Ingrid Best, Vice President, Global Marketing Spirits, Combs Enterprises
While the global spirits industry is valued at an estimated $524.17 billion and is expected to reach over $700 billion by 2028, this year has been a challenging time for the drinks industry as the world tackles the Covid-19 crisis and the uprising of several social injustices. An unprecedented time that has pushed brands to rethink their marketing tactics and reimagine initiatives that will connect with consumers.
One compelling example of creating meaningful brand campaigns in 2020 is CÎROC’s recent #CÎROCStands movement that highlighted powerful voices in the Black community - actress Rosario Dawson, radio host Angela Yee, DJ D-Nice and more - who shared empowering messages to vote in this election season. It also called the brand’s audience to action by mobilizing them to create a voting plan. Leading innovative and culturally relevant campaigns like this are just some of the ways marketing executive, Ingrid Best has earned an impeccable reputation as a behind-the-scenes powerhouse over the course of her over 15-year career.
Though the spirits industry is often characterized as one dominated by men and specifically white men, Best holds her own with deep knowledge of all aspects of the market. “In the spirits world you have the supplier side, the distributor and the customer - it’s a three tiered system,” she describes. “When I started out, the supply and distributor folks didn’t look like me but our customers did. So that was part of my ambition to really make a difference in an industry that desperately needed diversity.”
Best’s spirits career started with her work at Diageo, where she launched a rum brand, before spending over five years at LVMH working on Hennessy, helping the brand achieve unprecedented year-over-year growth, and Belvedere Vodka businesses. Today, Best serves as the Vice President of Global Marketing, Spirits; a role that was appointed to her after the Combs Enterprises’ executive team recognized the duality of her business savvy and inherent cultural connectivity. Prior to Combs Enterprises, Best was the D’USSE Brand Director at Bacardi where she spearheaded the brand’s international marketing efforts. Introducing D’USSE XO to the global market by developing a digital-first brand strategy, launching the brand in South Africa for the first time, and identifying and hiring the brand’s first-ever global mixologist.
Representing brands like CÎROC, DeLeon Tequila and D’USSE that sit in the centre of culture and that are owned by or have significant joint partnerships with cultural icons including Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, this is an important point of distinction in Best’s unconventional path to success as a luxury marketer. She now imparts that unique expertise in managing the marketing partnership for Cîroc and the joint venture for DeLeon Tequila alongside Mr. Combs. Best brings a distinct point of view to the industry – one focused on combining cultural nuances with clear sales-oriented goals to drive best-in-class marketing programs resulting in tangible brand growth. Another key mission of hers is to mentor young professionals of color, with the goal of redefining the future face of Corporate America. “One of my commitments is to make sure that I bring people along and ensure that I serve as a really vocal player in the business because even just fifteen years ago, there wasn’t enough of us,” she noted.
Here Best shares some advice for young women who are interested in building careers in this space:
The University of Experience is Your Path to Success
As a self-taught marketer, the key to Best’s extensive career is the depth of insight that she leverages from years of learning all aspects of the spirits business. Starting in a brand ambassador role decades ago, the experience enabled her to learn the basics of the industry which she then utilized for a position in sales and marketing. Although she recognized that sales wasn’t her desired path, she understood the invaluable opportunity to gain knowledge of the commercial side of the spirit market. “I never cheated myself out of learning every aspect of the business - the marketing side, the commercial side, the operations side, the promotions side, pricing - so I’m now able to impart that in managing the joint venture for CÎROC,” Best explains. A learning path she now recognizes the importance of and encourages young professionals of color entering the industry to follow as well, “Often times in a lot if these industries, not just with spirits, Black people are looked to as the ‘cool kids’ and the cool parts of the business and not necessarily the foundational parts of the business.” Leading with this kind of business acumen is competency that is undeniable to brands hiring new talent.
Be a Global Citizen
As a marketer, Best believes that it is especially essential to build relationships across borders. “Having a network outside of the US is super powerful because it allows you to broaden your lens and helps you to understand what’s making the world tick,” she says. Utilizing this global network, Best taps into her community to gage interest in initiatives being developed and get a sense of the taste trends in different markets around the world. “I think people forget sometimes that we can be in our own bubble. Sometimes we can find ourselves talking to ourselves, which is not good. Having that global connectivity and that network has made me an even better marketer,” she notes.
Rely on Your Resiliency
There’s no disputing that working with brands and moguls of this caliber, is not for the thin-skinned. You’ve got to be confident and understand that they are looking to learn something from you as the expert. “You’ve certainly got to have confidence, an entrepreneurial spirit and be laser focused’,” Best advises. “This is about being a master in your business. That has to be a part of your personality. If you are easily distracted then this is not for you.”
Also understanding that entering this male-dominated industry as a woman will come with its challenges is vital. “We don’t live in a world that considers women and that considers Black women, so naturally you’re going to go through some things,” Best says. She recommends that women develop a toolkit for themselves on how to navigate through various scenarios that will try to distract and take you off of your game. “In being prepared and being very clear, that’s what sets you apart and gives you your strength and grit. Ensuring that you’ll rise no matter what the challenge. Rely on your resiliency.”
Keep The Door Open For Others
“One of the blessings in my career is that I have typically worked for brands where the consumer base looks like me. So if I am in the room, I have a seat at the table and we are talking about consumers that look like me, I am going to do the right thing,” states Best. Doing right by consumers starts with ensuring that diverse talent has access to entering the rooms of these decision makers. Best notes that many industries would shift if they would welcome women and women of color at every level of organization. She provides a caution to brands who haven’t made progress in adding more diverse faces to their organizational charts, “The biggest thing you see with companies that haven’t gotten with the times, who aren’t advancing women and women of colour is that the work they are producing is not authentic.” Creating campaigns that fail to read the room and effectively connect with their audience.
