New CMO Hires: June 2022

There are hundreds of C-suite shakeups every day across industries. It can be easy to miss these moves — and the awesome opportunities that come with them. In particular, a new CMO often signals large-scale sweeping changes within an organization. Rebranding! New website! Request for proposal! Winmo has the scoop on CMO shifts across industries, so you can be the first call to an incoming decision-maker.

First-time CMOs and new hires are the top trigger for agency changes, media spending shifts, and new martech investments. New hires evaluate these areas and begin making adjustments within a 3-12 month window. In fact, a Winmo study shows that on average, a new AOR is typically named 6-18 months after the CMO is hired.

From a prospecting perspective and with such a short turnaround, it’s crucial to stay up to date on any new hires or promotions, and have pitches prepared in order to stay one step ahead of the competition. Keep reading to discover seller, agency, and martech opportunities and uncover a deeper knowledge of what’s going on behind-the-scenes at these big brands.

1)  Pri Shumate: CMO, Columbia Sportswear

Shumate joins Columbia Sportswear from Airbnb, where she served as head of marketing experiences. She brings CMO experience from her time with the World Surf League. According to Pathmatics, Columbia Sportswear earned 115.4m impressions YTD through Instagram ads (64%) and Facebook ads (36%).

It spent around $948.1k on digital display ads YTD, a 76% increase from $537.2k spent in this channel during the same time period of 2021. Full-year spending jumped from $3.9m in 2020 to $10.4m in 2021. Per iSpot, Columbia Sportswear spent $1.4m on national TV ads YTD during “NFL Football,” after only spending $167.4k in this channel during the same time period of 2021. Full-year spend jumped from $2m in 2020 to $9.7m in 2021.

• Sellers: Columbia Sportswear targets a broad audience, but is primarily focused on millennial men. It focuses the majority of its ad dollars on digital display and national TV ads. It significantly increased spending across both channels in 2021, which it has continued so far this year. Shumate may decide to implement some new strategies and experiment with different channels.
• Agency and martech readers: Start reaching out to the new CMO soon in order to be top-of-mind because, as you know, new CMOs commonly conduct agency reviews. You will face competition from 215 McCann (creative), Universal McCann (media), and Weber Shandwick (PR AOR).

2)  Shannon Watkins: Global CMO, Jordan

Watkins was with Aflac since 2018, and most recently served as its chief brand and marketing officer. She will report to Jordan’s CEO Craig Williams. Watkins replaces Sean Tresvant, who is now the global chief brand officer of Taco Bell.

According to Pathmatics, Jordan earned 92m impressions YTD through Instagram ads (70%), Twitter ads (16%), Facebook ads (14%), and desktop display ads (1%). It spent approximately $680.5k on digital display ads YTD, a slight 5% increase from $646.5k spent in this channel during the same time period of 2021. Full-year spend dropped from $10.9m in 2020 to $1.8m in 2021.

Per iSpot, Jordan spent about $93.9k on national TV ads in 2021, a 34% decrease from $142.3k spent in this channel during 2020. In 2021, it placed ads during programming such as “NBA Basketball,” “Inside the NBA,” “NBA on TNT Tuesday,” “NBA GameTime Live” and “Game of the Day.” It has not allocated any budget towards this channel YTD.

• Sellers: Jordan primarily targets Gen-Z and millennial men through digital display ads. It has been decreasing ad spending over the past couple of years, but Watkins should ramp spending back up. Jordan also invests in OOH ads, per Kantar. Start reaching out soon for more information to see what types of ad space you can provide.
• Agency and martech readers: Jordan works with creative AOR Wieden + Kennedy and digital shop Owen Jones and Partners. Prepare your pitches now!

3)  Frank Del Rio: Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Oceania Cruises

Del Rio was formerly an SVP at Oceania Cruises, making this his second stint with the company. He will now be responsible for global sales and marketing. This hire will affect the company’s marketing strategy and could lead to agency reviews, so keep an eye on the cruise line.

Per Pathmatics, Oceania Cruises earned 131.1m impressions YTD through desktop video ads (87%), desktop display ads (5%), Facebook ads (4%), mobile display ads (3%), and Instagram ads (1%). It spent around $1.6m on digital display ads YTD, a huge jump from $216.2k spent in this channel during the same time period of 2021. Full-year spending increased from $914k in 2020 to $6.5m in 2021.

• Sellers: Oceania Cruises appears to be targeting Gen-Xers and millennials through digital display ads. The company has been ramping digital spending up, but hasn’t utilized national TV ads much over the past couple of years. Don’t be surprised if Del Rio allocates more dollars towards the channel, considering its target audience. Sellers should start contacting the new marketing leader to find out more about his plans so that you can offer relevant ad space.
• Agency and martech readers: The cruise line doesn’t work with any agency partners, so start reaching out to Del Rio soon to be top-of-mind. Those with travel and hospitality experience may have an advantage.

4)  Jorden Bell: CMO, Arbonne International

Bell spent the last three years as the chief brand officer and GM of Stella & Dot Family of Brands. She will report to CEO Tyler Whitehead and will be responsible for the marketing team, creative strategy, and innovation. This replaces Amy Humfleet, who left the company in March.

According to Adbeat, Arbonne spent about $1.5k on digital display ads over the last 365 days, after not allocating any budget towards this channel during the 365 days prior. It placed 100% of these ads programmatically through Google Display Network onto sites such as stylecraze.com, yahoo.com, weheartit.com, foxnews.com, definition.org, and healthline.com.

• Sellers: Arbonne targets millennial and Gen-X women. It has not allocated many dollars to national advertising over the past several years, but it did invest in digital ads in 2021. While the new CMO may experiment with other channels, she may stick with digital channels, at least at first. There is a good chance Bell will ramp spending up as soon as she has time to put a plan together. Get in touch soon to see what types of ad space you can offer.
• Agency and martech readers: Arbonne doesn’t work with any agency partners. Start contacting the new CMO soon because you may be able to pick up some of this company’s business.

Want alerts on key accounts so you can be the first in line to approach a CMO?

If you liked this blog post, check out:

1. 4 Brands for Increasing Instagram Spending: Q2 2022
2. Shortened CMO Tenures & Why Sales Should Be Watching
3. List of Agencies in the Omnicom Network