Growing Brands with Purpose with Biz in Bloom

A Strategy Deviser, Marketing Professor and Brand Advocate.  Self-described as a solar powered big thinking entrepreneur with a passion for flip-flops and drinking bubbles.

"For over 20 years I have been transforming businesses by giving them the tools to make a difference both in the communities in which they operate and around the world. My company Biz in Bloom specializes in Growing Brands with Purpose. I believe we can create the world we want to live in through the brands and services we build + support. As a Marketing Professor I get to empower the next generation of leaders to create the world they want to live in. Planting the seeds for success in both students and businesses is what I love to do, and I do what I love every day."

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Transcript

Dondrill Glover: 0:02

Welcome to The NY NOW podcast, a modern wholesale market for retailers and specialty buyers seeking diversity and discovery, gathering twice a year in America's design capital, New York City. It's where buyers and designers on Earth have refreshed and dedicated collection of eclectic lifestyle products. Hi, I'm Dawn draw Glover, podcast hosts and senior producer for New York now, and today we're excited to welcome Jeanine Polizzi. Founder of Biz In Bloom, a company specializing in growing brands with purpose. A strategy devisor, marketing professor and brand advocate, Jeanine Polizzi he is a self described polar big power and thinking entrepreneur with a passion for flip flops and drinking bubbly. for over 20 years, Jeanine has been transforming businesses by giving them the tools to make a difference in both the communities in which they operate and around the world. At Biz In Bloom, brands grow in purpose, clarity and connection. As Jeanine says, I believe we can create a world in which we want to live through the brands and services we build and support. As a marketing professor. I get to empower the next generation of leaders to create the world in which they want to live. planting the seeds for success in both students and businesses is what I love to do. And I do what I love every day. Join me in welcoming Janine to our New York now podcast. Hi, Jeanine, how are you?

Jeanine Polizzi: 1:38

Hi, Daniel, how are you? It's so good to see you.

Dondrill Glover: 1:42

It's so good to see you. I am doing fine. It's been a while. And I am really excited to have you joining us today. I mean, we've been chatting about doing something together. And when we started talking about your new business and all the work you do, we thought this is the perfect time. So thank you for being willing to have a conversation today. I know that you have returned not long ago from a whirlwind trip in Europe. And so, of course, I'd love to hear more about that at some point. But I'd love to start off today's conversation with your career journey. And what has brought you here. Where did it all begin for you?

Jeanine Polizzi: 2:20

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thank you for having me. And thank thank you to your followers. I actually got into marketing and branding by way of psychology. And I know that seems like a little circuitous route. But I started as an undergrad in psychology in Boston, and was just enthralled by human behavior. Wow, I had every plan to pursue that as a career. So after graduation, I actually picked a place on a map because if I was going to get started, I was going to start someplace warm after four years in Boston. So I picked Santa Barbara, California on the map, I packed up my flip flops and my mountain bike and headed out west.

Dondrill Glover: 3:05

Oh man, I love that.

Jeanine Polizzi: 3:07

Yeah. And it was there that I got to start to work with young adults with intellectual disabilities. And my career path took me from working as a staff in an institution to lead staff to eventually running my own group homes with a company called work training program. Unfortunately, its social services in the Santa Barbara bubble was really small. So I started to look in Los Angeles for other jobs and then to go back to school. And at the time, a girlfriend of mine was actually leaving a small communications agency in Los Angeles. And she said, hey, they need a receptionist. Do you mind coming to work here while you figure out what's next? And I was like, Well, happy to have the work. This is great.

