Welcome to another episode of The Marketer’s Edge, a series designed to share senior level marketing perspective about marketer challenges, opportunities, and agency relationships. Our goal is to help marketers and agencies learn from other marketers across different industries. Today we are speaking with Cassie Donnelly, former Sr. Brand Manager at OLFA North America (she left in Sept. 2023).

OLFA North America

OLFA North America Inc is the North American subsidiary of OLFA Corporation of Japan, a pioneer of cutting tools worldwide since 1956. OLFA is committed to making tools that improve how people cut by developing products with an unmatched level of sharpness and that are easy and safe to use. The name of “OLFA” comes from two Japanese words, which, when translated, mean “to break a blade”. The OLFA® parallelogram logo is taken from the shape of a snap-off blade.

What We Discussed:

In today’s interview with Cassie Donnelly, we discussed a wide range of issues, including:

• What kind of organization OLFA is and what Cassie did for them.
• Cassie's experience in the industrial manufacturing industry and what has kept her there.
• The major marketing challenges she faces and how she has overcome them.
• How she keeps the messaging fresh.
• The difficulty of convincing a sales-driven organization to recognize the value of marketing.
• Advice for marketers entering the B2B world for the first time.
• The importance of positioning in the blade manufacturing industry.
• How Cassie determines the most effective and unique positioning for OLFA.
• The differences in marketing between the craft and professional sides of the OLFA brand.
• The role agencies play in OLFA's marketing efforts and the work they do.
• Advice for marketers considering partnering with an agency.
• Any advice she would give to an agency looking to win business from her.

Thanks Cassie for a great interview!