Chobani is adding Leland Maschmeyer in the new role of chief creative officer as the Greek yogurt maker tries to find new ways to tell its brand story.
Maschmeyer is set to join Chobani on Aug. 1 and will report to Chief Marketing and Brand Officer Peter McGuinness. He is heading to Chobani from brand consultancy Collins, where he will remain on the board of directors. He has been a partner at Collins since 2007, and most recently served as its chief creative officer, Chobani said.
"We're really happy with how strongly the brand and business are performing but we've got a lot to more to do and say," McGuinness said in a statement.
The addition of a chief creative officer means Chobani may start doing more of its advertising and marketing work, including production, in-house. The company declined to elaborate on any such plans. It often works with Opperman Weiss on marketing, including its current Olympics push. Olson Engage was hired to handle a sweepstakes that helped introduce its line of dips with a holiday weekend stay in a New York townhouse filled with vegetables.
"Leland's a perfect partner to come in and help elevate the brand and infuse creativity into everything we do," McGuinness said.
The company said Maschmeyer "will help guide brand strategy, product strategy, packaging, innovation pipeline, online channels, advertising, cafes, shopper marketing, and total customer experience," along with McGuinness and Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya.
Chobani is not the only food marketer to add a chief creative officer role. General Mills brought in Michael Fanuele, formerly the chief strategy officer for Fallon, in a newly created chief creative officer role in 2014.
"Chobani stands in a rare class of companies that has the ambition to impact culture, the craftsmanship to produce admired products, the proven ability to fearlessly innovate, and the foresight to put design at the heart of all it does," Maschmeyer said in a statement.