Laura Jones: 00:11
How many times have you heard that legacy brands are in desperate need of? Revitalization? Too stuck in their ways, bureaucratic. We've all heard the stories of brands of yesteryear. Sears, Blockbuster overtaken by Netflix, Nintendo before they completely reinvented themselves.

Laura Jones: 00:32
Legacy brands come with a lot of baggage, but not this one. Today, I'm so excited to be joined by Claudia Fenske, VP, Global Brand and Innovation at WD-forty. I'm Laura Jones. This is Opinion Party, and we are going to dispel the myth that legacy brands cannot be innovators. Welcome to the party, Claudia.

Claudia Fenske: 00:57
Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

Laura Jones: 01:00
Amazing. So, I'm going to start with some fun ones, just as a party, kind of get the party mood going. I've got a quick hit kind of question. They should be softballs, but let's see. Let's touch your skill.

Laura Jones: 01:11
Alright. What does w d 40 stand for?

Claudia Fenske: 01:16
W d 40 stands for water displacement fortieth attempt. So, the product was really developed to help the Atlas missile to go into space because it had some challenges about corrosion. So, we wanted to make really sure that there isn't going to be any corrosion on there, and that is really how the print started out.

Laura Jones: 01:34
That is so fascinating. And did I hear that the astronauts or the scientists actually took it home with them and started using it?

Claudia Fenske: 01:43
Yeah. Some of those, but also our own employees. So, it was really starting out as an industrial brand, and then we figured, oh, there's a great opportunity. Everyone wants to take it home to fix something. So, we really created the aerosol WD-forty in a little can.

Claudia Fenske: 01:59
And that's how the story started. Wow. And how many years ago was that? Seventy-one years ago. The company was started in 1953.

Laura Jones: 02:11
1953. Yeah. Just of that era of the missiles and the space exploration. Was there a can of WD-forty on the first walk on the moon?

Claudia Fenske: 02:20
No. I don't think so.

Laura Jones: 02:23
Now WD-forty is not the only brand in your constellation. There are many other brands that the WD-forty company grows and builds. What are some of those other brands?

Claudia Fenske: 02:32
Yeah. Definitely. So, we have the brand extension of WD-forty Specialists, which is really products that are used by professionals for specific use in contrast to our w d forty, right, which has over 2,000 users and is a multi-lubricant. And then we also have

Laura Jones: 02:49
some household brands. Household brands that are all in that orbit of extreme usefulness but really occupy a special place in people's homes and lives. So, you are VP, global brand director, and head of innovation, and you have really managed to put this brand in a place that it is an agile innovator. Was that something that existed in WD forty's corporate culture, or was that a shift?

Claudia Fenske: 03:22
Yeah. So first of all, it wasn't me. It was actually our innovators and marketers around the world. So, it is really exciting. I'm very fortunate.

Claudia Fenske: 03:30
I think I have the best, job in the world to be able to work with such creative, courageous, and really innovators that are always thinking about how can we continue to improve and meet our end user needs. So, I would say it is definitely something in our DNA because when you think about WD-forty, right, it was our fortieth formula that really got us to where we needed to go. So, we had multiple 39 failures of formulas. So that is something we really want to hold true to ourself, going back to our heritage, but then also translating that into being relevant today. How do we make sure we are connecting to our end users, our consumers across the world?

Claudia Fenske: 04:13
And one of probably our biggest innovation after the WD-forty product is really the Smart Straw, our delivery system. So, what we learned back in the days was that people would be using that little red straw when they needed to put it onto the can. And we were saying, how can we solve this? And one of the ideas was to have this mechanism to really lift it up and down. So now people can spray our product white sprayed if the straw is down, and when they lift it up, they have that pinpoint application.

Claudia Fenske: 04:44
So, it is really listening and observing your end users that you can make really great breakthrough innovations.

Laura Jones: 04:51
I love that because I can remember back in the day, we used to keep a little piece of Scotch tape, and we would tape the little straw to the can, and then you'd find the can, and you'd say, where's straw? The And you're, like, rifling through the junk drawer. That Smart Straw is a total game changer. Tell me a little bit about the innovation culture at WD-forty. Is there a certain process that you follow, or in general, what brings inspiration to the innovation game?

Claudia Fenske: 05:17
Yeah. I think it's multiple things. So, the way w d forty has grown over the last seventy-one years is really with a regional focus. And, you know, now we are at a certain size within the organization where we actually have that benefit on unlocking or unleashing that global brand. So, we definitely have an innovation process that is followed by our innovations team, but then we are also wanting to make sure we are really reaching out to our ecosystem, learning from our vendors, from our suppliers, what is new in regards to industry, even outside of our categories, so really bringing that outside into our organization.

