Group Director for Media,TIFFANY & COMPANY North America
It’s never easy to facilitate change at a legacy brand, especially when that brand’s iconic name and globally-recognized packaging has celebrated 130 years. Yet, Melissa Pordy, Group Director for Media at Tiffany & Company, has figured out how to ensure that Tiffany’s extraordinary heritage continues to resonate amid contemporary concerns, so that it may become even more relevant today.
Recently, her media efforts won gold by authentically targeting men during the engagement process and creating a starring role for that famed Tiffany diamond. Without question, men and women have very different constructs of love… at least in their approach to weddings. While most women have long-standing ideals about love and weddings, men are often overwhelmed by the notion of commitment, engagement, marriage, and the ensuing traditions and expectations.
Melissa Pordy saw this as an opportunity for Tiffany & Company to speak directly to men for the first time – a segment, composed of actual customers, that had been previously ignored by the category’s reliance on traditional media. She saw the need to shift the brand’s focus to content partnerships, social media, and performance marketing by empowering this hard-to-reach customer to debunk engagement myths and build new traditions.
This, though, is just one example of the fearlessness that Melissa Pordy applies to brand building. She believes in understanding change and adapting—or be left behind. This spirit is indeed helping to pave the future of marketing in fast-changing, digital world.