The Data-Driven Playbook for Modernizing Iconic Brands

In this episode, Kathryn Turnoff talks with Matt Repicky, Chief Brands Officer at Tailored Brands, about how he uses consumer research, social listening, and media mix modeling to modernize legacy brands, and why changing perception is less about overhauling a brand's heritage and more about reintroducing it to audiences who already like it.

Guest Quote:

“ The Men's Wearhouse business is so fascinating and unique because it's really built around this idea of those moments and people come to us because they're getting married or they have prom or they have a job interview or they have a first date. Whatever that sort of, Oh my gosh, this is something that I want to make sure I'm showing up correctly for. We do see them in these cycles that correspond with major life stages. Somewhat differently on Jos A. Bank, that customer is a little bit more attuned to he just likes the way he dresses and he has his own point of view and he comes to us much more regularly because he's into the wearing of it all, if you will. And so A, we have to bifurcate the way that we're talking to and showing up for each of those audiences. We've done that through our segmentation. But what I think the beauty of how we're trying to look at our segmentation is that not every customer is going to fit neatly into a box. The idea is that we actually are pushing our marketing and our creative and our messaging and our product to the lens of what's going to be most exciting to those segments tied to each brand. But we certainly don't want to ignore anybody or turn anybody off because again, there's a wide swath of men across the country that these brands are speaking to.” – Matt Repicky

Episode Breakdown:

[02:32] Alchemy Unveiled
From insight to instinct: Matt reveals how he diagnoses brand health by combining consumer research, store visits, and social listening — and why closing the gap between what a company believes about its brand and what customers actually think is always his first move.

[13:11] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold
From stagnant to standout: Matt shares how data showing over-reliance on wedding messaging pushed him to lead with comedy, why he pre-tests every campaign concept before it hits air, and how a weekly pulse survey of 300 men keeps his team honest about what's actually landing.

[25:39] Gold Rush Round
Hold the line, question the data: Matt calls out self-reported consumer metrics as the number he trusts least, names Men's Wearhouse as the harder marketing challenge over Barbie, and pushes back on the idea that legacy brands can't change perception fast.

Links & Resources:

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