Communicator spotlight: Sona Iliffe-Moon of Yahoo
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Sona Iliffe-Moon serves as chief communications officer and interim chief marketing officer for Yahoo.
Why it matters: Iliffe-Moon and her team are working to elevate the 30-year-old company by embracing nostalgia and strategic communications.
What she's saying: "We're reintroducing a brand that people love and use every day but may have not realized it or forgotten about it," she told Axios.
- "Owning who you are and telling that story on repeat is incredibly important. And I think brands fail when they're trying to be something that they're not. Our team is helping to remind people what Yahoo provides and bring it into culture and conversation."
Catch up quick: Iliffe-Moon started her career at the U.S. State Department working on nuclear arms policy.
- She then supported marcomms at Toyota and Nestlé before joining Facebook in 2015, where she focused on consumer communications. Before joining Yahoo, Iliffe-Moon led communications and social at Lyft, serving on the executive leadership team.
Context: Iliffe-Moon reports to Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone and serves on the executive leadership team.
- She manages a team of 23 which oversees corporate, consumer product and internal communications. As interim CMO, Iliffe-Moon also manages product, brand and B2B marketing operations.
- "When marketing and comms are in sync it can unlock so much. ... This is the year of real-time marketing and that aligns with a lot of skills that comms pros typically bring, like judgment, being aware of trends and news cycles — so we've really partnered well for the 30th."
Zoom in: Yahoo aired its first major television ad in years during this year's Super Bowl, which featured actor Bill Murray and kicked off Yahoo's new marketing campaign around its revamped email platform.
- Iliffe-Moon's team is also embracing social media, having recently launched a nostalgia campaign across LinkedIn to help honor its 30th anniversary.
What she's watching: How AI can support the comms team in scaling its work.
- "AI is a great thought partner or jousting partner, but it can also really give you time and space to scale in a different way. It's about using AI for scale, not strategy," Iliffe-Moon said.
De-stress routine: Spending time with her 14-year-old and 11-year-old twins, who also keep her up to date on the latest trends. She's also an avid weightlifter.
- "I think it gives me a lot of mental clarity and inner strength," she said. "When I can bench 100 pounds, I know that I can tackle whatever's in my inbox that day or whatever's coming at me."
Best career advice is from her former manager at Facebook: "Give away your Legos."
- "It means don't be afraid of giving away your scope, your project or whatever you're focused on. It gives others room to grow, allows the team and the company to scale, and then it keeps you reinventing and tackling new challenges. Plus, when others win, you also win."
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