A Bit About Me
I am a natural storyteller, passionate about developing creative initiatives, executing high-performance campaigns, promoting thought leadership, and driving business growth. Work that I have produced has been covered in The New York Times, Fast Company, Adweek and more.
Currently I am the SVP, Head of Marketing for Publicis Commerce – a full-stack, purpose-built unit that provides end-to-end commerce experiences for Publicis Groupe agencies and their clients. As the marketing lead my primary responsibility is to drive cross-agency collaboration and expand brand recognition for our products, services, ideas, and thought leaders. I am responsible for developing and executing marketing strategies that strengthen the company's market position, increase revenue, and drive growth. I manage the ideation, creation, and distribution of all Publicis Commerce marketing materials, both internally and externally.
Previously, I was the Global Senior Director of Marketing Communications at Critical Mass. As the Marketing Lead, I drove record high awareness for their work, offerings, leaders, and employee experience.
A Chicago native, I’m a self-identified amateur photographer, an overly obsessed fan of VW campers, lover of nature, and an equality activist fighting for human rights. I believe that diversity of thought, experience, and background makes us stronger.
Contributing member of the prestigious and invitation only Forbes Communications Council as well as the 4A's Agency Communications Committee.
Work Samples
Publicis Commerce Shoptalk Trend Report
Shoptalk is where thousands of retail changemakers come together every year to create the future of retail. In recent years it has become a crucial event more broadly across the marketing/advertising industry as Commerce and Retail Media offerings continue to explode. In 2023 Publicis Commerce showed up bigger than ever – with showroom floor booths from Epsilon, CitrusAd and CJ, a Jason Goldberg workshop, attendees across Profitero, Publicis Sapient, Digitas, Spark Foundry, Starcom, Zenith and more!
Throughout the entire experience, we worked hard to be the eyes and ears for our valued clients – aggregating information on new technologies, new announcements and what’s to come for retail in 2023.
Shoptalk Marketing Moments:
Shoptalk Briefing Webinar: During this session Jason Goldberg provides an in-depth analysis of the four major themes that dominated Shoptalk including Generative AI, Retail Media Networks, Social Commerce and Retailers Becoming Platforms. Featuring special guests Matt Horton, David MacDonald and Allysun Lundy. This webinar was planned in under 48 hours and had over 135 attendees. The feedback from agencies, partners, and clients was overwhelmingly positive and full of praise.
Publicis Commerce Shoptalk Trend Report: Featuring exclusive insights from 12 esteemed thought leaders across PCX
Shoptalk Trend Zine: A quick-hit version of trends from Shoptalk
Showroom Floor Interview: Publicis Commerce VP, Retail Media Strategy Allysun Lundy spoke with Joanna O'Connell about Retail Media and Commerce, via Beet.TV.
New Definition of Value Goes Beyond Discounting : Allysun Lundy Shoptalk byline published in MediaPost
Shoptalk 2023 serves as a shining example of the "punching above our weight" marketing approach we’ve been known for across Publicis Groupe. By utilizing Big Bets, such as Shoptalk, we were able to generate Little Beats, such as recaps and press, that help reinforce our position as leaders in the commerce space.
Spilling the LoyalTEA – A Publicis Commerce Podcast
Responsible for the production, marketing, and distribution of the Publicis Commerce branded podcast "Spilling the LoyalTEA" focused on exploring the convergence of CRM and Commerce.
Critical Mass: Artist-In-Residence Program (AIR)
The advertising industry faces a significant challenge in collaborating with artists, which is further exacerbated by the increasing pressure on brands to capture the cultural zeitgeist. Recognizing this issue, Critical Mass developed a solution to put an end to this exploitation with the launch of CM:AIR - a pioneering initiative aimed at bringing about rapid change within the industry. To achieve this, Critical Mass partnered with the renowned visual artist, Shantell Martin, to establish an artist-in-residence program.
To ensure the success of this program, a strategic and collaborative go-to-market plan was crucial. Leading a small taskforce we designed and developed a dedicated microsite for CM:AIR, which served as a centralized hub for program information. Additionally, we landed an exclusive launch article published in Campaign, highlighting the program's mission and vision, further amplifying the initiative's impact.
As part of the launch, we also hosted an intimate artist-in-residence roundtable to bring together industry leaders and artists to discuss the challenges and opportunities of collaboration. This event created a platform for knowledge sharing and facilitated meaningful conversations about ways to bridge the gap between agencies and artists.
Bespoke Agency Microsite
How does a digital agency stand out in a crowded space for attention on top industry lists (“Agency of the Year” and “Best Place to Work”). You show, don’t tell. Enter the “Agency of the Year Microsite” – a custom landing page showcasing the best of the agency. This landing page quickly became the sharpest marketing tool in our arsenal. How sharp? How about seeing an increase in agency visibility by 3,600% over 24 months, with global recognition for our success as an agency, our offerings, and employee experience. Highlights include:
Ad Age – Best Place to Work
Campaign – Customer Engagement Agency of the Year
Digiday – Employer of the Year
Strategy – Agency A List
Creativepool – Best Agency to Work For.
Launching a New Service Offering
The marketing team was instrumental in the public rollout of Critical Mass's Employee Experience practice area—a specialized service at Critical Mass devoted to improving employee experiences and helping our clients engage the people they count on most. We brought the practice area to market in a difficult news and media environment, landing an exclusive in Campaign Magazine and following up with a roll-out of articles that connect culture to the expertise we can offer to organizations.
