CMO Corner

Coverage of industry leaders from our journalists

  • An image of a store sign that says Shake Shack. To the left is a green neon sign of a burger
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Shake Shack appoints first chief brand officer

    The addition of a marketing executive is aligned with the fast-casual chain’s plan to increase its paid media ad spend to help boost sales.

    By Julie Littman • Sept. 23, 2025
  • Taco Bell's $5, $7 and $9 luxe boxes. Each combo meal contains several items, a side and a drink.
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    Courtesy of Taco Bell
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    Taco Bell promotes marketing execs to take US success global

    CMO Taylor Montgomery was promoted to global chief brand officer and will be succeeded by Luis Restrepo, vice president of brand and product marketing.

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Sept. 22, 2025
  • Lee Jeans' "Built Like Lee" campaign imagery
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    Courtesy of Kontoor Brands
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    How Lee’s new brand platform reasserts its denim authority

    “Built Like Lee” celebrates the heritage of a brand founded in 1889 and is the first expression of a creative vision meant to resonate with a new generation.

    By • Sept. 22, 2025
  • Image of phone showing Aldi's Instagram page
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    Peyton Bigora/Marketing Dive
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    How Aldi revamped its social media strategy — and why it’s working

    The fast-growing company has turned away from posts that just highlight its low prices and toward more playful, culturally relevant content, its marketing director said in an interview.

    By Peyton Bigora • Sept. 18, 2025
  • A photo of a convenience store in the background with fuel pumps in the foreground. A sign on the building says "Wawa."
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    Jessica Loder/Marketing Dive
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    Wawa appoints former General Mills marketer as CMO

    Doug Martin served the CPG brand for nearly two decades, most recently as its chief marketer, and joins Wawa in the middle of an expansion phase.

    By Jessica Loder • Sept. 17, 2025
  • An imae of a white and beige restaurant with red awnings. The center is a logo of a person wearing glasses.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    KFC hires Wingstop marketer as CMO to fire up comeback plan

    Melissa Cash takes over at the Yum chain for Catherine Tan-Gillespie, who was promoted to president in April.

    By • Sept. 15, 2025
  • A standup comedian performs in a JCPenney ad
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    Courtesy of JCPenney
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    Q&A

    How JCPenney is preparing for the holidays with laugh-out-loud deals

    Marketing chief Marisa Thalberg discussed how marketers can engage holiday shoppers amid economic uncertainty.

    By • Sept. 12, 2025
  • Billboards of actress Sydney Sweeney is seen outside of an American Eagle store on August 01, 2025 in New York City.
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    American Eagle’s celebrity marketing drew outcry — and new customers

    The brand defended its controversial ads with Sydney Sweeney, claiming the campaign contributed to “unprecedented” customer acquisition.

    By • Sept. 4, 2025
  • Checkers and Rally's meal
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    Courtesy of Checkers and Rally's
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    Why Checkers and Rally’s are keeping the pedal to the metal on value

    CMO Scott Johnson explains how the sister chains built on a brand platform created by Partners + Napier via a partnership with rapper GloRilla.

    By • Sept. 4, 2025
  • Celsius college campaign
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    Retrieved from Celsius on August 26, 2025
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    How Celsius is building on brand campaign success with college football

    CMO Kyle Watson explains how the energy drink is stepping up NIL efforts as part of a “Live. Fit. Go” effort that kicked off in June.

    By • Aug. 27, 2025
  • An image of a giant logo that says Applbee's.
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    Bruce Bennett via Getty Images
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    Applebee’s appoints marketing, operating chiefs

    Following a strong Q2, Dine Brands will bring on Michelle Chin as CMO and Jerrold Wong as COO to extend the chain’s recent successes.

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Aug. 26, 2025
  • Jon Hamm for BetMGM
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    Courtesy of BetMGM
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    BetMGM’s CMO on how its brand repositioning unites gaming, entertainment

    To separate from the pack, the sports-betting platform is launching a Las Vegas-inspired brand refresh with ads starring Jon Hamm.

