Tiffany & Co. Appoints First Chief Marketing Officer In Over Five Years

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This week in leadership updates, Tiffany & Co. promotes Andrea Davey to chief marketing officer, Jones Soda Co. names Bohb Blair its first chief marketing officer, Calvin Klein global chief marketing officer Linh Peters resigns, Capitol Music Group names Mike Sherwood executive vice president of global marketing and strategy and more.

Tiffany & Co. Elevates Andrea Davey To Chief Marketing Officer

Tiffany & Co. has promoted Andrea Davey to chief marketing officer, making her the first in over five years.

Davey has been with Tiffany & Co. since 2013 and most recently served as senior vice president of global marketing.

Before Tiffany & Co., Davey held an array of corporate marketing roles and led key businesses for Procter & Gamble.

Jones Soda Co. Names Bohb Blair Its First-Ever Chief Marketing Officer

Jones Soda has scouted Bohb Blair for its inaugural chief marketing officer position.

Previously, Blair was global chief experience officer at Starcom. Prior to Starcom, he held director-level positions at several creative agencies.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Appoints Karen Madden As Head Of Marketing

The ABC—not to be confused with the American Broadcasting Corporation—has hired Karen Madden as chief marketing officer.

Madden was most recently a divisional director of marketing, communications and fundraising at Taronga Conservation Society in Australia. Prior to that, Madden worked at Nine Entertainment Co. for over two years.

Linh Peters Steps Down As Global Chief Marketing Officer Of Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein global chief marketing officer Linh Peters has resigned, according to WWD.

Prior to joining Calvin Klein in November 2020, Peters worked at Starbucks as vice president of loyalty, partnerships and licensed stores product and marketing.

Before Starbucks, Peters served as Ulta’s head of loyalty marketing and strategy.

Capitol Music Group Names Mike Sherwood Executive Vice President Of Global Marketing And Strategy

Capitol Records has tapped Warner Bros. Records veteran Mike Sherwood as executive vice president of global marketing and strategy.

Reporting to Capitol Records general manager and executive vice president Larry Mattera, Sherwood will lead CMG’s commercial and DTC marketing strategies, according to Billboard.

Previously, Sherwood spent over 15 years at Warner Bros. Records, most recently as senior vice president of streaming and revenue.

Open Farm Inc. Appoints Mark Sapir As First-Ever Chief Marketing Officer

Open Farm has named Mark Sapir its inaugural chief marketing officer.

Sapir most recently was chief marketing officer of Stella & Chewy’s. Prior to that, Sapir served as vice president of marketing at Merrick Pet Care.

Truck Hero, Inc. Taps Tony Ambroza As Chief Growth Officer

Tony Ambroza is Truck Hero’s new chief growth officer, the company announced in a press release.

Ambroza joins Truck Hero from Carhartt, where he was chief brand officer for over a decade. His experience also includes leadership roles at Nike and Under Armour.

Smalls Sliders Hires Katherine LeBlanc As New Chief Marketing Officer

Smalls Sliders is bringing on Katherine LeBlanc to serve as chief marketing officer, according to QSR Magazine.

Most recently, LeBlanc served as chief marketing officer of Twist Brands. Prior to that, she was director of brand marketing for Smoothie King.

Quality Bicycle Products Taps Shylo Masumi Farnsworth As Vice President Of Brand Marketing

Shylo Masumi Farnsworth has been appointed Quality Bicycle Products’ vice president of brand marketing.

Farnsworth joins Quality Bicycle Products from Nike where she spent over 13 years, most recently as global senior director of men’s brand creative.

BMG Elevates Maximilian Kolb To Senior Vice President Of Repertoire And Marketing For Continental Europe Division

BMG’s Maximilian Kolb has accepted a promotion as senior vice president and marketing for the company’s operations in Continental Europe.

Kolb, who’s been with BMG for the past 9 years, recently served as managing director of the company’s Germany, Switzerland and Austria operations.

