Fast 15: Brit McKenzie

Brit McKenzie grew up wanting to work in politics.

With parents active in civic life in Rogers, “civic duty and responsibility and love of the political system,” were natural for McKenzie, he said.

In college, he served as a congressional intern for then U.S. Rep. John Boozman. After graduating with a degree in government from Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Va., McKenzie worked on Capitol Hill for a year. At age 23, he managed a 10-person staff as field director for the Republican National Committee on political campaigns in Virginia and Louisiana.

Realizing the personal sacrifice a political career entailed, he began looking for something comparable and was encouraged to consider advertising.

“When you work in political operations, it’s nothing more than advertising, except you’re not selling a product. You’re selling ideas,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie went to work for Viacom Media Networks in ad sales, selling entertainment properties to the country’s largest brands and agencies. At one point, he managed $90 million in advertising in the high impact sales environment.

Wanting to start a family, he and his wife moved home to Northwest Arkansas, and McKenzie discovered his niche in shopper marketing.

“I’ve taken experience in politics and New York and brought it to how it makes sense in Northwest Arkansas in the Walmart ecosystem with suppliers and brands,” he said.

After a brief stint at Geometry Global in Rogers, McKenzie was offered an account manager position at Saatchi & Saatchi X. He led the Coca-Cola team and worked on projects for 3M and Kraft Heinz. Then, Saatchi contracted him to do shopper marketing on-site at Procter & Gamble for the company’s Walmart beauty business. He helped launch two new brands exclusive to Walmart.

Last month McKenzie was promoted back to the agency as a senior account manager to lead P&G’s Skin & Personal Care Walmart team as well as lead the P&G Sam’s Club business.

With the current pandemic, McKenzie said the challenge is “trying to pivot from fully in-store/omnichannel programs to digitally relevant plans that pivot consumers to online platforms for convenience in purchasing.”

Wanting to make Northwest Arkansas the best place to live and raise families, McKenzie serves on committees for the Helen R. Walton Children’s Enrichment Center and Benton County Ducks Unlimited.

In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors and exploring downtown Bentonville.