Stagwell Launches Segment-Based Growth Model, Appoints Three SVPs
Stagwell announced a new segment‑based growth structure and appointed three senior vice presidents—Jabari Hearn, Julie Levin and Lynne Reilly—to lead integrated growth across its Marketing Services and Media & Commerce divisions. The move, driven by EVP and Global CMO Ryan Linder, aims to align capabilities with enterprise clients and fuel larger, more complex opportunities.
Fresho Appoints TAG to Drive Digital Growth
Fresho, a leading order‑management SaaS for food distributors, has appointed digital growth consultancy TAG to run its advertising and creative strategy across Australia‑New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The partnership focuses on a data‑led acquisition approach designed to...
Conquest Planning Hires CRO, COO, CMO to Accelerate U.S. Expansion
Conquest Planning announced three senior go‑to‑market hires—Rob Crnkovic as CRO, Kristen Winther as COO and Karen Budell as CMO—to power its U.S. growth strategy. The moves follow the platform’s recent milestone of more than two million financial plans created, underscoring rising demand for...
Ep. 216: Proven Strategies for CMOs in the Canadian Retail Sector
In this 10‑minute episode, host Christian Klepp distills key takeaways from the DX3 Retail Reinvented conference in Toronto, highlighting how Canadian CMOs can navigate rising costs, AI disruption, and shifting consumer expectations. He outlines three AI‑driven strategies—using AI as a...
Panera Bread’s ‘Salad Stuffers’ Spark Employee Backlash Over Waste and Value
Panera Bread introduced its Salad Stuffers—a bread‑bowl‑style menu item—on April 8, only to encounter a wave of employee criticism that the product wastes bread and salad and offers poor value. The backlash puts the chain’s chief marketing officer, Mark Shambura,...
Baskin‑Robbins Korea Taps Digital Veteran Cho Yoon‑sang as CEO to Drive Brand Innovation
Baskin‑Robbins Korea announced the appointment of Cho Yoon‑sang, a 27‑year veteran of LG Electronics and Yum! Brands, as chief executive. The move is intended to speed up digital innovation and sharpen the market positioning of its flagship brands, Baskin‑Robbins and...
Amtrak Is Trying to Attract Riders by Mimicking Car Commercials
Amtrak is revamping its advertising by parodying luxury‑car commercials, a tactic highlighted by chief commercial officer Eliot Hamlisch. The campaign, part of the "Retrain Travel" series, aims to reposition passenger rail as a faster, more comfortable alternative to driving and...
Current Global MENAT Appoints Jacquelyn Moulds as Director for Client Experiences
Current Global MENAT announced the appointment of Jacquelyn Moulds as Director for Client Experiences, adding nearly two decades of integrated communications expertise to its senior team. Moulds, who most recently helped relaunch The Romans in the UAE, will oversee the...
Duolingo's Shift Away From Edgy Humor Is Misguided
The most famous TikTok shitposter brand has decided to make fewer “butt jokes.” I think that’s a pretty big mistake. My take on @duolingo’s new strategy & their CMO’s odd POV on social: https://t.co/UuH3kguk5Y https://t.co/r7z2DnKRbS
Seychelles Launches Global Sustainability Campaign Targeting Eco‑Luxury Travelers
Seychelles Tourism unveiled a sustainability‑driven global marketing push on April 16, 2026, partnering with Beautiful Destinations to court high‑value, low‑impact travelers. The initiative expects about 15 million digital impressions and blends social, TV and radio channels with real‑time analytics.
Want a Pop Star Collab? Brands Need to Be Ready to Take Risks
At an ADWEEK House panel during the Possible conference, leaders from Maybelline, Nespresso, creative agency Croing and Latin Grammy‑winner Joaquina discussed how brand‑pop‑star collaborations have evolved. They emphasized that successful partnerships now require genuine artist‑brand alignment, deeper creative involvement, and...
Georgia-Pacific Names Ryan Elwart SVP to Lead Sales & Innovation for GP Foodservice
Georgia-Pacific announced Ryan Elwart as senior vice president of sales and innovation for its newly formed GP Foodservice Solutions unit, which includes Dixie and Anchor Packaging. Elwart will steer transformation of the company’s away‑from‑home disposables business, leveraging his prior experience...
