Cracker Barrel's CMO leaves the company (Score 51)

Sales lead: Keep an eye on this company as the next CMO will likely shift ad dollars around & make agency changes. 

• Cracker Barrel (CB) recently announced its CMO, Jennifer Tate, stepped down in August 2023.
• Tate spent three years leading marketing for the chain.
• As CMO, Tate handled brand management, PR, digital, and marketing strategy. 
• We will be sure to update you as soon as a replacement is announced. 

Target demographic: Millennials & Gen-Xers

Once it hires a new CMO, the company will likely:

• Keep ramping up digital ad spend
• Experiment with new ad channels
• Review the current agency roster

Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)

• YTD spend: CB spent almost $4.6m on national TV ads YTD, almost double the $2.4m spent in this channel during the same time period of 2022. 
• 2021-2022 spend: Full-year spend fell 38% from $9.6m in 2021 to $6m in 2022. 
• Ad programming: It placed ads during programming such as Chicago Fire, Vanderpump Rules, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Below Deck Mediterranean, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. 

Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)

• YTD spend: CB spent nearly $4.8m on digital display ads YTD, a slight (4%) decrease from $5m spent in this channel during the same time period of 2022. 
• YTD data: 651.1m impressions via Facebook (82%), Instagram (12%), and YouTube (6%). 
• 2021-2022 spend: Full-year spend increased 52% from $6.3m in 2021 to $9.6m in 2022. 
• Ad location: It placed 100% of these ads directly onto sites such as facebook.com, instagram.com, and youtube.com. 

Additional channel insights  

• Vivvix: CB also invests in OOH and local broadcast. 

Agency analysis:

• Opportunity: These accounts will become vulnerable once CB hires a new CMO.
• Current roster:
  • Dentsu: creative AOR
  • Carat: media AOR
  • Edelman: PR