CMO Corner

Coverage of industry leaders from our journalists

  • Burger King's Spongebob collaboration
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    Courtesy of Burger King
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    Burger King’s CMO on how a ‘SpongeBob’ collab cuts across generations

    The partnership spans new ads, a special menu, toys, packaging, an app takeover, experiential activations and more.

    By • Dec. 1, 2025
  • Urban Outfitters and Dunkin' collaboration
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    Courtesy of Urban Outfitters
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    How Urban Outfitters connects with Gen Z through brand collaborations

    The retailer has increased sales growth and brand affinity in part by teaming with brands like Dunkin’ and artists like Tinashe to meet consumer needs.

    By • Nov. 26, 2025
  • Martha Stewart poses in a denim-wrapped kitchen for American Eagle's 2025 holiday campaign.
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    Courtesy of American Eagle
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    Why American Eagle tapped Martha Stewart to extend beyond Gen Z

    After making headlines with its fall campaign, the retailer is targeting gift givers and recipients alike for the next chapter of its “Give Great Jeans” holiday push. 

    By • Nov. 25, 2025
  • A man stands in a board room, looking out on the horizon
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    Getty Images
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    CMOs see support for brand building fade while ROI scrutiny rises: NIQ

    Fewer marketers see CEOs and CFOs backing long-term brand investment while confidence in brand purpose has plunged in a divided climate.

    By • Nov. 19, 2025
  • Former NFL player Marshawn Lynch holds up a football jersey with the name "Beastmode" inscribed across the back
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    Permission granted by Dove Men+Care
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    How Unilever is pushing sports marketing beyond broadcast convention

    Set to nearly double its spend on U.S. sports marketing, the CPG giant sees the category as emblematic of a shift to “many-to-many” marketing.

    By • Nov. 19, 2025
  • Khalid at Urban Outfitters LA Holiday Preview
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    Courtesy of Urban Outfitters
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    Deep Dive

    How Gen Z is reshaping holiday marketing — and what brands can do about it

    The cohort’s reliance on social media and influencers for product discovery remains, while new levels of comfort with retail media and AI take shape.

    By • Nov. 19, 2025
  • App icons for generative AI assistants OpenAI ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, DeepSeek, Meta AI and xAI Grok are pictured on a smartphone screen.
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    Getty Images
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    Gartner: AI agents fail to ease CMO pain amid need for deeper shifts

    Nearly two-thirds of marketers believe AI will dramatically change their role, but many are not making the organizational changes needed to deliver results.

    By • Nov. 17, 2025
  • Lowe's holiday campaign
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    Courtesy of Lowe's
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    Q&A

    Inside Lowe’s social-first holiday push as Gen Alpha enters the market

    CMO Jen Wilson explains how the home improvement retailer measures the success of in-store experiences and its new creator network.

    By • Nov. 4, 2025
  • Barclays signage is shown.
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    Oli Scarff via Getty Images
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    Q&A

    6 questions with Barclays’ US CMO

    Two decades into its U.S. presence, Barclays continues to invest in its partnership model, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer Lili Tomovich said.

    By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Nov. 4, 2025
  • P.F. Chang's campaign
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    Courtesy of P.F. Chang's
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    P.F. Chang’s CMO on igniting a new brand platform, holiday campaign

    Sonika Patel explains how the chain is centering the dining experience with a “Light the Fire” platform and seasonal push on digital and CTV.

    By • Oct. 29, 2025
  • Barefoot Wine bottles
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    Courtesy of Barefoot Wine
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    Q&A

    How Barefoot Wine is stepping up marketing to meet new, evolving drinkers

    E. & J. Gallo Winery CMO Stephanie Gallo explains how Barefoot approached its first major redesign in decades and why it’s bullish about its NFL tie-up.