Dondrill Glover: 3:57

You get to meet the people first. And that's a good, that's a

Jeanine Polizzi: 3:59

good thing. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So I started working with a small communications firm called IDT. And the founder, Roger Morrison, way ahead of his time in 1998, started a branding and communications agency. Now branding wasn't the thing that it is today. Imagine as big as it is today. Right? And I just remember and I giggled thinking back how our clients were always, you know, pointing out in our proposal, what is this brand strategy? Why are we spending so much time on it? Do we really have to focus on brand strategy, because they all wanted to have a marketing campaign but not dig into who they were and, and their values and what was important to them. So as I was there, the company was just getting started and they were a smaller company. So as I was there, I went back to school and got my master's degree at Pepperdine. The minute I graduated is the head of marketing for Waterford Wedgwood carry cutting back, I will never forget this woman. She actually asked me to be on her team to help produce their marketing materials for table pop. We're here in New York. Wow. So yeah, really excited.

Dondrill Glover: 5:16

What What a journey? I mean that, who know, like, from psychology, to LA to receptions to, in talking about brands and values. I'd love to throw this in there. You You mentioned that during that time period, people, you know, brands were asking why do I have to talk about values like Memphis? Why do I have to talk about myself? And I'm curious of what you think, in short, what sparked that kind of shift? And what was that understanding back then a kind of a lesser understanding of sharing more about you in values?

Jeanine Polizzi: 5:54

Well, I think back then, and when you think back to the marketing that was happening in the early 2000s, you know, late 1990s, it was a lot of pushing material, right? So we were telling customers, what they needed to think we were telling customers, how they needed to be as brands right. So not as marketers, but as brands. We were telling customers what we wanted them to hear. And I think between now and then the shift is that we are actually listening and trying to create relationships with our customers. So our customers are able to really get to know who we are. And brands are creating themselves with a with a personality. And as people as brands, as companies, we all have values. And we need those in order to connect with our consumers. So we need to tell our consumers who we are, not tell our consumers what they need, or what to think,

Dondrill Glover: 6:52

exactly. And communities have galvanized around. This is what I need, this is who I am. And depending on who you are, I have to think about if I'm willing to invest in your product and your business, because you need to align with my values. And I think that that forward reach and how you know, an audience has stood up, I find that incredibly inspiring. In your right, that was exactly what was happening back then we had to follow the trend. And now the trend is more human centered. And and I can't go wrong with that. Because that's really our audience saying this is what I need. And I need to connect to, I'd love to dive a bit more into your career in academia. Parsons School of Design in 2020, was named one of the top design schools in the country for three years that role. I know in your role as an adjunct professor, in teaching branding at the school, I'd love to ask a bit about your approach to teaching business branding, of course, with that experience of now understanding where we've been, and where we are now. And just, you know, tidbit about that? Yeah, absolutely.

Jeanine Polizzi: 8:04

Well, as you mentioned, Parsons is primarily a design school. And so our boat or is known to be a design school taught, there is a business aspect as well, obviously. So our focus on the business side is really how do we design a brand? And how do we design brand communications. So we come at it from the design aspect. And my classes are full of students with all levels of education, experience and entrepreneurship. So the way that I approach brands and branding with them, it's really the same way that I approach it with my clients. And it's interesting, because even today, I find that some people believe that branding, is advertising. And for my clients, they believe that branding isn't or for my students, they believe that branding is Instagram. So of course it is. So just like I do in business I do with my students, and I have them really start to assess the marketplace, you know, look at the trends. Look, what's there, what's not there. And I think finding what's not, there seems to be a more interesting space in which to play. And then they choose a brand, whether it's one that they're working on to launch themselves or a brand that they love. And they do a deep dive within that company and figure out what are the strengths of that company? What are the weaknesses of that company? Who are the competitors? And what is it about their competitors? What are their competitors doing well, and what is it that they as a company could do better than their competitors or what can they learn from their competitors? And from there we the most important piece of knowing who your consumer is the how do you figure out okay, this is who I am, this is what I do. Who do I do this And who would I do it best for? And just like any company, figuring out who your ideal consumer is, it's about a couple of weeks of our curriculum. And from there, we just start to figure out or start to write what it is that makes us important what it is that makes us special what it is that makes us difference. And only then, then, and only then do we come to the implementation, which could be Instagram, you, you're

Dondrill Glover: 10:29

also an adjunct professor at li M, and for the business of fashion. And I love to ask, you know, what are some notable slight differences in fashion focused brand building, because we've got brands who are operating in the home decor space, and you know, whether they're doing, you know, children's books, or writing that there's layers and layers, but also fashion has its own niches, and what's a little tidbit about what that focus in building a fashion brand.