On the Move: Penn State Health Names Royer PR Chief
Penn State Health announced the appointment of Dara Royer as senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer, effective June 29. Royer arrives from Syracuse University after senior roles at Mercy Corps and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. At the...
The Beatles’ Apple Corps Restructures Executive Team with New Hires and Promotions
Apple Corps, the Beatles’ creative and business arm, announced a sweeping executive reshuffle, adding four senior hires and promoting two long‑time staff. Lux Paterson becomes chief strategy and marketing officer, Jonathan Sands leads merchandise and retail strategy, Miranda Langford takes...
GenOptima Reports 79.5% Brand‑Bound Citation Rate for RaaS in AI Assistant Responses
GenOptima released a 14‑day benchmark indicating that AI assistants mention its Result‑as‑a‑Service (RaaS) brand in 79.5% of unprompted responses. The study, covering 567 RaaS mentions across 17 leading generative engines, marks the highest brand‑bound rate recorded for any 2026 GEO...
H&M Opens Storefront on Nordstrom Marketplace to Boost Omnichannel Reach
H&M has launched a dedicated storefront on Nordstrom’s online marketplace, adding its most popular items to the platform and promising regular refreshes. The move, highlighted by Kate Rogowski of H&M Americas, underscores the brand’s strategy to meet shoppers wherever they...
Beacon Bank Names Gary Levante CMO to Lead Brand Overhaul
Beacon Financial Corp., the parent of Beacon Bank, announced Gary Levante as its new chief marketing officer. Levante will head brand strategy, marketing, communications and public affairs for the $23.2 billion regional bank. The hire signals a push to modernize the...
Supergoop Partners With Target and the PGA as It Chases Mass Appeal
Supergoop has named January Digital as its agency of record for media planning and buying, covering brand, performance and retail spend. The decision follows the hiring of former Peloton CMO Lauren Weinberg, who met January Digital founder Vic Drabicky early...
How Urban Outfitters Co-Creates Campaigns with Gen Z
Urban Outfitters is reshaping its marketing by co‑creating campaigns directly with Gen Z creators, challenging the myth that the cohort lacks attention span. Head of brand marketing Cyntia Leo says the retailer taps real‑time social listening and user‑generated content to craft...
XTM International Names Niki Sotiropoulou CMO to Drive AI‑Powered Growth
XTM International announced the appointment of Niki Sotiropoulou as chief marketing officer, joining CEO Lorcan Malone in a leadership push to scale its AI‑driven localisation platform. The hire underscores the firm’s strategy to blend data‑rich marketing with product innovation for...
In Conversation: Are We Forgetting What Makes Marketing Work?
Lex Bradshaw‑Zanger, chief marketing and digital officer for SAP MENA at L’Oréal Groupe, argues that while digital tools have proliferated, the core principles of marketing remain unchanged. He frames digital as an infrastructure that supports brand building, consumer insight and reach, rather than...
Airbnb Rehires Varun Raina as Senior Marketing Lead for India
Airbnb announced that Varun Raina is returning as Senior Marketing Lead for India, bringing experience from Meta and WhatsApp. Raina’s appointment underscores Airbnb’s intent to deepen its brand presence in a rapidly expanding Indian travel market.
Infiniti, Nissan Trade Marketing Leads
Infiniti USA and Nissan USA have swapped senior marketing executives. Shelley Pratt, who led Infiniti’s marketing communications since 2022, is now Nissan’s director of brand and retail demand media reporting to CMO Allyson Witherspoon. Rob Martin, previously Nissan’s head of media,...
Birdy Grey Taps Stanley 1913 Vet as Chief Growth Officer
Birdy Grey, the digitally native bridal brand, appointed Anthony Potgieter as its first chief growth officer. Potgieter comes from senior e‑commerce roles at Stanley 1913, Evolve and Wyze, where he helped scale Wyze’s direct‑to‑consumer business to $200 million in two years. The new...
Mastercard Is Building for a World Where AI Makes the Decisions
Mastercard processes roughly 150 billion transactions each year, giving it a unique, anonymized view of real consumer spending. In a CES 2026 interview, EVP Rustom Dastoor argues that most brands use AI to reinforce existing tactics instead of unlocking new possibilities, coining...
