Highlighting the top Dallas marketers shaping the city’s thriving creative community!
Dallas is a city known for everything being bigger, bolder, and better…and that theme doesn’t stop with its marketing leaders. With a wide variety of characters from CMO’s to agency leaders and sports owners, Dallas’ list of top marketers is as diverse and unique as it gets. The list is made up of some household names and a few up-and-coming stars, but all I know is to make sure you know these top 14 marketers in Dallas.
Countdown of the Top 14 Marketers in Dallas
14. Hassan Bawab – CEO: Magic Logix 
Hassan Bawab is the CEO of Magic Logix, a Dallas-based integrated digital marketing agency. A thought-leader in the digital and marketing innovation space, Hassan grew Magic Logix into one of the top web design firms in the country. He is the author of the book “How to Work with a Digital Marketing Agency” and is also know for writing articles and keynote on topics such as web development, big data, marketing automation and more.
Hassan was named to the Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list for being one of the top executives in 2011.
13. Bill Hartzer – Senior Strategist: Globe Runner
Bill Hartzer is the Senior Strategist at Globe Runner, a digital marketing agency specializing in SEO and SEM. With over 18 years of search marketing experience, Bill led the search engine marketing divisions at Standing Dog and Vizion Interactive. Bill also founded the Dallas/Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Association (DFWSEM) and currently serves as Chairman.
12. Brandon Coleman – Chief Concept Officer: T.MAC Restaurant
Brandon Coleman is the former CMO of Macaroni Grill and was the youngest person to take the post at age 28. Despite his age, Brandon was able to lead efforts in turning around the then underperforming restaurant chain. Today, Brandon serves as Chief Concept Officer for T.MAC Restaurant Group, leading efforts in customer strategy, brand marketing, and food and beverage innovation.
Brandon was picked as one of Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 in 2013.
11. Jenna Bromberg – Director of Digital Engagement: Pizza Hut
Jenna Bromberg is the Director of Digital Engagement at Pizza Hut and is responsible for social media, digital strategy, influencer outreach and more. She has spent over two years at the pizza brand quickly rising up the ranks starting from Associate Manager of Social Media all the way up to her current position. Jenna also led efforts in many notable Pizza Hut campaigns such as #PizzaHutLive live-streaming email promotion and Pepperoni Pilsner April Fool’s Day campaign.
She is a recipient of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 – Marketing and Advertising in 2016.
10. Lincoln Stephens – CEO/Co-Founder: The Marcus Graham Project
Lincoln Stephens is CEO and Co-Founder at The Marcus Graham Project – a non-profit organization with the purpose of identifying, developing and mentoring the next generation of leaders in advertising, media and marketing. A season agency veteran with experience at agencies like TracyLocke and Carol H Williams, Lincoln his past experience to help mold the next wave of ethnically diverse men and women in marketing.
Lincoln also serves on the Board of Directors for the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, and he is another winner of Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 in 2013.
9. Jeff Klein – VP of Brand Marketing: PepsiCo
The former Senior Director of Marketing at Frito-Lay (Doritos), Jeff Klein was one of the geniuses to help launch Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos. Do I need to keep going…?
Jeff is currently the VP of Brand Marketing at PepsiCo and leads marketing efforts for Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Ruffles, Fritos and more. He was part of Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 in 2014.
8. Alexander Muse – Co-Founder/Chief Product Officer: ViewMarket
Alexander Muse is currently the Co-Founder of ViewMarket, a digital lifestyle brand engaging over 3 million users each month, and also Architel, a cloud management company. Most notably, Alexander was CEO of ShopSavvy – the world’s largest mobile shopping platform, which was later acquired by Purch. He also single-handedly got Dallas’ tech start-up community off the ground, and the city is still seeing the fruits of his efforts.
7. Kevin Krone – Former CMO: Southwest Airlines
Kevin Krone was the former CMO of Southwest Airlines and recently retired in February. He was the company’s second-ever CMO and began his career with Southwest starting as an intern 25 years ago, literally starting from the bottom. He led all marketing efforts and was known for developing the Rapid Rewards® program and Southwest.com – the biggest travel website in the world.
6. Todd Pendleton – Former CMO: Samsung
Todd Pendleton is the former CMO of Samsung and helped reshape the company’s image in the U.S. He was responsible for launching the super successful “The Next Big Thing is Here” marketing campaign. Before Samsung, he spent 15 years at Nike in a number of different roles.
5. Lee Applbaum – CMO: Patrón Spirits
Lee Applbaum become CMO of Patrón Spirits back in 2013 and began building the tequila brand’s digital strategy from the ground up. At the time of his appointment, Patrón didn’t even have a active Twitter account. After Lee had established Patrón’s digital presence, the company become the No.1 brand on Twitter and No.9 brand on Facebook and even saw the company’s market share grow 60 to 70 percent.
Lee was also the CMO of Target Australia, RadioShack and more.
4. Jerry Jones – Owner/President/GM: Dallas Cowboys
The face of Dallas football, Jerry Jones is loved and revered as the eccentric owner of the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are the most valuable sports team in the world, approximately worth $4 billion. He bought the team for $150 million back in 1989.
3. Mark Cuban – Owner: Dallas Mavericks
Mark Cuban is the serial entrepreneur and tech investor who is known for his outspoken personality. A “shark” investor on the hit show Shark Tank, Mark made his name in the tech industry but is more widely known as the crazy owner for the Mavericks. Mark grew the perennial awful Mavericks into Champions and also established the franchise as one of the most innovative teams in the NBA.
2. Shama Hyder – CEO: The Marketing Zen Group
Shama Hyder is the Founder and CEO of The Marketing Zen Group. A true marketing expert. Shama has won a host of awards and has been recognized by some of the top publications in the world. Fast Company said Shama is the “visionary strategist for the digital age.” She grew The Marketing Zen Group by 400% in its first year and even shared a stage with the Dalai Lama. She is a BOSS, and I don’t need to say anymore.
1. Stan Richards – Founder: The Richards Group
The Dallas High Five
To highlight and celebrate the thriving marketing and design community in Dallas, Agency Spotter decided to launch the Dallas Activation Series. With so many great agencies and hidden gems, the Dallas creative scene should never be overlooked! So join us as we take y’all on a trip through the best marketing agencies and design firms representing Big D.
Stay up-to-date on all the coverage during our #DallasSpotted Activation by visiting the Dallas Content Hub.
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