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CINCINNATI, OH—Joining Phillips Edison & Co. in 2013 as the Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Cherilyn Megill ascended to the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) role in January 2017. As CMO, her areas of focus include working cross-functionally to achieve growth, branding, public relations, communications plus special projects. Megill will be one of the speakers at next week's Women of Influence conference and GlobeSt.com caught up with her to find out what is happening in her part of the CRE ecosystem.

Numbers and data are an extraordinarily important aspect of her job, she tells GlobeSt.com.

Adding Data and Analytics to the Mix

“As the role of marketing continues to evolve, one area that I am extremely focused on is data and analytics. Years ago, marketing would place an ad and hope that it worked. However, today's marketing professional must be obsessed with data and analytics. We must continue to monitor, measure and react to the results of a marketing program and use the analytics and data to show the ROI,” explains Megill.

Creativity also remains critical to stand out from the clutter. With digital advertising, one can easily do A/B testing to see what resonates with their customer and what will be most effective in driving results, she says. Also, social media is an effective way to target and to get invaluable data and insights about current and future customers and determine the best way to deliver a specific message.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the focus on these areas, Phillips Edison & Co.'s marketing team recently won three ICSC MAXI Gold awards, all focused on digital and social media. “I was proud of our team, but I was even more pleased with the strategy that was developed for each of the programs,” Megill says. “Data and analytics were used to achieve outstanding results.”

Marketing, IT Working Together

Another change for marketing and IT is that increasingly they are working together instead of remaining in their separate silos, Megill notes. It is critical that both teams work closely together as CRE marketing teams continuously look for ways to innovate, she says. “The availability of massive amounts of data, strong online retailer presences, consumer demand for convenience and experience, plus the wide-spread use and the constant evolution of social media means that marketing teams must stay on the cutting edge of technology,” she says.

The Sole Minority Female in the Room

As an Asian-American woman in this industry, Megill remembers not only being the sole female in the room but also the only minority in the room.

“When I first started in this business, I didn't have the confidence to always speak up and voice my opinion. My tendency was to lean back—instead of leaning in to provide my point of view. Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have amazing mentors, female and male, who taught me that my voice is important and helped me to gain the confidence that I needed to be successful,” says Megill. “Thirty years later, I'm pleased to say that this is changing as more women are entering the C-suite and the industry is actively promoting diversity.

Megill has been active with ICSC serving as the Chairperson of the US MAXI Awards, a member of the CRX Committee and is also a frequent speaker on marketing and digital media. She co-founded and currently serves on the governing board of Phillips Edison's PECO NOW (Networking Opportunities for Women) initiative focused on providing leadership opportunities for women in the workplace.

“When I was in college, I was an intern in the marketing department at a mall. Until then, I never realized that there was an industry that focused on shopping centers. From day one, I knew that I had found the career path that I had been looking for,” says Megill.

“Since that time, I have been fortunate to work at some of the best shopping centers in the country as well as with some of the most talented CRE professionals. Approximately, 15 years ago, I moved into a corporate role. I am grateful to be in an industry that I still feel as passionate about today as I did 30+ years ago as a mall intern.”

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