S T U D I O 1 2 : Papa John's Shakes Things Up. Again.

Papa John's Shakes Things Up. Again.

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First Things First

November 07, 2019

By Jameson Fleming

Presented by

Papa John's Shakes Up Its Leadership Again

Let's take a walk down the Papa John's memory lane.

June 2018: Founder John Schnatter uses the n-word during a training call. He promptly resigns.
July 2018: Schnatter claims the brand's agency, Laundry Service, tried to extort him.
August 2018: We revealed Schnatter secretly hired another agency to make ads starring him.
August 2018: Schnatter takes out an ad begging employees to "Save Papa John's."
August 2018: Papa John's switches creative agencies, choosing Endeavor Global Marketing.
March 2019: Papa John's hires a new CMO, Karlin Linhardt.
August 2019: Papa John's hires another new creative agency, dumping Endeavor Global Marketing for Camp + King.

OK, now that you're all caught up on this wildly uneventful year at Papa John's, there's more news. Linhardt is out. As is Mike Nettles, the company's chief operating and growth officer, and Joe Smith, who's served as the company's CFO for nearly two decades. Max Wetzel, who acted as the vp of consumer brands at PPG Industries, is the new CMO.

More CMO news: Dean Evans, who is a member of Adweek's 2019 Brand Genius class, will take on an executive vice president role at Cars.com after leaving Hyundai last month.

The Latest From Brandweek

Brandweek closed down with a bevy of insightful talks featuring marketers from Citi, Sephora, Nascar, JetBlue and more. Head over to our Twitter account to read through some of the top quotes from the all-star lineup of speakers.

Here's some of our latest stories to come out of Palm Springs:

Pedro Earp, global CMO and ZX Ventures lead for AB InBev, explained the evolution of the CMO, keying in on the CMO of the future, which is someone who's not siloed in solely thinking about marketing.
Alaska Airlines is working with Starbucks to give passengers priority boarding if they're carrying one of Starbucks' holiday cups.
20 years ago, Target convinced designers that inclusive sizing would be good for business. It was a game-changer.
Swizz Beatz explained how he's making art more accessible.

Celebrating the Best Marketing Teams in the Business

Adweek introduced the Constellation Awards at Brandweek this year to honor the brilliant teams that executed some of the best ideas in marketing. Across 24 categories, brands like Mattel, AT&T and PepsiCo stood out. Microsoft and Xbox were the big winners of the night, winning three awards for its work promoting the Adaptive Controller, including a video that starred everyday kids with disabilities—won millions of fans and returned sizable results: 42,000 social posts, 1.1 billion impressions and an estimated $35 million in earned media value.

2 of Today's Spec Ad Masters Crafted a Lovely, Official Spot for Mercedes

If you love great creative, you may remember this beautiful spec ad for Johnnie Walker from a couple of German students. They later created a darkly humorous concept to play up Volvo's safety features. Now, they're back. This time in an official capacity working for Mercedes to create another beautiful ad.

Best of the Rest: Today's Top News and Insights

Ad of the Day: With David Bowie's Most Beloved Song in Germany, Nike Uplifts the Nation's Rising Heroes

For its first "Just Do It" campaign in Germany, Nike offers a more empowering and holistic definition of heroism with a spot that celebrates a diverse range of athletes who have defied odds and expectations.

Promoted Content by IBM

3 Tips to Help Build and Sustain Brand Purpose

Adweek Promos and Events

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Advice for Your 22-Year-Old Self

Sandi Harari, evp creative director, Barker

1. All the roads that took you off track are actually the things that make you competitive and unique later in your career, so don't question the path you take to get where you think you need to be. In the same vein, I would say-be open about where do you think you want to end up. Don't have such a rigid sense of where you think you want to be in a decade.
2. Never, ever follow the money. Always follow the work, and the culture. Work for people who take the time to see your potential, and make sure you feel seen and heard.
3. Be fearless. You literally have nothing to lose. As you progress, you're going to continue to feel like there's more and more to lose. Now is not a time to be afraid.
4. Ask every question that pops into your head. You will have the inclination to think that it makes you look dumb, but actually, questions show your thought process and often portray a certain intelligence about the way you're processing information, while exhibiting that you're learning and trying to grow.
5. Try to imagine what the people around you are going through, not just your colleagues but your boss and your boss's boss. Be sensitive to what their day is like, and imagine how they might see you. What kind of pressure are they under? Open up your world view and remember that you are not the center. It's something that will happen naturally as you mature through your career, but starting early can't hurt!