Papa John’s International, Inc. announced Brandon Rhoten has joined the company as Global Chief Marketing Officer. Rhoten joins Papa John’s after most recently serving as Vice President of Advertising, Media and Digital/Social at Wendy’s International. Rhoten will oversee all domestic and international marketing efforts for the brand and report to Papa John’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Steve Ritchie.
“Brandon was a key contributor in Wendy’s resurgence within the QSR Hamburger category, advancing their brand positioning, creative, media, digital marketing, and now renowned social media presence,” says Steve Ritchie, president and COO of Papa John’s. “He is a disruptor in the [quick-service] industry, and we are excited for him to further enhance Papa John’s brand relevancy and quality positioning across our marketing channels globally.”
For Wendy’s, Rhoten shaped his reputation as a disruptor with breakthrough, sales-driving work, helping the company grow same store sales for 17 consecutive quarters. He helped re-establish the brand’s positioning in traditional and digital creative channels, leading to dozens of headline-grabbing marketing successes like #NuggsforCarter, which eclipsed Ellen Degeneres’ Oscar selfie as the most retweeted tweet in history. Rhoten will be dedicated to enhancing Papa John’s advertising, digital marketing and social media efforts with a focus on quality. Additionally, Rhoten will explore new ways to amplify Papa John’s strong international growth.
Rhoten joins Papa John’s at a time when the brand has strong momentum. Just last month, Papa John’s was selected as Pizza Brand of the Year in the 2017 Harris Poll Equitend Rankings and recently announced that 60 percent of Papa John’s domestic sales originate from digital channels.
Before Wendy’s, Rhoten served as Digital Marketing Manager at Freedom Group. He also held positions at Internationally acclaimed agency Gyro, Advantech Automation, and the Nederlander Corporation.
