“The market for a product like this is crazier than it’s ever been before, so tackling this release has required an unprecedented amount of imagination and flexibility — especially doing it all remotely,” says Archer, an associate brand manager for Unilever.
The markets, innovation & design (MIDE) major hasn’t visited her office or met her colleagues in person since taking the job in August. Instead, she’s in her upstate New York home office managing the Dove brand’s new product, which includes developing plans for national media advertising and stocking the sanitizer in superstores such as Target.
She points to courses taught by Professor Douglas Allen, MIDE, who was Archer’s adviser and sparked her interest in heritage brands. After graduating, Archer became a marketing specialist and strategist for household names such as Gillette, Crest and Oral-B Kids — exciting career experiences she discussed with students this fall in the Freeman College of Management’s virtual alumni speaker series.
“I wanted to encourage students to take advantage of all they can now, because the more you broaden your horizons, the better prepared you’ll be for a future career,” she says. “I’m still learning myself, but it’s always great to give students advice that can hopefully help them on their journey.”