Slim Chickens CMO Patrick Noone Leverages Data and Discipline to Drive Franchise Growth
Patrick Noone, a year into his role as chief marketing officer of Slim Chickens, is using transaction data, digital behavior insights and a disciplined go‑to‑market playbook to accelerate growth at the fast‑casual chain’s 300‑plus locations. He stresses that technology must serve hospitality, not replace it, as the brand seeks scalable, sustainable traffic for franchisees.
Bitget Names Ignacio Aguirre Franco CMO to Drive Global Expansion to 150 Million Users
Bitget has appointed Ignacio Aguirre Franco as its global chief marketing officer. The veteran executive will steer the exchange toward 150 million users by 2026 and a billion by 2030, integrating CeFi, DeFi and TradFi offerings. The move signals a concerted...
Digitas UK Hires First Head of Intelligent Creative From T&P
Digitas UK has appointed Dan Northcote‑Smith, formerly of The&Partnership, as its first Head of Intelligent Creative. The newly created role is tasked with embedding generative‑AI tools into the agency’s creative process and client campaigns. Digitas, part of the Dentsu Aegis...
Chargers and Falcons Reveal the Creative Engine Behind the 2026 NFL Schedule Video
The Los Angeles Chargers and Atlanta Falcons content teams disclosed how they craft the NFL’s 2026 schedule reveal videos, from brainstorming 100+ concepts to a final five‑theme shortlist. Their behind‑the‑scenes approach underscores the growing importance of viral social content for...
Divya Rao Moves on From Netflix
Divya Rao has left Netflix after more than five years leading the platform’s film and series marketing in India. During her tenure she oversaw campaigns for global hits such as Stranger Things, Money Heist, Heeramandi and Khakee. Rao previously held...
Marketers on the Move: Hires at Gap, Saucony, Fanatics, and More
The week ending May 15 saw two high‑profile marketing appointments. Saucony hired Nike veteran Wendy Kula as chief marketing officer, replacing Joy Allen‑Altimare. Gap Inc. named former Paramount executive Lourdes Arocho senior vice president and head of licensing. Both moves reflect a broader push by...
Razorpay Elevates Apuarv Sethi to CMO
Razorpay, India’s leading omnichannel payments platform, has elevated Apuarv Sethi to chief marketing officer. In his new role, Sethi will steer the company’s marketing and SME growth strategy across India and Southeast Asia, emphasizing AI‑led innovations that enhance brand trust...
New Balance Taps Shohei Ohtani to Cement Its Rise as a Baseball Powerhouse
New Balance announced a multi‑year partnership with two‑way star Shohei Ohtani, positioning the privately held sneaker maker as a serious contender in baseball apparel. The deal builds on a strategy that began in 2011 and now includes a roster of...
Wix CMO Omer Shai Deploys AI Agents and Builds Full‑Stack Marketing Team
Wix chief marketing officer Omer Shai detailed how he uses AI agents to prep 6 a.m. meetings, triage leads and streamline creative work, while reorganizing his department into “full‑stack” marketers. The shift promises faster go‑to‑market cycles and a broader skill set...
LinkedIn Unveils Leaner Marketing Playbook Amid Layoffs and AI Push
LinkedIn announced a restructuring that trims its marketing workforce, cuts paid‑media budgets and accelerates AI‑driven workflows. The changes accompany company‑wide layoffs and a shift toward instructor‑generated learning content, signaling a tighter operating model for marketers.
Nobull Names New CMO & CCO
Boston‑based sportswear brand Nobull announced the appointment of Allison Giorgio as chief marketing officer and Joe Martin as chief commercial officer. Giorgio arrives from Wellness Pet Company after a 17‑year tenure at Puma, where she enhanced brand desirability across sport and lifestyle...
FlareFlow Names Timothy Oh CMO, Adds Senior International Team for Vertical 2.0 Push
FlareFlow, the Shenzhen‑listed digital entertainment firm, announced Timothy Oh as its new chief marketing officer while he retains his role as general manager of international business. The move coincides with a slate of senior international hires, such as Jason Ander...
