Last month, Hyundai made a significant change to its marketing department by restructuring the roles within the team. The auto manufacturer decided to eliminate the chief marketing officer position and instead split the responsibilities into two separate jobs: creative and performance. This move is not unprecedented, as other brands like Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Bank of America, and Etsy have also moved away from the traditional CMO role in recent years.
Angela Zepeda, Hyundai’s former CMO who now serves as the chief creative officer, shared insights on this restructuring in a recent episode of AdExchanger Talks. Zepeda explained that as CMO, she found it challenging to balance the demands of sales and market expansion with the creative aspects of the role. With the new structure in place, she will have more time to focus on setting the strategic vision and building the Hyundai brand.
In her new role as chief creative officer, Zepeda will oversee creative work, experiential marketing, multicultural initiatives, and social media. Meanwhile, her colleague Sean Gilpin, Hyundai’s VP of global sales marketing, will handle performance-related functions such as media buying, customer communications, website management, and CRM. The creative and performance teams will work closely together to ensure a cohesive and integrated approach to marketing.
While some skeptics believe that splitting the CMO role could lead to silos and a lack of cohesion in marketing efforts, Zepeda is confident in her team’s ability to collaborate effectively. She emphasized that the teams have a long history of working together and have built a high level of trust, which will help them adapt to the new structure quickly.
In the AdExchanger Talks episode, Zepeda also discussed the importance of balancing humor and emotional appeal in advertising, Hyundai’s upcoming marketing initiatives for the Paris Olympics, and how the company addresses signal loss using Korean principles of quick reaction and strategic planning. Additionally, she shared a personal anecdote about her first driving test as a teenager in Southern California.
Overall, Hyundai’s decision to restructure its marketing department reflects a growing trend among brands to rethink the traditional CMO role and find new ways to drive creativity, performance, and brand building. By dividing responsibilities and fostering collaboration between creative and performance teams, Hyundai aims to strengthen its marketing efforts and connect with consumers on a deeper level.