Vevo CEO Departs; Hilton, Pandora Bring In New CMOs

BY

Highlights

Vevo’s president and CEO, Erik Huggers, is stepping down from his position. While the music service searches for a replacement, Vevo’s chief financial officer, Alan Price, will assume Huggers’ responsibilities.

Huggers had been with Vevo since 2015, which he joined from Intel’s online-TV division OnCue. At Vevo, he pushed to expand distribution beyond YouTube, which remains the service’s largest hosting platform.

Hilton has a new chief marketing officer, bringing in Kellyn Smith Kenny to oversee marketing strategy for all 14 of the company’s subsidiary brands.

Prior to joining the hospitality giant, Kenny was vice president of marketing for Uber, leading the brand’s efforts for the US and Canada. Before that, she served at Capital One as senior vice president of marketing.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau is mixing up its C-suite, appointing Patrick Dolan to the position of president and Anna Bager as executive vice president of industry initiatives.

“For over a decade, Patrick has been responsible for much of our organizational stability, proving himself to be an invaluable resource for the IAB leadership team, the board of directors and our members,” said IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg. “Likewise, Anna has a longstanding track record of guiding IAB and its members through dynamic shifts in the industry.”

Dolan has been with the IAB since 2007, serving as the organization’s chief financial officer and chief operations officer during his tenure. Bager is a comparatively recent hire, joining the IAB in 2011 to lead the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence and subsequently launching the IAB Video Center of Excellence.

Pandora has named Aimée Lapic as its latest chief marketing officer.

“Aimée brings to Pandora a deep customer focus and long track record of driving significant growth for consumer brands,” said Roger Lynch, president and CEO of Pandora. “She has the exact performance and partner marketing experience we need to take Pandora to the next level and expand our audience across all tiers of service.”

Lapic joins the internet radio company after a 13-year stint at the Gap, where she ascended to the level of CMO for Banana Republic, where her investments into paid social returned a more than 500 percent ROI.

Chris Bergstresser, president and chief operating officer of Sega Europe, has announced his departure just four months after joining the company. No reason was given, but Sega claims he departs the company on strong terms.

“On behalf of the whole business, I would like to thank Chris for his hard work, integrity and his professionalism during his time at the helm of Sega’s European operation,” said Tatsuyuki Miyazaki, CEO of Sega West.

Miyazaki will step in as interim president while the company searches for a replacement.

Meal-kit delivery service Chef’d has hired Jemie Sae Koo as vice president of marketing, hoping to expand the brand’s saturation among millennial and Gen Z consumers.

“Jemie brings an entrepreneurial, business-first approach to marketing programs,” said Kyle Ransdord, CEO of Chef’d. “At the heart of our business, we are driven to fully understand the needs of our customers and surpass their expectations.”

Sae Koo has created campaigns previously for Amazon, Disney, H&M and Coca-Cola.

P&G is undergoing several executive shifts. Charlie Pierce, head of its Gillette division, will be stepping down in March. Succeeding him will be Gary Coombe, P&G’s current European president of selling and marketing operations.

Additionally, Magesvaran Suranjan, president of selling and marketing operations for the Asia Pacific region, has had his role expanded to cover India, the Middle East and Africa.

The Rest Of The C-Suite

(Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, December 15. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)

Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment (BSE), owners of the Barclays Center, has hired Elizabeth Brooks as its latest chief marketing officer to oversee strategy for branding and advertising for all of the company’s teams and venues. Marilyn Hauser has also joined the company as senior vice president of programming for Barclays Center.

“We are now primed to support and continue BSE’s rapid growth with their diverse backgrounds in sports, entertainment, music and technology,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment. “Both Elizabeth and Marilyn have proven success in their areas of expertise and will be strong leaders for our team.”

Before joining the sports brand, Brooks served as CMO and executive in residence for Sopris Capital Associates, a private equity firm. She has also held the title of CMO for both data-analyst firm Lucid and 3D cinema provider RealD.

CNN’s digital film unit Great Big Story has brought on Christine Cook as senior vice president of global sales and brand strategy, hoping to strengthen revenue strategies.

“Great Big Story is central to our multi-platform strategy and has already had considerable success internationally with over 15 brand partnerships from EMEA, APAC and Latin America and a local version launched in the Nordics,” said Rani Raad, president of CNN International Commercial. “As Great Big Story prepares for further expansion, I am delighted to add to our firepower someone of Christine’s caliber to work with our global teams and take brand integrations to the next level.”

Previously, Cook worked at Flipboard as its senior vice president and global head of advertising partnerships for six years, a founding member of its advertising business team.

Susan Kenney Cotter has joined the insurance provider Royal Neighbors of America as its CMO.

“We are pleased to welcome Susan to our executive team,” said Cynthia Tidwell, Royal Neighbors president and CEO. “Her extensive industry knowledge and marketing expertise, combined with her commitment to our philanthropic mission, are an important addition as we transform to a more robust member-centric organization and continue our growth trajectory.”

Prior to signing up with Royal Neighbors, Cotter held senior-level marketing positions at several other insurance companies, including Colonial Life and AIG.

Augmented reality firm Meta Company has hired Maneesh Dhir as COO.

“We are particularly excited to tap into Maneesh’s unique level of expertise in successfully building and scaling large organizations for long-term growth,” said Meron Gribetz, founder and CEO of Meta. “We know that Maneesh will be invaluable to helping Meta deliver on its vision.”

Before joining Meta, Dhir served as managing director at Apple India, and prior to that was executive vice president at AOL.

Roblox, a social platform and game for children, announced the following new hires: Jennifer Hedding (chief people officer), Daniel Williams (vice president of corporate and production engineering) and Matt Kaufman (vice president of product).

YouTube has brought on a new voice for its original content division, hiring Luke Hyams as its first-ever head of originals for the EMEA region.

“We’re in five markets and we’d like to launch in more, but it takes a bunch of time to get there, and we’d like to commission more content,” Matt Brittin, Google’s president of business operations for EMEA, told Variety.

Before signing on with YouTube, Hyams worked at Disney for its own digital content division.

Anaplan, a planning service provider, announced the hiring of Mara Pergolino as CMO.

“Maria is widely respected as an exceptional team builder and an accomplished enterprise software marketing executive, and we’re excited to welcome her to Anaplan,” said Frank Calderoni, president and CEO of Anaplan.

Prior to Anaplan, Pergolino was senior vice president of global marketing and sales development for Apttus, a revenue management firm. Before that, Pergolino was senior director of marketing for Marketo, a marketing automation software provider, where her efforts drove quadruple-digit growth.

Major League Baseball is undergoing executive reorganization, reassigning Tony Petitti, current COO, to the role of deputy commissioner of business and media, overseeing MLB’s marketing and revenue efforts. Additionally, Chris Park now holds the title of vice president of product and marketing.

Epitaph Records has expanded its marketing team, promoting Hope Selevan as vice president of marketing and digital strategy. Additionally, the label has promoted Matt McGreevey as general manager.

“I’d like to thank Brett Gurewitz for giving me this opportunity and to acknowledge the amazing job that Dave Hansen, my predecessor, has done for the last 21 years,” McGreevey said in a statement. “I have incredibly large shoes to fill and am honored to be part of such an amazing label.”

Both executives previously held the title of director of marketing. Selevan joined Epitaph from New West Records in 2015, where she also served as director of marketing.

Digital-media startup Inverse has appointed David Spiegel as chief revenue officer.

“Inverse is doing the impossible by building an owned audience in the age of distributed media,” Spiegel said.

Prior to Inverse, Spiegel was senior vice president of sales and brand strategy at Great Big Story, and was also vice president of brand strategy and partnerships at BuzzFeed.

Jessica Verrilli, Twitter’s vice president of corporate development and strategy, is stepping down after nine years at the company. Though Verrilli has not declared her concrete next steps, she plans to expand her role at HelloAngels, her investment collective.

“Now I’m looking forward to the holidays and perhaps a literal marathon, now that I have no excuses for not training,” Varrelli posted on her Twitter account. “I’m excited to spend more time investing with HelloAngels and figuring out what’s next.”

