For nearly ten years, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies focused on hiring marketers adept at fine-tuning media strategies. Today, however, their emphasis has shifted toward securing talent capable of revitalizing brands.
Earlier this year, when Smuckers sought a new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), it opted for Katie Williams, previously the U.S. CMO of Haleon. Williams brings extensive experience in consumer health, having developed well-known brands such as Advil, Centrum, and Sensodyne. Hormel, which previously lacked a unified CMO, established the position in December and appointed Jason Levine, a marketing veteran from Mondelēz known for his work with Oreo and Ritz. Similarly, Burger King’s newly appointed CMO Joel Yashinsky, who transitioned from Applebee’s in early 2025, wasted no time in dismissing the brand’s mascot and undertaking a complete brand overhaul based on consumer input, characterizing this initiative not as a marketing campaign but as a fundamental reevaluation of the brand’s identity.
These new hires contrast sharply with the types of professionals CPG companies predominantly sought five years prior. During the early 2020s, as digital platforms flourished and retail media surged, marketing structures were adapted accordingly. Knowledge in programmatic buying, conversion optimization, and attribution modeling became the benchmarks for hiring, sidelining traditional brand management in favor of cutting-edge media purchasing. This shift made sense at the time; digital advertising expenditures soared, and the demand for demonstrable returns on investment intensified. Yet, this focus on proving short-term marketing effectiveness often overlooked the long-term process of building brand loyalty.
“The industry-wide rush to prioritize performance, often at the expense of brand awareness, exemplifies the classic error of losing sight of core values,” stated Scott Shamberg, president and CEO of the independent media agency Mile Marker. “The discourse shifted heavily towards the lower end of the marketing funnel, with claims surfacing that all media is performance-based. CPG was likely the sector most inclined to this emphasis due to the introduction of advanced lower-funnel metrics.”
This trend was also reflected in organizational changes. In 2019, Unilever dissolved its CMO role following Keith Weed’s departure after nearly ten years, opting instead for a chief digital and marketing officer with “digital” prioritized in the title. Kimberly-Clark took this a step further, merging marketing and digital into a dual role held by one executive. The industry began to question the true purpose of marketing, with many firms concluding that it ultimately aimed at driving growth. According to Boston Consulting Group data on leading CPG firms, nearly 70% of company executives reported having a chief growth officer or a similar role focused on broader responsibilities such as insights, innovation, digital commerce, and revenue management. In essence, the traditional CMO role had been quietly phased out.
Now, the pendulum has swung back. Companies that once emphasized performance over brand integrity are realizing that consumers are indifferent when encountering their products — and that meticulous attribution calculations cannot bridge this gap.
“CPG CMOs are now juggling a myriad of social media platforms, emerging technologies such as ChatGPT, and retail media networks,” remarked Greg Carlucci, senior director analyst in the Gartner Marketing Practice. “This fragmentation reduces the competitive edge historically enjoyed by CPGs but simultaneously opens doors for mid- and smaller-tier brands to thrive.”
The financial outcomes have caught up with these brands. Since 2023, the largest global food and beverage CPG companies have seen a total shareholder return drop of around 7%, in stark contrast to a 9% gain for the S&P 500. Annual volume growth in the sector is now below 1%. Last year, the sales of private label products outpaced those of branded items by nearly threefold.
These statistics reflect the repercussions of a decade’s worth of decisions. CPG companies structured their marketing frameworks around an era when they had substantial pricing power and digital channels made measurement the priority. While brand equity remained challenging to quantify, conversion rates were not. Now, as pricing restores to previous levels, volume stagnates, and a notable 61% of shoppers, according to McKinsey, indicate that price is a more critical factor for them than it was two years ago, consumers are reevaluating what a brand genuinely signifies. The performance marketing era did not obliterate CPG brands; instead, it left them with fewer resources when circumstances shifted.
“In the last few years, CPG focused on what was quantifiable,” noted Maija Hoehn, CMO at the independent marketing agency broadhead. “Currently, we are witnessing a shift back to understanding what actually drives growth: brands that resonate with consumers, rather than merely those that optimize conversions.”
This is not a wholesale rejection of performance marketing; rather, it’s a recalibration. The industry is acknowledging its prior overemphasis, recognizing that rebuilding brand equity, once depleted, is a formidable challenge. Hormel’s creation of a CMO role was not a result of excessive brand strength, nor did Smuckers seek a consumer health marketer to correct its media strategy. Burger King hired Yashinsky, not because the numbers were robust — their same-store sales had just dipped into the negative in Q1 2025 when he joined — but rather to find someone who comprehended the essence of the brand, beyond merely managing marketing expenditures.
“Connected television has emerged as a crucial channel for CPG that integrates both lower and upper funnels, enabling marketers to reconsider strategies for both while effectively gauging brand perception,” observed Shamberg. “Consumers naturally harbor strong connections to brands; marketers must account for this emotional bond in storytelling and in their selection of spokespersons.”
Key Statistics
76%: Year-over-year increase in unique U.S. visitors to ChatGPT from January 2025 to January 2026.
16%: Proportion of full-time employees laid off by Snap as it pivots towards AI investment.
$50,000: The new, lowered minimum investment for participation in the OpenAI ChatGPT advertising pilot.
100 million: Total global users for Roku’s streaming services.
Coverage Overview
OpenAI has quietly introduced its advertising manager as it accelerates its ad business growth
In a reverse adaptation of the typical platform strategy, OpenAI is testing a self-serve advertising manager, a vital component for rapidly scaling its advertising operations.
OpenAI is developing a tool to assess the effectiveness of ChatGPT advertisements
As it expands its advertising capabilities beyond brand promotion, OpenAI is implementing a pixel that is currently being utilized selectively in a pilot program with certain advertisers while continuously refining its functionalities.
Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis, rejected the notion of creating a Trade Desk competitor during a recent earnings call, asserting that a proprietary demand-side platform would contradict the company’s AI-focused strategy aimed at data and client relationship management. Clients who were advised to reduce spending with The Trade Desk are still waiting for Publicis to suggest alternative spending strategies.
In the two years since Jeff Housenbold became CEO of MrBeast’s Beast Industries, Fortune 1000 CMOs have begun reaching out to the company instead of the reverse, affording them the privilege to select partnerships that align well with their brand ethos while rejecting those that do not.
Current Reading Selections
Exclusive: Meta restructures Reality Labs to ‘execute faster’
According to The Information, Meta is reorganizing the infrastructure of Reality Labs, integrating quality assurance and platform functions directly into its wearables and VR product teams to streamline operations following significant cuts, including over 1,500 layoffs in January and additional reductions in March.
Sam Altman shares reassurances amid backlash
After an individual firebombed his residence and threatened the safety of OpenAI employees, CEO Sam Altman advocated for calm and emphasized the necessity of democratic governance for AI, acknowledging public anxieties while suggesting the need for a reduction in inflammatory rhetoric, as noted by Platformer.
Impending online age verification checks in Europe
The European Union is poised to implement an age verification system in the coming weeks to enhance online safety for children, utilizing passports, identification, and QR verification methodologies, as reported by Politico.
Hollywood embraces content creators in a tentative attempt to recapture Gen Z viewership
In a bid to win back the Gen Z audience migrating away from conventional media, Hollywood is increasingly casting influencers in roles across platforms like SNL, Euphoria, and major studio productions, according to Airmail.