Citi Appoints Elyse Lesley Chief Marketing Officer Of US Consumer Bank

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Citi has named Elyse Lesley chief marketing officer of its US Consumer Bank after a thorough selection process of both internal and external candidates, the company announced in a press release. Lesley, who has held the role on an interim basis since September, will report to the head of US Consumer Bank Gonzalo Luchetti and will have a matrix reporting relationship with Citi’s chief marketing officer.

Lesley will retain her most recent role as head of Citi’s US Consumer Partnerships and Franchise Development team. Prior to that, she served as head of shared services for Citi’s US Retail Bank for about eight years. Before joining Citi, she was head of marketing and sales strategy at Morgan Stanley and head of regional sales and marketing at Wells Fargo’s Eastern Community Bank.

In appointing Lesley, Citi is prioritizing a data-oriented and digital-first approach to its expansion strategy. In one of her previous roles at Citi, Lesley provided leadership in her team’s effort to define a business digital roadmap while working in partnership with global digital and technology organizations. 

According to Luchetti, another reason Lesley was selected is that she links her current team and the Partnerships and Franchise Development team with the effect of enhancing Citi’s ability to generate end-to-end strategies for clients and partners. As CMO, Lesley will shepherd the two teams toward achieving their collective goals of building a world-class digital and data-oriented marketing organization that will be made possible through leading advertising and marketing technology, a growth mindset, a client-centric approach and a passion for driving Citi’s digital sales transformation.

“In her 10 years on our team, Elyse has built an impressive record of innovative, client-centered and colleague-focused leadership. While leading the Partnerships and Franchise Development team, she has ensured we continue to accelerate our efforts to attract, retain and serve multi-relationship clients, an important enabler of our continued growth. And her focus on strengthening our relationships with current partners and building a pipeline of new partnerships is empowering us to continue increasing the scale of our customer base,” said Luchetti.

Lesley replaces Mary Hines Droesch who stepped down last month to lead Bank of America’s consumer and small business products division.

Trend Set: Misinfo, Squid Game And More

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Ayzenberg junior strategist Ashley Otah surfaces the latest trends at play in the world of culture and entertainment.

Misinformation

Nearly all Americans agree that misinformation is a large problem, and most think social media companies, and those that use them, are responsible for the spread. This is according to a new report from the Pearson Institute/AP-NORC Poll. While two out of ten Americans say they are very concerned they have had a hand in spreading it, six out of ten Americans are somewhat concerned that friends and family have spread misinformation. As platforms continue the race to the top and transparency is continually being demanded, the poll findings indicate a seismic shift felt by all.

Squid Game

The games continue. As the Korean Netflix Original ‘Squid Game’ continues to rise in popularity, there is no denying it’s huge impact. White van slip ons saw a 7,800% spike in sales according to data provided by Sole Supplier, actress Jung Ho-Yeon gained over 14.6 Million instagram followers and inked a Louis Vuitton deal, and Oxford dictionary is said to be adding 26 Korean words.

“Taking Stock With Teens” Survey

The kids of the future. In Piper Sandler’s bi-annual “Taking Stock With Teens” survey, much was gleaned from 10,000 US teenagers across the country. Taking the top spot for most favored social service was Snapchat while Facebook and Twitter are dubbed teenagers’ least favorite. Venmo again ranked as the #1 payment platform and 9% of teens claim to have traded in cryptocurrency. Coming in as a surprise was Teens’ favorite celebrity—Adam Sandler—while their favorite influencer is Emma Chamberlain. As the youth grows into their own, the survey showcases changing tides and how brands can connect with their audiences.

Turner Classic Movies

Turning to TikTok. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is taking to TikTok to meet the next generation. While sharing short clips and cultivating community, TCM is introducing the joys of the classic film experience to a new audience. Garnering over 360,000 followers and over 8 million likes with a variety of posts, TCM is showcasing how ‘then meets now,’ just like their rebranded tagline.