Jeanine Polizzi: 10:57

So LM is really where fashion and business come together. And for my students, I try to focus on that intersection of, you know, what makes fashion business different from any other industry out there. And I think the most important piece of fashion branding is to again, know who you are, know, what makes you different and know who your customers are. But also to be aware of the different cycles that are happening in fashion, we went from fashion being exclusive to fashion being inclusive, yes, we went from fashion being, or what is considered fashionable, being unattainable to fashion being a lifestyle that's attainable for everyone, you know, from shopping and pushing items at us to creating experiences, you know, so that is one of the things that I get my LLM students to start to think about is where can we go next in the fashion industry. And one of the things that we talk about heavily now, and I'm sure that your, all of your listeners are really keen on is that point of sustainability. And we talk a lot about being sustainable. But kind of to be a little bit harsh. What happens when we've all really fessed up and are nice to people in the planet, which is what sustainability means, right? Yes, exactly.

Dondrill Glover: 12:31

Yes. Very much. So I was going to ask you, because, you know, we're not only building businesses, now we've got these deeply conscious components. And I'm wondering, in some of that teaching, or learning or questions that may come to light, you know, because now are people coming to you and learning and saying, I, my mission is to build a conscious brand. So whether I'm building in home decor, fashion, children's good, I need to show my consumer as a brand, what my mission is, what my values? And so how do I build consciously on how much of that conversation is interjected in the classroom?

Jeanine Polizzi: 13:15

Yes, yes. Well, for sure, in my classrooms, I talk to my students. And it's almost like I preach to them, and let them know that they have the most valuable resource, the most valuable votes right in their pockets. They get to vote every day for the world that they want to live in, by the dollars that they spend. The companies that you support, are creating the world that you want to live in. So if you're supporting small businesses, if you're supporting conscious businesses, if you are supporting local community businesses, then that's the world that you find important. If you're supporting companies that you know, are, are not supporting your values, then you're just blindly buying things. Right.

Dondrill Glover: 14:06

misplaced, assertive, like Fash fashion, and, you know, not knowing where things are made. And so

Jeanine Polizzi: 14:12

by, right, and I think, are my students, you know, once they're out once they're kind of opened up to the idea of, oh, wow, you know, I didn't know that this brands that I'm wearing. And I have to do a little exercise, which I think is really fun. So have them take a piece of clothing that they're wearing and look up that brand, and what does that brand give to? And sometimes it's like, oh, I didn't know that about this brand. And oh, this brand doesn't give to anything. And I found some news articles where this brand actually talked badly about XY and Z. So you want to make sure that, you know, the companies that you support are companies that you want to continue to support. And the minute I do that exercise with my students they become it's like they wait they wait A little bit. Yeah, of course, it's so funny the world differently because they don't realize that they're spending actually builds companies building brands, keeps them in business.

Dondrill Glover: 15:10

Right? Exactly. I love, I love to call them green dollars. And as you mentioned, we are investing in the future that we want to live in. And I'd love to move on to talk about this in bloom business building with purpose, you are the founder, I am beyond excited. Congratulations, I know that you've been working in this space for a very long time. But I'm really excited to once again talk about your business and what it means. I'd love to get to how it started. And I'd love for you to enlighten us on the focus and the services that it provides.