Claudia Fenske: 05:56
And then also utilizing the breadth of our employees. I mean, we have a lot of hardcore DIYers working for us. You know, we have people that have experience working in the trades before. So, it's really having that connection and continuously identifying what our needs and also looking a little bit more into the future. You know, there is a lot of opportunity for us around sustainability, really a critical focus area for us as an organization.

Laura Jones: 06:23
How does WD-forty think about sustainability? You know, we really have the goal to, by 2030,

Claudia Fenske: 06:29
to be the high performing sustainability leader within our category. So, it is really for us, a great opportunity. And I also think it's an expectation that we will be leading that shift within the category, and that's why we need to look at partnering because we won't be solving all our products by ourselves. It's really how do you build that ecosystem and solve it together and really connect and benefit from it. And really doing the right thing for the end users.

Claudia Fenske: 06:58
Doing the right thing is our number one value as an organization, so we feel very compassionate about that.

Laura Jones: 07:04
Doing the right thing. That is so important today, especially as people look to brands and companies to really take a stand and do things that are in everyone's best interest. So, you mentioned a lot of stakeholders, I love that you brought employees and users, and let’s talk a bit about the users and the community that has just organically sprung up around WD-forty online. The 2,000 uses are something that is just really taking off. How did that come to be?

Claudia Fenske: 07:36
Yeah. It's actually a really nice story, and I think it speaks about our connectivity to our end user. So, we didn't come up as an organization, as a marketing team, to market our multiuse product 2,000 users. It was really our end users, our users that shared their use cases with us. They're passionate about the brand and how it's fixing a problem because for us, it's all about helping the consumer to get the job done right.

Claudia Fenske: 08:04
It is for us about the consumer, and so it was fantastic for us to start learning about how they are using w d 40. And we have lately actually developed a campaign, which is our repair challenge. So, we are really challenging people around the world to repair some of the things they're having so they can actually improve their own, carbon foot not the footprint. Sorry. The carbon head print, which is quite exciting by repairing things they're having around the house that they wouldn't be using.

Claudia Fenske: 08:34
So, they're giving it a second life, and WD-forty plays a key role in fixing and tinkering the doing those things. So, it is really quite exciting for us to see that. And it's fascinating how many use cases come in. You know, a lot of marketers speak about you really want to create end user generated content. Our base is really generating that without even us asking them.

Claudia Fenske: 08:59
If you go on to YouTube, I think we were talking earlier about this a little bit, you see definitely some sponsored education around usages from WD-forty brand, but the majority is really from end users. We have no control over, nor have we ever communicated with these users. So, it is really fun to see that passion and then the excitement about our brand.

Laura Jones: 09:21
That's so special and unique. I've worked in many, many categories and been on the side of we need to invent more uses for our so for example, yogurt or hummus, right, so we're in recipes, like, why aren't people using more of it? Let's make it into a savory. Let's make it into a dip, but the company itself had to feed those ideas to people, but it sounds like these users are just coming up with all of the answers and the ideas, and user generated content obviously has come such a long way. How are you using this repository of social media content and stories to really reinvest and refuel the brand?

Claudia Fenske: 10:05
Yeah. I think we are relatively in the beginning stages of really doing that on a global stage. I think we are doing fantastic using it within the local market where it has been created. And now for us, the next step is how do we bring it to the world. So, we do have our internal digital asset management tool where we can store all our assets, and then everyone around the world can really access it.

Claudia Fenske: 10:28
And there are multiple opportunities, right, doing this through your own website or through PDP, product detail pages, on retailer websites as well. But I think it is really absolutely critical for us to keep that connection. It is really why we want to educate around users. It is really the focus is the end user. We want the end user to have a great experience with our product.

Claudia Fenske: 10:52
And we always say we are really not in the lubrication business. You might be quite surprised about that. We believe our business purpose is to be in the memories business. It's all about creating those memories. When a dad is showing for the first time his kid how to ride a bike, and then they're cleaning the bike together and utilize w d 40, that is the experience we want people to have.

Claudia Fenske: 11:14
So we are more in the background, but for the people to really having these moments of connectivity and positive lasting memories.

Laura Jones: 11:21
That's a perfect segue to the idea of legacy brands, and we talked about it at the top. Do legacy brands come with this baggage? Is it something that feels heavy, like it weighs on a brand? Does the brand have to constantly bring up its heritage? How do you reconcile the idea of memories, maybe a little bit of nostalgia, but keep it fresh and interesting and relevant to the next generation.

Claudia Fenske: 11:45
Yeah. Absolutely. I think it is critical for any brand that is an older brand and not a digital first brand to make sure you're staying relevant to your audience. And also think about what are maybe some different needs the younger audience has. So, w d forty bike is a really great example of that.

