How marketing leaders at Clinique and ScottsMiracle-Gro are meeting consumers where they are online—and in AI

The two legacy brands opened up about their strategy in a discussion with Fast Company at SXSW.

From left: Jeff Beer, John Sass, Christie Sclater [Photo: Maggie Boyd for Fast Company]

BY Anna-Louise Jackson

It might not seem like the maker of lawn and garden products and a skincare and cosmetics company have much in common. But both ScottsMiracle-Gro and Clinique have recognized that people are likely to seek out advice online these days, which is why they’re meeting consumers where they are with educational resources.

“We’re using a lot of agentic AI to help people in any given market,” said John Sass, senior vice president and chief creative officer at ScottsMiracle-Gro, speaking at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW. “We have 158 years of experience; we can help you learn how to grow, whether you’re in Miami or Austin or Columbus, Ohio.”

Recognizing this opportunity for ScottsMiracle-Gro to do what it’s always done—help people to enjoy their outdoor spaces and gardens—marks one of the company’s biggest evolutions in recent years, Sass said.

As a dermatologist-founded beauty brand, Clinique has also put more emphasis on educating people about things it’s done as a matter of course since 1968, like allergy testing, added Christie Sclater, the company’s senior vice president of global marketing.

“We are trying to show up with education in all the places that people are looking today,” Sclater said. 

How the brands evolve

Always listening to their customers has also helped Clinique to evolve while staying true to its founding vision, Sclater said: “A big part of what we’ve been doing over the last couple of years is to say, how do we take that true vision—which you can never erase and is frankly our greatest strength—and allow that to propel us into the future as opposed to be anchored in the past?” 

Whether it’s upgrading products that have been best sellers for decades, or taking some risks that mean doing things differently, both Sass and Sclater emphasized the importance of listening to what their customers want. 

“You can’t have your head in the sand,” Sass said. “You have to be thinking and listening to what trends are out there.”

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Anna-Louise Jackson is a freelance writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience covering financial markets, the economy, personal finance, and business trends. Her work has previously been published by Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, The Associated Press, Money, Success, and more More

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