Buffalo Wild Wings promotes from within to fill CMO vacancy (Score 45)

Sales lead: This promotion will affect the chain's marketing strategy & agency roster.

• Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) has filled the CMO vacancy we told you about last October. 
• The chain promoted Tristan Meline from brand management & innovation VP to CMO, effective January 2023.
• He is responsible for BWW's brand experience, strategic planning, menu development, and brand/field marketing. 

BWW's target demographic: Millennial & Gen-Z male sports fans

The company will likely:

• Ramp ad spend back up
• Experiment with new marketing channels
• Review the agency roster

Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)

• YTD spend: BWW spent nearly $2.8m on national TV ads YTD, a 40% decrease from $4.7m spent in this channel during the same time period of 2022. 
• 2021-2022 spend: Full-year spend increased by 16% from $36.3m in 2021 to $42m in 2022. 
• YTD ad programming: It placed ads during programming such as NFL Football, NBA Basketball, SportsCenter, College Basketball, and Chicago Fire. 

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

• YTD spend: BWW spent around $2.8m on digital display ads YTD, a 32% decrease from $4.1m spent in this channel during the same time period of 2022. 
• YTD data: 301.1m impressions via Facebook (48%), desktop video (31%), and Instagram (21%). 
• 2021-2022 spend: Full-year spend increased by 4% from $40.1m in 2021 to $41.8m in 2022. 
• Ad location: It placed 100% of these ads directly onto sites such as facebook.com, youtube.com, instagram.com, twitch.tv, and heraldnet.com. 

Additional channel insights  

• Vivvix: BWW also utilizes OOH, print, radio, and local broadcast. 
• Top podcasts sponsored: All Ears English Podcast, Stuff They Don't Want You To Know, The Bill Simmons Podcast, Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast, and The John Batchelor Show. 

Agency analysis:

• Opportunity: Get in touch with the recently promoted CMO now to be top-of-mind. 
• Current roster:
  • Zenith Media: media AOR
  • The Martin Agency: creative AOR
  • Norton Creative: creative (menu & merchandising)
  • Zeno Group: PR