About this episode

George Felix, CMO of Chili’s, discusses the brand's impressive turnaround and the strategies behind it.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Jon Evans

Guest: George Felix

Topics covered

• brand turnaround
• customer experience
• creativity
• nostalgia
• agency relationships

Keywords

• Chili’s
• brand turnaround
• customer experience
• Old Spice
• creativity
• nostalgia
• agency relationships

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chili’s, Old Spice

Products: chips and salsa, margarita

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