2015 CMO of the Year Award Winner

CMO of the Year:
Bruce F. Fleming
Church & Dwight Co., Inc.

A forward-thinking, technology-savvy Chief Marketing Officer is critical to the competitive consumer goods company, particularly over the last few years as new technologies have changed the game. To honor the changing role of the CMO, CGT introduced its second-annual CMO of the Year award on June 2nd at the 2015 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Summit in New York City. The deserving recipient was Bruce F. Fleming, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Church & Dwight Co., Inc.

 

“We selected Bruce Fleming as the 2015 CMO of the Year because of his continuing work to transform, reinvigorate and expand a more than 165-year-old brand into new categories, for new consumers,” said Albert Guffanti, Publisher, CGT.

When you think of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, you think of a little yellow box. However, the brand is constantly used and appreciated by new generations. Although most use baking soda as an effective, yet gentle cleaner, and alternative to using harsh chemicals, Fleming is responsible for expanding the Arm & Hammer brand into many other categories including oral hygiene. Through the development of innovative products alongside innovative marketing, Fleming has helped to expand the portfolio of toothpaste and other oral care products that are leveraging baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.

“I am honored for Church & Dwight to be recognized in this way. We have always been inspired by our rich heritage to help drive forward our future in relevant, accessible and unique ways for our consumers. And we are committed to always pushing the envelope in the innovation space — from our product technologies to digital engagement to marketing,” said Fleming.

FINALISTS

Richard Davies
Chief Marketing and Insights Officer
Newell Rubbermaid

Davies joined Newell Rubbermaid in January 2013 to build bigger brands and innovation, and make a larger marketing impact, while extending the company’s footprint to the faster growing emerging markets in Latin America and Asia. He shook up the CMO model by putting research in charge, as well as veering from tradition, trimming staff and emphasizing consumer insights. With brands such as Paper Mate pens, Graco baby products, Rubbermaid storage products, Calphalon cookware and much more, he consolidated marketing staff and agencies, giving unprecedented authority to an expanded independent research group. For example, Davies experienced market-share gains after Newell research showed the importance of a free-flowing pen to consumers that translated into Paper Mate InkJoy pens, backed by heavy sampling combine with TV ads.

Alison Lewis
Chief Marketing Officer
Johnson & Johnson (J&J)

Lewis set out her vision for aligning J&J’s agencies and holding companies with a new global “hub and spoke” system for its global megabrands in 2014, which account for the bulk of J&J’s $14.7 billion in global consumer sales and $2.5 billion in reported global ad spending. Her strategy sets a new integrated marketing communications process in place aimed at creating media-neutral ideas that travel around the world using “hubs” that are virtual rather than literal. J&J’s consumer division has expanded its central marketing-services team and more emphasis will be on building the central marketing teams in countries and regions to implement global ideas. The best example to date of J&J’s new approach in practice has been Clean & Clear’s “See the real me” campaign, taking the lead in U.S. skincare category growth for the first time in six years, as well as taking share in India.