Image courtesy of Indresh Kohli

After two decades in consumer products, former Dr. Oetker Canada marketing executive Indresh Kohli is taking his brand-building experience to the non-profit sector as the new VP of marketing and donor experience at Plan International Canada.

Kohli stepped away from an executive head of marketing role at Dr. Oetker Canada this spring after a six-year tenure in which he developed numerous projects, most recently a Pizza Opera for the launch of the Suprema brand and activations that touched on the “Buy Canadian” movement during its height last year. Prior to Dr. Oetker, Kohli worked in a number of marketing director roles during seven-plus years at Reckitt and in various product manager positions during six years at Kraft Heinz.

In an interview with strategy, Kohli said that while the move to Plan International Canada may be a change in sector, it’s not too far afield from his past work in building brands and trust. Kohli will report to Sarah Kramer, the chief operating and development officer in Canada for the global humanitarian and development organization focused on advancing equality for girls.

“After 20 years in CPG, I’ve learned that the fundamentals are pretty consistent, understand your audience, know what matters to them and give them a reason to care,” Kohli says. “At Plan International Canada, the stakes are different. We’re not asking people to choose one product over another. We’re helping them see how their support can contribute to real change for girls around the world.”

Kohli says the challenge in his new role will be helping Canadians better understand complex issues such as girls’ rights, education, health, economic opportunity and humanitarian response in a way that feels clear, human and relevant. As “a proud ‘girl dad'” himself, he also sees an opportunity to bring a stronger audience lens to donor engagement by treating every interaction as part of a broader relationship rather than a standalone campaign.

According to Kohli, marketing does not stop when someone sees an ad, reads an article or visits a website.

“Every interaction shapes how people feel about an organization,” he says. “Bringing marketing and donor experience together lets us look at the full supporter journey, instead of treating each touchpoint as separate.”