Update: Kohl's searches for new CMO (Score 43)

Update: Kohl's announced that its CMO, Greg Revelle, is leaving the company on June 1st, 2022. Revelle joined the company in 2017 from Best Buy, where he also served as CMO. I am not sure about his future plans. The company has already started searching for Revelle's replacement. We will be sure to update you once a decision has been made because it will affect the company's marketing strategy and could lead to agency reviews. 

Please refer to the article below for spend and targeting data. 

Agency & martech readers-- Kohl's started working with Horizon Media on traditional media buying earlier in May. I believe it also works with creative & digital AOR Triptent. Start preparing your pitches so that you are ready to reach out once Kohl's finds a new CMO. 

The original article was published on May 12:

Kohl's finished the review we told you about in January. Horizon Media will now handle traditional media buying for the retailer. Kohl's DMs reportedly believe Horizon will help it reach and engage with consumers more effectively. This replaces incumbent shop Zenith after a nine-year tenure. It may still be looking for more help because Horizon's remit is only for traditional media buying. 

Per Pathmatics, Kohl's earned 3.2b impressions YTD through Facebook ads (42%), desktop video ads (38%), Instagram ads (12%), Twitter ads (6%) and desktop display ads (1%). It placed the majority (99%) of these ads site direct onto sites such as facebook.com, youtube.com, instagram.com, twitter.com and whowhatwear.com. It placed the remainder (1%) indirectly through Yahoo DSP and Google AdX+AdSense onto sites such as yahoo.com, espn.com, my.xfinity.com, msn.com and dictionary.com. It spent approximately $32m on digital display ads YTD, a 54% increase from $20.8m spent in this channel during the same time period of 2021. Full-year spend jumped by 80% from $53m in 2020 to $95.4m in 2021. 

According to iSpot, Kohl's spent close to $50.7m on national TV ads YTD, a slight (3%) increase from $49.2m spent in this channel during the same time period of 2021. Full-year spend increased by 71% from $101.7m in 2020 to $174m in 2021. This year, it placed ads during programming such as "PAW Patrol," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "NCIS," "Friends" and "American Idol." 

Sellers-- Kohl's mainly targets millennial and Gen-X women through national TV and digital display ads. The company ramped spend back up in 2021, after it cut marketing costs during the beginning of the pandemic. However, YTD digital spend is significantly lower than the amount it spend during the same time period of 2021. This indicates the company may want to focus additional funds on more traditional marketing channels. Kohl's also invests in OOH, print, radio and local broadcast TV ads, per Kantar. Sellers should reach out offering ad space to score some of these extra ad dollars. 

Agency & martech readers-- In addition to Horizon, Kohl's also works with creative & digital AOR Triptent. Agency reviews commonly follow one another, so reach out to see if Kohl's could use your assistance. Those of you with retail experience may have an advantage.