As Groupon continues to grow its discount platform business, the tech company announced Tuesday that it hired a new chief marketing officer.
Craig Rowley, formerly the vice president of marketing at REI, joined Groupon as CMO in March. Rowley, who is based out of Seattle, oversees Groupon’s global marketing channels.
“Given Groupon’s scale, there is a huge opportunity for us to fuel a deeper brand connection with our millions of customers and merchants around the globe,” Rowley said in a statement. “I look forward to working with our talented teams to deliver a more compelling customer experience and to drive meaningful results for Groupon.”
At REI, Rowley helped conceptualize REI’s #optoutside campaign, a company-wide initiative in which REI closed its stores on Black Friday to encourage people to go outside. The move won accolades throughout the marketing industry, including the Grand Prix Titanium at Cannes.
Prior to REI, Rowley worked at numerous marketing agencies, including Saatchi & Saatchi, Carmichael Lynch and Young & Rubicam.
“Craig is a dynamic marketing leader who’s helped build some of the world’s biggest brands across several global industries,” said Groupon COO Steve Krenzer in a statement. “His customer-centric approach will be a key driver as we continue to expand the Groupon local marketplace.”
Some of Groupon's most notable marketing campaigns have been its Super Bowl ads. The company's 2018 Super Bowl ad featured Tiffany Haddish, the breakout actress and the star of “Girls Trip." The ad, which cost more than $5 million, was generally well-received, unlike its 2011 Super Bowl commercial, “Tibet.” The commercial, which featured actor Timothy Hutton, was widely criticized for being culturally insensitive to Tibetans and Groupon pulled the ad campaign later that week.
Groupon reported profits exceeding $1.3 billion in 2018 and says it employs more than 6,000 people globally. In April, Groupon announced it reached 200 million app downloads across iOS and Android.