Twitter

Vibe check! Twitter is testing prompts on the iOS and Android applications that give a heads up about the type of conversations you are entering. There has been an uptick in features like Twitch’s phone and email verification to Google and YouTube kid safety features to combat harassment and support healthy conversation.

Marketing Through An IPO With Monday.com’s Molly Aviva Sonenberg

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Molly Sonenberg is creative brand manager at monday.com where she drives the brand’s voice and keeps messaging consistent across the brand’s channels.

In this episode, Molly and I discuss her insatiable need to work, how she ended up at monday.com, and how the company culture seeps through not only the product but their marketing as well. Molly says, “At monday.com we believe sharing knowledge makes you a better leader and leads to increased success for the organization.”

Listen to hear why culture is so important at monday.com and how they approached marketing while the company was going public.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Sharing information leads to success
  • You should be nicer to yourself
  • Marketing partnerships are underrated

Key Highlights:

  • [03:08] Molly’s journey to monday.com
  • [05:41] What is monday.com?
  • [08:03] Culture defines everything at monday.com
  • [12:17] How does culture affect marketing?
  • [21:22] How does Molly combat Imposter Syndrome?
  • [28:35] Brands to take notice of
  • [30:54] What’s the biggest threat for marketers today?

Resources Mentioned: 

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Connect with the Guest:

Connect with Marketing Today and Alan Hart:

Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth opportunities. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine companies.

Trend Set: Spooky Season, Social NFTs And Coke’s ‘Real Magic’

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Ayzenberg junior strategist Ashley Otah surfaces the latest trends at play in the world of culture and entertainment.

Coca-Cola

In the first new platform since 2016, Coke’s ‘Real Magic’ global campaign kicked off with a new ad titled “One Coke Away from Each Other.” Centering around Gen Z and gamers, the video showcases the dichotomies between the virtual landscape and unity in the digital age. Although a split camp has arisen regarding its reception, many note that it aligns with previous themes from the brand.

NFTs

TikTok and Twitter take on NFTs. While Twitter is solidifying a new process for NFT authentication, TikTok has decided to partner with select celebrities, creators and more to release a collection. Expect to see similar integrations and rollouts from platforms soon.

Clubhouse

Clubhouse now lets users record streams, share and download clips, and more. The new features titled ‘replays‘ and ‘clips‘ aim to align with the similar offerings of Twitter Spaces and Spotify Greenroom. As the space becomes more competitive, interactiveness and personalization are becoming increasingly imperative.

“Spooky Season”

Have no fear, fall is finally here. Although people can’t quite pin the person who coined the term, a deep dive into the world wide web showcases the rise of “Spooky Season.” Dubbing things “Spooky Spice Lattes,” “Spooky Baskets,” and more, brands are catching up and cashing in on people’s love for “Spooky Season.”

Square

Tapping into TikTok. Square partners with the platform to let its TikTok for Business users promote and sell on the video app. Social commerce is booming and does not look to be slowing down as more want fast, easy, and integrated shopping experiences.

The Washington Post Taps Perrin Lawrence As Head Of Brand Marketing

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This week in leadership updates, The Washington Post hires Perrin Lawrence as head of brand marketing, Zip Co names Jinal Shah chief marketing officer, Sesame Workshop elevates chief marketing officer Samantha Maltin to executive vice president and more.

‘The Washington Post’ Names Perrin Lawrence Head Of Brand Marketing

Perrin Lawrence has joined The Washington Post as head of its newly formed brand marketing division.

Lawrence joins from AI.Reverie where she was head of marketing and communications.

Previously, Lawrence spent five years at The New York Times, most recently as senior manager of international marketing. For a time, she also served as director of audience development for the NBA.

Zip Co Hires Jinal Shah As US Chief Marketing Officer

Zip Co has appointed Jinal Shah chief marketing officer for its US market.

Shah joins Zip from Feather, where she led marketing for nearly two years.

