CMO Corner
Foot Locker Reinforces Its Core Position in Sneaker Culture with a New Brand Platform
Foot Locker launched a new brand platform on Friday, focusing on its role in sneaker culture since its founding in 1974. The integrated marketing campaign spans TV, social, digital, out-of-home, and in-store channels, and features a two-minute hero film titled "It Always Will Be Foot Locker." The campaign was created by creative agency Someplace and follows the May basketball platform "Hoops Lives Here," extending further into pop culture moments beyond sports.
Papa John's Appoints New CMO and Doubles Down on Mass Marketing Amid Performance Pressure
Papa John's announced senior marketing leadership changes: Chris Lyn-Sue will take over as global CMO, while current CMO Jenna Bromberg will depart but remain as an advisor until August 28. The company plans to shift media budgets toward mass-market exposure in the second half of the year and rebuild regional marketing cooperatives to reverse the Q2 same-store sales declines (global -5.7%, North America -8.3%).
The CMO's Guide to Machine Relations: From Media Relations to Generative Engine Optimization
AI is reshaping brand discovery paths, and CMOs face a battle for narrative control. Based on industry research, this article proposes a five-step action framework for shifting from media relations to machine relations, covering visibility audits, authoritative content feeding, community influence, third-party profile optimization, and instant answer strategies, while emphasizing measuring model share rather than just share of voice.
Festival marketing needs a new playbook
Traditional festival marketing rewarded the best planners, but today's shopping season is longer, more nonlinear, and more dynamic. AI assistants change purchase decisions, and consumer behavior fluctuates frequently. Successful brands will treat festival campaigns as living systems, continuously monitoring and adjusting creative and budgets, winning on relevance rather than reach.
Liberty Mutual Turns Viral Ad Moment Into New Brand Character
Liberty Mutual introduced a new brand character, Liberty Biberty, on Monday, derived from a verbal slip in a 2019 advertisement and developed in collaboration with Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The brand hopes to stand out in the insurance category and plans to promote it through multi-channel campaigns.
Kate Spade Appoints New Chief Marketing Officer, Focusing on 'Reigniting the Magic'
Kate Spade announced Allison Badea as Chief Marketing Officer, bringing years of experience from L'Oréal Group. Parent company Tapestry is driving the 'Reignite the Magic' strategy, but Kate Spade's quarterly sales fell 10%, contrasting with Coach's strong growth.
AI is widening the marketing accountability gap. How can CMOs fill it?
AI is maturing far faster than organizational capabilities are being built. At the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, several CMOs admitted to InMarket's Chief Marketing Officer Natalie Bastian that the industry has clearly fallen behind in accountability. Sanjna Parulekar, Senior Vice President of Product Marketing at Salesforce, stated, "The pilot is over; everyone is in production." However, Forrester 2024 data shows that 64% of B2B marketing leaders do not trust their organization's measurement systems. This article analyzes the causes of this "accountability gap" and proposes five actionable organizational recommendations to help CMOs turn AI investments into verifiable business outcomes.
Dollar Shave Club Unleashes Advertising Creative Potential with Generative AI
After rising to fame in 2012 with a $4,000 video, Dollar Shave Club recently spent only $400 to create the most successful advertising campaign in its brand history using generative AI. Chief Brand and Innovation Officer Laura Higgins stated that the company will continue to fully embrace AI to accelerate marketing processes and reduce costs. The latest AI advertisement, "Danglers," promotes its Ball Spray product, while the brand is returning to its early irreverent style and exploring new models of collaboration with external agencies.
Rockstar Energy CMO on Turning Latent Brand Value into Market Share
After Celsius Holdings acquired Rockstar Energy from PepsiCo in 2025, it is fully driving the brand's revival. Chief Marketing Officer Rishi Daing points out that Rockstar possesses brand value far exceeding its market share. By reshaping the 'Live Loud' brand image, deepening engagement in music subcultures, and sports sponsorships like NASCAR, the brand aims to attract a new generation of consumers and strengthen its presence in the Eastern and Southern U.S. markets.
Doritos Achieves Global Year-Round Coverage Through F1 Partnership
Doritos' official partnership with F1 has been extended through 2030. The brand launches its global 'The Crunch Prix' campaign, leveraging F1's year-round race calendar to conduct experiential marketing in over 50 markets, attracting young, female, and digital-native consumers.