Nick Tran

About

Twenty years. Seven companies. Zero boring weeks. Taco Bell sued for not using real beef (when they use 100% real beef). Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 catching on fire. Stance evolving to a DTC brand because their largest wholesale partners went bankrupt. Hulu acquired by Disney. TikTok potentially banned as part of an executive order from the President of The United States. Farfetch on the brink of bankruptcy before getting acquired. These were my onboarding. That’s the job, build the brand in the midst of a crisis. Make the brand cool, don’t get sued. I’ve done it at Taco Bell, Samsung, Hulu, Stance, TikTok, and Farfetch. Now I’m working on it for CÎROC Vodka and Lobos 1707 Tequila. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼? At Hulu, we pulled off the World Record Egg on IG and convinced the world Tom Brady was retiring, all in one Super Bowl. At TikTok, I built the first global marketing org and launched “It Starts on TikTok” as the platform began propelling past a billion users. Now I’m President and CMO of First Round, the Diageo and Main Street Advisors joint venture scaling Cîroc across North America and taking Lobos 1707 to new heights. T Two spirits brands with a lot of runway. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄? CÎROC Athletic Club, a lifestyle platform built around our position to Leisure Well. Younger drinkers aren’t closing down bars anymore, they’re playing padel at Coachella or pickleball in Napa the weekend before the Super Bowl. The throughline is always the same... the brands that win earn a seat in the conversation people are already having, then move fast enough to meaningfully participate in it. I post about the big ideas pushing marketing forward, the people making them happen and the campaigns worth stealing from. Henry Crown Fellow. Forbes Most Influential CMO. Dad. If brand building, cultural relevance, and the future of consumer marketing is your thing then please follow along. Always up to trade notes.