Brands Planning in Q4 2023: Prime Targets as Ad Revenue Rebounds

This just in: Magna Global revised its 2023 U.S. full year spend forecast upward for the first time in several quarters – from 4.2% to 5.2% – indicating a rosier outlook might be in store. If you’re looking for brands preparing to bolster the ad economy into 2024, read on.

We used the Planning Period filter in Winmo to curate a list of brands planning annual media allocations in Q4, identifying key opportunities for media sellers targeting bigger-ticket campaign buys (not just supplemental dollars).

What’s more, we’ve pulled prospecting insights from WinmoEdge to highlight advertisers heading into Q4 planning conversations with fresh marketing executives at the helm, indicating greater propensity to welcome new, non-legacy publisher and vendor relationships, below.

1)  Tommy Hilfiger taps new CMO, increases digital spend

The almost 40-year-old clothing brand just hired a new CMO. Virginia Ritchie joined in September after the departure of the interim CMO, CBO, and President, Alegra O’Hare. Though Ritchie isn’t located in the US, she oversees all aspects of Tommy Hilfiger‘s global marketing, which will affect the brand’s US strategy. She joined the company in January 2011 and stepped up as its interim CMO and global consumer engagement VP in March 2023. In her previous role, Ritchie enlivened campaigns, products, and activations via all marketing and commercial touchpoints. Tommy Hilfiger’s key buying period is Q3, and key planning period is Q4. Its primary areas of spend include display and OOH.

Tommy Hilfiger will likely:

• ​​​​​​​Shift strategy
• ​​​​​​​Increase overall spend

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

• YTD spend: So far this year, Tommy Hilfiger spent approximately $3.2m on digital ads, 60% more than the approximately $2m spent within the same 2022 timeframe.
• YTD data: The brand has earned ~415.1m digital impressions YTD via Instagram (62$), YouTube (16%), Facebook (11%), desktop video (7%)
• Note: Tommy Hilfiger also advertises its fragrances but has not yet done so this year; it may benefit from ideas to improve ROI for this business.

Agency Relationships: 

• Sunshine, Culver City, CA (Creative AOR)
• Crossmedia, New York, NY (Media Planning & Buying)
• New Moon, New York, NY (Experiential)

2)  Clinique taps marketing VP and increases digital spend spending

Catie Cambria became the Vice President, of North America Marketing at Clinique in May 2023. Cambria joined from Gucci, where she was the integrated marketing VP. Now, she oversees Clinique parent Estee Lauder’s skin care, makeup, and fragrance regional strategy and marketing plan, spanning areas such as creative, media, PR, influencer, and product. She will be Clinique’s top marketer until the company selects a new CMO and SVP to succeed Carolyn Dawkins, who stepped down in January 2023.

Clinique will likely:

• Implement strategy shits
• Pursue new influencer partnerships
• Keep increasing spend
• Target demographic:
  • ​​​​​​​Gen-Z and millennial women

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

• YTD spend: Clinique has spent approximately $7m on digital ads YTD, 49% more than the approximately $4.7m spent by this point last year.
• YTD data: So far this year, the brand has earned around 545.8m digital impressions, 48% via Facebook ads, 36% via Instagram ads, and 16% via desktop video ads.
• Last year: In 2022, Clinique ended up spending roughly $9.7m on this channel, down 13% from the roughly $11.1m spent in 2021.

Agency Relationships:

• Collectively, Inc., San Francisco, CA (Media Planning, Media Buying, Digital, Social, Creative)
• Wunderman Thompson, New York, NY (Creative)
• Coburn Communications, New York, NY (PR AOR)

3)  CKE Restaurants taps new CMO

Jennifer Tate is now the CMO at CKE Restaurants — which operates and franchises fast-food restaurants across the country — effective September 2023. Tate joined from Cracker Barrel, where she served in the same role. She succeeds incumbent Tana Davila, who became the CMO at Dutch Bros Coffee in June 2023 after parting ways with CKE. The operator of Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, and Green Burrito restaurants spent $16.1 million on media in Q1 2023.

CKE’s corporate brand planning period is in Q4. Primary channels have historically included radio and OOH. Subsidiary Carl’s Jr. holds planning conversations in Q3 (buying predominantly in Q2), while planning for Hardee’s tends to occur in Q2, with buying in Q1.

CKE Restaurants will likely:

• Shift its strategy
• Continue increasing digital spend

Agency Relationships:

• Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media: Media AOR 
• 72andSunny: Creative and digital AOR
• LaForce: PR AOR

Want more? Get the full list:

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