Job Vacancies 

Sr. Brand Manager, Local Marketing T-Mobile Redondo Beach, CA
Director of Marketing, Americas Razer USA, Ltd. Irvine, CA
VP, Creative & Brand Synergy JCPenney Plano, TX
VP, Worldwide Marketing Partnerships Paramount Pictures Hollywood, CA
Sr. Director of Global Brand Licensing/Marketing Ralph Lauren New York, NY
Integrated Brand Director, Global Influencer Marketing Nike Portland, OR

Make sure to check back for updates on our Jobs Page.

The Most Influential Brands For Marketers In 2017

BY

Based on internally commissioned research and compilation from social data, AListDaily has identified the 20 most influential brands to marketers in 2017. Our analysts monitored which brands marketers were following most on social media channels based on widely available data.

AListDaily interviewed marketing executives from these brands, and also reached back into our well of exclusive stories from 2017 to feature distinct calling cards for each of the 20 honorees.

20. GoPro 

GoPro’s stock saw a steep 20 percent decline in November, but the mounting losses didn’t stop the camera company from experimenting with product launches and partnerships.

The brand generated buzz for its new cameras with influencers and sponsored athletes at a pop-up exhibition at The Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco, and for the first time, livestreamed an event on GoPro.com.

GoPro also wanted to leverage adventurous thrill-seekers, looking to complement the vivid and oftentimes rugged footage they capture with quality sound. The brand partnered with Sennhesier, making the brand the only official, verified audio company obtained by the GoPro Works program.

“We are closely collaborating not just with the marketing and engineering experts on the GoPro side but also with their associated enthusiasts and athletes,” Achim Gleissner, head of commercial management of broadcast and media for Sennheiser, told AListDaily. “This helps ensure that the products are performing as requested by the most demanding users. It also creates exciting content as well, which could be used for marketing purposes.”

19. Gap

Gap was one of the many brands in 2017 that championed diversity through is marketing. The retail clothing chain continued its “Meet Me in the Gap” campaign in the fall by calling on entertainers Cher and Future to sing their own version of “Everyday People.”

The American clothing brand’s remix of the original Sly & the Family Stone song spanned to television, outdoor, mobile, social, print, in-store and digital channels. Gap also started a namesake channel on Spotify with a mashup playlist.

“As a brand, our heritage is rooted in being a beacon of hope and optimism while also bringing people together,” said Gap CMO Craig Brommers.

18. Spotify

Spotify showed off its data capabilities and how well it knows its users with “2018 Goals.” The global out-of-home year-end campaign was similar to the one it unveiled last year and is positioned to provide a look into its users, potential users as well as potential advertisers and marketing partners. The music-streaming service experimented with data-driven outdoor ads, featuring copy such as “Eat vegan brisket with the person who made a playlist called ‘Leftist Elitist Snowflake BBQ.'”

Spotify also went ‘Upstream’ with brands for an original podcast centered around one-on-one conversations with company executives focusing on the future of their industries on “Spotify for Brands.” Hosted by Spotify CMO Seth Farbman, the podcasts feature discussions on open-ended questions facing the economy at large with influential figures, and it is yet another attempt to diversify its offerings as the company prepares to go public.

17. Warby Parker 

Retailers are feeling a reverberation from store closures, but purpose brand Warby Parker decided there is still a future in the space by opening 25 retail locations this year in cities like Los Angeles and Miami. It was a rare move of brick-and-mortar expansion amid store closures at several chains from brands like Radio Shack and Michael Kors. The eyeglasses seller now nears close to 70 stores ranging in size.

The digital-first, direct-to-consumer business—which maintains a help-related YouTube channel that gives video answers to frequent questions from consumers—also experimented in other avenues when its co-CEO, Dave Gilboa, created a startup to tackle a $5 billion opportunity in the antiquated eye test market using a mobile app.

16. Coca-Cola

The soft drink giant opened up plenty of cases of innovative marketing this year, but its FIFA 18 video game activation was one of its most refreshing.

Coca-Cola, which has a product portfolio made of 500 sparkling and still brands and a near $4 billion annual marketing budget, sponsored the fictional character Alex Hunter in the EA title. The virtual TV spot even re-imagines a 1979 Coca-Cola commercial with NFL great “Mean” Joe Greene. Coca-Cola also offered cans printed with Hunter’s likeness on them at 7-Eleven and Walmart stores in North America—each with a download code to unlock additional in-game content. It’s all part of a wider gaming strategy for Coca-Cola, which also featured esports.

“We take a multi-pronged approach [to esports]. We have our frontline marketing communication, which is the way we brand our product into the space,” Matt Wolf, vice president of entertainment, ventures and strategic alliances at the Coca-Cola Company, told AListDaily.

“Then we have the relationships that we make with the influencers, which is key. You can’t really lean into this space and get that value back as a brand unless you’re really able to hit it from a content standpoint, an influencer standpoint and from a social media standpoint.”

15. Arby’s

Much like Amazon and Target, the Roark Capital Group-owned Arby’s was in the mood for mergers as it swallowed up Buffalo Wild Wings in November for $2.4 billion. Both of the brands have had a large presence as non-endemic sponsors in esports, and the trend should continue well into next year.

In October, Buffalo Wild Wings partnered with Team Dignitas, which is owned by the Philadelphia 76ers. The restaurant chain is designed to become the official hangout for Team Dignitas while receiving a prominent logo placement on the sleeve of the team’s jerseys.

Arby’s has been connecting with gamers for over three years through its social channels and was also an inaugural sponsor for Turner and WME/IMG’s ELeague season.

“Our strategy is to engage versus sell,” Jeff Baker, vice president of brand experience at Arby’s, told AListDaily while discussing their esports marketing strategy. “We use our brand elements and create fun and lightweight stories that are about us being fans of the titles instead of us trying to sell the product. It’s been appreciated across the board with no negative commentary.” 

14. Oreo

The Mondelēz-owned cookie brand launched a global marketing campaign this year with the “Oreo Dunk Challenge” with Christina Aguilera, Shaq and Neymar. They partnered with Google to boot for a mobile game and site that integrates motion-detection technology and geo-location to allow fans to virtually dunk and launch their cookies into “space” and back.

Justin Parnell, Oreo’s director of global brand equity, told AListDaily that personalized marketing at scale that delivers the right content in the right moment, complemented with innovation through new products, is a critical component to the brand’s total growth strategy.

“There has never been a greater opportunity than now to deliver more tailored messages,” he said. “We are hard at work with our media and creative partners in thinking about how we best unlock this opportunity, which spans our content creation model to segmentation tools to real-time optimization.”

Parnell said things are changing faster than ever, so staying on top of changing consumer behaviors is something that all brands are challenged with.

“One area we’re keeping a close eye is on how the retail landscape continues to evolve,” he said. “Specifically, you will see our clear focus and stepped up investment in e-commerce in the near future. Also, staying relevant and contemporary, while being true to our roots, is so important. It’s a tricky balance, but one that is always top of our minds.”

Just as Oreo serves as a point of influence, Parnell draws inspiration from others as well.

“I am very impressed with Amazon. They are constantly evolving their model and offering to address changing consumer needs and they have a long history of investing in big bets in an ‘all-in,’ sustained way. Also, McDonald’s is another brand with a deep heritage, like Oreo, and what they are doing to reinvent their service model, menu and marketing approach for to be more relevant to consumer’s today is quite impressive.

“Last, but not least, I get a lot of inspiration from entrepreneurs. They often provide great insight into emerging trends and what’s ahead. Most inspiring to me, though, is how many young start-up brands are purpose-driven and fearless at their core, as their brands are a manifestation of their own personal passion and conviction.”

13. Whole Foods Market

The grocery-store giant felt the impact of Amazon earlier this year—literally—when the Jeff Bezos-led powerhouse bought Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. The mere news of it ranked as this year’s No. 1 food news story among millennials, Gen X and baby boomers alike, according to the Hunter Public Relations Annual Food News Study.

