Ep 74: Linh Peters is the Chief Marketing Officer for Walgreens

Retail juggernaut, Walgreens is beginning to prioritize healthcare across all their service offerings. Linh Peters is Walgreens’ CMO, and she joins today to describe the role that marketing will play in her employer’s new venture. Linh has worked with other huge brands including Calvin Klein, Best Buy, Target, and Starbucks, and she explains how the challenges in her current role differ from the other jobs she’s worked before. As a loyalty specialist, Linh goes into detail about the current state of marketing, the ins and outs of Walgreens’ myW™ Days program, why brands have less power now than they did before COVID, and how a rewards program influences a CMO’s marketing strategy. We learn about how the data alone can validate any rewards program, why the most important thing is to connect with customers as opposed to giving out freebies, the biggest mistakes that first-timers make when launching a loyalty program, and whether the recent changes in marketing are for better or worse. Our guest also explains how a harrowing 5months on a boat informed her worldview, how her upbringing in Vietnam and migration to America influenced her career choices and bred her passion for healthcare, how having a personal board of directors could grow you as a leader, and what the future of Walgreens looks like: healthcare, marketing, and beyond! 

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Introducing Walgreens’ CMO, Linh Peters, and her love for the late musician, Prince. 

  • How Linh’s upbringing as an immigrant from Vietnam influenced her career. 

  • Her formative experience of being trapped on a boat in the Hong Kong harbor for five months. 

  • Linh’s summation of the current marketing climate, and what CMOs prioritize and value.

  • How millennials and Gen Z have banded together to reclaim power from brands. 

  • A breakdown of Walgreens’ myW™ Days and the goals of this remarkable rewards week.    

  • The role of a rewards program in a CMO’s marketing strategy. 

  • How the valuable data gained from a rewards program validates the program itself. 

  • Why your brand may not need a loyalty program if you have other ways to personally connect with customers.  

  • Four big mistakes that brands make when they implement a loyalty program for the first time. 

  • Why brands shouldn’t be afraid of cutting profitability by rewarding loyal customers for ‘free’. 

  • How Linh’s challenges at Walgreens differ from what she encountered at her previous jobs.

  • What localization could mean for Walgreens’ transition to healthcare. 

  • Other big marketing initiatives that the retail juggernaut has set for 2023 and beyond. 

  • The role of national media in Walgreens’ marketing efforts.

  • How marketing has changed in recent times, and whether it’s for better or worse. 

  • Linh explains her personal board of directors theory as advice for young marketing executives. 

  • More advice from our guest for aspiring CMOs. 

  • Current vacancies at Walgreens, and how you can apply. 

  • Linh’s guest recommendations: Two remarkable Asian American Pacific Islander CMOs.   

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Linh Peters on LinkedIn

Linh Peters on Twitter

Walgreens

myW™ Days 

Walgreens Jobs Portal

'Purple Rain' 

'I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man' 

'Raspberry Beret' 

Best Buy Rewards

Ultamate Rewards

Target Circle 

Starbucks Rewards 

Delta SkyMiles 

UnitedHealthcare 

The Hard Thing About Hard Things 

Deborah Yeh on LinkedIn

Marketing Leaders Coffee Chat

Clicks 2 Bricks

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Ep 73: Andrea McCauley is Head of Marketing and SVP for Massage Envy