Discussions with creatives, leaders and thinkers

Interviews Season 28

Doug Zarkin, CMO Pearle Vision, Luxottica

Doug Zarkin, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Pearle Vision. Doug holds an impressive array of honours for his marketing and brand-building work, including an ANA Genius Award, Brandweek's Constellation Award, a Silver Clio Award, and multiple Effie Awards.

In addition, Doug was recently named a Retail Innovator Award Winner and was recognized by his peers as Top 40 Over 40 and twice recognized as Innovative Marketer of The Year by The CMO Club.

Doug's work at Pearle Vision is currently the subject of a Harvard Business School case study on brand rejuvenation. He's also a recognized retail and brand marketing expert with multiple appearances on all the major broadcast networks and business publications to his credit. He is available to speak on the latest Pearle Vision campaign.

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“Don't let the quest for perfection stand in the way of recognizing and celebrating progress.”

Doug Zarkin

Doug Zarkin, LinkedIn and Twitter

What is your favourite social media platform, and why?

Facebook allows me to stay in touch with friends and colleagues, beyond just business updates but importantly, human updates on what matters most, family, etc.

Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.

Areas of interest are entertainment, sports, healthcare, overall motivating a consumer to take action through connecting emotionally to drive decision making. In my current role, I have ownership of strategic on and offline marketing, visual merchandising, product promotion, CRM, and store design functions for Luxottica's +$600 million global healthcare services/optical franchise business. Serve as a media spokesperson for trade and consumer press outreach. Additionally, lead the design and development of the brand's global annual national and localized marketing plan (90+ plans) cycle.

What do you like about your career or area of focus?

The challenge of trying to unlock the human connection between our brand and our target. What is important, how can we connect emotionally in order to them drive the rationale choice of our brand as their preferred destination within our category?

What is the best advice you have ever received?

Don't let the quest for perfection stand in the way of recognizing and celebrating progress.

What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?

Passion inspires me, surrounding myself with a team of people who want to make a difference. Being part of a leadership team willing to think differently and most of all focus on the needs of the consumer both emotionally and rationally.

What are you proud of in your life so far?

My family, first and foremost. The second is my tennis game (most days). But most importantly, I am proud to say that I can look back on businesses I've led and point to areas where I've made a difference both as a leader and builder of high performing teams and as an individual with a passion for making a difference.

What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?

Socially, at events or conferences.

What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?

A strong mix of left brain/right brain. An ability to see the story that isn't always easy to see, using a mix of art and science. A talent for identifying passionate people and surrounding myself with them. And at the end of the day, I have a finely tuned bullsh*t detector.

What do you wish you had known when you started out?

The 80/20 rule. 80% of the time, you need to be at the 80% confidence level in order to pull the trigger. And 20% of the time, you must be at 100% confidence level. The skill is figuring out what decisions or pieces of work-life are in the 20% realm.

Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?

Integrity. I've unfortunately been burned in my career by trusting people (leaders I've worked for and people I've worked with) who, in the end, took advantage of my trust and let me down or took advantage. Nothing is worse than extending trust and having it backfire. I put a lot of time and energy into building relationships with people because it's people who make a difference. When you think you know someone and you find out you don't, it stings.

Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?

Tennis is my personal passion. I love being on the court. The strategy, the athleticism required, is like nothing else. But nothing compares to the time I spend with my kids. The feeling of coaching my son's sports teams is incredible. Being a part of his growth and development on the field and off, sharing those moments is important. Also, the time with my daughter, it's a little different because she's not into sports, so we connect over our love of Broadway, music and art. Learning how to be a girl dad is a skill I am still working on. I never quite mastered the pigtails, but fortunately, my 14-year-old outgrew them.

Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?

It reaffirmed what was important in our business; the trust we formed with our patients in and around our EyeCare Centers was well worth the investment we made. When our doors reopened for everyday care, our patients were there, and our recovery from COVID has been nothing short of remarkable.

Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?

Yes and Yes. I had someone very early in my career who took the time to invest in me. He helped me to see what I could be. In turn, I am heavily involved informal programs such as the Association of National Advertisers and Adweek mentor program. Still, I also have a few folks I've met over the course of my career, which I speak to regularly.

What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?

You must have an unmatched passion for tackling the notion of motivating a consumer to take action. Confidence to believe you can get inside the mind of a target consumer and unlock those emotional and rational insights. You must be humble and, at the same time, a bit arrogant to believe that this is possible.

What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?

Too much time trying to figure out the right way to do something. Often there is no right way or wrong way, but they need to chart "your way" in order to move ahead.

Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?

"O the things you can think if only you try." - Dr Seuss.

What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?

Insurance category companies like State Farm, Geico, Farmers, and Snickers work is genius.

How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?

Success is when you can look at a business or a brand and pinpoint the difference you have made. Have you moved the brand forward? Have you created a process where it didn't exist? Have you laid a foundation of understanding across the brand where consistency is easy because the ideals are shared? And along the way, have you had fun!

The Global Interview