Echo devices are now sold at Whole Foods, and the ubiquitous Amazon Prime brand is not-to-subtly shaped from ground beef at some locations. By the end of next year, as its grocery delivery options gets more consolidated, Amazon will really be aiming for your whole paycheck with its suite of services. 

12. REI

For the third straight year, the Seattle-based brand closed the doors to its 154 stores in the US on Black Friday and gave its 12,000 employees a paid day off to high praise from people who hold the shopping holiday in less regard. The outdoor retailer was in no mood for business—at all—as it also shut down online orders for the day.

REI promoted the movement on social media with #OptOutside and complemented the hashtag with a search engine where users shared snapshots of their favorite outdoor destinations.

Perhaps the planned day off was a coy marketing campaign all along to create consumer affection and have them buy more gear later on.

11. American Express

The legacy brand has a burgeoning marketing budget that stretches across sports, to small business and more experiential areas like chat bots, among others.

This year, the brand brought its marketing band to Coachella and played to the tune of affluent millennials with special events for platinum card holders at the American Express Platinum House.

The credit card company leveraged its heritage in music and swiped concertgoers for a voluntary reprieve by offering attendees SoulCycle classes and a private concert by Bebe Rexha.

“We know that when we create memorable experiences and provide unique access for card members in the moments that matter to them, such as festivals, they feel more loyal to the relationship with our brand,” Deb Curtis, American Express’ vice president of global partnerships and experiential marketing, told AListDaily.

For everyone else attending Coachella, the American Express Experience tent allowed music fans to create their own mini music video as well as unlock special rewards through the official Coachella app.

“Because we have access to such rich data, we’re able to see how those who engage with us respond in the moment and over time and we see—year after year—a positive impact across key loyalty metrics,” Curtis continued. “This investment in our customers pays back in a longer, more fulfilling relationship between card members and the brand. That’s what drives us to deliver for them time and time again, and fuels us to serve them better and better each year.”

10. Delta

Delta had a year fueled with marketing activations. The airlines company held a singles event with Tinder featuring popular destinations and graffiti-inspired wallscapes on the side of a Brooklyn building that love seekers used for selfies; it thanked all 80,000 of its employees—each by name—in a 50-hour, celebrity-filled Facebook Livestream, and it honored the “early risers” with an ad featuring the Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis.

Delta also revised its in-flight image by partnering with online shoe giant Zappos for a uniform overhaul and offered flyers free in-flight mobile messaging.

The marketing appears to be resonating. Delta has experienced a lift in millennial customers from a year ago, according to a YouGov report from July.

9. American Airlines

American Airlines’ business usually entails traversing the skies, but it is also taking on the digital cloud with IBM to innovate its own portfolio and data centers to scale operations.

The airline company embarked on a digital transformation and migrated its website, its customer-facing mobile application, airport kiosks and enterprise workloads to the cloud. Developers can now use the IBM Cloud to build applications for the airline’s customers.

8. Airbnb

Although Airbnb lost its CMO when Jonathan Mildenhall checked out of the company in October to start his own marketing consulting firm, the imprints of the executive still stood in 2017.

The home-rental company, valued at $31 billion, emphasized diversity and inclusiveness during the Super Bowl and also created unorthodox partnerships, such as a print magazine venture with Hearst offering glimpses into global destinations echoing the spirit of Airbnb, and promotional rentals with Taco Bell.

It also added to its in-house suite of martech by acquiring ad-tech startup AdBasis, which operated a platform and dashboard for ad testing and optimization. 

7. J.Crew 

The New York-based brand brought on a new CMO in July by hiring Vanessa Holden with hopes of her helping put a halt to the closure of additional stores, which totaled 50 this year.

Holden is now diving into a deeper digital strategy on mobile and social channels for the chain. The consumer-first move is designed to quicken mobile shopping while meeting users where they are.

After 10 quarters of dipping sales, J.Crew’s former CEO Mickey Drexler confessed to The Wall Street Journal earlier this year that he underestimated the power that tech would have on retail, while adding that his biggest mistake was increasing prices while consumers became more cost-conscious.

“We gave a perception of being a higher-priced company than we were—in our catalog, online and in our general presentation,” Drexler said.  “Very big mistake.”

6. Target

Target capped off its year with an attempt to take on Amazon by acquiring same-day delivery platform Shipt. The $550 million acquisition of the Instacart competitor sets the retail chain up to offer same-day delivery services at approximately half its stores by early 2018.

Target’s plan is to use Shipt’s proprietary technology platform and community of shoppers to bring consumers same-day delivery of groceries, essentials, home, electronics and other products. By the end of 2019, same-day delivery will include all major product categories at Target.

Earlier in the year, the retailer also got in on the mattress industry by acquiring the millennial-centric startup Casper.

5. BarkBox

BarkBox, a subscription service for dogs that launched five years ago, has already shipped more than 50 million toys and treats to date. This year, Bark launched in all 1,800 Target stores, and recently debuted a direct response television ad campaign that embodies America’s dog obsession on #BarkBoxDay.

“BarkBox’s digital strategies, which include social, email, search and affiliate marketing, have helped build the brand and become a case study for many other web brands,” Jay Livingston, chief marketing officer for BarkBox, told AListDaily. “Our social media team is made up of a mix of marketers, writers and comedians. They arguably invented the dog influencer model and regularly crank out viral hits that engage our rabid following of more than six million dog people.”

Some of those examples include a Facebook campaign during the Super Bowl and a Dog Mom Rap, which has over 41 million views on Facebook alone. They’ve also experimented offline with the stand-up comedy concept Open Bark Night.

BarkBox has an affiliate program of about 300 dog influencers and brand ambassadors called the BarkPack. The hashtag #BarkBox has been used 2.7 million times on Instagram alone, and because of that the brand has been able to cull user-generated content on social channels.

“The biggest challenge we face as we grow our business is to make sure our customers are getting the same experience and customer service no matter where or how they interact with our brands,” Livingston said.

“We are also diversifying our channel mix to reach new audiences with our direct response campaign spanning the TV ad and our first major direct mail effort. Our hope is that our venture into more traditional channels will help us reach the parents of the 78 million dogs in the US—including those that aren’t scrolling social media.”

4. Nordstrom

Like many retailers looking to fend off Amazon, Nordstrom is trying to define a value proposition and drive experiences with a showroom concept. It’s newest store format—Nordstrom Local—is short on clothing and racks and long on experiences, including manicures and on-site tailoring.

Shoppers can still try on clothes in dressing rooms, but the stores are designed to specifically not keep inventory in stock. Rather, it pulls merchandise from mall-anchored stores and its website. A flagship 3,000-square-foot location opened in Los Angeles this fall. In comparison, a typical Nordstrom retail store, which stretches up to 140,000 square feet.

Nordstrom also sharpened its marketing mix for visual search by being a launch partner in Pinterest’s foray into scannable codes and personalized style suggestions in “Lens Your Look. 

3. Nike

Nike casts a wide net in sports across the planet and maintains its position with consumers across a variety of verticals. The sports and lifestyle brand continued its decades-long work in basketball and caught the attention of hoops fans this year by being the new global apparel partner of the NBA. The brand’s iconic swoosh logo now occupies the longtime real estate once reserved for the Jerry West-inspired silhouette.

The jerseys are connected to a radio-frequency chip embedded in the tag. It allows for teams to provide customized engagement with fans who are looking to build unique associations with the franchises they follow.

Nike has already partnered with Apple Music and released exclusive playlists for all 30 teams through the new jerseys and the NikeConnect app. LeBron James, the star ambassador for Nike, crafted his separate playlist as well. 

2. Netflix

Netflix viewers around the world watched more than 140 million hours of content per day, according to the audience data it released earlier this month. The streaming service sports a slew of original shows in addition to licensed content that have subscribers glued to their TVs and mobile devices. For the holidays, it used its original movie A Christmas Prince to start a conversation about repeated viewings on Twitter that garnered over 113,000 retweets.

