Three Brands Planning in Q4 2023 That Your Agency Needs on Its Radar

Brands planning in Q4 2023 will need the support of agencies that can help them strategize and prepare marketing campaigns, sales promotions, and special offers to capitalize on the increased spending during this time. Q4 is synonymous with the holiday season — and its seemingly endless opportunities for retail and consumer-focused brands surrounding Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year’s. In fact, agencies can provide brands with unique opportunities to leverage the holiday season, optimize revenue, strengthen customer relationships, and set the stage for a successful start to 2024. Get the full list of 153 brand contacts planning below!

Agencies ready to work with brands planning in Q4 2023 can assist with:

• Brand visibility: Increasing consumer activity during the holiday season presents an opportunity to enhance visibility.
• New product launches: Introducing new products and innovations to capitalize on the holiday season’s higher consumer engagement.
• Post-holiday planning: Retaining customers acquired during Q4 and maintaining revenue momentum into Q1 2024.
• Customer loyalty: Strengthing customer relationships through loyalty programs, returning customer discounts, and personalized shopping experiences.

Here are three brands planning in Q4 2023 that your agency needs on its radar, including upcoming campaigns, spending insights, agency relationships, and more…

1)  Tommy Hilfiger taps new CMO, increases digital spend

The almost 40-year-old clothing brand just hired a new CMO. Virginia Ritchie joined in September after the departure of the interim CMO, CBO, and President, Alegra O’Hare. Though Ritchie isn’t located in the US, she oversees all aspects of Tommy Hilfiger‘s global marketing, which will affect the brand’s US strategy. She joined the company in January 2011 and stepped up as its interim CMO and global consumer engagement VP in March 2023. In her previous role, Ritchie enlivened campaigns, products, and activations via all marketing and commercial touchpoints. Historically, Tommy Hilfiger spent big on media in Q4. In fact, in Q4 2022 the brand spent $1.7 million.

Tommy Hilfiger will likely:

• ​​​​​​​Shift strategy
• ​​​​​​​Seek new agency partners
• ​​​​​​​Return to higher spending

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

• YTD spend: So far this year, Tommy Hilfiger spent approximately $3.2m on digital ads, 60% more than the approximately $2m spent within the same 2022 timeframe.
• YTD data: The brand has earned ~415.1m digital impressions YTD via Instagram (62$), YouTube (16%), Facebook (11%), desktop video (7%)
• Last year: In 2022, Tommy Hilfiger spent roughly $3.6m on this channel, down 27% from the roughly $4.9m spent in 2021.
• Note: Tommy Hilfiger also advertises its fragrances but has not yet done so this year; it may benefit from ideas to improve ROI for this business.

Agency insights: Reach out soon to remain top-of-mind in case this new CMO conducts agency reviews. Current agency roster:

• ​​​​​​​In-House: Media
• Sunshine: Creative AOR (added December 2022)
• Crossmedia: Media agency partner
• New Moon: Experiential agency partner

2)  Clinique taps marketing VP and increases digital spend spending

Catie Cambria became the Vice President, of North America Marketing at Clinique in May 2023. Cambria joined from Gucci, where she was the integrated marketing VP. Now, she oversees the Estee Lauder-owned skin care, makeup, and fragrance brand’s regional strategy and marketing plan, spanning areas such as creative, media, PR, influencer, and product. She will be Clinique’s top marketer until the company selects a new CMO and SVP to succeed Carolyn Dawkins, who stepped down in January 2023. Expect Clinique to spend big on media in Q4 2023 — in 2022 the brand spent $3.1 million.

Clinique will likely:

• Implement strategy shits
• Pursue new influencer partnerships
• Keep increasing spend
• Conduct agency reviews
• Target demographic:
  • ​​​​​​​Gen-Z and millennial women

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

• YTD spend: Clinique has spent approximately $7m on digital ads YTD, 49% more than the approximately $4.7m spent by this point last year.
• YTD data: So far this year, the brand has earned around 545.8m digital impressions, 48% via Facebook ads, 36% via Instagram ads, and 16% via desktop video ads.
• Last year: In 2022, Clinique ended up spending roughly $9.7m on this channel, down 13% from the roughly $11.1m spent in 2021.

Agency insights: Reach out soon to be top-of-mind in case an agency review follows the hire of Cambria. Current agency roster:

• Coburn Communications: PR AOR
• Collectively: Creative, media, digital, and social agency partner (2016)
• Wunderman Thompson: Creative agency partner

3)  CKE Restaurants taps new CMO

Jennifer Tate is now the CMO at CKE Restaurants — which operates and franchises fast-food restaurants across the country — effective September 2023. Tate joined from Cracker Barrel, where she served in the same role. She succeeds incumbent Tana Davila, who became the CMO at Dutch Bros Coffee in June 2023 after parting ways with CKE. The operator of Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, and Green Burrito restaurants spent $16.1 million on media in Q1 2023.

CKE Restaurants will likely:

• Shift its strategy
• Continue increasing digital spend
• Conduct additional agency reviews

Agency insights: CMO hires often precede agency reviews, especially when those hires follow agency shifts, so reach out soon to remain top-of-mind. ​​​​We have not yet heard of any additional roster shifts since CKE named as its US media AOR earlier this year. Current agency roster:

• Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media: Media AOR (April 2023)
• 72andSunny: Creative and digital APR; Creative and digital AOR
• LaForce: PR AOR

If you liked this blog post, check out: