Building Iconic Brands in the Age of Influencers with Georgia-Pacific's Laura Knebusch

Sep 20, 2025

Laura Knebusch, Senior VP of CPG Marketing at Georgia-Pacific, shares her innovative approach to transforming traditional marketing using AI and data. She discusses how the shift from TV-heavy strategies to a digital-first model has revolutionized media engagement. Laura emphasizes the importance of blending human creativity with AI, and highlights retail media and influencer marketing as growth opportunities. She also delves into the significance of consumer behavior insights and building a culture that embraces creative risk within the organization.

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ADVICE

Pair AI With Human Creativity

Combine AI with human creativity rather than replacing humans with AI.
Use AI to speed ideation and free humans to pursue empathetic, breakthrough creative.

ADVICE

Shift Media Gradually And In-House MMM

Move media where your audience already spends time and build a roadmap to shift mix gradually.
Bring marketing mix modeling in-house to run frequent tests and increase decision credibility.

INSIGHT

Data Foundation Unlocks MMM Value

Building a data foundation required harmonizing ~70 data sources and took 18 months.
In-housed MMM turned a black box into a continuous, transparent planning conversation.

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The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Laura Knebusch, SVP CPG Marketing & CX at Geaorgia-Pacific, the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers and building products.

Follow Laura on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-knebusch-8887033/
Follow Georgia-Pacific on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/georgia-pacific-llc/
Follow Georgia-Pacific online at: https://www.gp.com/

Brands & Retailers looking to attend our Groceryshop Kickoff Party on Sept 28 register here: https://rethink.industries/events/groceryshop-kickoff-party-september-28-2025/

Here's what we asked Laura:

CPG hasn’t always been known for being data- or tech-forward. But you’ve made AI and data central to your team’s approach. Why, and how is it paying off?
How do you balance human creativity with AI-driven automation — especially in areas like campaign optimization or creative development?
Media habits have changed so much in just a few years. How has your media strategy evolved? You’ve shifted from a TV-heavy media mix to a digital-first strategy — what signals told you it was time to make that change?
Are there particular emerging channels — podcasts, gaming, retail media, even the metaverse — where you see the biggest growth opportunity for CPG?
How do you make sure those media messages really resonate — beyond just price or promotion? With so many touchpoints, how do you measure what’s really working across platforms?
We know social and influencers have become a bigger part of your playbook. What’s changed there?
You’ve had some bold campaigns recently this year - across 3 of your brands. How have they performed - what kind of audience response have you seen?
Georgia-Pacific has such iconic brands. How do you modernize a household staple without losing what people already love about it?
Your campaigns have been bold and playful lately — how do you create a culture where teams feel comfortable taking creative risks?
You’re leading one of the most ambitious CPG marketing transformations in the country — what mindset shifts were required to get the organization on board?
What skills do you think the next generation of CPG marketers will need that maybe weren’t as critical five years ago? Looking ahead, what does the “CPG marketer of 2030” look like?

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Lara Raj in Katseye: https://www.katseye.world/

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