April Fools – Social Campaign
With 200+ job openings at the Critical Mass, the Talent team needed marketing’s help to raise awareness of open reqs. Enter an organic social campaign on April Fool’s Day – driving qualified candidates to apply for a job at Critical Mass. This clever (yet simple) campaign drove anything but foolish results: 363% increase in site visitors and doubled the number of job applicants week-over-week. Ranked in the top 1% of posts on LinkedIn in terms of engagement. All organic.
CM Forest
The Critical Mass Forest is an agency initiative to protect the environment, give back to the community, and live the agency’s values.
Protecting the environment and establishing a permanent forest outside of Calgary, the city where Critical Mass got started back in 1996, is one of the ways the agency is committed to making a difference in the world and giving back to the community. Trees clean the air, prevent rainwater runoff, provide wildlife habitat, and combat global warming. So, we did our research and figured out where, when, and what to plant and who to partner with. And we followed through.
SXSW Take Over
How do you create buzz at one of the buzz-worthiest industry events? You get exclusive and creative. Before SXSW cancelled the event in 2020 due to the global pandemic, Critical Mass had planned an epic takeover at the historic Rustic Tap. We planned three full days of invite-only discussions with partners from Ad Age, 4A’s, Epic Games and more. Coupled with networking events like Goat Yoga and Calgary Stampede Breakfasts. We had over 3,000 RSVPs from prospective talent and new business leads.
Virtual Webinar – Game Change
Video gaming has officially become the world’s most popular form of entertainment. Even before COVID left many of us confined at home, it was outpacing television, movies and music. (Since then, video game bandwidth consumption has increased 213%). And now, this ubiquitous, global pastime is going to change the face of advertising and marketing. Actually, it’s already begun.
"Game Change” was a session originally slated for the Critical Mass SXSW 2020 takeover, but quickly turned into a free virtual webinar that brought together an unreal panel of industry leaders to understand how game design and technology will impact the evolution of our industry.
We had over 200 registrants for the event and an excellent discussion during and after the event – with more than a dozen requests for the recording of the session to share within their companies.
#SanctuaryCitizen
Sanctuary Citizen is a set of values and a state of mind that goes beyond geography, laws or politics. If you believe in a welcoming community that doesn’t profile, target or discriminate based on immigration status, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, then you are a #SanctuaryCitizen.
It’s also a passion project that myself and a small group of fellow creatives launched in April 2017. With thoughtful design and a clear message of unity we are using grassroots marketing efforts to spread the word and show support for Chicago remaining a Sanctuary City.
Inauguration Day Basket of Adorables Puppy Party
A Facebook Live stream of puppies at the Critical Mass New York office that occurred at the same time as the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. The stunt got picked up by Fast Company.
Results from Facebook Live: 32,777 People Reached| 10,348 Video Views| 1,187 Reactions, Comments, & Shares| 3,142 Post Clicks
(Side note: That's actually my dog Emmylou in the promotional poster.)
MoveToCanadaEh.Com
During the Presidential Election, search traffic metrics showed there was a 1000% increase in the phrase “move to Canada.” Critical Mass is a Canadian agency—with Canadian job openings. The agency was in a unique position to comment on, and participate in, a cultural moment that everyone was watching. I recognized the opportunity for Critical Mass to tap into the 2016 election zeitgeist, drive traffic to the careers pages and garner some press.
A small team and I worked late on a Thursday night to design and build a landing page: http://movetocanadaeh.com. The page credulously thanks Americans for their quadrennial interest in the Great White North and uses folksy copy and hilarious gifs to tell “digital gurus” and “proto-Canucks” what they can expect from their new home (e.g., lumberjacks, Maple Syrup, “High Poutine Diets”).
CriticalMass.com saw a 50% increase in overall site traffic, 224% increase in traffic to Calgary job openings and a whopping 2,310% spike in traffic to Toronto office openings. The creative stunt also garnered attention from The New York Times.
AdForum Summit Activations
How do you engage 45 global new business consultants without spending $50k+ to present at the annual summit? Get creative. Each year a small team and I have conceptualized clever and unique ways to keep Critical Mass top of mind while meeting with the competition. To this day the search consultants still tell us how much they love the surprise and that they always expect something fun from CM each year.
Examples of activations below
UNBOX NEW YORK: We provided a unique experience for the search consultant to “Unbox New York” during their non-working hours. Upon arrival to the High Line Hotel in Chelsea they were greeted with a glass of champagne and a sleek box filled with simple things to make their stay in Chelsea even better. Included in the box was a custom map (digital and physical) of the High Line where we outlined the hottest spots within a .5 mile radius of their hotel. We included complimentary coffee and drink tokens at the High Line Hotel Bar, a CM branded charger to stay powered through the day, a CM branded Moleskin to sketch and take notes of inspiration, a CM USB drive with our fresh creds deck and general good vibes (not pictures in the box, but felt when opened).
UK BUS AMBUSH: We provided everything that the consultants would need to help them power up in their last day of the UK summit. Morning coffee & croissants, a Big Bus (Red Routemaster), stable & strong wifi on board (a technical challenge in itself!), Critical Mass branded power bars to recharge their cell phones and champagne on board after their last meeting of the day. All designed to be relevant and entertaining but without any hard sell.
Orange Magazine
orange is an award-winning, thought leadership publication written for senior level marketing executives, it provides an in-depth look at the marketing and media strategies being utilized by today’s leading marketers. I was responsible for the magazine's distribution, public relations efforts and marketing strategy.
As a contributing writer for the magazine I pointed out marketing strengths and weaknesses in the Hit/Miss column as well as conceptualizing social strategies for the Buy This Idea section.
Contact | Get in Touch | Say Hello
Connect on LinkedIn, keep up on Instagram, or hit me up via email at marykatecusick@gmail.com