Prior to Feather, Shah was vice president of marketing and ecommerce at S’well.

Sesame Workshop Promotes Samantha Maltin To Executive Vice President And Chief Marketing Officer

Sesame Workshop’s chief marketing officer Samantha Maltin has added executive vice president to her purview. Maltin has been chief marketing officer for the company since 2019 and will now expand her scope to include strategic communications, events and archives.

Before joining Sesame Workshop, Maltin was a partner at Known. She also previously spent four years with A+E Networks as a senior vice president and head of marketing for the HISTORY Channel and H2, as well as 15 years at Viacom/Nickelodeon in senior domestic and international roles.

Focus Brands Elevates Mike Freeman To Chief Brand Officer Of McAlister’s Deli

Focus Brands-owned McAlister’s Deli has promoted Mike Freeman to chief brand officer.

Freeman has been with McAlister’s Deli for 13 years and was most recently vice president of operations.

Halloween Spending Expected To Reach All-Time High Of $10.14 Billion This Year

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After a Halloween-less past year, Americans plan to spend more than ever on Halloween-related items with consumer spending around the holiday projected to reach an all-time high of $10.14 billion. That’s up from $8.05 billion in 2020 according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

With retailers bringing in Halloween merchandise earlier than normal this year, consumers are getting a headstart on their Halloween shopping. Forty-five percent plan to shop in September or earlier and another 39 percent during the first two weeks of October. This gives marketers an opportunity to start their Halloween campaigns early and get a leg up on competitors.

On average, US consumers celebrating Halloween this year plan to spend $102.74 on costumes, candy, decorations and greeting cards—$10 more than they planned to spend in 2020.

Households with kids are estimated to spend more than twice the amount than households without children ($149.69 compared with $73.57) on Halloween items. Spending on Halloween decorations continues to climb and is expected to reach $3.17 billion, up from last year’s $2.59 billion.

At $3.32 billion, the NRF says total spending on Halloween costumes is the highest it’s ever been since 2017. Over 1.8 million children plan to dress as Spiderman, more than 1.6 million as their favorite princess, more than 1.2 million as Batman and more than 1.2 million as their other favorite superheroes.

As for adults, about 69 percent already have their costumes planned. More than 4.6 million will dress like a witch. Other top costume choices for adults this year include a vampire, a ghost, a cat and a pirate.

One in five plan to dress their pet up for the holiday this year—28 percent of those aged 18-24 and 30 percent of those aged 25-34. The most popular costumes for furry friends this year include a pumpkin, hotdog, superhero and bumblebee.

Halloween celebration plans are also on the up and up, with an estimated 65 percent of Americans intending to celebrate Halloween or participate in Halloween activities—not too far off from the 68 percent in 2019 before the pandemic and slightly higher than the 58 percent in 2020.

The top Halloween activities consumers plan to engage in include handing out candy (66 percent), decorating their home or yard (52 percent), dressing in costumes (46 percent) and carving a pumpkin (44 percent). Just a quarter of Americans plan to host or attend a Halloween party this year.

The NRF’s findings are based on responses from 8,061 consumers during a survey conducted from September 1 to 8.

Trend Set: Emily Zugay’s Brand Redesigns, Fortnite x Balenciaga

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Ayzenberg junior strategist Ashley Otah surfaces the latest trends at play in the world of culture and entertainment.

Crypto

Tipping on Twitter just took a turn. Twitter has announced a new feature for its platform which allows Bitcoin payments through Strike, a crypto wallet app. This cements the company as the first mainstream social platform to roll out crypto features for its users. Most recently, China declares bitcoin illegal.

Merch Madness

Colossal collaborations and drops are happening left and right. From Balenciaga x Fortnite, Swedish House Mafia x IKEA, and A&W’s Cheddar Weather, brands are cashing in on limited capsule drops that keep the people coming back for more.