Netflix maintained a tongue-in-cheek voice on social throughout the year by announcing the addition of the movie 8 Mile to its library with a play on Eminem’s lyrics to the tune of 86,000-plus retweets and used social to promote Bright by calling on all the Will Smith’s of the world.

It wasn’t all fun, games and binge-watching, however. Netflix also used its platform for more serious issues by supporting strong net neutrality and opposing the FCC’s proposal to roll back core protections.

1. Starbucks

Marketing for Starbucks is different than many other similarly sized and situated brands. Comparatively speaking, the international coffee chain does not engage in much advertising on television or in print.

“The best marketing in my view is the experience in stores, the human connection with Starbucks baristas and the quality of the food or beverage in one’s hand,” Rajiv Chandrasekaran, senior vice president of public affairs for Starbucks, told AListDaily.

For the second-consecutive year, Starbucks doubled as a non-media publisher and evolved its content ecosystem through the original series Upstanders, an 11-episode collection that documents altruistic citizens making differences in their communities. It was made available on Amazon Prime Video, Facebook Watch and Audible.

Although Chandrasekaran said the pro-bono storytelling initiative is aimed at inspiring people and is not designed as cause marketing, Starbucks is still getting a seat at the table with newfound opportunities (and exposure) that come with such projects, and it fits within the big picture of the company. 

Starbucks: ‘Upstanders’ Series Is Storytelling, Not Cause Marketing

BY

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, senior vice president of public affairs for Starbucks

Starbucks is looking to seize the audiences it captivated with its storytelling efforts during the first season of Upstanders, an original series that documents altruistic citizens making differences in their communities, by expanding its content ecosystem and partners with new distribution channels in Amazon Prime Video, Facebook Watch and Audible.

Upstanders is a collection of short stories free of Starbucks product placement and is produced in written, video and audio formats, telling the stories of ordinary people who demonstrate courage through their actions. It is not intended to be political.

When asked if the quest for caffeine, content and uniting American communities is an extension of Starbucks’ cause marketing efforts—Upstanders sleeves have previously complemented cups—Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Starbucks’ senior vice president of public affairs, said he sees their work more as storytelling in the public interest, hoping that the series spreads a message and provokes a viewer’s attention toward humanitarianism.

“I don’t see this as marketing or cause advocacy,” said Chandrasekaran. “We’re not out trying to use Upstanders to sell more coffee, drive traffic into our stores or promote the brand. It’s really a pro-bono initiative that’s aimed at inspiring and engaging people. There’s no hidden agenda here that says, ‘we’re trying to do this to drive a marketing agenda.’

“If you can [create content] in a thoughtful and authentic way that’s not a clever way to promote oneself, [and] if you can tell great stories, the audience will follow.”

Balancing social-conscious storytelling with the bottom line by addressing issues at large within the communities Starbucks serves is a strong statement for a coffee company that casts a global net among consumers. Being a brand that doubles as a non-media publisher, Starbucks is seeking to create a cup of counter-programming to combat the influx of negative news hitting TV and social media every day, reminding viewers that there’s more to the country than what’s currently wrong with it. Although the series is not specifically tied to its marketing funnels, Starbucks is still getting a seat at the table with newfound opportunities (and exposure) that come with such projects, and it fits within the big picture of the company. 

“We’ve seen brands generate material about their own products for years now. There’s an appeal to that among consumers,” said Chandrasekaran. “What we’re starting to see is that when you train the lens not just on yourself, the product, people and experience, but on the country, people are interested.”

Chandrasekaran, formerly a senior editor for The Washington Post who co-authored the book For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism and Sacrifice with Starbucks executive chairman Howard Schultz, travels the country with Schultz to identify story subjects, spends time filming the change-makers and then jointly writes and produces the pieces. Stories from the 11-episode series include a woman who forgives her assailant and fights for his freedom after being shot in the face.

The Upstanders Stories
Knives, Fire and Opportunity | The Wave to Recovery | From War to Montana | Befriending Her Shooter | Planting Hope in a Coalfield | A Racist’s Rehabilitation | One Doctor’s Needle Fix | Love for All in Utah | Saving Middletown | The Firefighters’ Rescuer | The Disappearing Island

Upstanders was promoted in every Starbucks store in the US this year with table tents. In addition to distributing Upstanders through the Starbucks site, mobile app, in-store WiFi network and social media, the team created an exclusive full-length documentary for Amazon and became one of the first non-media brands to have content appear on Facebook’s recently launched Watch platform.

“Marketing for us is different than many other similarly sized and situated brands. Comparatively speaking, we don’t do as much advertising on television or in print,” Chandrasekaran explained. “The best marketing in my view is the experience in stores, the human connection with Starbucks baristas and the quality of the food or beverage in one’s hand.

“What we’re demonstrating is that a non-media company can create compelling content that’s widely watched on third-party platforms, but it’s still the early days for us. That’s a unique thing—there aren’t many people out there doing that. For us, this is still a learning endeavor.”

Top brass at Starbucks was surprised (and satisfied) with how well season one performed; videos were collectively viewed more than 80 million times.

“Befriending Her Shooter”

To amplify their message even further, the coffee chain experimented with their content mix by tapping actor Michael B. Jordan to narrate Upstanders as an audiobook, which is available as a free download on Audible. The audiobook is new for the second season, but Starbucks went back to produce a separate installment for season one.

Starbucks also experimented with user-generated content and tapped into its fervent consumer base by providing grants for deserving groups through the “Upstanders Challenge.” After receiving upward of a thousand video submissions, the Starbucks Foundation awarded more than half-a-million dollars in grants to non-profits making a difference in their communities.

“For the last couple of years, we’ve been asking: what is the role and responsibility of a public company?” Schultz said last year. “For any consumer brand, especially a brick-and-mortar retailer like Starbucks, [it’s] the rules of engagement, because of Amazon and mobile commerce are really changing . . . We’re never going to become a media company. But we can extend the brand and the experience through media and original content.”

Chandrasekaran, Schultz and the rest of the Upstanders content development team are already planning for more storytelling projects in the coming year and will apply insights from the first two seasons to be more thoughtful and adept storytellers.

“There certainly are learnings that will apply to more traditional branded content that the company is going to create,” Chandrasekaran said. “It’s only going to reinforce our commitment to creating content in the public interest.

“There’s a lot of dysfunction, anger and fighting out there. American people are yearning for greater unity, for positivity [and] to reclaim the great values that the country was founded upon.”

‘Pitch Perfect 3’ Story Game Promotes Brand To Female Gamers

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Universal Brand Development, a business segment of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and part of NBCUniversal, is collaborating with Episode—a mobile storytelling platform created by Pocket Gems—to target female audiences with the game Pitch Perfect In Deep Treble. The branded story experience is leading a marketing push for the Dec. 22 Pitch Perfect 3 theatrical release.

Heidy Vargas, games and digital products manager at Universal Brand Development, endorses the pairing of Episode and Pitch Perfect as a natural fit for what they found resonates well with young females. The intention is for the story-based gameplay to allow players to create their own avatar and feel like they are actively living and interacting with the movie characters.

“Within Universal Brand Development we aim to expand the audience experience beyond theaters and TV screens. Specifically with games, we aim to create hours of additional content and experiences that will hopefully appeal to fans of each unique property,” Vargas said. “We understand audiences choose to play in many different ways and that allows us to get creative and find game styles that work across a variety of demographics.”

The Pitch Perfect franchise has earned over $400 million at the global box office, targeting a large female demographic. The film franchise stars Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins.

“We view Episode as separate from the world of video games,” Summer Watson, vice president of business operations at Episode told AListDaily.

The game company is comprised of former film and television writers and creators, which has also helped secure other Hollywood licenses like Pretty Little Liars and Mean Girls. Episode is designed to be played in either short bite-sized moments or long binges, and stories are made up of several episodes that can have multiple seasons.

Watson also explained that the vast majority of Episode’s audience are women, and over 4.4 billion episodes have been viewed on it. The Episode community is comprised of over 9 million users who have created over 73,000 custom stories.