Kellanova Teams with U.S. Soccer to Launch Six Limited‑Edition World Cup Snacks
Kellanova, now part of Mars Snacking, and the U.S. Soccer Federation announced a six‑product limited‑edition snack line debuting in May, designed to amplify fan moments around the 2026 World Cup. The partnership blends sports sponsorship with product innovation, targeting watch...
U.S. Bank Marketing Chief: Brand Refresh Conveys ‘We’ve Arrived’
U.S. Bank, a $700 billion‑asset lender, has completed the first phase of a comprehensive brand refresh that began in late 2023. The overhaul, driven by an internal creative team, introduces jewel‑tone palettes, updated photography, and a new shield motif across advertising,...
Harvey Hires Former Notion CMO Rachel Hepworth
Harvey, the legal‑AI platform, has appointed Rachel Hepworth as its new chief marketing officer. Hepworth previously served as CMO at Notion, led marketing at Slack, and advised fintech startup Lovable. The hire is positioned to help Harvey scale its brand...
NextRoll Appoints Finance and Marketing Leadership to Support Next Phase of Platform Growth
NextRoll, the maker of the AI‑powered AdRoll advertising platform, announced the hiring of Ryan Carhart as chief financial officer and Ryan Horn as vice president of marketing. The moves are designed to tighten the link between finance and go‑to‑market functions...
Panera Bread’s “Salad Stuffers” Spark Backlash Over Waste and Value
Panera Bread introduced its Salad Stuffers on April 8, marketing them as a fresh spin on the chain’s signature bread bowl. Within days, employees on Reddit reported that the product creates excess bread and salad waste, while customers question its...
Ellie Norman of Formula E on Cultural Bridge-Building
Ellie Norman, chief marketing officer of Formula E, previously held senior marketing roles at Manchester United and Formula 1. In a recent interview she outlined her career path and highlighted the “EVO Sessions” initiative that placed global creators behind the sport’s fastest‑accelerating...
Absolut: Getting People Talking About Vodka Again
Absolut Vodka’s global VP of marketing, Craig van Niekerk, says the brand is tackling vodka’s stagnant image with a three‑year partnership with Tabasco sauce, positioning the spicy variant as a flagship innovation. The company will leverage the Tabasco line into ready‑to‑drink...
Netflix Expands Ad‑supported Tier, CPMs Fall to $20s, Ad Revenue up 16%
Netflix has rolled out a broader ad‑supported subscription tier, cutting CPMs to the low $20s and prompting a 16.2% jump in quarterly revenue to $12.25 bn. The move signals the streamer’s shift from experimental ad sales to a core revenue pillar.
Spotify Launches Fitness Hub with Peloton, Adding 1,400 On‑Demand Classes
Spotify has introduced a Fitness hub inside its app, delivering more than 1,400 Peloton on‑demand workout videos to Premium subscribers worldwide. The move deepens Spotify’s push into video and wellness, targeting the 70% of its paying members who already exercise...
Born Creators Group MENA Appoints Liman Tabsh as Growth Officer for Qatar
Born Creators Group MENA has hired seasoned marketer Liman Tabsh as Growth Officer for Qatar, reinforcing the agency’s expansion strategy in the Gulf’s fastest‑growing market. Tabsh brings a track record of leading American Express MENA campaigns and expertise across fintech,...
MAHE Dubai’s Film Campaign Signals a Shift in How Education Institutions Market Themselves
Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Dubai has launched a new brand film, “Break Boundaries. Belong. Begin.”, shifting its messaging from traditional rankings and facilities to an identity‑focused narrative that emphasizes personal growth and belonging. The campaign includes a hero...
Coca-Cola Veteran Teejae Sonza Concludes a 26-Year Tenure
After 26 years, Coca‑Cola senior marketing director Teejae Sonza is leaving the company. Sonza oversaw the Coca‑Cola Trademark business across ASEAN and the South Pacific and previously served as country CMO for Indochina and the Philippines. She drove award‑winning, culturally...
WPP Creative Names VML's Ewen Sturgeon as EMEA Chief Executive
WPP Creative has appointed Ewen Sturgeon, currently the chief executive of VML, as the new chief executive for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. The role consolidates leadership across VML, Ogilvy and several other WPP agencies operating in...