    By • Aug. 26, 2025
  • A person with long blond hair smiles, sitting sideways in a director-style chair. Water and far-off trees are in the background.
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    Courtesy of HeyDude
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    Crocs appoints 2 new CMOs to level up creative strategy: WWD

    Crocs and Heydude are getting new marketing chiefs as they double down on storytelling, with the latter looking to build on a brand awareness bump.

    By • Aug. 18, 2025
  • Applebee's Ultimate Trio on a football field
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    Courtesy of Applebee's
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    How Applebee’s sharper marketing turned around sales ahead of NFL season

    The casual dining chain recently achieved positive same-store sales growth for the first time in two years, Dine Brands CEO John Peyton explains.

    By • Aug. 18, 2025
  • Sydney Sweeney poses for American Eagle
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    Courtesy of American Eagle
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    Deep Dive

    How to win back-to-school marketing as American Eagle’s big bet blows up

    Though spending forecasts are bleak, value-focused messaging and smart social media plays could help brands transcend the turbulence. 

    By • Aug. 12, 2025
  • Domino's pizza and a fast food burger
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    Courtesy of Domino's Pizza
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    How Domino’s new ads hit at fast food burger chains in fight over value

    New spots visualize how a slice of pizza stacks up to a similarly priced slice of a burger to boost a long-standing deal and reach value-focused consumers.

    By • Aug. 4, 2025
  • Pickles rain down on the top of a car in an ad from Sonic Drive-In
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    Permission granted by Sonic Drive-In
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    Q&A

    Don’t hold the pickles: Sonic’s CMO on going all-in on dining trend

    CMO Ryan Dickerson discusses a Grillo’s partnership and ad shoot that involved over 2,000 real pickles as briny snacks win Gen Z’s favor.

    By • July 17, 2025
  • U.S. Bank branding in Happy Gilmore 2
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    Courtesy of U.S. Bank
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    Inside US Bank’s ad integration with Netflix’s ‘Happy Gilmore 2’

    CMO Michael Lacorazza explains how teaming with the Adam Sandler sequel and production company Happy Madison helps the bank reach consumers.

    By • July 16, 2025
  • JanSport campaign imagery for it's "Always With You" campaign.
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    Courtesy of JanSport
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    Why JanSport revived its cringeworthy back-to-school ads to reach Gen Z

    The backpack maker’s TikTok-focused effort returns for a second year after an initial run led to the brand’s highest grossing sales day in history.

    By • July 15, 2025
  • State Farm Gamerhood physical challenge
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    Courtesy of State Farm
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    How State Farm is stepping up its gaming-focused reality series

    The brand is boosting its decade-long investment in gaming by bringing new talent and improved production to the fourth season of “Gamerhood.”

    By • July 9, 2025
  • State Farm mascot Jake from State Farm stands with influencer Kai Cenat outside while on set for the brand's "Batman vs. Bateman" campaign.
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    Courtesy of State Farm
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    Deep Dive

    7 successful marketing campaigns that met 2025’s chaos with determination

    As marketers rushed to respond to new tariffs, outside-the-box brand refreshes, classic TV ads and other tactics helped set them apart.

    By , • July 8, 2025
  • U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed on a television screen as traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    How CMOs tackled challenges in H1 2025 — and what they must do next

    Already beleaguered CMOs are being forced to be more agile than ever in the face of a new round of challenges like trade wars and artificial intelligence.

    By • July 8, 2025
  • Image of Seventh Generation products.
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    Jesse Grant via Getty Images
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    Seventh Generation hires CMO who helped build Kinder brand in US

    Shalini Stansberry is focused on continuing to bring new consumers to Seventh Generation after winning Gen Z’s favor at Kinder Snacking. 

    By • June 30, 2025
  • Fabletics launches Fabletics Swim.
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    Courtesy of Fabletics
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    Fabletics names Vans vet chief marketing officer

    Carly Gomez has been promoted to the position, while Meera Bhatia’s chief operating officer role has been expanded to also include president.

    By Howard Ruben • June 25, 2025
  • Jennifer Aniston for Smartwater
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    Courtesy of The Coca-Cola Company
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    How Coca-Cola’s marketing transformation led to new Smartwater campaign

    The brand reteamed with Jennifer Aniston, riffing on how the pair “were never on a break” — a reference to an iconic moment on “Friends.”

    By • June 17, 2025