Dive Brief:
- Campbell has named Greg Shewchuk the company's new senior VP-chief marketing and commercial officer of the Americas Simple Meals and Beverages division, beginning March 7.
- Shewchuk was formerly global head of marketing and CMO at Mead Johnson Nutrition Company. He replaces Darren Serrao, who vacated the position at Campbell in August to become chief growth officer at ConAgra.
- Shewchuk has other relevant experience in the packaged food and beverage industries: He was VP of innovation for North American snacks at Mondelez/Kraft Foods and worked in senior marketing roles at Cadbury, Diageo, and Unilever. He was also a media buyer and planner at Ogilvy & Mather two decades ago.
Dive Insight:
Shewchuk joins Campbell at a time of a company overhaul. In recent years, Campbell has made acquisitions in the organic space, such as Bolthouse Farms and Plum Organics, and aimed to clean up ingredients labels to improve its image for consumers. Last month, Campbell also announced it would begin labeling GMO ingredients in its products over the next 12 to 18 months and voiced its support for mandatory GMO labeling legislation. Those types of major changes will require strong marketing support to reach and engage consumers.
Shewchuk told Ad Age that Campbell is a company that "really understands" the challenges the food industry currently faces in adapting to consumers' changing demands. "That is very rare in CPG today," he said.
He also told Ad Age that Campbell's "Real Food That Matters For Life's Moments" vision speaks to him, making it likely that Shewchuk will pursue the company's new strategy of highlighting experiences with Campbell's products that evoke pleasurable and nostalgic emotions. Hershey is pursuing a similar strategy by taking a masterbrand approach and focusing on experiences rather than product specifics. Coca-Cola's latest one brand overhaul does the opposite, honing in on the products rather than loftier marketing messages unrelated to the brand.