Alex Birchmeier is a marketing leader who has spent his career reforming the way brands show up and connect with consumers across a variety of touchpoints, including Commerce, Social and Digital channels.
Having worked at a variety of agencies, publishers, and now the client side at Conagra Brands, Alex has seen all aspects of the marketing world and challenges the status quo.
Alex currently leads the Marketing Activation team at Conagra Brands, transforming their go-to-market strategies through paid and owned channels across brands like Healthy Choice, Slim Jim, Reddi-Wip and Duncan Hines.
Could you provide an overview of your role and responsibilities within the company?
I lead the Conagra Brands Marketing Activation team, which encompasses media strategy for our retail (B2C) and food service (B2B) segments within the US and Canada. I also oversee our owned platforms, including brand websites, ratings and reviews, and MarTech/AI capabilities.
Learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and honing your communication skills will allow you to stand out.
What are some of the key challenges you face?
With more than 100 brands and limited resources of time, people, and dollars, prioritizing and placing our bets on what is going to move the business forward is imperative. We strive to do more with less by focusing on what’s important and having a refuse-to-lose attitude. Distractions and slip-ups happen, but identifying those early helps maintain our focus on operational and strategic goals.
What would you say are some of the futuristic trends that will have an impact in the next 18-24 months?
We can’t escape the AI hype train. New companies and technologies are emerging nearly every day. Creating task forces, using the software for professional and personal use, and creating use cases for the technology will be critical to stay ahead. Couple that with the astonishing rise of retail media networks that will continue to accelerate, and we are looking at a different way of doing our jobs with a different marketing mix.
What advice would you give to young professionals who are interested in pursuing a similar career, and what qualities do you think are essential for success in this field?
Put yourself out there. Whether that involves taking lunch or dinner with someone you may not know in the field or joining an improv standup or community theatre class, branch out.
Learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and honing your communication skills will allow you to stand out. I’m always looking for people who have strong emotional intelligence as well as critical thinking skills vs. 100 percent knowledge of the job.
