She counts both as some of her best work while with the company, along with what then became the label’s largest causal program with the U.S. Postal Service, Stamp Out Hunger, in collaboration with Feeding America. Giving back and helping others in need will always ring true for Dixon. “To be able to have a program that was simple and effective, but where we could really make a difference — that’s a message right after my own heart.”

Dixon says Campbell Soup’s then-CEO Doug Conant made a significant impact on her early career. He brought diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts and employee resources groups to the company, advocated for healthy lifestyles and was the biggest proponent of work/life balance — all while staying connected to employees on a regular basis and making them feel valued.

Terry Atkins, Dixon’s first director of integrated marketing; Anne Pizzaro, her first manager; and Angel Sasso, who created the position for Dixon when she was hired on, all played integral roles in her growth and success at the company.

MAKING HER MARK AT CRAYOLA

In 2014, Dixon decided it was time to branch out again and made a move to Crayola. She seized the opportunity to lead shopper marketing under Nancy DeBellis, director of customer leadership.

Crayola offered an entrepreneurial spirit and an organizational structure in which she was involved in more planning, discussions, pitching to senior leaders and aligning with them. “It was a whole new level of marketing, presentation skills and political savvy,” she says, adding that her involvement with retail partners increased, which was an exciting change for her.

Eventually she began overseeing the company’s merchandising efforts and, in 2017, she assumed her current position of director, brand activation and content.

Dixon has watched the practice of shopper marketing evolve. Retailers are still looking for ways to engage shoppers, she notes, but are looking to add more value. “Together we want to give more to shoppers,” she says. “We have to ask ourselves how we can do that, whether with content, exclusive product or something else. Here are the bare bones of the product, but how do we give them more?”

An added focus is on leveraging microseasons, on top of the seasons the company has historically activated against. “So think Halloween, Earth Day or Valentine’s Day,” she says. “Other moments that matter, if you will, outside of the big tent poles, when we can engage consumers and give them value add.”

Engaging with teachers and being a better resource for them, as well as new ways to drive loyalty, are also points of discussions right now at Crayola. And finally, supporting DEI. “Retailers want to partner to be more inclusive and make sure we’re not missing any key groups of consumers in our work,” she says.

When the company partnered with beauty industry expert Victor Casale for a new product launch, Dixon led the charge. Colors of the World introduced 24 newly developed colors, which represent 98% of the global population, and became the most successful launch in Crayola history.

Dixon encourages teams to learn from other industries, and to break the mold when given the opportunity. “Don’t be afraid to do things differently,” she says. Crayola had to learn how to produce paint around the Colors of the World line, something it had never done before. She says the company culture must support the work/product and live into four key principles of authenticity, transparency, credibility and inclusivity.

“Everything we did — from R&D to reaching out to consumers, understanding packaging, crayon labeling, marketing, PR — went through this lens of those four guiding principles,” she says. “Even to this day, when we’re looking at partners for Colors of the World, we look through that lens. If they stand up to those guidelines, that’s what moves us forward.”

INTO THE FUTURE

Furthering DEI will continue to be a goal for Crayola, says Dixon, as they look at product portfolios and even marketing and content to go after those populations. She and her team are also looking at generational relevance and interconnectivity. “We have products for everyone, and we have to keep those generational congruencies in mind,” she notes. “We have our key target area of elementary school, but how do we make sure we are aging up and growing with you after that?”

Finally, there is work around furthering engagement with its brand mission — communicating to consumers that Crayola has a broader mission in addition to the products it sells.