How Urban Outfitters Co-Creates Campaigns with Gen Z
Urban Outfitters is reshaping its marketing by co‑creating campaigns directly with Gen Z creators, challenging the myth that the cohort only has short attention spans. Head of brand marketing Cyntia Leo says authenticity and digital fluency are key to earning their focus....
Bunnings Retail Media Head Sam Hegg Departs
Bunnings announced the departure of Sam Hegg, the architect behind its newly launched retail media arm, Hammer Media. Hegg joined Bunnings in 2024 after senior stints at Coles 360, Carat and Dentsu, and led the creation of a multi‑format ad ecosystem...
Ex-IPG Mediabrands CEO Mark Coad Joins Hatched
Mark Coad, former CEO of IPG Mediabrands and veteran of Omnicom’s OMD and PHD, has joined independent agency Hatched as a strategic advisor. His exit follows a high‑profile departure from the Omnicom‑IPG takeover, marking one of the most senior exits...
New Era Caps Appoints President and COO to Accelerate Post‑'47 Growth
New Era Cap announced Bruce Popko as President and Lorenz Gan as Chief Operating Officer, adding a veteran operations team as the company finalizes the integration of '47 Brand. The moves come as the caps maker reports $2 billion in annual...
Chipotle Taps Industry Vet Fernando Machado as Chief Brand Officer
Chipotle Mexican Grill announced Fernando Machado as its chief brand officer, effective June 1. Machado, a former CMO of Restaurant Brands International and Activision Blizzard, is known for high‑profile campaigns like the Moldy Whopper. He succeeds Chris Brandt and will lead global...
IHeart Exec Launches a “Conversation Company” For Podcasts and Live
iHeartMedia CMO Gayle Troberman announced the launch of Bubbler Media, a "conversation company" that blends podcasts, live experiences, and audience research to help brands engage consumers. The venture is positioned as a move beyond traditional "sae" marketing, emphasizing real‑time dialogue....
Ad Age Crowns Rocket’s Jonathan Mildenhall 2026 CMO of the Year
Ad Age has named Rocket Co.’s chief marketing officer Jonathan Mildenhall as its 2026 CMO of the Year. Mildenhall, the only CMO honoree from Detroit, joins a roster that includes The New York Times, IKEA and L’Oréal Paris. The award underscores his...
Five9 Creates New Chief Marketing and Growth Officer Role, Hires Jay Lee
Five9 announced the creation of a Chief Marketing and Growth Officer position and appointed former Icertis and Avalara CMO Jay Lee to fill it. The new role will align the company's global marketing, revenue strategy and operations around its AI‑driven...
Mayra Contreras Returns as TEADS Mexico GM to Accelerate Omnichannel Growth
TEADS has reappointed Mayra Contreras as General Manager of its Mexico operation, tasking her with launching a new CTV offering and deepening the company's omnichannel footprint. Contreras, who previously grew the team by 110%, brings decades of tech‑media experience to...
On the Move: FINN Names Swan Head of Futures and Client Transformation
FINN Partners announced Greg Swan as head of Futures and Client Transformation, tasking him with AI‑driven innovation and new‑business development for U.S. clients. Haleon appointed Richard Manso as U.S. chief marketing officer to fuse data, technology and consumer insight across...
The Executive Who Made Starbucks BFFs With MrBeast and Taylor Swift
Starbucks is pivoting from its traditional word‑of‑mouth model to high‑profile celebrity partnerships, enlisting Taylor Swift, Khloé Kardashian and YouTube star MrBeast. The initiative is driven by Global Chief Brand Officer Tressie Lieberman, who previously worked with CEO Brian Niccol at Chipotle, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut....
Angry Chickz VP Tonya McCoy Fuels 63% Sales Surge with Data‑first Marketing
Tonya McCoy, Vice President of Marketing for the Angry Chickz franchise, has leveraged data‑driven tactics to lift territory unit sales by 63% and oversee multi‑million‑dollar marketing budgets. Her 28‑year food‑service marketing career underscores Angry Chickz’s people‑first, performance‑focused culture.