According to a 2017 study by Pew Research, 75 percent of women own a smartphone. Research firm Newzoo has estimated that there are over 70 million female gamers playing on smart devices in the US alone.

“Given that women are some of our most active players for mobile games, we see potential in creating more mobile games for female-driven movies,” said Vargas. “Women want to see themselves represented in the games they play. Audiences seek to identify with the characters they interact with, and I think our franchises are giving us some really cool, strong, aspirational female leads.”

When it comes to the platform Episode has created, Watson said original mobile stories can build awareness around returning franchises that younger people might not be as familiar with, and can reignite interest in franchises they may have forgotten about.

“Mobile can give entertainment a new life through our platform and, because of how we develop stories, Episode can expand a franchise by releasing consecutive seasons, like with our Mean Girls or Pretty Little Liars stories,” Watson added.

While this is Universal’s first partnership with Episode, it won’t be the last. Before working on this Pitch Perfect game, Episode worked with singer Demi Lovato for her interactive story Path to Fame.

Universal Brand Development core businesses include consumer products, games and digital platforms, and live entertainment based on IP from Universal Pictures, Illumination, DreamWorks Animation, and NBCUniversal cable and television.

‘Destiny 2’ Amazon Alexa Integration Marks New Engagement Tactic

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Activision and developer Bungie surprised fans when it announced the launch of an interactive skill and app for Amazon Alexa in a first-of-its-kind partnership for the game Destiny 2. This partnership comes at a time when an increasing number of brands are exploring the voice platform as a way to engage with audiences. If players take to it, the skill could mark a major milestone for both video games and the Alexa platform, as other developers may look to connect the two.

Using the Ghost skill, players use their voice to interact with the game’s AI assistant Ghost to get details about their progress, equip loadouts, learn about the game’s backstory or connect with friends through Alexa-enabled devices.

“Alexa brings a whole new opportunity for entertainment and gaming to reach people in never-before-seen ways,” Ian Trombetta, vice president of consumer marketing at Activision, told AListDaily. “We have a full array of marketing activity centered around the game as well as the skill and hardware. This will culminate in our inclusion with the Alexa Moments TV campaign later this month. In addition, we have quite a bit of social and digital activity as well as key influencers that we’ll be engaging with throughout our campaign.”

According to Trombetta, the Destiny 2-themed Alexa skill came into being because the developers wanted to offer players new opportunities to experience the game using voice technology, driving deeper engagement with the game. Alexa’s platform provided an authentic opportunity to do that.

“We look for great companion experiences to be deeply personalized, and Ghost is aware of the activities you have completed and the skill level you’re at, updating in real-time and growing alongside your character the more you play,” Trombetta said.

To further engage players, a limited-edition Alexa device in the shape of a Ghost—which is depicted in the game as a small flying mechanical drone—will release on Dec. 19. The skill features over 1,000 lines recorded by actor Nolan North, who voices the Ghost in the game, and players can ask questions, like “what should I do next?”

NPD released sales figures in October showing that Destiny 2 became the bestselling game of 2017 in the weeks after it launched for consoles in September—exceeding first-month sales of its 2014 predecessor. The report came out one day before the game launched for PC, which increased the potential audience size for the free skill even further.

“We’re very excited to see how our Destiny 2 players embrace the new technology and look forward to working with Amazon again in the future if the opportunity arises,” said Trombetta.

VR Growth To Slow In 2018; Marketers Favor Influencers Despite Millennial Distaste

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Virtual Reality Progress Stumbles

For the first time, quarterly shipments of virtual reality headsets have surpassed one million units, according to a report by Canalys. PlayStation VR drove the largest share of shipments, with 49 percent of the total figure coming from Sony’s headset. The Oculus Rift came in second with 21 percent, and the HTC Vive trailed at 16 percent.

“VR adoption in the consumer segment is highly dependent on price, and Oculus’ strategy of lowering prices has definitely helped drive adoption,” said Canalys research analyst Vincent Thielke.

According to research by YouGov, total sales of PlayStation VR headsets have reached two million, just six months after the VR platform hit the one-million-sold milestone. Despite this growth, YouGov research director Tom Fuller predicted that adoption will drastically slow in the future. “The penetration has plateaued,” he told Variety. The constraints to growth in VR have not been addressed. I don’t see industry-wide efforts to address these.”

VR manufacturers can address this issue by reducing costs, Fuller recommended. A survey by YouGov found that 56 percent of VR non-adopters report high prices as the largest barrier to entry.

Influencers Becoming Uninfluential

Millennial consumers are beginning to reject celebrities as influencers, a new survey by Roth Capital Partners finds. Among Americans ages 17 to 37, 46.5 had a negative view on the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements and an additional 32 percent were indifferent. Only 21 percent responded that a celebrity endorsement would influence their purchase behavior at all.

In general, millennials are mistrustful of paid sponsorships, with 40 percent responding that they erode credibility for both celebrities and influencers. Rather than one-off paid posts, millennials approve of authentic endorsements, with over 50 percent claiming that an influencer using a product multiple times was more important than just one post.

Despite this disfavor among millennials, 86 percent of marketers used influencers in 2017, and 92 percent of those found it to be effective, according to a survey by Linqia. Even with this widespread support, 76 percent claimed to find difficulty tracking return on investment from influencer marketing efforts.

Among individual social networks, marketers favor Instagram most, with 92 percent reporting it the most important influencer platform for 2018, and Snapchat least, with 50 percent reporting it the least important influencer platform for 2018.

Mobile Content Consumption Predictions

Consumer spending on mobile app stores across all platforms will pass $110 billion in 2018, according to research by App Annie, a 30 percent increase over last year. Some of this revenue will come from the newest monetization trend, in-app subscriptions. Additionally, non-game app revenues are projected to grow more quickly than those for games in 2018.

EMarketer has released a new set of predictions on internet and mobile usage, indicating that this year, 46.8 percent of the world’s population will access the internet at least once per month. By 2021, this number will jump to 53.7 percent, or 4.14 billion people. This growth will be driven primarily by increased penetration of internet-capable mobile devices in regions such as Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa.

A new forecast by Ericsson predicts that the video consumption on mobile devices will go on unchecked, at least until 2023. Six years from now, 75 percent of all mobile data traffic will come from video sources, up from 55 percent in 2017. Additionally, total data traffic will increase eightfold, from 14 exabytes monthly to 110 exabytes—the equivalent of 5.5 million years of HD video every month.

(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated until Friday, December 8.)

Nike, Turner Communications Bring On New Brand Marketing Chiefs

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Highlights

Lauren Sherman has joined Nike as senior director of digital marketing to oversee the brand’s digital branding and marketing efforts in North America.

“I’m thrilled to be part of this iconic organization and to be doing work that promotes sport and supports athletes. If you have a body, you’re an athlete,” Sherman wrote in an Instagram post announcing the move.

Prior to Nike, Sherman served as head of marketing for both brand growth company Red Antler and delivery brand Shyp.

Turner has promoted Molly Battin, elevating her to the position of executive vice president and chief communications and marketing officer, where she will be responsible for maintaining brand reputation across all of its platforms.

“This is an exciting time in our company’s history, and Molly’s demonstrated leadership, forward-thinking approach and results-driven reputation will be critical as we continue to shape and push the boundaries of what’s possible for Turner,” said John Martin, Turner’s CEO. “Molly’s experience, energy and collaborative style will be extremely beneficial as we continue to advance the reputation of our Turner brand.”

Battin has worked at Turner for 17 years, most recently as chief brand strategy officer, a position in which she was responsible for both corporate and employee branding for the company. Additionally, Battin has served in senior positions for several Turner sub-brands, including upwave, TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies.

Vimla Black Gupta has joined Equinox Fitness Clubs as chief marketing officer, overseeing global strategy and execution for the brand’s 91 clubs.

“As a gifted brand marketer with strong lifestyle credentials, Vimla will be an invaluable asset to the team,” said Niki Leondakis, CEO of Equinox. “Her global perspective and entrepreneurial instincts will be especially important as we expand into new markets and drive innovations that further enhance our member experience.”

