Former PepsiCo CMO Todd Kaplan Lands at Kraft Heinz
Advertising and marketing maven Todd Kaplan, who left PepsiCo final month after a 17-year run on the meals and beverage large, has introduced his new position as CMO of Kraft Heinz North America.
Kaplan might be main a $22 billion portfolio of legacy manufacturers together with Heinz, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Oscar Mayer, Velveeta, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Lunchables, Ore-Ida, Capri Solar, Cool Whip, Maxwell Home and Kool-Assist, amongst others, per his LinkedIn publish.
As he works to “form and redefine the way forward for meals,” Kaplan stated he will even oversee Kraft Heinz’s joint ventures with plant-based startup NotCo and European-born condiment maker Simply Spices.
Kraft Heinz has been on “an thrilling transformation journey over the previous few years, with an unwavering perception that creativity and innovation can actually remodel and speed up their enterprise,” Kaplan stated in his publish. His aim is to “unleash the potential of those unbelievable manufacturers via elevated creativity, a deeper connection to tradition and best-in-class advertising, media and digital capabilities that may gas the corporate’s subsequent wave of development.”
A artistic roll
Kaplan steps into a task final stuffed by Diana Frost, who was promoted to world chief development officer in November.
Kraft Heinz, through plenty of companies, has been on a artistic tear these days within the U.S. and different territories. Heinz, particularly, grabbed consideration for its first world marketing campaign in 150 years and its largest media funding so far.
Subsequent efforts included a cheeky ketchup insurance coverage coverage, an ode to “The Wait” for the appropriate condiment at a meal, and interactive billboards in Chicago that disbursed ketchup packets when smacked.
Meantime, a broader marketing campaign referred to as “Style Some Play On a regular basis” promoted Capri Solar, Jello-O and different kid-targeted manufacturers with snack-themed textbooks with snacks embedded inside.
Pepsi shakeup
Kaplan’s departure from PepsiCo got here amid a bigger government shuffle there, with vice chairman of sports activities, leisure and gaming Kalen Thornton and senior vp and CMO of power drinks Fabiola Torres additionally shifting on to different company gigs. The corporate employed a European CMO, Paula Marconi, a veteran of Kraft Heinz.
Flagship soda Pepsi has been in headlines these days for shedding its second-place perch with American shoppers to Dr Pepper. (Coke stays the distant champ with 19% market share; Dr Pepper now controls 8.34% gentle drink class in comparison with Pepsi’s 8.31%.) Gross sales quantity in Pepsi’s beverage unit fell 5% in the newest monetary quarter.
Whereas on the firm, Kaplan held plenty of roles, together with senior management positions in sports activities advertising, Mountain Dew and water manufacturers like Bubly and Lifewtr.
After being elevated to CMO in 2022, Kaplan rebooted Pepsi’s Tremendous Bowl Halftime Present with Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and The Weeknd. Apple later secured rights to the occasion from the Nationwide Soccer League.
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