    By • Oct. 27, 2025
  • People attend Advertising Week New York 2025
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    Permission granted by Shutterstock for Advertising Week New York
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    Top takeaways from Advertising Week 2025 marketers need to know

    Leading marketers like PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz delved into topics including culture-led marketing and artificial intelligence at the annual conference.

    By , , , • Oct. 23, 2025
  • A line of people form outside of Welch's Zero Bodega pop-up experience in New York City
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    Permission granted by Welch's
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    Welch’s names chief brand and innovation officer as strategy shifts

    The newly created role effectively replaces the CMO and is part of a larger push from the brand to become more agile and consumer-driven.

    By • Oct. 21, 2025
  • Outdoor ads in Brooklyn, New York, promote Manscaped grooming products
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    Permission granted by Manscaped
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    Q&A

    How Manscaped’s CMO tackles Super Bowl-sized brand ambitions

    Marcelo Kertesz spoke with Marketing Dive about reports the brand is mulling its first big game ad and why it is doubling down on edgy humor.

    By • Oct. 20, 2025
  • CMOs at Advertising Week New York argued that widely held beliefs about the group, including their lack of brand loyalty, are not telling the full story.
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    Permission granted by Shutterstock for Advertising Week New York
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    CMOs share what brands get wrong when marketing to Gen Z

    The group’s perceived aversion to advertising and lack of brand loyalty are more myth than fact, panelists argued at Advertising Week.

    By • Oct. 10, 2025
  • Executive sit on a stage in white chairs during an Advertising Week New York 2025 panel. From left: Diederik Koenders, vice president of consumer engagement at MAC Cosmetics; Laurie Lam, chief brand officer at E.l.f. Beauty; and Asha Shivaji, CEO and co-founder of SeeMe Index.
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    Shutterstock for Advertising Week New York

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    E.l.f., MAC on driving growth through inclusivity — and tips for others

    Getting inclusivity right does not require initiatives like a DEI team, but rather full organizational buy-in, marketers said during an Advertising Week panel.

    By • Oct. 9, 2025
  • Executives from Keurig Dr Pepper, Disney, NFL and EDO on an Advertising Week New York panel
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    Permission granted by Shutterstock for Advertising Week New York
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    How Keurig Dr. Pepper embraces flywheel marketing to drive performance

    During an Advertising Week panel, CMO Drew Panayiotou explained how marketers can measure success when accuracy is not completely possible.

    By • Oct. 9, 2025
  • Panelists at Advertising Week New York
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    Permission granted by Shutterstock for Advertising Week New York
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    How Molson Coors, PepsiCo operationalize rapid, relevant culture plays

    Brands must be aligned with agency partners and remove barriers to execution, executives explained at Advertising Week.

    By • Oct. 7, 2025
  • Todd Kaplan at AWNY
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    Permission granted by Shutterstock for Advertising Week New York
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    Kraft Heinz CMO on being culturally nimble without losing brand equity

    At Advertising Week, Todd Kaplan said marketers should think of brand building like pointillism and not rush to jump on every viral opportunity.

    By • Oct. 7, 2025
  • Person wears Oura ring in a car
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    Courtesy of Oura
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    How Oura keys into self-expression to reach Gen Z, millennials

    The brand is betting on channels where return on investment is strongest as it launches a ceramic smart ring in different colors for the first time.

    By • Oct. 2, 2025
  • A Qdoba storefront
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    Retrieved from Qdoba on October 02, 2025
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    Q&A

    Qdoba’s new CMO on turning the fast-casual chain into a national brand

    As it rapidly expands, the chain is relying on an agency roster including Leo, Influential and other Publicis shops, newly appointed CMO Jon Burke explains.

    By • Oct. 2, 2025
  • A group of business executives networking at a conference.
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    Getty Images
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    Top marketing conferences to attend in 2026

    The Interactive Advertising Bureau has moved up NewFronts, which it bills as the world’s largest digital content marketplace, to earlier in the spring.

    By • Updated Oct. 21, 2025
  • 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