Digital transformation is not the path of least resistance. It takes real grit to make change happen when stakeholders are accustomed to more traditional marketing. But digital champions are entering the workforce with more conventional brands and driving change at all levels of business.

Empowered by data, motivated by technological change, these early adopters know that digital transformation is inevitable. But the challenge of creating momentum in siloed organizations with deeply entrenched processes can be slow.

*This post was originally published on www.widerfunnel.com on May 1, 2018.* Link to original post:

The 5 pillars of digital transformation strategy at Mark’s: An interview with changemaker, Johnny Russo

A big thank you to Lindsay Kwan for interviewing me and making this piece come alive. And thank you to our partners, the incredible WiderFunnel team.

How do you bring a traditional brand up to speed in the digital era?

Johnny Russo is always up for a challenge. As the Associate Vice President of E-commerce and Digital Marketing at Canadian retail giant, Mark’s (formerly Mark’s Work Wearhouse), he set out to transform the business in any way possible when he joined the team in January 2016.

Mark’s, under the umbrella of powerhouse, Canadian Tire, is a retailer that has been traditionally focused on selling workwear apparel. And the brand has become a mainstay in the Canadian economy that is historically based in the resources industry.

But with a background in digital marketing and e-commerce, Johnny had early experience in how digital technology can drive smarter, more data-driven decisions.

He knew that digital transformation — and particularly, the experimentation mindset — can drive the customer experience across multiple channels by creating business agility and driving lifetime customer loyalty to the Mark’s brand.

In this interview with changemaker, Johnny Russo, you’ll learn:

• His own 5 pillars of digital transformation strategy, including People, Partners, Culture, Education, and Change Management.
• Why your digital transformation strategy should focus on a strong foundation of data, while adapting your strategy to new insights and information.
• The 4 core attributes of an agile marketing team, including continuous learning, positivity, adaptability and data literacy — necessities of an iterative, test-and-learn digital strategy.

Question from Wider Funnel: When you were hired on with Mark’s, when you first got accustomed to the brand, did you have ideas of what you wanted to achieve?

Johnny Russo: I was hired to lead digital marketing and e-commerce, and when you are coming in new, you want to put your stamp on things, but you first have to understand the culture you’re entering.

What I liked about the Mark’s opportunity was one, they are part of Canadian Tire. They’re one of the largest retailers in Canada, which was one of the check marks for me. If you want to be the best, you might as well be with the biggest. So, Mark’s afforded me that opportunity.

The other thing is that Mark’s is a very traditional retailer. I remember picking up the flyer of Canadian Tire and other Canadian Tire-owned brands like Sport Chek or L’Equipeur and even hearing some of the radio ads and it struck me that they were very traditional in the ways they went about their advertising and marketing.

So I thought, what a great challenge to come to a traditional retailer and get them to think of digital. And maybe it wasn’t digital-first at that moment when I was hired on January 2016, but it really has become digital first in so many ways.

We’ve had to fight our way through, don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t just an open door.

It was really testing and learning and trying new things. Getting some quick wins, early. We’ve done a lot of experimentation and a lot of educating along the way.

But that’s what got me excited to come to Mark’s — it was an immense challenge.

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