Before signing on with the luxury fitness brand, Gupta served as senior vice president of global marketing for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics for four years. Prior to that, Gupta held the title of vice president of new brand development at Idea Bank.

After four years as chief marketing officer at Cadillac, Uwe Ellinghaus has announced his departure at year’s end, citing personal reasons.

“I’d like to personally thank Uwe for his partnership as a member of the leadership team and wish him the best as he pursues his future endeavors,” said Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac’s president, in a memo.

While helming the auto manufacturer’s marketing efforts, Ellinghaus spearheaded Cadillac’s shift from traditional advertising to more experiential activations. He has worked at Cadillac since 2014, after joining from Montblanc International.

WeWork has brought on Julie Rice, founder of SoulCycle, as chief brand officer, where she will expand the company’s community aspects, creating additional amenities and events.

“It’s about leading by example right? I was an entrepreneur, I built something,” Rice told The Cut about her plans to work at a WeWork shared space. “It’s great for other entrepreneurs to see another entrepreneur who took a risk and did it.”

In addition to running SoulCycle, Rice co-founded LifeShop, and investment and advising company. Before opening SoulCycle’s first studio in 2006, Rice worked as a talent manager at Handprint Entertainment for seven years.

Len Van Popering has joined Subway as the sandwich giant’s vice president of global brand management and innovation, a role in which he will be responsible for both brand messaging and changes to the restaurant’s core menu.

“We are evolving our global marketing team to reflect the contemporary vision we have for the company,” said Joe Tripodi, CMO at Subway. “Len’s diverse background, collaborative approach and shared enthusiasm for Subway will help us expand the innovation and creativity so critical to our brand.”

Van Popering has served as CMO at both Applause Innovation Group and Logan’s Roadhouse in the past, as well as senior vice president of marketing and product innovation at Arby’s.

The Rest Of The C-Suite

(Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, December 8. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)

Adobe has appointed Scott Belsky to the role of chief product officer and executive vice president of Creative Cloud, the company’s slate of productivity and design tools. In addition to overseeing management and engineering of Creative Cloud projects, Belsky will direct Adobe’s Spark and Behance initiatives as well.

“Scott is a seasoned leader in the creative and design community with a track record of introducing disruptive new technologies and ways of thinking. He combines an unmatched passion for products with an acute vision for how the creative process must continue to evolve,” said Shantanu Narayen, Adobe’s president and CEO. “As Adobe enters the next phase of growth in our creative business, Scott is the ideal leader to help drive product innovation in our Creative Cloud offerings and ensure Adobe continues to empower our creative customers to do their best work.”

Belsky most recently served as Adobe’s vice president of products, leading mobile application strategy for Creative Cloud. He joined the company in 2012, after it acquired Behance, a platform he co-founded in 2006.

Digital applications company Kony Inc has appointed Kathy Crusco to the role of executive vice president and chief financial officer.

“As we continue our journey of high-growth and leadership in digital technology, we need a financial and operational executive with Kathy’s strength, track-record, experience, credentials and strategic thinking,” said Thomas E. Hogan, Kony’s chairman and CEO.

Crusco most recently served as chief operating and financial officer at Epicor Software Corporation, guiding the company through several acquisitions over the course of a decade.

DISH Network has announced its CEO, Charlie Ergen, will be stepping down, and to be replaced by Erik Carlson. Maintaining his current title of chairman, Ergen reports the move is to permit him to focus more on the company’s emerging wireless business.

“With more than 20 years’ experience at DISH, Erik brings a complete understanding of the business opportunities both DISH TV and Sling TV possess,” said Ergen. “I have every confidence that under Erik’s leadership our new organizational structure will deliver value for DISH TV and Sling TV and will aid our entry into wireless.”

A 22-year DISH veteran, Carlson served as president and chief operating officer prior to his promotion.

Ben Gibson has joined cloud-computing company Nutanix as CMO.

“Whether by design or by accident, the multi-cloud era is here,” Gibson said. “Our focus will be rapidly expanding our influence and impact across new markets, and within each Nutanix customer—spanning innovative infrastructure managers, cloud architects and application developers.”

Gibson has held the position of CMO at several other networking companies in the past, including F5 Networks, Veritas and Aruba Networks.

George Harrington has signed on with capital bonds platform Overbond as head of US business development, based out of the company’s New York office.

“George’s extensive expertise across both the buy-side and sell-side will be instrumental in furthering Overbond’s open platform strategy as we roll out our services to more than 5,000 US clients,” said Vuk Magdelinic, Overbond’s CEO.

Before Overbond, Harrington worked at Bloomberg as head of global markets, where he led global sales and product teams, handling overall strategy for Bloomberg’s fixed income management platforms.

Apple Worldwide Video has brought on Michelle Lee as a creative executive to assist the company’s expansion into original scripted programming. Before Apple, Lee worked as a producing partner at True Jack Productions, assisting in the development of shows such as The Path, About a Boy and Pure Genius for a variety of networks.

Amazon’s newly opened Australia division has hired its first director of marketing in Arno Lenior. He joins the company two years after departing Samsung in 2015, where he had served as CMO since 2012. Previously, Lenior ran his own consulting firm, helmed marketing efforts at Lion Nathan and also held marketing positions at Apple and Enterprise.

Joanne Lipman, chief content officer for USA Today Network, has announced that she will be stepping down, citing a need to focus more on her upcoming book.

The heightened focus on sexual harassment has led to a flood of interest and opportunities surrounding my upcoming book about closing the gender gap,” Lipman said in an email to staff.

Lipman has worked at USA Today Network since 2015, joining from Conde Nast’s Portfolio magazine, where she was editor in chief.

Exxon Mobil has announced the merger of its refinery and marketing operations into a single company, named ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants Company. Bryan Milton, currently president of Exxon’s marketing division, will helm the united operation, seeking to further improve efficiency.

Milton has worked at Exxon since 1986, where he served as a developmental engineer for Exxon Chemical.

21st Century Fox has named Uday Shankar as president for the Asia region, a role in which he will lead the company’s video businesses, including Star India and Fox Networks Group, across the continent. Additionally, Shankar will continue in his current position of CEO and chairman for Star India.

“Uday’s new role will enhance our strategic focus across all of Asia and enable us to further capture opportunities, building on the transformation Star India has driven in our most important growth market,” said James Murdoch, 21st Century Fox’s CEO. “Under Uday’s leadership, our India business has firmly established itself as a world-class asset with durable businesses across entertainment, sports, satellite distribution and OTT.”

LG has created the position of marketing director for the Western Europe region, tapping Merlin Wulf to fill the new role. Starting this month, Wulf will lead the company’s marketing efforts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherthlands.

Before joining LG, Wulf worked at several advertising agencies including KNSK and Wire Advertising.

YouTube, citing brand and content creator worries, has announced that it will expand its content review team to 10,000 members by the end of 2018. The new jobs will consist of manual moderators and ad reviewers, and will help the video platform train its machine learning algorithms to flag and remove policy-violating content in the future.

Job Vacancies 

Sr. Brand Manager, Local Marketing T-Mobile Redondo Beach, CA
Director of Marketing, Americas Razer USA, Ltd. Irvine, CA
VP, Creative & Brand Synergy JCPenney Plano, TX
VP, Worldwide Marketing Partnerships Paramount Pictures Hollywood, CA
Sr. Director of Global Brand Licensing/Marketing Ralph Lauren New York, NY
Integrated Brand Director, Global Influencer Marketing Nike Portland, OR

Make sure to check back for updates on our Jobs Page.

Game Video Content Attracts Brands Searching For Audience Engagement

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Over the past few years, game video content (GVC) has become a rising star in the world of audience engagement, and brands have taken notice. Defying stereotypes, GVC viewers are diverse in age and gender, allowing marketers to not only reach but engage with a passionate community. Studies show that this demographic is huge and yet only a handful of major brands appear to be targeting GVC audiences.

