In episode 307 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Joice Wirkus, senior vice president of marketing at Big Lots, a national neighborhood discount retailer. Wirkus discusses Big Lot's new "Be A BIGionaire" marketing campaign, the consumer research that factored into this campaign, and the shifts in customer behavior the retailer experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, Wirkus shares why Big Lots partnered with celebrity Retta to launch "Be A BIGionaire," how the retailer determines the optimal mix of marketing channels for its campaigns, and what metrics it tracks to measure marketing success. Wirkus discusses how Big Lots is tracking customer engagement and satisfaction, what her marketing team is working on in the second half of the year, and how the company plans to offer more personalized communication and rewards to its customers.

Joice Wirkus is senior vice president, marketing at Big Lots. She's responsible for leading the team that develops customer-centric strategies focused on driving acquisition and increasing engagement among the existing customer base of more than 26 million members. Before joining Big Lots, Joice spent nearly 18 years in a variety of positions at PetSmart, overseeing marketing in areas including services, merchandising, CRM, PetSmart Charities and, most recently, as the vice president of marketing. Whether they have four legs or two, her passion has always been putting the customer first. Joice holds her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.