5 top CMOs dish on 2025, how they’re preparing for 2026

Never before has the CMO position been more complex—or more essential to driving business results. The mark of success for any chief marketing officer is their impact on the long-term trajectory of a beloved brand. So, what does that look like in a year as chaotic as 2025, where there’s been on-again, off-again tariffs, massive holding company mergers , and the continued rise of AI across the board ? I reached out to CMOs from Hinge, McDonald’s, Crayola, State Farm, and Kraft Heinz, five marketing leaders operating at the top of their game , navigating the chaos, and getting results. We talked about what lessons they’ve learned from the past year, issues they’ll be facing in the coming year, and what they expect to be the biggest shift marketers and brands can expect in 2026. Here’s what they had to say… What was your most important lesson or insight of 2025? “Invest in listening and learning! Remarkable strategy and creative work are always grounded in true insight and original ideas. Hearing your core audience, and their needs, must be central to how you do the work. Knowing which audiences are the most important to center, and learn from, is also important. Having a diverse, empowered team is a short cut here, for sure. At Hinge, our employee base mimics our user base. That is a powerful advantage.” — Hinge CMO (now CEO) Jackie Jantos “The pace of change is overwhelming for everyone (both our fans and our teams). Our most important job is to maintain human connections and be a place of joy for our fans.”— Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s Global Chief Marketing Officer & Head of New Business Ventures “The best brand moments can’t always be planned. They come from teams that stay agile, take smart swings and can move in real time. Our decision to release our Batman vs. Bateman spot in March was carefully considered. We could’ve launched it anywhere, but the alignment with college basketball—where our brand is strong and the audience overlap is real—made the story land bigger. We kept our Super Bowl-level tactics across the entire campaign—including cross-channel build-up and sneak previews, fan giveaways, top-tier talent, and it became one of March Madness’ top-performing campaigns. It’s important to build the muscle to move with audiences, show up with authenticity and add value in real time.” —State Farm CMO Kristyn Cook “2025 has been a whirlwind. Consumers and companies across the world have seen a lot of challenges and uncertainty. In these moments, I have learned it is more important than ever to focus on what is within your control. Focusing on brand superiority, the role our brands need to play in their respective categories and the joy they bring to consumers. It is not the time to sit back; it is the time to focus, invest in brands, and execute flawlessly.” —Kraft Heinz chief growth officer Diana Frost “The most important lesson this year, again, is that brands can’t just show up in culture, they...

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