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Jay Gronlund

JAY GRONLUND
Principal

Jay is a marketing professional who helps companies jump-start their growth.  His special expertise is in brand revitalization and international expansion.

Jay’s experience focuses on finding new opportunities that will expand revenues, often acting as a catalyst for generating novel growth ideas.  Three key competencies enable Jay to re-vitalize a business in the U.S. and abroad:

  • Extensive experience in new business development and market entry planning around the world, especially in emerging markets
  • Conducting in-depth research to identify relevant customer insights for re-positioning brands and/or improving a corporate image
  • Leading ideation sessions for new growth or higher performance opportunities

Jay’s prior business development experience includes executive positions in multinational companies, his own consulting firm, and teaching a course on “Positioning and Brand Development” at NYU since 1999.  He often combines his consulting with customized workshops, always adding a fresh perspective to stimulate new ideas for added growth, in the U.S. or overseas.

Jay has led business development projects that have successfully re-positioned brands to return to more profitable growth – e.g. wines from Spain, ice cream introduction in Brazil, research and new brand positioning for household product in Russia, market potential assessment and marketing plan for re-launch of a plant food product in Japan, revitalization of personal care line in Argentina, facilitation of ideation session in China, and development of environmental consulting firms in Eastern Europe. 

A prolific writer, Jay has published over 20 articles on variety of marketing and international development topics, plus a book on “Branding in the OTC Industry”.

Success Story

Challenge: A multinational was experiencing a disappointing sales performance for its line of personal care and OTC products in Argentina.  Local management was defensive, offering few ideas for a near term solution.  Senior management at U.S. headquarters needed an experienced consultant who was diplomatic and credible, to analyze this situation, propose new ideas to jump-start the local business and coach management for the implementation of a turn-around plan, all in a supportive way.

Approach: Initiated a comprehensive market potential assessment of the Argentine market for these products, including benchmarking to other similar country markets, defining the untapped potential to be exploited and identifying best opportunities to revitalize their brands and restore sales growth.

Results: Working closely with local management, developed and assisted the implementation of an action plan to re-position key brands, increase pricing on higher quality products, initiate innovative promotions to expand retail distribution, and introduce a new advertising campaign to increase awareness and trial. Total sales doubled in 3 years.

Areas of Expertise

Industries:

  • Personal Care products
  • Household products
  • Beverages
  • Food
  • OTC and Pharmaceutical
  • Publishing
  • Service Firm – Business Development
  • Plant Foods

Thought Leadership Publications

Blog: Thought Leadership


Articles:

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ARTICLES

1. "Building on Cross Cultural Diversity To Develop and Transfer Innovative Ideas"
2. "Working with the New Russians"
3. "Sharing ad Implementing New Ideas Across Border"

STRATEGIC MARKETING AND BRANDING ARTICLES

1. "How Employer Branding Can Foster Trust and Loyalty"
2. "How to Find Legitimate Consumer Insights and Make Them Really Work For You"
3. "How to Survive the Recession - Adapting Your Marketing Strategy to the New Realities"
4. "Customized Marketing Training For Tomorrow's Leaders"
5. "Your Target Customer - What You Should REALLY Understand"
6. "Doing More With Less - Search Engine Optimization Can Enhance Your Credibility"

Stay Connected

LinkedIn: Jay Gronlund