Among the shifts in consumer behavior that have emerged over the past two years, the demand for convenience—particularly when making digital purchases—is most certainly here to stay. And those companies that have embraced this pandemic-fueled digital transformation with alacrity are reaping the rewards.

One such brand is Chipotle, Chief Marketer’s latest pick for our Brands on Fire series. At the start of the pandemic, digital sales accounted for 18 percent of the business. Today, it makes up a whopping 45 percent. It’s invested in a robust digital ecosystem over the past three years, featuring mobile pickup, delivery, a rewards program and a gamified app experience.

The company also engages consumers digitally through gaming activations, from a virtual job fair on Discord following its $15-an-hour wage announcement to a digital, gamified version of its annual Boorito Halloween promotion on Roblox. We spoke with Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s Vice President of Brand Marketing, about the company’s explosive digital growth, its gaming and esports strategy, merchandising, menu innovation and more.

Another day, another ad targeting tool down. Google announced plans to shutter its legacy Universal Analytics product by July 2023 and transition customers to Google Analytics 4. One casualty of the move: the ability to log and store IP addresses. Read about what this means for marketing professionals as digital attribution tactics continue to evolve.

Speaking of measurement, American Express is meeting these challenges by investing in new technologies and shifting from a multi-touch attribution model to a marketing mix modeling one. Explore the brand’s new approach to evaluating the efficacy of marketing spend against specific channels.

Lastly, check out how Vox Media’s inaugural Pivot MIA conference brought its future-of-tech-themed podcast to life with life-sized 4K holograms, NFT “digital employees,” multisensory activations, and more.

Until next week,

Kaylee Hultgren
Group Content Manager
Chief Marketer

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