Hinge Celebrates the Near Misses Behind Every Gen Z Love Story
Hinge launched the "Can't Believe We Met on Hinge" campaign, a series of seven short films featuring real Gen Z couples from the U.S., U.K. and Australia. The brand‑first effort, overseen by new CMO Tamika Young, spotlights the skepticism and burnout...
Wellness Pet Appoints Allyson Borozan as CMO to Drive CPG Growth
Wellness Pet Company announced the hiring of Allyson Borozan, a 20‑year CPG veteran, as chief marketing officer. Borozan will lead brand strategy, innovation and omni‑channel marketing as the company rolls out new protein‑forward pet foods and celebrates the 100th anniversary...
Apple Names Eva Yao Marketing Communications Director for Greater China
Apple has appointed Eva Yao as Marketing Communications Director for Greater China, putting her in charge of all consumer‑facing campaigns across media and platforms. The move underscores Apple’s push to deepen localized branding in a market that delivers roughly one‑fifth...
Binance CMO Rachel Conlan Exits; Trust Wallet Founder Eowyn Chen Named Interim Chief
Binance announced that chief marketing officer Rachel Conlan will leave on June 15 after a three‑year tenure. The exchange named former Trust Wallet CEO Eowyn Chen as interim CMO. The change comes as crypto firms trim marketing spend amid a...
Claire’s Shifts Target Market to Tweens With ‘On-Trend, On-Time’ Products
Claire’s, acquired for $140 million after its second bankruptcy, is overhauling its brand under CBO Michelle Goad. The retailer is swapping its signature purple for a soft lavender, reorganizing its 900 stores around trending items and a dedicated tween‑girl section, and...
Godiva Appoints Kurt Frenier as Global CMO to Accelerate International Growth
Godiva Chocolatier announced on May 12, 2026 that Kurt Frenier has been appointed global chief marketing officer. The Belgian‑born executive said the role is a “very very special moment” and will focus on scaling the iconic brand while preserving its...
DeepIntent Names Former Trade Desk CMO Ian Colley to Lead Healthcare Marketing
DeepIntent has hired Ian Colley, the former chief marketing officer of The Trade Desk, as its new CMO. Colley will oversee global brand, marketing and communications for the healthcare‑focused demand‑side platform, reporting to founder‑CEO Chris Paquette. The move comes as...
Zoom’s Next Act
Zoom chief marketing officer Kim Storin says the company is shedding its one‑trick‑pony image as merely a video‑call platform. The "Zoom Ahead" campaign, launched with a TV spot starring Bowen Yang, seeks to showcase Zoom's webinars, customer‑support tools, and AI...
Nomad Foods Hires Ex-Publicis CMO Justin Billingsley to Revamp Frozen‑food Brands
Nomad Foods announced that Justin Billingsley, the former global chief marketing officer of Publicis Groupe, will become its new CMO reporting to CEO Dominic Brisby. The hire is aimed at unifying brand strategy, R&D and innovation to counter stagnant growth...
WPP Appoints Toby Jenner and Philip Heimann as Global Presidents of Client Growth to Steer Elevate28
WPP announced that Toby Jenner and Philip Heimann will serve as Global Presidents of Client Growth, reporting to COO Devika Bulchandani. The appointments are a core element of the Elevate28 transformation, designed to integrate media, creative and data‑AI capabilities for a...
Apple Appoints Eva Yao as Greater China Marketing Director, 20% of Sales
Apple has named Eva Yao as Marketing Communications Director for Greater China, placing a 25‑year veteran at the helm of consumer marketing in a region that accounts for roughly one‑fifth of the company’s global revenue. Yao will report to Isabel Ge Mahe...
Emmi Roth Hires New Senior VP of Sales, Marketing
Emmi Roth, the Wisconsin‑based cheese maker, appointed Thyme Hill as senior vice president of sales and marketing, consolidating its sales and marketing functions under a single commercial leader. The move aims to better serve customers and accelerate growth across retail,...
Binance's Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Conlan to Leave the Exchange
Binance announced that chief marketing officer Rachel Conlan will depart on June 15, 2026 after roughly three years leading the exchange’s brand initiatives. Former Trust Wallet chief executive Eowyn Chen will step in as interim CMO while Conlan remains an adviser...