GVC is defined as video game livestreams, trailers, tutorials and other videos related to gaming. SuperData predicts that the worldwide audience for GVC will reach 665 million in 2017, more than double the population of the US. It’s not just males that tune in, either—GVC viewers in the US are split 54/46 male to female with an average age of 33. GVC is on track to generate $4.6 billion in revenue in 2017 through advertising and direct spending, a level that would outpace revenue generated by sports.

Interactive Influence

Those who livestream games are often able to amass large followings across social media and Twitch, transforming everyday people into celebrities and influencers that brands can partner with.

“Because viewers are passionate about supporting their favorite creators, brands have the ability to tap into that equity,” Anthony Danzi, Twitch’s senior vice president of client strategy told AListDaily.

Under Armour, for example, is promoting the launch of its Curry 4 “More Buckets” colorway sneakers by hosting a Twitch livestream tournament on Friday. Nine popular Twitch streamers will go head-to-head in a round robin tournament inside NBA 2K18. The winner will receive a pair of the colorway sneakers, signed by pro basketball player Stephen Curry. The shoes will be available for sale in-game and in real life beginning on Friday, so the campaign covers both gamers and sports fans.

Unlike a static video, those watching branded livestreams at home can interact directly with the brand. In the case of Under Armour’s activation, Twitch viewers can vote for who they think should be MVP and enter to win prizes using the chat feature.

Endemic Not Required

Endemic brands have an obvious advantage when marketing to gamers, but brands should not assume that that’s all GVC audiences care about. Non-endemic brands from insurance to food have invested time and money into reaching this young, engaged demographic.

Last year, General Mills became the first presenting sponsor of Yahoo ESports Live, an hour-long pair of weekly live shows. Geico created a series of comedy skits around its sponsored esports team SoloMid with its YouTube debut. Carl’s Jr. even created the first live commercials on Twitch during a gaming marathon.

While Twitch may have been founded around—and is best known for—video game livestreams, its community also streams and watches content ranging from TV shows to fitness guides.

“Less forward-thinking brands who haven’t done their homework might simply classify [Twitch audiences] as gamers who are only interested in endemic products,” said Danzi.

Non-endemic brands are even hiring video game characters as spokespeople.

GVC Is Everywhere

Gaming-related video content is streamed across the same platforms on which audiences find news, entertainment and information, so marketers don’t have to look far.

Advertising powerhouse Facebook has taken aim at GVC audiences by adding live broadcast for video games across its platform. A partnership with Activision Blizzard allows Facebook users to broadcast gameplay from a myriad of devices directly to the social media feed—the same feed in which advertisers reach millions of consumers each day.

Over 20 million how-to gaming videos have been uploaded to YouTube, and 56 percent of gamers on the site say they go to YouTube to connect with their gaming communities.

First Look, Rodan + Fields, Edible Arrangements, Transamerica Change Up Marketing C-Suite

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Elisabeth Charles has joined Rodan + Fields as its latest chief marketing officer.

“Elisabeth’s strong track record as a marketer and strategic business leader make her a terrific addition to our leadership team,” says Diane Dietz, CEO of Rodan + Fields. “Her breadth of experience building successful global brands will propel Rodan + Fields forward during our next phase of growth as we strive to be the number one skincare brand in each market we serve.”

Prior to signing on with the skincare company, Charles worked as senior vice president and general manager at Old Navy, and has additionally been CMO at Athleta.

Edible Arrangements has announced a new CMO as well. Kaitlin Reiss has been promoted to the position, up until now serving as vice president of marketing and e-commerce.

“There are not many people that know Edible better than Kaitlin,” said Tariq Farid, Edible Arrangements’ CEO. “She has lived it every day for over a decade and her deep understanding of the brand, as well as her ability to anticipate and respond to emerging industry trends, make her the perfect person for this critical position as we prepare to enter a new phase of growth.”

Transamerica has appointed Frank Sottosanti to the position of chief marketing officer.

“Frank brings a wealth of knowledge and an impressive track record to this role,” said Dave Paulsen, executive vice president and chief distribution officer for Transamerica. “We are looking forward to him providing strategic leadership as CMO by further executing on the innovative and transformational brand and digital platform initiatives that we have in development to enhance our customer, advisor and employer experiences.”

Sottosanti has held senior marketing positions in a variety of industries over the last two decades, including service as CMO at Protective Life since 2012. Previously, he worked at Bank of America, the Coca-Cola Company and Wachovia Bank.

First Look Media has hired Stacey Politi to join the production network as senior vice president of marketing.

“We are at the exact right time to bring in a marketing specialist and Stacey is the exact right person for the role,” Michael Bloom, president of First Look Media told Deadline. “We’re making films, documentaries, TV and digital content with the best creative voices and partners, we’ve launched new consumer brands, and we’re making a big impact with our journalism and non-profit work, which is our hallmark.”

Prior to First Look Media, Politi worked at vice president of marketing at Crackle.

Tim Kendall, president of Pinterest, will be departing the company by the end of the year. Jon Alferness, currently senior vice president of ads and commerce, will take over the role once Kendall steps down.

“Tim has made important contributions to Pinterest and we are pleased that he will continue to serve as an advisor to the company,” a spokesperson wrote as part of a statement provided to Recode.

Blue Apron has appointed Brad Dickerson to the role of CEO, replacing Matt Salzberg, the company’s co-founder, who is stepping down.

“The board and I are confident that Brad is the right person to build on this momentum,” said Salzberg. “He is a seasoned leader with significant experience working with the public markets, operating efficiently at scale, and delivering value to shareholders.”

Dickerson has worked at Blue Apron since early 2016 as chief financial officer, and before that spent 11 years at Under Armour, culminating as CFO.

The New York Times Company has brought on Amber Guild as president for its T Brand marketing solutions division, where she will oversee the Fake Love internal agency as well.

“We’ve been speaking publicly for quite some time about T Brand Studio’s work evolving to be more agency-like and felt it was the right time to bring on an executive with the vision and experience to bring us to the next level,” said Sebastian Tomich, head of The Times Company’s advertising and marketing solutions group.

Before joining The Times Company, Guild served as New York managing director for The Martin Agency, and prior to that was president of the brand consultant agency Collins.

Kevin Roe has joined Fullscreen Media as senior vice president of client services for the company’s branded-content group, a newly created role.

“We’re thrilled to have Kevin as the newest member of our team as our clients recognize the need to reorient priorities from analog to digital, from one-way channels to social platforms and from interruptive advertising to authentic, entertaining content,” Tim Perlstein, Fullscreen’s senior vice president of strategy and insights, told Variety.

Prior to signing on with the Fullscreen team, Roe has worked at Razorfish, Edelman and New Media Strategies.

Fox News Channel has promoted ad sales executives Dominick Rossi, Frank Sorace and Sam Moser. Rossi will become senior vice president of eastern sales, Sorace senior vice president of sales planning and operations and Moser senior vice president of national sales.

“Their innovative insights and strategic partnerships have delivered record revenues for both networks and I am confident their leadership will help maximize our position in the marketplace and enhance our cross-portfolio capabilities,” said Marianne Gambelli, president of ad sales at Fox News Channel.

Rossi has been with Fox for the past decade and Moser for twelve years. Sorace has managed ad sales at Fox News Channel since its inception in 1996.

PetSmart has appointed a new executive vice president of marketing and customer experience in Joshua Kanter.

“Joshua is a highly experienced executive with a proven track record of building successful consumer-facing brands,” said Raymond Svider, executive chairman at PetSmart. “We continue to position the business for success as the leading brick-and-mortar and online company in pet specialty retail, and we are confident Joshua is the right leader to support our unique mission and brand.”

Kanter most recently served at Viking Cruises as senior vice president of marketing strategy, and before that was senior vice president of marketing at Caesars Entertainment.

Chipotle’s founder and CEO Steve Ells has announced plans to step down from the position once the company finds his replacement.

“While we are continuing to make progress, it is clear that we need to move faster to make improvements,” said Ells. “Simply put, we need to execute better to ensure our future success.”

Once the position is filled, Ells will assume the role of executive chairman.

Jeff Wachtel, current chief content officer at NBCUniversal, will leave his post to assume the title of president of NBCUniversal International Studios in London.

