Celia Tombalakian Marketing Ideas And Strategies

As a small-town girl from Northern Ontario, Celia Tombalakian has worked hard to make a well-deserved name for herself. After receiving degrees in commerce and consumer behavior, with a marketing focus, she landed her first “real” job at Johnson & Johnson Inc.

Celia spent a number of years in sales, all the while trying to advance into head office. Before long, she found herself in her first assistant marketing role on a leading OTC brand. With additional responsibility, Celia moved to other categories, including aesthetic devices, and dermatology. Over the next several years, she made director for multiple J&J divisions and moved to the Greater New York City area.

Celia was recruited to Elizabeth Arden’s/Revlon in 2013 where she worked for almost five years as their senior director of global marketing. She first began working in skincare, but her position morphed into focusing globally on product pipeline planning and innovation for all of the different categories (skincare, color cosmetics, and fragrance).

In January 2018, Celia moved on to COTY, where she is currently the vice president of global and U.S. marketing for Sally Hansen.
Celia is the recipient of multiple awards and industry recognition. In her free time, she loves to travel and spend time with her husband and two children. She also has an interest in technology and design-related, including floral arrangements and interior design.

1. Tell us a bit about what you do.

I work in the Empire State Building for a global beauty company called COTY. My title is vice president of global and U.S. marketing for Sally Hansen, the number one nail color and nail care band in the world. A staggering 2.4 bottles of Sally Hansen color are sold per second. Consumers love and trust the brand. My area of focus for Sally Hansen includes portfolio management, new product development, full marketing strategies, P&L management.

2. What gave you the idea to work in marketing. How did it start?

As I was preparing to graduate from high school, I shared with my parents that I was not interested in following tradition by studying sciences. My father suggested that business or commerce could be very practical as an alternative. I loved shopping and being in stores, so I thought, why not? I entered an undergraduate commerce program. I had intended to major in accounting as a stepping stone into the financial world, but by my second year, I learned that marketing was my passion.

3. What’s your favorite thing about your chosen profession?

There are many things that I love about marketing. My favorite tangible thing is how gratifying it is to create and the rates and the impact of creation. It’s exciting to see how ideas and strategies lead to marketable products or campaigns. I also love the cross functional aspects of marketing. While I and all marketers try to steer the ship, we can’t achieve a thing without the support of our internal and external partners. It is awesome being a part of the shared vision, including any of the debate at times to get there.

4. What keys to being productive can you share with us?

I’m continually trying to upgrade my productivity. While I certainly don’t have any unique insights on this, my most important habit is reviewing my day and planning for what must absolutely get done before the close of business. It’s usually three to four things maximum. I also try hard to follow the 4Ds, do, delegate, delete, defer, when anything comes across my desk or my inbox. It’s a simple yet effective time management method. Delegating was a learning curve for me. Finally, I write my tasks down, and I love crossing them off. I haven’t found any productivity apps or technology that’s more satisfying to me than crossing off my list of tasks.

5. Tell us one long-term goal in your career.

To work at a beauty startup. I’ve grown up working in the corporate world, so I think working at a startup would be a great challenge for me.

I also love the idea of being so excited about a specific project, innovation, or idea, that we would all jump in. All hands on deck.

6. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned through the course of your career?

I think that ethics need to drive your decision-making skills. The person that our mothers taught us to be needs to come through in how we conduct our business, and there’s no exception to that. Even when it comes to wanting to win. For example, one of the principles that I learned fairly early on is to always market in a positive way. So, for me, it’s a principle to not put any other brand or product down as a means of boosting up the business that I’m on.

7. What advice would you give to others aspiring to succeed in your field?

Today, I would encourage people to ensure that they’re very well versed in social and digital platforms and have a means of ensuring that they always stay up to date on that. Our marketplace is changing so dynamically. I would also encourage people to take risks and to look at other categories for inspiration on both solving business problems and their creativity.

8. What are your favorite things to do outside of work?

I love hanging out with my two children and my husband and my extended family. We like to explore New York City as a tourist would. My husband and I are currently on a kick where we will not dine at a restaurant we have been to before, just to push ourselves out of our comfort zone and our neighborhood. I also really love looking at NY real estate even though I’m not in the market to buy or sell right now.

9. Name a few influential books you’ve read and/or websites you keep up with that you’d recommend to readers.

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Forbes.com

10. What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell a younger Celia Tombalakian to trust that good work and integrity are ultimately rewarded, to take more risks in terms of roles, and to have as much fun as possible along the way.

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