Microsoft Teams Up with WWE for Gears of War: E-Day Sponsorship, Hinting at September Release
Microsoft announced that its upcoming title Gears of War: E-Day will serve as the presenting sponsor for WWE's AAA Triplemania 34, a two‑day event in Mexico City on Sept. 11‑13. The partnership, revealed during the Backlash show, suggests the game could...
Foot Locker Debuts Year-Round Basketball Brand Platform Under New CMO
Foot Locker introduced a year‑round basketball brand platform called “Hoops Lives Here,” aimed at deepening its connection to sneaker and basketball culture. The initiative, developed with agency Someplace, rolls out across broadcast, digital, out‑of‑home, in‑store and e‑commerce channels, featuring NBA...
Keep Walking or Get Left Behind: Josh Dean on Reinventing Johnnie Walker
Former Johnnie Walker global VP Josh Dean explains how the brand’s “Keep Walking” platform serves as a creative north star, enabling authentic collaborations with cultural icons like Squid Game and Sabrina Carpenter. He argues that creativity should be treated as...
Creative License: How Adobe Helps Brands Stay Creative in the Age of AI
Adobe’s enterprise CMO Rachel Thornton explained how the company is turning fragmented customer data into real‑time, personalized experiences using AI. She highlighted Adobe’s strategy of building tools—Creative Cloud, Express, Firefly, and agentic AI—that let any employee create brand‑compliant content at...
Compass Box Names New CMO
Scotch whisky maker Compass Box has appointed Ivo van den Brand as chief marketing officer to drive its next phase of global growth. Van den Brand brings experience from Too Good To Go, DiDi, Huawei and Philips, and will focus...
Dentsu Promotes Annette Male Amid EMEA Job Cuts
Dentsu announced the promotion of Annette Male to a senior leadership role as the agency accelerates its EMEA restructuring. The move comes alongside a wave of executive exits, most notably the departure of EMEA chief executive André Andrade. The cuts...
TEDCO Names Direna Cousins VP of Marketing to Drive Enterprise Campaigns
TEDCO announced Direna Cousins as its new vice president of marketing, tasking her with expanding enterprise‑level campaigns across Maryland’s tech ecosystem. The hire follows a year in which the Development & Marketing team logged 28 articles, over 100 press releases,...
Applebee’s Revives $15.99 All‑You‑Can‑Eat Deal to Boost Summer Traffic
Applebee’s has brought back its $15.99 all‑you‑can‑eat promotion, featuring unlimited boneless wings, riblets, shrimp and fries, alongside a new summer cocktail lineup. The move is positioned as a high‑value offer to drive dine‑in traffic during the peak summer months and...
Saudi Report 2026: Pathway to Perfect
Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s flagship carrier, unveiled its "Pathway to Perfect" initiative, a rigorous stress‑testing program for every aspect of the airline before full market launch. The strategy emphasizes operational resilience, transparent stakeholder communication, and a people‑first culture aimed at...
Alo Rides the Cannes Wave With Wellness-Fueled Luxury Push
Alo, the Los Angeles‑based activewear label, has turned Cannes’ Croisette into a luxury wellness destination by opening permanent "sanctuary" spaces in Cannes and Saint‑Tropez and staging a pier pop‑up with custom beds and a juice bar. The brand is also...
Elephant Appoints Kedar Parundekar as Chief Growth Officer to Accelerate APAC Expansion
Elephant, the independent design and brand consultancy, has hired veteran strategist Kedar Parundekar as chief growth officer. The move follows the firm’s 2025 launch of an APAC hub in Singapore and aims to deepen strategic partnerships and broaden its footprint...
Slim Chickens Hires Veteran Marketer Patrick Noone as CMO to Drive Data‑focused Guest Growth
Slim Chickens has appointed Patrick Noone as chief marketing officer, tasking him with using data‑driven insights to deepen guest loyalty and accelerate profitable traffic at its more than 300 restaurants. The veteran marketer brings experience from Checkers & Rally’s, Domino’s,...
