Profile: Cassie Burzynski, Director, Client Leadership, The Mars Agency

Cassie Burzynski has had many opportunities during her career to master her craft, and she has learned to quickly gain the trust of her clients and colleagues.A graduate of Grand Valley State University with a degree in business administration, marketing, advertising and public relations, Burzynski joined The Mars Agency in June 2012 as an account executive in shopper marketing. She also held positions in operations management and client leadership before being named the director of client leadership in 2018.Burzynski trained herself to think like a client, which she believes is an essential tool in her work. “This mindset has anticipated countless client needs and helped separate me from being a ‘doer’ to being recognized as a reliable partner with my client’s best interest in mind,” she says, adding that her “positive persistence” to keep herself and others focused and accountable has been the key to many effective programs.When Campbell’s SpaghettiOs was removed from the canned pasta aisle at a key retailer to give exclusive placement to a competitor, Burzynski was called upon. She led the development and execution of an integrated shopper marketing and consumer promotions plan that had a conservative budget, a small scope of work and quick speed to market.Through strategic thinking, shopper-behavior analysis and a hyper-targeted focus, Burzynski and her team developed a “defense plan” with the goal of increasing SpaghettiOs sales and growing the category at surrounding retailers. The plan’s success, she reports, contributed to the retailer’s decision to put SpaghettiOs back on shelf starting in July 2020. The client then extended the program’s scope into a second drive period, but this time on a national level.“As a result, we could retarget our newly converted purchasers and recruit new ones to further grow household penetration for the brand and secure a larger share of the market,” she says.

Profile: Cassie Burzynski, Director, Client Leadership, The Mars Agency

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