Sales Lead: Allbirds recently expanded its eco-friendly sneakers to a new retail distribution partner, REI. Allbirds is relying heavily on partnerships with retailers; additional partners include Nordstrom and Dick's Public Lands brand. The company's own brick-and-mortar presence has also grown; so far, it operates 46 stores. The company will likely: Increase localized ad spent to bolster brick-and-mortar foot traffic Continue pursuing retail expansion Keep promoting its...

Sales Lead: In a new push to reach Gen-Z, Shake Shack (SS) entered the gaming world via a new restaurant in The Sims 4. The company is also teaming up with influencers such as Twitch streamer KelseyDangerous, who released a two-hour sponsored livestream for SS. The company will likely: Continue shifting its strategy to more effectively generate brand awareness among Gen-Z This means that its digital spend will probably continue increasing. Team up with simila...

Sales Lead: Krystal recently utilized a new partnership with social media influencer Brittany Renner in an initiative promoting its "side chik" sandwich. Made by Chemistry Atlanta, the campaign rolled out on October 3 (Don't forget, Fullmetal Alchemist fans!) across social, TV, and OOH, among other channels. The company will likely: Keep increasing spend Pursue similar future influencer partnerships Conduct agency reviews under its new CMO (more below) Target demog...

Sales Lead: Chip Coyle became the CMO at ECI Software. Coyle will focus on building ECI's global marketing and demand generation strategy, overseeing its execution across regions including the US, and bringing the company's brand vision to life. In his previous role as the CMO at Blue Prism, Coyle is credited with having led a 40% revenue increase in his first year. Hopefully, he will be able to drive similar growth at ECI. Coyle succeeds incumbent Adrian van Haaften, who departed i...

Sales lead: PR appointments commonly precede additional agency hires.  CNET named MWWPR its PR AOR in October 2022.  The agency will be responsible for media & government relations, communications strategy, and thought leadership. MWWPR is also tasked with helping the company reach younger consumers such as Gen Alpha, Gen-Z, and millennials.  CNET's target demographic: Gen Alpha, Gen-Z, & millennials The company will likely: Seek additional agency assistance Continue...

Sales lead: Get in touch to score some of these extra ad dollars. ShipStation has been aggressively ramping up digital display and national TV ad spend so far this year. This is the second year in a row it has significantly increased digital spend. The company decreased TV spend in 2021, but it reversed that trend so far in 2022.  In other news: We recently told you about ShipStation's parent company, Auctane, naming Lisa Johnston its first-ever CMO in August 2022. S...

Sales lead: This hire could lead to digital spend increases and agency reviews.  Target named Prat Vemana chief digital/product officer, effective October 31st, 2022.  He will report to EVP & chief guest experience officer Cara Sylvester.  Vermana most recently served as SVP & CDO of Kaiser Permanente.  He will be responsible for site merchandising, user experience, digital operations, & Target+.  We told you about Target promoting Cara Sylvester from chief marketing...

Sales lead: Reach out to this company to score some of these extra campaign ad dollars. Converse recently kicked off "Create Now. Create Next," its first major brand campaign in four years.  It will be supported across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Spotify, Hulu, and YouTube. There will also be OOH and transit ads in major cities.  The brand is specifically targeting Gen-Zers with this push. McCann Worldgroup took care of the creative work.  Converse's target demogr...

Sales lead: Be prepared to reach out to this chain once it finds a new marketing chief.  Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) lost its CMO, Rita Patel, in October 2022.  BWW's parent company, Inspire Brands, reassigned Patel as Arby's CMO.  Patel spent about two years as BWW's marketing chief. We will be sure to update you as soon as a replacement is announced. BWW's target demographic: Male millennial & Gen-Z sports fans Once BWW finds a new CMO, it will likely: Conti...

Sales lead: Reach out now because this hire will affect the company's marketing strategy and agency roster.  Arby's has filled the CMO vacancy we reported in June. Parent company Inspire Brands decided to move Rita Patel from Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) to Arby's, effective October 2022.  Patel joined BWW as CMO in September 2020 from Target, where she was the VP of brand management.  Patel will lead Arby's brand strategy, marketing communications, and menu innovation. ...