Marketing trends for Aug. 4, 2023

Number of the week

23.5 mph: The average speed of traffic in the Chicago area between I-290 between I-90 and I-94, also known as the Eisenhower Expressway, which makes it the most congested U.S. road, according to a new study from Oppizi, a firm specializing in offline advertising. While that is bad news for Windy City commuters, it is good news for billboard advertisers—or at least that is Oppizi’s spin on its congested road ranking, which puts I-495 in Queens, New York in second. “The slower the traffic in these areas, the more time drivers can spend taking in their surroundings, making these roads the place where businesses can get the best return for their investment if they advertise there,” Oppizi states.

Quote of the week

“Paw Patrol has managed to do what few franchises have done and it’s creating staying power 10 years strong.”—Jeremy Tucker, executive VP and global chief marketing officer of Spin Master, which owns Paw Patrol, on a recent episode of the Marketer’s Brief podcast discussing the brand’s upcoming movie.

On the move

Thomas Ranese joined Chobani as chief marketing officer. Ranese joins the Greek yogurt brand from Abbott and previously held marketing leadership roles at Uber and Google. Ranese steps into a position that was vacated in early 2023 by Meredith Madden, who eft Chiobani to be the U.S. general manager for plant-based foods company NotCo.

Premier League football team Crystal Palace hired Kenny Annan-Jonathan as its first creative director, leading fashion partnerships and apparel collections. He also operates his own sports marketing agency The MailRoom.

Sponsorship consultancy SponsorUnited has hired Eric Mastalir as senior VP of brand partnerships. He previously worked for Amazon and Nike.