10 CMOs to Watch in 2018
The article highlights 10 Chief Marketing Officers facing significant challenges in 2018 due to declining tenures, tough market conditions, and brand crises—such as Mark Crumpacker at Chipotle struggling with ongoing company mistakes, Greg Revelle at Kohl’s navigating traditional retail struggles amid cautious consumer optimism, Brandon Rhoten at Papa John’s managing fallout from a major PR scandal, and Mark Censoprano at Signet Jewelers confronting millennial disinterest in diamonds—indicating a heightened demand for agency expertise as these CMOs strive to perform under pressure.
We’ve never minced words: CMO hires are the top trigger of agency new business opportunities, and in 2018, those opportunities will be even more plentiful. We’re seeing CMO tenure continuing to fall, and with unfavorable consumer spending trends persisting, marketers are under even greater pressure to perform or risk being replaced.
Here are 10 Chief Marketers that are going to have the toughest time this year (and thus, the greatest need for agency expertise):
1. Mark Crumpacker, CMO, Chipotle
Tenure: 9 Years
Once untouchable, Chipotle continues to make mistake after mistake. Are they tanking on purpose for a #1 draft pick to use on their new CEO? 2018 is a make or break year for the NY Giants of the struggling fast casual sector.
2. Greg Revelle, CMO, Kohl’s
Tenure: ~1 Year
Kohl’s is still trying to sell stuff in a giant physical store. Like most traditional retailers, they’ve struggled since the Great Recession to get customers in the door. However, consumers are more upbeat about the economy than they have been in almost 20 years, despite being maxed out. The department store sector did just have their strongest holiday season in several years. Kohl’s and other department stores will want to capitalize on this optimism before it pops.
3. Brandon Rhoten, CMO, Papa John’s
Tenure: 10 Months
Just when you thought a brand couldn’t commit a marketing fail worse than Pepsi did this year, Papa John’s said, “hold my beer.” Founder John Schnatter shook his finger at the NFL protests, leading to a social media storm and even praise from white supremacists. Schnatter stepped down as CEO, leaving Rhoten and incoming CEO Steve Ritchie to pick the pizza chain up off the floor. Hopefully, Rhoten can summon enough Force power to lift Papa John’s out of the swamp.
4. Mark Censoprano, CMO, Signet Jewelers
Tenure: 8 Months
Millennials just won’t buy diamonds. Maybe they’re spending all of their money on avocado toast, or maybe they don’t have the money to spend on overpriced gemstones and are waiting longer to get married. This is a disaster for traditional jewelry sellers like Signet, which gets almost 70% of their revenue from diamond sales.
5. Aimee Lapic, CMO, Pandora Media
Tenure: 2 Months
Once the leader in Internet radio, Pandora figured out too late to jump into the streaming music space. Now, Spotify, Apple Music, and others have a huge lead on acquiring new listeners. Look for the legacy brand to try to make a comeback.
6. Carla Hassan, CMO, Toys R Us
Tenure: ~1 Year
Long gone are the days when parents left their kids at the Super Nintendo station while shopping. Now, parents can buy gifts on Amazon. The end is near for bankrupt Toys R Us, but they’re not going gently into that good night.
7. Debo Mukherjee, CMO, Flowers Foods
Tenure: 4 months
Battling flat bread sales, Flowers Foods is pivoting to a consumer direct strategy to reach carb haters switching bread out for butter coffee. Hopefully, rising organic bread sales can turn the tide. Keep a close eye on Dave’s Killer Bread in 2018 and 2019.
8. Kumar Galhotra, CMO, Ford
Tenure: 4 months (but he’s been with Ford since 1988)
Carmakers are in trouble, and Ford is particularly vulnerable because so much of their revenue comes from SUVs and expensive gas guzzling F-Series trucks. Once gas prices rise and/or credit runs out, Ford will be stuck leaning on their more affordable compacts and sedans that fewer and fewer people want.
9. Bozoma Saint John, Chief Brand Officer, Uber
Tenure: 7 Months
Unlike Chipotle, Uber can commit one PR blunder after another and still bring in a ton of revenue. However, Uber knows their love-hate brand image leaves them exposed to myriad competitors. Enter Saint John and some fun millennial friendly lifestyle marketing to come.
10. Greg Lyons, CMO, PepsiCo North American Beverages
Tenure: 1 Year (but he’s been with PepsiCo and FritoLay since the 90s)
Pepsi has a rough road ahead, already struggling enough to sell sugar water. No, handing their detractors a Pepsi won’t solve everything.
There’s more where that came from
You might be wondering, how do we know which CMOs might be looking for agency partners? Where can you get more opportunities like this?
Our predictive sales intelligence publication, WinmoEdge, takes a range of predictive indicators into account to create our Vulnerable Account Index (VAI) – a compilation of brands most vulnerable to an agency review.
If you’re interested in pitching clients with a need for your services (and the budget to hire you), don’t miss out. Request a trial of Winmo today!
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