A book of matches in the mail changed the course of Melissa Wildstein’s career. As a child, watching her father’s marketing work arrive in their mailbox sparked an interest that would shape her professional life. Today, that simple piece of direct mail has evolved into The Matchstick Group, where Melissa helps brands find their spark in crowded markets.
Breaking Down Brand Transformation
Marketing runs in Melissa’s blood. Since starting in advertising in 1999, she’s worked with major pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Her time spent working with Havas’s strategy group on the Pfizer account gave her unique access to the strategic planning process, laying the groundwork for her future approach to brand strategy. “I was exposed to really smart people at Pfizer’s strategic planning group and at the Agency I worked for, Euro RSCG Life (now part of Havas). Getting my MBA at the same time – all three experiences shaped how I think about brands.”
When asked about what makes brands successful, Melissa points to three key areas.
Understanding Your Customer First
“Too many brands just go out and talk about themselves,” Melissa says bluntly. She stresses digging deep into customer challenges before planning any changes. Her approach starts with one simple question: what problems do customers need solved? This focus on real customer needs, rather than just product features, helps brands find meaningful ways to connect.
Finding Gaps Your Competitors Miss
Melissa and her teams spend time studying what competitors do well – and more importantly, what they don’t do at all. Sometimes it’s not about better features, but about serving customers in new ways. “You can find opportunities if you build a different service model or partner with customers differently than your competition does,” she explains. These gaps often reveal the best opportunities.
Building on What You Do Best
Before changing anything, Melissa recommends looking at what makes a company special. Do they build great customer relationships? Have unique technology? Strong industry leaders? “We look at your competencies as an organization,” she says. “What are you particularly good at?” Starting with these strengths, implementing changes that are more authentic and long-lasting becomes easier.
New Tools, Old Wisdom
Marketing tech keeps changing, but Melissa stays practical. Her team uses AI for brainstorming but knows its limits. “It helps us get ideas down quickly,” she says, “but you can’t rely on it completely. AI can give you people with three teeth or six fingers – it’s not ready for final work.” She’s more excited about data analytics. “We can see how people interact with brands in ways we never could before.” But she worries that many brand managers don’t know what to do with all this information. “We can show all kinds of charts, but if you don’t know how to use that data to make decisions, it’s just pretty pictures.”
Lessons From the Front Lines
After years in the field, Melissa’s best advice is surprisingly simple: “It’s better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.” She’s watched too many companies waste time trying to make everything perfect. “They spend three years tweaking features while competitors launch two new versions and take over the market.” She tells clients to get moving. “Just get it down on paper. We can fine-tune along the way, but let’s get something roughly right out there first.”
Looking forward, Melissa’s working on new ways to help clients understand their data better. Her team is developing software to connect dots that current analytics tools miss. It’s all part of her mission to help brands not just change, but change in ways that matter. To learn more about Melissa Wildstein and her approach, check out her LinkedIn profile.