“The ability to produce for a local and a global audience is key to the future success of any major production company,” said Kevin MacLellan, chairman of global distrubtion at NBCUniversal. “Jeff is one of the few creative executives in the business who has proven time and again that he can deliver shows that work on both planes.”

Wachtel has been with NBCU for 16 years, first joining as an executive vice president of series and longform programming at USA Network in 2001. No replacement chief content officer has been announced yet.

Groupon has hired Colin Bodell as its chief technology officer.

“As Groupon’s marketplace continues to grow, we’re excited to bring on an engineering leader in Colin who can evolve our platform and help capture the immense opportunity in local,” said Groupon CEO Rich Williams. “Colin’s experience leading global engineering teams, building world-class software and deserved reputation as a strong advocate for diversity in engineering make him a tremendous fit to help lead Groupon’s continued success.”

Bodell has served as chief technology officer at both American Eagle Outfitters and Time, and has also worked as a senior engineer at Amazon.

Molly DeWold Swenson, RYOT co-founder and head of brand, will be departing the company by the end of the year.

“My departure comes at a time when RYOT’s impact and its future have never been more certain,” she told Variety.

Bob Reif has joined Millennial Esports Corp. as president, where he will attempt to forge ties between the esports company and traditional sports brands.

“I see many parallels between the growth of the traditional sports sector and the potential for growth in the emerging esports sector, with Millennial Esports leading the charge,” said Reif. “I’m confident my experience in the sports arena, particularly in the area of racing, will serve Millennial Esports well, and I’m excited to get started.”

Before Millennial, Reif served as executive vice president for the Indiana Motor Speedway and as CMO of the Indy Race League. Additionally, he was CMO of the St. Louis Rams.

Topgolf Entertainment Group has brought on new president Troy Warfield to replace Neil Allen, who is stepping down.

“Whether it’s through one of our venues or a driving range powered by Toptracer Range technology, Troy will advance Topgolf’s vision of being a global sports and entertainment community creating great times for all,” said Topgolf CEO Erik Anderson.

Prior to joining Topgolf, Warfield worked at British Airways as executive director of its management committee and director of customer experience, where he led more than 16,000 employees.

Tumblr CEO David Karp announced his retirement from the company after founding the website almost 11 years ago. Taking his place will be Jeff D’Onofrio, the company’s chief operations officer.

“I beg you to understand that my decision comes after months of reflection on my personal ambitions, and at no cost to my hopefulness for Tumblr’s future or the impact I know it can have,” Karp wrote in an email to Tumblr employees. “The internet is at a crossroads of which this team can play a fundamental role in shaping. You are in the driver seat, and I am so excited to see where you go!”

Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, announced that she will be stepping down from her position. Taking her place will be HPE’s current president, Antonio Neri.

“We have a much smaller, much nimbler, much more focused company,” Whitman said during a call with investors. “I think it is absolutely the right time for Antonio and a new generation of leaders to take the reins.”

Whitman has been with the company for six years, overseeing its bifurcation between its server and printer and PC businesses.

Unilever CEO Paul Polman will be retiring soon, and the company has announced a search for a replacement. Polman has led Unilever since 2009 and said that he does not expect to leave before the end of 2018.

The Golden State Warriors have hired Hunter Leigh as its head of esports, an entirely new role for the NBA franchise. So far, the team owns two esports teams, one for League of Legends and one for NBA 2K.

“I’m eager to hit the ground running as it relates to player acquisitions and building competitive teams for both League of Legends and the NBA 2K League,” Leigh said. “The Warriors have a proven model for championship success, and I am looking to bring their player development and analytical approach to the esports space.”

Before joining the Warriors, Leigh was head of esports operations at Yahoo, and prior to that worked at Riot Games as the North American League of Legends Championship Series product lead.

Mozilla is pushing to expand web-based social virtual reality, announcing a new VR and mixed reality platform team. The team will focus on producing hardware-agnostic tools for social VR.

“Unlike traditional online communication tools like text, voice and video, the promise of mixed reality is that you can be present with other people, much like real life, and engage with them in a more interactive way,” wrote Greg Fodor, Mozilla’s social mixed reality engineering manager. “You can make eye contact, nod your head, high five, dance and even play catch with anyone around the world, regardless of where you are.”

Yum! Brands has announced the appointment of Tanya Domier to its board of directors.

“Tanya’s extensive sales and marketing background, along with her leadership experience successfully running a customer-driven business, make her an excellent addition to the Yum! Brands Board,” said Robert Walter, non-executive chairman of Yum! Brands. “We’re thrilled to have Tanya join us during this exciting and transformative time for our company as we continue to evolve as the restaurant industry’s leading global franchisor.”

Currently, Domier has worked at Advantage Solutions since 2010 and as its CEO since 2013.

John Lasseter, senior creative executive at Pixar Animation, has announced taking a six-month leave of absence from both the studio and Walt Disney Animation.

“I especially want to apologize to anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of an unwanted hug or any other gesture they felt crossed the line in any way, shape, or form,” he wrote in an email reported on by The Wall Street Journal.

Helene Xu, SkySea’s vice president of marketing, has been promoted to senior vice president of sales and marketing, where she will be responsible for promoting the cruise line’s business in mainland China and the Asia Pacific region.

“Helene has rich experience in the cruise industry and is one of the earliest cruise management talents in China who has led the market to tremendous growth over the years,” said Ken Muskat, SkySea CEO. “Her promotion further supports SkySea’s commitment to the multi-homeport strategy in 2018 and our goal to further align SkySea’s shoreside sales and marketing teams to execute this strategy with success in the coming year.”

Prior to signing on with SkySea, Xu worked at Wyndham Hotel Group as vice president of marketing for the greater China region, and held the role of marketing director for Costa Cruises prior to that.

Peter Ruppe, Under Armour’s senior vice president of footwear, is departing the company after two years in the position and unchecked slowing of shoe sales. Ryan Drew, general manager for the sportswear company’s basketball division, is slated to serve as Ruppe’s successor.

Before joining Under Armour, Ruppe spent 20 years at Nike.

(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated daily until Friday, December 1. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)

Job Vacancies 

VP of Marketing  Fender  Los Angeles, CA
VP, Brand Marketing Toys”R”Us Wayne, NJ
VP of Marketing Tender Greens Culver City, CA
VP, Creative Development, New Platforms Condé Nast Seattle, WA
Sr. Director of Global Brand Licensing/Marketing Ralph Lauren New York, NY
VP, Brand Marketing The Body Shop New York, NY

Make sure to check back for updates on our Jobs Page.

Mobile Games Embrace Rewarded Video; Marketers Aren’t Innovating With Video Ads

BY

Mobile game developer opinions on advertising as a revenue source have shifted drastically in the past year. A survey by deltaDNA found that 49 percent of free-to-play developers view in-game ads as “an important monetization opportunity” and 21 percent claim that ads “enhance player progress,” almost double from last year. Just one year ago, 51 percent saw ads as a “necessary evil,” marking an almost complete turnaround.

The research also finds that rewarded video ads are now the most used format at 58 percent of all games, with standard video ads and banner ads lagging behind at 38 and 34 percent, respectively.

A new survey by Innovid indicates that marketers are grading themselves harshly when it comes to their video advertising efforts. Just 6 percent characterized themselves as innovators in video ads, despite 80 percent expecting an increase in their video advertising budgets in the coming year.

“Many marketers seem to be coming down hard on their own video marketing efforts, but it is also clear that there is so much untapped potential and optimism about video marketing and its impact on consumers to be harnessed in the year to come,” said Beth-Ann Eason, president of Innovid.

According to Innovid’s analysis, the three major factors holding brands back with video ads are limited budgets, lack of internal experience and lack of prioritization of the format.

Global smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.5 billion units in 2018, according to new research by Digitimes, growing 5 percent annually. Much of this growth is expected from emerging markets in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa, with phone shipments projected to increase by 60-to-70 million units per year through 2022.

(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated until Friday, December 1.)