Building mainstream appeal while maintaining community authenticity

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Brett Stapper interviews Roxy Young, Former Chief Marketing & Consumer Experience Officer at Reddit. Roxy brings a unique perspective to consumer marketing - she's a self-described "pragmatic brand marketer" who started her career in finance and built her expertise through the most quantitative side of marketing before evolving into brand leadership. Over eight years at Reddit, she helped transform the platform from a niche community for gamers and programmers into a mainstream product used by hundreds of millions globally. Her career spans iconic consumer brands including Netflix, Gap, and Sephora, where she learned that great brands aren't built on creative instinct alone—they're built on deep consumer understanding, conviction, and the discipline to evolve thoughtfully. Topics Discussed: Building mainstream appeal while maintaining community authenticity The evolution vs. rebrand framework for brand transformation Quantitative approaches to brand marketing Navigating consumer backlash during brand evolution Understanding consumer needs as the timeless marketing skill Managing "the Internet" as a key stakeholder Direct response marketing as a foundation for brand thinking