Many times, the people that work behind the scenes making the scene rarely get recognized for their work. SociaLifeChicago will spotlight the amazing people that make you, your organization and your event look great.
Peggy Lanigan Regional Marketing Manager, Dom Pérignon & Moët Chandon Champagne
Always begin with an end in mind
How did you get to your current role?
It was really about being at the right place at the right time. Kimberly Burt who was in the role prior, recruited me to the role when she decided to start her own PR firm. We knew each other personally and professionally and when the opportunity came available I was interested.
Prior to this I was doing Public Relations and special events for 9 years for the 5 Bloomingdale’s stores in the Chicagoland area.
Did you start off knowing this was the career path you wanted to pursue?
In a way I did. I was a marketing major at University of Illinois and during my junior year I studied abroad in London and interned for a fashion pr firm where I quickly fell in love with it(PR). Once I graduated, my first job out of college was working at the Chicago Apparel center for Susan Glick, now Vice President of Women’s Apparel at Merchandise Mart. I started out as a part time backstage dresser and then luckily, an opportunity presented itself when her assistant left and she asked if I wanted to be her assistant. I worked for her for 5 years and it was the best first job I could have asked for, I learned so much from her-I still consider her my mentor. Part of my tasks involved event planning and that’s how I started cultivating relationships with people in the city; a lot of people from different walks of life have connections to the Merchandise Mart, as it is a storied institution.
Part of your job entails conceiving and executing concepts for brand activation, from small influencer dinners to large scale parties, how do you get from concept to execution?
It differs depending on what we are trying to accomplish. Our brand team in New York as well as our Maisons in France, all work on the brand plans together, but we tweak the brand platforms regionally for our markets. For example, Moët & Chandon is involved in Luxury sports and we are a proud partner of the Kentucky Derby taking place in Churchill Downs(May 5, 2012). In order to make that event work for the central region(15 states from Minnesota to Texas, Colorado to Indiana), we have 2 major partnerships with Arlington International race course in Chicago and Lonestar Park in Dallas. It’s taking those national platforms and making them work regionally.
For Dom Pérignon, one of our focuses is to host small intimate dinners for our core influencers. We were thrilled to have Richard Geoffroy, Chef de Cave of Dom Pérignon as the honored guest at the Lyric Opera Wine Auction in February and we were able to plan some events around that with Lyric supporters.
If you didn’t work in Marketing/PR what other career do you see yourself in?
I would go back to the fashion world and do something behind the scenes in the Fashion or I would buy a horse and ride all day long *laughs*.
How do you evaluate outcomes/impact of your brand initiatives?
It can be measured several different ways but it depends on what your goal is. In any role we have to outline what our goals are; will it be to get press, have one-one contact with consumers of our product, or is it to sell bottles. Always begin with an end in mind and determine before beginning a project what we are hoping to get out of it.
What is the biggest myth about your role?
People think I just drink champagne all day long, which I would only love to do. I am lucky enough that I get to work for a great company with so much history and I enjoy some amazing champagne from time to time, but there is a lot of work that goes into it. From working with our Maisons in France to working with the different retailers and helping them sell our product to the consumers. It runs the entire gamut.
What are some relationship building no-no’s?
People should not be out for themselves and not supportive of others. Chicago is a very small town especially in this industry of PR and Marketing, its even smaller. It behooves you to be friendly, altruistic,and honest. The people that I’ve worked with in my past roles, I still work with them today. Don’t do a bad job because people will remember. Do a great job, work hard and know what you’re doing.
In regards to sponsorship requests for your brands how do you field those requests?
For the two brands I work on, our strategies are very clear cut, I know what our brands are about and our brand goals. Most of the time it has to align with our brand strategy but if the company has a connection to an organization even if it falls outside of our brand strategy we help when we can.
Something you know now you wished you did when you started out your career?
Any 22 year old out of college thinks they are going to conquer the world but it takes a lot of hard work. You’ve got to dig in and do the work.
How do you see the Chicago scene?
The Chicago scene is a lot more sophisticated, everyone is very savvy and the city has been elevated.
Best advice you received?
Susan Glick is a mentor to me. It wasn’t more what she said rather what she did; her work ethic and the examples she set. No one worked harder than she did and that’s how I established my work ethic after seeing how hard she was working. My dad always said you have to love what you do.
These 2 brands have been around for hundreds of years, we are privileged to be links in the lives of the brand.
Dom Perignon started in 1668, Moet and Chandon started in 1743.
Know your product, know where you want to go and follow that path always staying true to your core.
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