Trendsetters: L'Oréal's Nadine Karp McHugh Talks About the Balance of Data & Creativity to Drive New Solutions

As Senior Vice President of Omni Media, Strategic Investments and Creative Solutions at L'Oréal, Nadine Karp McHugh often jokes that she may have one of the longest job titles in marketing. While her title aptly describes the multiple aspects of her role, Nadine prefers to focus on how her responsibilities are intertwined. In fact, she is operating at the forefront of new, creative problem-solving that drives brands to find distinctive solutions that ultimately result in competitive advantage.

Her focus is on building strategic best practices and best-in-class ways to market with data and analytics, while working with agency partners, L'Oréal brand leaders and media companies to deliver what she calls "future-proof programs" that have never been done before. Nadine admits, "It's about thinking differently. My goal is to give consumers rich experiences to engage with our brands. When done right, this leads to greater ROI for the business."

More of those unique solutions are being fueled by data insights. "Data is so important today,' she says, "particularly as programmatic buys are being fueled by more relevant data. Yet, in this era of real-time analytics, smart marketers still need to be able to capture the insights that result from the right data to find "own-able" and unique solutions that will make a difference. Big data will drive everything, but without insights and creative problem-solving, it cannot be effective."

Nadine's own history in the industry has shaped her belief in the critical importance of navigating in a new marketing world. Not only has she been a pioneer in many emerging sectors of marketer and agency solutions, but she recently completed a Master's of Science degree in Organizational Creativity and Change Leadership. She says, "Creative problem-solving and change-management leadership are among the credentials now necessary to transform businesses so they can better steer toward the future, and the global world of marketing and communications must be at the forefront."

She adds, "Technology has changed our world and will continue to do so in ways we have not yet dreamed of. By thinking differently and being able to reframe problems, the future we create is only as limited as we allow it to be."

Nadine talked with Deborah Malone of The Internationalist at the ANA's New York video studios about new ways to deliver on strategic marketing objectives and how the head, the heart and the gut all play a part in today's decision-making process.

To learn more from Nadine McHugh, play the video below.