How Chili’s used creativity, culture and customer experience to create one of the greatest turnaround success stories - George Felix
Uncensored CMOShow Notes
George Felix, CMO of Chili’s, joins us to tell the story behind one of the most impressive brand turnarounds of recent years. From iconic menu items like chips and salsa and the famous margarita to viral social media moments and creative partnerships, George explains how Chili’s became culturally relevant again and reignited growth. Before Chili’s, George played a key role in the legendary Old Spice turnaround, and in this episode he shares the lessons he's learned from transforming legacy brands. We discuss the power of nostalgia, making the most of your agency relationships, influencing product and pricing decisions, and why the customer experience often drives more value than advertising alone.
Timestamps 00:00:00 - Start 00:02:07 - The famous Chili’s chips and salsa 00:03:39 - The famous Chili’s margharita 00:06:32 - Why Chili’s has signature items 00:08:01 - How Chili’s became one of the biggest brand turnarounds in history 00:10:51 - The importance of working with people you trust 00:12:26 - George’s role in the Old Spice turnaround 00:18:10 - How to build the case for increased brand investment 00:21:16 - The power of nostalgia for a legacy brand 00:25:57 - How George pitched an idea to his creative agency and they bought it 00:29:03 - The System1 data for the Chili’s ad 00:30:45 - Fostering a great client / agency relationship 00:38:19 - How experience drives better ROI than marketing 00:42:43 - The viral cheese pull trend 00:45:45 - How can a brand create cultural relevance? 00:48:45 - Chili’s brand collaboration with Tecovas Boots 00:51:19 - How George has influence over the Product “P” in marketing 00:54:51 - How to leverage the Pricing “P” 00:57:43 - The concept of “barbell pricing” 01:00:27 - What is the most important attribute for a successful CMO?
More from Uncensored CMO
Duolingo has built one of the most distinctive brands in modern marketing, not by playing it safe, but by creating the conditions for its team to move quickly, take risks and occasionally embrace a little chaos. Manu Orssaud, Duolingo’s Chief Marketing Officer, joins Jon Evans to unpack the strategy behind the brand’s biggest moments: from the apparent death of Duo and its rapid-response iPhone content to a Bad Bunny campaign built at the speed of culture. But this is not simply a conversation about being funny on social media. Manu explains the culture of trust required to take creative risks, how to sell bolder work into the business, and how Duolingo measures whether marketing is actually working. They also discuss behavioural science, the limits of brand safety, handling the AI backlash, and why the next phase of Duolingo marketing may involve a little less chaos. A masterclass in building a culturally relevant brand without losing commercial discipline. Timestamps
Jessica Jensen, Chief Marketing Officer at LinkedIn, joins Jon Evans for a practical masterclass on what actually works on the platform now. Beginning with a review of Jon’s own profile, they cover the route to becoming a Top Voice, the changing role of B2B creators and how brands can work with them credibly. They also explore the formats that are earning attention, whether collaborator posts genuinely work, and how buyers use LinkedIn to validate the people and companies they choose to work with.
Spotify has become one of the world’s most distinctive brands, but what can marketers learn from the way it uses sound, culture and creativity to build emotional connection? Bridget Evans, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Business Marketing, joins Jon Evans to explain why audio remains an underused marketing opportunity, and how brands can build an audio strategy people do more than simply hear: they remember it. They discuss the return of the jingle, why taste may become an even more important differentiator in the age of AI, and whether younger audiences really have shorter attention spans, or simply higher standards for what deserves their attention. Bridget also shares how Spotify markets to Gen Z, the enduring impact of Spotify Wrapped, and why the company invests so heavily in Cannes Lions. Timestamps 00:00 - Start 01:22 - Some things people might not know about Spotify 02:42 - Is audio the most underrated channel? 05:15 - Do people trust audio more? 06:58 - Why taste will become the differentiator in the age of AI 07:44 - How audio branding helps emotion 09:11 - How to get your audio strategy right 10:09 - Why we need to bring back more jingles 12:44 - How Spotify markets to Gen Z 15:59 - Do younger generations actually have shorter attention spans? 17:46 - The opportunity for marketers in audio and podcasting 20:00 - How do we make B2B marketing not boring 26:24 - The impact of Spotify Wrapped 30:53 - Why Spotify invest so much in Cannes Lions 34:37 - How Spotify judge the success of their Cannes 36:49 - 3 things to make B2B marketing better 39:42 - Whats the best advice Bridget has ever been given
The media landscape has changed faster than most marketing plans have. Evan Shapiro, known as the Media Cartographer for his widely used maps of the media ecosystem, joins Uncensored CMO to explain where attention is really going, which channels marketers are overvaluing, and where the best opportunities may now lie. They assess the relative value of TV, YouTube, podcasts, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and creators, asking a deceptively simple question: are marketers spending in line with how people actually consume media? Evan also explores the shift of power towards consumers, why employee-generated content could become a major force, and where job losses are likely to hit the media industry next. They discuss the rise of founder-led media, the opaque problem of ad fraud, and what Evan has learned from building his own podcast. Timestamps 00:00 - Start 00:42 - Intro to Evan Shapiro 01:43 - Evan’s path into media 03:38 - How to entertain people with keynote speeches 06:37 - The biggest changes in the media universe: the shift to the consumer 10:44 - Where is attention being placed in 2026? 14:20 - The data on attention 17:22 - Overvalued vs Undervalued media 17:57 - TV: Undervalued or Overvalued? 22:29 - YouTube: Undervalued or Overvalued? 25:35 - Why Employee Generated Content is going to be huge 27:53 - Creators: Undervalued or Overvalued? 30:06 - Podcasts: Undervalued or Overvalued? 31:30 - TikTok: Undervalued or Overvalued? 31:57 - Instagram: Undervalued or Overvalued? 32:37 - Facebook: Undervalued or Overvalued? 33:51 - LinkedIn: Undervalued or Overvalued? 35:43 - How will the media landscape change in the next 12 months 39:53 - Where are job losses being felt in media 43:33 - The rise of founders 46:17 - Ad fraud in the media ecosystem 50:30 - Evan’s lessons from running his podcast 56:57 - The best advice Evan has ever been given
Karen Blackett is one of the most respected leaders in marketing and media. As the former UK President of WPP and former CEO of GroupM UK, she has led through industry change, crisis and growth at the highest level. In this marketing leadership masterclass, Karen shares the principles that have shaped her career: why great teams need diverse perspectives and healthy tension; why leaders must say what they really think; and how to make better decisions without mistaking consensus for alignment. She reflects on leading GroupM UK through COVID, how she approaches recruitment, and the small meeting habit that helps ensure the most important conversations actually happen. Karen also discusses the evolving client-agency relationship, what the future holds for the creative industry, and the challenge of rebranding Barbados.