Claudia Fenske: 12:03
So, we are utilizing to meet the younger people where they're out there having fun, riding their bike bicycles. We are meeting them out there. We are introducing them to our brand actually to WD-forty bike and then bringing them back to our core product, the multiuse product as well. So, we also have a line in multiple markets that is a WD 40 motorcycle bicycle motorcycle brand. So, really exciting.

Claudia Fenske: 12:31
Right? It's another thing. You're going out. You're riding your motorcycle. We are a sponsor of the Ducati team in Italy.

Claudia Fenske: 12:38
So, it is really exciting to identify multiple ways of bringing in new users into our category because the way you grow a brand is all about penetration or premiumization, and I think we are really focusing on both of that. And at the end of the day, we need to be an enabler to our end users.

Laura Jones: 12:57
That sounds like a really segmented approach that can yield great insights. So, you've got cyclists, you've got motorcyclists. What are some of the other subgroups? And also, I'm really intrigued at how you seek out these audiences and how do you find the insights that lead you to uncovering a certain truth that sounds like even fuels product innovation.

Claudia Fenske: 13:20
Yeah. Absolutely. I think they are the regular methods that marketing has been using for years. It's research, qualitative, quantitative research, but then also, you know, really making sure you're walking alongside your end user. Right?

Claudia Fenske: 13:35
It is absolutely important. I think there are so many big “ah ha” moments by just observing and really creating that openness for conversation back and forth, that engagement. We also have a WD forty fan club, so we have an online community that is really helping us, you know, when we start innovating something to provide us feedback along the way. We call it our w d forty pro board, so it really consists from tradespeople to industrial people to DIYer because we have a really broad audience. Right?

Claudia Fenske: 14:08
That is maybe, sometimes a super big advantage, but sometimes it can also be a challenge because you want to make sure you're customizing your message to each audience. So, it's that audience segmentation that is absolutely critical for us, because you want to stay relevant. It is really important to continue to do that. But I think by having this exchange and now moving, you know, utilizing more digital marketing tools, like online listening is a fantastic opportunity to hear what are people talking about and then utilizing that to improve on your product, your current existing products. You can make iterations and improvements or when you think about new product innovation as well.

Claudia Fenske: 14:51
Fascinating.

Laura Jones: 14:52
And tapping into those audiences and truly listening, which it sounds like you're doing, can be such a good unlock for marketers. Earlier, we were talking about people fixing things with WD-forty, and there's something called the mending movement that I wanted to dive into. What is the mending movement? How are you learning from that audience, and what are you taking away that you bring into your innovation cycle?

Claudia Fenske: 15:18
Yeah. I think the mending movement, the way we connect with it is through our repair challenge. Right? So, we partner with repair cafes all over the world to really help them, provide them with the product. So, when they have people coming into their cafes with a problem, you know, maybe a coffee machine isn't working anymore or their radio isn't working anymore, they actually are getting the support and need in the cafe to be able to repair whatever machinery they are bringing in, and then they're utilizing our products.

Claudia Fenske: 15:49
I think for us, historically, that has been a big, focus. So, when I started at the organization thirteen years ago, we would be partnering with car restoration organizations. They would be restoring cars, you know, bringing them back to life, and we would follow them along the way. And then we would auction off these cars, actually, at the SEMA show for a very good, purpose. So, I think it is really giving something a new life that is absolutely exciting and amazing for us, and we want to continue to be part of that.

Laura Jones: 16:26
That's so refreshing too, to hear, obviously, with all this user generated content, and you've got digital watching videos, to be able to physically and tangibly bring something in to be fixed and to learn and to watch. Whenever I hire someone to come fix something in my house, nine times out of 10, they're actually kind of in the corner watching a YouTube video of how to and fix I'm saying, wait, I could have done that. I hired you because you're the expert. So, there's something really nice about that in person dynamic for sure. So, you started the company thirteen years ago.

Laura Jones: 16:59
I'm wondering when you came in, was there any sense of, as you sometimes get in legacy organizations, that's how we've always done it. Was that ever a mantra or a little bit of resistance you might have encountered, not as an overall corporate culture, but in certain pockets? And if there was, how did you overcome that?

Claudia Fenske: 17:18
Yeah. I think, you know, every longer a year, existing organizations, legacy organization will have some sort of that. We have tried this. We have done this before. But I think our overall leadership is really, really focusing on ingraining that we want to have an innovation mindset.

Claudia Fenske: 17:36
We are cultivating innovation throughout our organization by really, not just focusing on new product innovation. That is one lever of innovation. Right? But also thinking about how can we improve our processes? How can we improve our marketing?

Claudia Fenske: 17:56
Right? How do we improve some other areas within our organization? And I think really having an open conversation about it and feeling comfortable to share some failure. I think for people are afraid sometimes to fail, and it is important for us to say as long as you are learning from that failure, that is actually something really, really powerful and will make you more resilient the next time and will actually improve your new product that is going to come out from because you want to have that multiple iteration approach. So that is definitely something we are encouraging within our own organization, but then also within our supply chain and product ecosystem that we are having.

