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Marketing Brew

Katie Hicks

marketingbrew.com

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Brands

Kelsey Sutton

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself 

Brittney Polka is VP of ready-to-drink beverages at Danone North America, where she oversees brands like Evian, Stōk Cold Brew Coffee, and International Delight Iced Coffee. She’s also overseen Danone brands like Horizon Organic, and she previously worked at Mars on brands like Skittles and 5 Gum.

 The Stōk Cold Brew partnership with Wrexham AFC is easily one of my favorite projects, as a self-proclaimed Wrexham fangirl. Last year, we became the first-ever stadium sponsor of Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground (now named the Stōk Cae Ras | Stōk Racecourse) just in time to celebrate the club as it rejoined the English Football League after a 15-year hiatus. In a 

, club owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney secretly replaced the team’s traditional afternoon tea with bold and smooth Stōk Cold Brew Coffee to see if the team would notice—they were surprised, to say the least. We took this partnership a step further this year, debuting an 

 that shamelessly challenged traditional American football culture with Sir Anthony Hopkins. When personal passions and work projects come together, it makes it even more worthwhile. We continue to work with Wrexham on this partnership, and I’m excited to see how it will continue to evolve.

 at the big game this year. Who wouldn’t want to see Tom Brady, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon dancing around in neon tracksuits? And, at Danone, we make Dunkin’ Extra Extra and Dunkin’ Salted Caramel creamers, so it was fun to see the brand in the limelight in such a fun way.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: 

I’m a proud mom to my five-year-old daughter James (the seventh James in a row and first girl) and two-year-old son Bennett. While I’m a Midwesterner at heart, I now live in the Denver area and love walking amidst the mountains or sipping a beer in the Colorado sun.

What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? 

I’m most excited to see so many brands doing more and more that looks like anti-marketing: integrating into life seemingly more effortlessly and moving away from more traditional methods, and I especially enjoy those brands that don’t mind poking a bit of fun at themselves in the process! Any time you can tell the creatives weren’t allowed to unleash the full potential of an idea into the world, I find myself yearning for more.

What’s one marketing-related podcast/social account/series you’d recommend? 

My audio time is sadly filled with lots of Disney playlists and parenting podcasts, and my social habits don’t look a lot different, but I never miss an episode of 

She’s also overseen Danone brands like Horizon Organic, and she previously worked at Mars on brands like Skittles and 5 Gum. 

Brands

An interview with Brittney Polka, VP, Ready-to-Drink beverages, Danone North America

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