Sampling Grows Retail Sales at Awake Chocolate
Awake Chocolate, a caffeinated chocolate brand founded in 2012, pivoted from food‑service sales to direct‑to‑consumer and retail after the pandemic shut down its original channels. Retail locations—now at least a dozen chains and thousands of stores—have become the fastest‑growing segment,...
Food Lion’s Norman on Building Loyalty — Digitally
Food Lion’s MVP loyalty platform, anchored by the Shop & Earn feature, has become a cornerstone of its digital strategy across ten states. The program lets shoppers earn rewards, load coupons, and donate points to the Food Lion Feeds hunger‑relief...
Crypto.com CMO Steven Kalifowitz Exits After Nearly Six Years
Crypto.com confirmed that chief marketing officer Steven Kalifowitz will leave the firm after nearly six years at the helm. Kalifowitz guided the exchange through a period of rapid user growth and high‑profile partnership deals, making his exit a significant leadership...
Before the World Arrives
The post warns that roughly 5 million summer visitors will flood U.S. host‑city corridors, creating a massive, time‑limited brand activation window. Most brands are unprepared, not because they lack awareness, but because they haven’t defined clear capabilities, built a pressure‑tested plan,...
Wakefern Names Own Brands Director
Wakefern Food Corp., the cooperative behind the ShopRite banner, has promoted Chris Ruane to director of its own‑brands division. The new team will steer strategy, growth and loyalty for private‑label lines such as Bowl & Basket, Wholesome Pantry and Paperbird. Ruane brings roughly...
TBC Corp Appoints Rachel Tibor as Wholesale CMO, Signaling Strategic Marketing Shift
TBC Corporation announced the promotion of Rachel Tibor to chief marketing officer of its wholesale business. The veteran marketer, who joined TBC in 2023, will now sit on the executive team and steer an insight‑driven go‑to‑market strategy for the tire...
Burger King Revamps Whopper via Direct Consumer Calls, Boosts Sales 5.8%
Burger King president Tom Curtis published his personal phone number, took 1,800 inbound calls and routed more than 70,000 consumer messages into product decisions. The feedback drove the launch of the "Elevated Whopper," which helped the chain post a 5.8%...
Ex-Suntory Manager Joins ABUK as Marketing Director
Amber Beverage UK (ABUK) has appointed Selene Cakmak‑Rathee as its new Marketing Director, bringing 25 years of food‑and‑drink experience. Cakmak‑Rathee joins from Suntory Global UK, where she managed the Scotch portfolio and previously led American whiskey marketing at Edrington UK....
Mercedes‑Benz CMO Melody Lee Deploys Social, Influencer and Data Tactics to Win Younger Buyers
Mercedes‑Benz U.S. chief marketing officer Melody Lee is steering a digital overhaul that blends social media, influencer outreach and data‑driven lead capture to attract younger consumers. The plan hinges on a 30 million‑visitor website, TikTok engagement and high‑visibility partnerships such as...
Netflix’s Bold New Pitch to Advertisers: ‘We Can Compete With Anyone’
Netflix’s advertising division is on track to double its revenue for the second consecutive year, targeting roughly $3 billion in ad sales by 2026. Programmatic buying now accounts for almost half of its ad business, bolstered by recent DSP integrations with...
Weber Shandwick's Yoder Moves to Ruder Finn
Kelly Yoder, former North America health lead at Weber Shandwick, joins Ruder Finn as managing director and head of health & life sciences. She brings over 20 years of communications and product‑marketing experience across pharma, biotech, medical‑devices and diagnostics. Yoder will...
MrBeast Is Wooing Big Advertisers at an Invite-Only Gathering in NYC. Here's What He's Planning.
Creator-driven media company Beast Industries is hosting an invite‑only breakfast in Manhattan to pitch its brand‑partnership vision to top advertisers and agency executives. The event, timed with the traditional TV upfronts week, signals the growing competition between creator‑led platforms and...
Patagonia Appoints Amanda Calder‑Mclaren to Lead EMEA Marketing and Impact
Patagonia has hired Amanda Calder‑Mclaren as Senior Director of Marketing & Impact for the EMEA region. The newly created role will fuse the brand’s storytelling with its environmental and social programs, signaling a deeper commitment to purpose‑driven growth across Europe,...