Jeanine Polizzi: 15:48

Absolutely, thank you, thank you for bringing it up. I, as a young person, I grew up in a very small town. And in my very small town, there were only small businesses. And to this day, I find that I gravitate towards small businesses, and I gravitate towards businesses that really form and build community. A funny example is that a couple years ago, my dad went to buy a bike. So my sister goes on to Amazon, and she's like, Oh, dad, they have bikes here for, you know, whatever price it was. And my dad said, Well, why wouldn't I just walk down the street and go to the local bike shop that's been filling our tires, and greasing our chains over 20 years? Why wouldn't I support the bike shop that's been supporting me. And that's really what I grew up with in terms of the way that I think about things. Why wouldn't I support the community that I live in? Why wouldn't I support the world in which I operate? Right? Right. I think that's really been sort of my guiding principles in terms of building a business and bloom and building small businesses and building businesses with purpose. That's really how I got started. In terms of creating the business, and what's important to me,

Dondrill Glover: 17:15

I mean, that resonates so deeply, because I think that for particularly for us, and New York now, that's our audience. We are, you know, small businesses, we are in largely independent brands, and so forth. And that community has really sort of fed the country in innovation in coming with new ideas. And they really, I think there's so much that even larger, more corporate spaces can learn about small businesses, they lie in the main streets of our country and places around the world. In your company, how does that difference show up?

Jeanine Polizzi: 17:53

So in terms of making sure that small businesses are visible, think about I mean, think about your audience in New York. Now, everyone has an their own individual maker story, entrepreneurship story, they all have their own individual stories, which helps them move forward in terms of their purpose, right, it helps them connect in terms of who they are. And for me, it's really important to be able to help companies like this, tell their story, it's important to to help companies figure out who they are, who they're for, and how to communicate out. Write that message out themselves. Yeah, three significant pillars.

Dondrill Glover: 18:42

You speak about and bloom in business. And I love to unpack a little bit understanding for our audience. And those three pillars that are has been very key in your messaging.

Jeanine Polizzi: 18:53

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So the pillars that you're talking about are clarity, purpose, and connection. And as far as clarity goes, as I've mentioned, and will continue to mention, as a brand marketer, it's always important for you to be clear on who you are. And it's important for, you know, customers to understand just at a glance who you are. So what I do is I help companies through strategy sessions, through conversations through brainstorming, helping them figure out who they are as entrepreneurs. And you know, as I know, we are multi passionate, so to be able to distill down to find that one of finite points of who we are and how we operate in the world, is really what I help companies do in finding that clarity and helping them figure out how to focus from there. The next pillar purpose is that I believe and firmly believe that we are all here for a specific purpose. You have gifts. And if you think about, you know, everyone that's coming to the New York now show. They're makers, they're creators, they're artists, they're entrepreneurs. They're pillars of their own communities. So they all have a gift. And, you know, you have your own specific gift, Dontrelle, you are a connector, right. So we all have these important gifts as entrepreneurs, and being able to put our, our gifts forward to be able to talk about those. And we talked about it earlier, it's always difficult to talk about your business, it's always difficult to talk about yourself. And, you know, once you tap into that purpose, and what you're passionate about, it's easier to talk about yourself.

Dondrill Glover: 20:52

Yeah, exactly. And I think once again, businesses, I always say, be brave, be bold, in talking about who you are. Because through that, you can only provide a greater understanding, so that people can hear and they can place come into connection there. So very well stated and talking about those pillars we talked about with New York. Now, you know, as we've mentioned, we are a community of independent brands and retailers and buyers. And in speaking, you know, directly to our audience, there are a few questions that come up time and time again, as well as you know, kind of working to understand you know, pivots and challenges in working to sort of stay connected and aligned with buyers and consumers. I'd love to answer a few questions with some brief sort of actionable steps that brands and buyers and retailers can activate. But I'd love to go through them. And so I'll kind of go down the list. And then you know, of course, you'll interject all this great stuff that they need to hear. It's kind of like a playing like a bit, a little bit of a game here. But with, you know, real serious questions that are on the minds of several brands, you know, in a crowded marketplace. How can I, as a small brand stand out? Well, ah, right.