Claudia Fenske: 18:38
It is really having that open conversations and really creating a strategy. Our senior leadership and our CEO have really identified really, we call it our, four- by-four strategy. It's a strategy on one page that really identifies the direction we want to go in as an organization, and now every employee can understand their role that they are playing in order to get us there, which is really quite exciting. And you know what? Just showcasing as a role model, you have tried something, didn't work out, here's what I learned about it and here's how I correct it, and do it better the next time.

Claudia Fenske: 19:14
I love that

Laura Jones: 19:14
you've brought up failure, and obviously in innovation, failure is just part of it. And everyone says, it’s okay to fail. Fail fast. But even in cultures that say that I still do find that there's an inherent fear, right? A fear about putting something out there and not having it happen or just really how is this going to be received.

Laura Jones: 19:35
And I'm sure over the course of WD-forty's history, there have been some failures. Are there any that you want to put out there in the world just to show, hey, failure leads to greatness?

Claudia Fenske: 19:47
Yeah. Absolutely. So, one thing that we really focus on within our organization and our culture is we call failures actually learning moments. So, for us, every moment where something doesn't work out quite the way we have foreseen it, it's a learning moment for us, and we really cultivate that type of culture. So, let's just go back to our origin at w d forty.

Claudia Fenske: 20:09
We were talking about this. It took us 39 failures to get to the fortieth attempt. Right? The right formulation to solve a problem. So absolutely critical for us.

Claudia Fenske: 20:20
So, bringing that to the forefront and reminding ourselves that it's all about learning iteration and then scaling it up once you have figured it out is absolutely critical.

Laura Jones: 20:32
I love that the culture of failure but going and going until their success is inherently embedded in the product, in the company's That name, is so great. So, we are here at IRG and the Institute for Real Growth. You are an alum, as I am as well, and humanity and human growth, humanizing growth, are really bedrocks of the program. How are you as a leader humanizing growth within the WD-forty organization?

Claudia Fenske: 21:05
Yeah. I mean, how thankful can we be that we have been part of such an amazing program? And, actually, IRG came to us to San Diego, and we had the program customized to our organization for 9,200 of our leaders. So, we really spread that knowledge and really ingrained it with our organization cross functionally, marketers, supply chain leaders, finance leaders, everyone took part in it, which I think is really, really important, and that's how you're starting to be able to embed it and ensure that you are speaking the same language. So the really nice thing about w d forty company has always been the focus on its employees and the growth opportunity, you know, making sure that you continue to learn, build your experience, within the organization and outside to the organization to really bring that learning win and share it so we can really learn to grow faster together as an organization and as a brand.

Claudia Fenske: 22:07
So, when I think about how we are embedding it, it's really, we want our employees to come to work as a full employee, not just at the professional, the working employee, but also their personal employee. And I think if we can give them growth opportunities as a whole person, absolutely critical. This is also how we are connecting to our end users. We want to connect with our full end users, not only when they're utilizing our product at work, but throughout when they are going out and enjoying themselves and following their hobbies as well. So, it's really for us looking at the whole human and making sure that we are really creating that opportunity for them to excel.

Laura Jones: 22:48
What a unique experience to have IRG come into the company and have so many like-minded leaders around you. That must have been incredible. We're about time to wrap up the party, but if you could give one piece of advice to other marketers, other innovators in companies that are maybe struggling, maybe they're part of legacy organizations, maybe they're hearing a little bit too much of, ugh, we've tried that. Ugh, we've tried that. What would be the advice that you would give to those people to inspire them to keep going?

Laura Jones: 23:21
Never give up. It's always important to trust your own voice, your inner voice,

Claudia Fenske: 23:28
and you just adjust your approach. You find new ways to influence people and persuade people from your ideas, and you can do it. This is how change happens. Change is disruptive. It's going to be an evolution.

Claudia Fenske: 23:42
And I think, actually, today, with the world around us changing so quickly, more and more of that change will organically happen if we continue to push for it. So be courageous. Have the courageous conversations internally and create that movement and that momentum to bring your ideas and other people's ideas forward. Claudia, I love that. I think we've busted the

Laura Jones: 24:05
myth that legacy brands can't be innovative. The key to success, don't give up. I'm so happy that you're able to join us at the party today. Thanks so much.

Claudia Fenske: 24:14
Thank you very much for having me and the whole IRG team. It has been an absolutely fantastic experience.

Laura Jones: 24:20
Wonderful. And if you want to hear more about anything featured in today's episodes, please check out the show notes below. And remember, everyone is invited to Opinion Party. So please feel free to like and share and subscribe. That's all.

Laura Jones: 24:35
Thanks.