Streaming

The race to the top streaming spot. Amazon has launched Prime Video Channels in India as they look to expand in the market. While Netflix rolls out free plans in Kenya on Android smartphones, Disney+ brings back a limited capacity of its seven-day free trial.

TikTok

TikToker Emily Zugay is teaching brands design 101. After uploading a now-viral video showcasing her rebranding skills, Adobe, Detroit Lions, Nascar and more are knocking at her door. While the people love it, they want brands to step up and pay for the promo.

Investing

Money matters. MagnifyMoney found that nearly six in ten investors aged 40 or younger are members of investment communities and forums, and nearly half turned to social platforms for research. Social media is becoming a sounding board for the next generation of investors in this modern trading world.

Progressive Insurance Appoints Remi Kent Chief Marketing Officer

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This week in leadership updates, Progressive names Remi Kent chief marketing officer, Samba TV appoints Meredith Brace chief marketing officer, Xerox elevates Deena LaMarque Piquion to chief marketing officer, Barclays US Consumer Bank taps Lili Tomovich as chief marketing officer and more.

Progressive Insurance Hires Remi Kent As Chief Marketing Officer

Progressive Insurance has named Remi Kent chief marketing officer. Kent joins from 3M, where she spent the past eight years, most recently as senior vice president, global chief marketing officer.

Prior to 3M, Kent spent 13 years at Procter & Gamble where she led marketing for businesses across North America, Asia and Western Europe.

Xerox Promotes Deena LaMarque Piquion To Chief Marketing Officer

Xerox has elevated Deena LaMarque Piquion, senior vice president and general manager of Xerox’s Latin America operations, to chief marketing officer.

Prior to Xerox, Piquion spent nearly 20 years at Tech Data, most recently as vice president and general manager of the company’s Latin America and Caribbean operations.

Barclays US Consumer Bank Appoints Lili Tomovich Chief Marketing Officer

Barclays US Consumer Bank has named Lili Tomovich chief marketing officer.

Tomovich joins Barclays from Grove Collaborative, where she served as chief marketing officer. Previously, Tomovich was the chief experience and marketing officer for MGM Resorts International.

Bank Of America Plans To Ditch Its Chief Marketing Officer Role

Following the retirement of its chief marketing officer Meredith Verdone later this year, Bank of America will axe its chief marketing officer role. 

According to Business Insider, Bank of America’s head of digital David Tyrie will oversee marketing operations when the shift occurs. With this shift, Bank of America’s 1,400-person marketing team will also be integrated into Tyrie’s digital team.

As Tryie told Insider Intelligence, “Digital has become the centerpiece of the relationship with our customers.”

SiriusXM Announces New Senior Marketing Executives

SiriusXM has added new executives to its marketing team. First up, Jasmin Chanana has been named senior vice president, digital and customer experience. Chanana joins from EY, where he served as managing director, digital.

In addition, Kimberly Wilson has been appointed senior vice president, brand and advertising. Wilson previously served as vice president, multiplatform marketing for Disney.

Samba TV Taps Meredith Brace As Chief Marketing Officer

Samba TV has hired Meredith Brace as its first chief marketing officer in 21 months.

Brace joins Samba TV from Fox, where she most recently served as executive vice president, brand marketing and category sales.

Samba’s chief marketing officer role has been vacant since Randi Barshack exited in December 2019. Since then, head of marketing Jim Tarr assumed the role.

Facebook And Ray-Ban Take Their Shot At Smart Glasses

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Amid a push to defend its image and in light of company documents showing awareness that Instagram is harmful to teen girls, Facebook has debuted Ray-Ban Stories, its first generation of smart glasses and the first launch from its multi-year partnership with EssilorLuxottica, which was inked in September 2020.

Paired with the Facebook View app, the wearable tech has built-in open-ear audio speakers and a three-microphone audio array to enable voice calls and music listening akin to an experience you’d expect from dedicated headphones, plus two integrated 5MP cameras that let wearers capture, save and share photos and up to 30-second videos to social media apps on their phone.