Jeanine Polizzi: 22:15

Yeah, it's a great question, the teacher may will answer it, it's important to do your homework, making sure that you're doing thorough research of your marketplace, making sure you know who your competition is, making sure you know what your competition is doing well, and what they're not doing well. And then compare your brands. Because in that, you'll be able to find out what your point of differentiation is, and how to best stand out because in your niche, there are things that your competition does well. And there are things that you do well, and the best thing to talk about is not what they're doing, the best thing to talk about is what you're doing and what you're doing well. And that's what helps you stand out.

Dondrill Glover: 23:03

Excellent. Excellent. You hear that? Guys? That's a that's a great, you know, insight and answer to kind of tackle that, because that does come up a lot. For a lot of brands. The second one is that I don't have a large marketing budget, what's the best way to connect with my customers? And so that customer being retail buyers at a show? And of course, you know, they're doing things in retail spaces, but for brands at Mark, it's really about the buyer is the customer and cents in market.

Jeanine Polizzi: 23:34

Right, right. So one thing that I tell all of my clients, the way to really maximise on your budget is to be consistent. So to be consistently at the shows, people know where to find you, people are used to looking for you people will rush to your booth first. Right? So this consistency is a really big thing. And we've all heard this big adage, the marketing adage that 80% of our profits come from 20% of our clients. And that's still true today. So if you're keeping consistent and maintaining these important relationships that you have with your buyers, with your ultimate end consumers, then your marketing budget will go a lot further. So I really find that it's consistently consistency in terms of telling your story. It's consistency in terms of cultivating relationships, because the better relationship we have with someone, the more of your brand that they're going to want to participate in, however they want to participate. So whether they're promoting you through their social media, which doesn't cost you anything. buying more of your products because they believe in you. Right, which actually, again that 20% of your clients believing in you and trusting in you is going to buy more products from you. So I really find that that consistency is what's important and delivering on your brand promise is what's important for your consumers. Great answer. Great, great insight

Dondrill Glover: 25:12

there. And the last one, and I'm really excited about this question as well. It's, you know, what is what is cause marketing? And I'm not saying I'm already sustainable. Isn't that the same thing?

Jeanine Polizzi: 25:28

Right, right. Now I get that a lot. Okay. That's another one. I do think that companies believe that being sustainable is really standing for a cause. And as I mentioned earlier, right, we should always have been setting up our companies to be nice to people and nice to the planet. So being sustainable is really just the sort of bottom line. That's the starting point. From there, how do we support our communities? How do we align ourselves with something that is close to our hearts as a company leader, or an entrepreneur? How do we really raise up the community in which we live in and that's aligning ourselves with a nonprofit that's aligning ourselves with something that's happening in our community, that's aligning ourselves, even supporting our employees. So cause marketing is really us giving back to a cause. And it doesn't have to be, you know, giving lots of money or only giving money? That's corporate social responsibility. It's aligning ourselves with something that's important to

Dondrill Glover: 26:37

us. I'd love to ask, what could brands expect in building a relationship and working with a company like Biz In Bloom, you know, what can they expect?

Jeanine Polizzi: 26:49

Thank you for asking that.

Dondrill Glover: 26:51

Of course. I mean, you've given so much interest, you've given such great insight. And I'd love for brands to really understand the kind of value that you would bring to a relationship and helping them to define their business.

Jeanine Polizzi: 27:04

Absolutely, absolutely well, but the first thing that we do is, is really a deep dive into their brand and into their niche. And helping them find that clarity in terms of their values, who they are, what they stand for, helping them widen their base in terms of who their consumers are. So in a way, in order to connect better with their consumers, one of the things I come from a little bit of a digital background, so being able to help them with their digital brand communications as well. So that could be you know, creating the materials that they put out year round as the experts in their field. I think what small businesses don't always realize is that, what they do, they are the expert in and to be able to create this expert content and to be able to be the person that their brands come to, that their sub buyers come to, in order to ask the questions in order to for their buyers to be more knowledgeable as well in what they're selling and in the communities that they're providing. So I think for a company that gets to work that I get to work with, no, it's telling their story. And it's telling their story where their customer is. And it's telling their story in a way that makes them the expert in what they do.

