Moving Products Off Shelves: Q&A with Blaine Elliott, Associate Director of Sales at Jun Group

Hey Blaine, thanks for your time! Many people don’t initially plan on working in ad tech. Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to this industry?

Yes! I began my career at a marketing agency that specializes in experiential events. There, we worked with a number of household brands to develop experiences that met their goals and engaged their target audience in ways that left a lasting impression. From there, I landed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the City of New York, where I managed all programming at Gracie Mansion. I led and collaborated with a number of external and internal partners to ensure visitors and residents had a positive, memorable experience.

I learned so many valuable skills and lessons that still shape how I communicate with both colleagues and clients today. It was actually shortly after I started at Gracie that a mutual friend first told me about Jun Group and the ad tech industry. Right away, I was incredibly fascinated and had a gut feeling that I would love it, given it was this perfect culmination of my many interests. Fast forward one year later, I joined Jun Group, and my gut was right.

You specialize in shopper marketing. Could you describe your typical day and explain the value Jun Group brings to the CPG space?

Yeah, so shopper marketing moves at a very fast pace. My days are typically packed, which keeps things exciting. On any given day, you’ll find me jumping on a brainstorm with clients, handling quick-turn inbound requests and questions with our strategy and influencer teams, or overseeing campaign launches, check-ins, and wrap reports with our client service managers. 

I’d say that our success in the shopper vertical ultimately ties back to Jun Group’s flexibility and how our platform is uniquely well-suited for the low-funnel metrics that our partners need. Although we’ve developed an effective formula for nearly every type of goal, we’re always eager to pull different levers and create bespoke strategies for clients.

Awesome. What do you enjoy most about working in the shopper marketing vertical?

I love working with brands that I either use, want to use, or can point out on a shelf at any given store. It’s also fascinating to understand how much effort goes into getting a product on that shelf and recognizing that our media at Jun Group is just one part of this complex, dynamic ecosystem.

If you’re familiar with the movie The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep has an iconic monologue about Cerulean blue, highlighting the influence and trickle-down effect of seemingly small choices made at the top. I can draw comparisons from that to the shopper marketing vertical because our ads, along with promotions, in-store displays, and other marketing tactics, are all thoughtfully designed to impact consumer behavior and purchasing decisions — whether the average consumer realizes it or not. I think that’s quite intriguing.

Totally. Over the past few years, what significant disruptions have you observed in the CPG and shopper marketing industry?

Retail media networks have exploded and continue to aggressively change and fragment the landscape for advertisers, both big and small. However, when an advertiser has the budget and resources to invest in RMNs, they’re then presented with the challenge of inconsistent ad types, measurement, and data transparency. Additionally, on that note, privacy concerns have been a major disruption.

Although cookie deprecation is being kept at bay for the moment, I think advertisers are still wondering how they’ll be able to reach and scale their audiences when Google’s new requirements roll out. Fortunately, Jun Group’s platform was built for this new era from day one and offers brands consent-based zero-party data, broader reach, more flexibility, and measurable results, regardless of the retailer, store, or whether the strategy is focused on in-store or e-commerce.

Shifting gears a bit… What strategies do you use to build and maintain strong relationships with your clients?

I always prioritize my clients’ best interests and do my very best to build intentional, meaningful relationships so that Jun Group is appreciated as a trusted partner rather than just another vendor. By fostering transparent two-way communication with clients, I’m able to delve into the nitty-gritty complexities of each request and provide the best recommendation. My approach aligns with the “help me, help you” philosophy and reinforces the strength and competitiveness of our product and performance.

To wrap things up, what do you enjoy doing for fun outside of work? How do you spend your free time?

With summer winding down, my husband and I have been squeezing in as much time as possible outside at our family’s cottage. Otherwise, we love to travel and try new restaurants, which we balance with chasing our one-and-a-half-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog around at home. I’ve also always loved going to Pilates classes and have kind of become an Orangetheory junkie in the last year.

Learn more about Jun Group’s CPG & retail advertising solutions, and follow Blaine Elliott on LinkedIn.