Ray-Ban Stories—which start at $299 and are available in 20 style combinations and five colors in select retail stores in the US and abroad—mark Facebook’s next step to developing augmented reality (AR) glasses, which the company confirmed in 2018 it’s building.

The internet’s reaction to Ray-Ban Stories has so far has been mixed. Some users believe the glasses have ushered in the next era of AR and virtual reality (VR), while others believe they’re wrong in every way, expressing concerns around privacy and personal data. And given the deluge of privacy hiccups Facebook has run into, there’s a lot to unpack here.

Facebook says it “baked privacy directly into Ray-Ban’s design and functionality,” adding that the glasses include a hardwired capture LED in the camera that shines a white light as a means to notify people nearby while snapping photos or videos.

European regulators deem the light an inadequate mechanism, with Facebook’s lead EU data protection regulator calling on the tech giant to “confirm and demonstrate that the LED indicator light is effective for its purpose and to run an information campaign to alert the public as to how this new consumer product may give rise to less obvious recording of their images,” according to TechCrunch.

Facebook published a set of guidelines for wearing the smart glasses responsibly, such as powering off the glasses in public bathrooms and not tampering with the LED light, but some are concerned they still pose a big opportunity for them to be used nefariously. One Twitter user responded to Facebook’s announcement by tweeting:

“Can these record other people without them knowing and their consent? Seems a massive invasion of privacy disaster waiting to happen. But then again, it’s @Facebook. Since when do they care about privacy”

Other privacy-centric features include the ability to determine personal preferences for importing photos and videos and when and where you share content with the glasses. Facebook says photos and videos are encrypted on the Ray-Ban Stories, which can only be paired with one Facebook account at a time. That means if you lose your glasses and someone tries pairing them with a new phone and account, any data and media left on the glasses would be automatically deleted.

There still remain qualms about personal data breaches, with one Twitter user saying: 

“Is there a conversation going on about the threat these cameras pose to passwords? I can’t help but think about how easy a casual glance at the person next to you on the train’s phone as they look at their bank account gives you record of their most sensitive information…”

Facebook says that Ray-Ban Stories only collect data needed to make the glasses work and function, like the battery status, your email address and password for your Facebook login to verify it’s really you when you log into the Facebook View app, as well as your WiFi connectivity. Users can opt-in to share additional data — including things like the number of images you captured or how long you spend taking videos — with Facebook for product development, improvement and personalization. In addition, the use of Facebook Assistant for voice command-powered capture is optional via Settings.

It’s too early to tell if Ray-Ban Stories will be viewed as an ahead-of-its-time product, but it’s undeniable that people aren’t fully comfortable with camera glasses. Case in point: Earlier predecessors have already tried and failed with wearable tech—users expressed privacy concerns over Google Glass’ built-in camera and just 0.08 percent of Snapchat’s users bought its camera sunglasses Spectacles.  

On that note, one Twitter user pointed out the lack of Facebook’s innovation, saying: “@Snapchat already did this no one needs this. Okay you added speakers…”

As of now, Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses and the Facebook View app are ad-free, but given advertising revenue continues to be the bulk of the company’s income—ad revenue surged 56 percent to $28.6 billion in Q2—it would come as no surprise if that changed down the road. Until then, the smart glasses will provide brands a transformative approach to the way they capture content, specifically the ability to put viewers in the driver’s seat via an immersive, first-person experience.

As Facebook notes:

“We designed media capture to stand up to a lot of movement—from your head swiveling to take in a scene to the speed of capture from your skateboard. Optimizations from our computational photography work include HDR and Low Light Fusion, Video Stabilization, and Denoising. We also applied machine learning-enhanced tone rendering to enhance photos and videos, so they feel as authentic as the moment itself.”

Ray-Ban Stories are just the start. Facebook says there’s more in store for the future and that wearers can expect regular software updates meant to improve the experience.