Dondrill Glover: 28:35

I'd love to stick you know, just kind of stay in that vein and go on the strength of that. It brings us to New York. Now we're preparing for our winter show. Of course, February, the sixth through the ninth at New York's Javits Center, definitely want to plug the dates or audience that have been listening today. As brands prepared you need to come to market, I'd love to talk about, you know, the four key partners that biz in bloom drives home in their learning and partnerships and educating brands. And we talk a little bit about that.

Jeanine Polizzi: 29:05

Absolutely. Absolutely. So as you're preparing for the show, and as you're taking part in New York now, I think that the things that are really important to remember is, you know, you're of service. So being of service to your customers is really important. It's not just, we're all in business to make money, I get that. But remembering that you're of service makes it a little bit easier for us to talk about ourselves. It makes it a little bit easier for us to talk about our values and in knowing who we are and knowing our values makes it easier for us to the second point is to tell our brand story. And we don't get all that much time with so many people walking by our booth in order to tell Our brand story. So make sure that in a glance, someone can really tell what you stand for. Someone can really tell who you are, and it grabs the attention of that buyer to draw them into your booth. The next is if you do align with a cause, make sure that you have that front and center. Because as you're aligning with a cause, it, you communicate your values very quickly and efficiently. It tells the buyer about who you are. And it's something that you can connect with a buyer even quicker. And it's really important, why it's important to align with a cause is that 94% of consumers, this includes buyers are likely to switch brands of similar price and quality to one that gives back as a company 80% of job seekers are looking to work for companies that care about the contribution to society. So it's really beneficial for you as a brand to align yourself with a cause. Because the consumers are looking for meaningful experiences. And as consumers, we're all looking for that guilt free shopping experience.

Dondrill Glover: 31:27

Or want to feel good.

Jeanine Polizzi: 31:31

Right? Right. So we know that we're spending money, but we feel good spending money that supports something. So really, you know, remember that you're in service to your buyer. Remember that everything you do tells your story. And if you are aligned with a cause, it's an easier way to connect with a buyer, it's an easier way to connect with your audience.

Dondrill Glover: 31:56

Fantastic takeaways. Janine, I mean, absolutely. Just point point, point. Agree and agree, couldn't agree more. And using our voices for brands and your booth? It's such a prime opportunity. Final question. You know, very enlightening and inspiring conversation. So you know, so many takeaways, I can't wait to sort of even dive in more with this with our brands and talking at market because you really bring up so many valid points and things for them to consider and move and, and embrace and show connection with our audience there. For brands and businesses who are looking to connect with biz in bloom, how can they follow it and where should they reach out?

Jeanine Polizzi: 32:39

Wonderful, thank you. Again, this is amazing. Well, my website is biz in bloom, BL o m.com. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook under biz inBloom. And then through LinkedIn, I am Janine policy pol eyes easy. I.

Dondrill Glover: 33:03

Excellent. So I once again, I'm going to thank you like a million times. But I want to thank you, Janine for joining us today. I mean, it's truly been activating. It's been insightful. You've given us actionable steps for brands to take it market. And most importantly, it's been brand inspiring, and we definitely look forward to staying connected with you. Oh, thank

Jeanine Polizzi: 33:26

you, Dondrill. This has been amazing. And thank you New York now community for listening and for having me in your space. And I look forward to seeing you all at the show. I'm very excited.

Dondrill Glover: 33:39

Oh, good. Hey, guys. So we'll see you February, the sixth through the ninth at New York. Javits Center, New York now returns and looking forward to seeing you there. Take care. To learn more about Biz in Bloom. Connect with Jeanine at bizinbloom.com. And follow on Instagram at biz in bloom. Thank you for listening to the New York now podcast. Make sure to tune in weekly for engaging and insightful conversations touching on the most relevant topics facing our community today. Is it for your gmail.com to learn more about our market and how you can join in all the conversation