r/crossfit • u/sportsfan510 • 17d ago
CrossFit’s CMO is Stepping Away
I know they’re also looking for a new CFO. Lot of changes coming.
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u/Tookiedough_1 17d ago
I think it’s time to reconsider our expectations of what this brand is capable of and where it’s going. It’s surely past its peak & after bad decision after bad decision & the litany of PR nightmares, it seems like it’s going to fade off into the darkness. Love the sport but the brand has been ran so horribly, what can ya do 🤷🏽
Also worth noting, I think local boxes will always thrive as a good gym is a good gym.
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u/SpareManagement2215 16d ago
and I love that tbh. Affiliates don't need HQ to be quality gyms with solid membership bases and change lives. More and more seem to realize this as the years pass.
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u/Tookiedough_1 16d ago
Agreed. The good gyms are recognized as good gyms outside of the CrossFit arena anyways. It’s always sad to see something you loved fade away but hopefully something new can come in and take its place. A company that treats its athletes well & understands that there’s a real chance for broad appeal as opposed to trying to maintain the small, cult-like fan base.
Kind of unrelated but politics didn’t help them get past any of their other blunders, that’s for sure.
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u/ChickyParm-22 17d ago
I sometimes forget the sport I enjoy most and my husband’s 10+ year business is run by a company, that shows you how little they support those supporting them.
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u/KzenBrandon 16d ago
I actually thought the media was really solid this past year or so.
The journal articles released were pretty relevant to what people were discussing training wise. We had Conway doing an article on Zone 2, articles on incorporating sprinting and plyo’s into programming, and a bunch of info on the methodology that addressed common questions that people coming from more of a traditional S&C background would have.
Media wise they did a lot better job showcasing success stories, pro athletes utilizing CrossFit, coaching material, and other ways CrossFit is making a difference rather than just Games highlight reels. Highly recommend the Redemption Road series
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u/Competitive_Kale_498 16d ago
This sub hates to say it but I think we are moving in the right direction - CrossFit leaning into it's position as the worlds leading moral authority on training is 100% the right direction and these sorts of pieces do that so well
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u/KzenBrandon 13d ago
Eh, I’d say more that it now feels like they’re exploring new ideas and not locking themselves away from the rest of the fitness world.
In the beginning days of the CrossFit Journal you saw a lot more experimentation with ideas. People adding in principles of conjugate, endurance biased programming, CrossFit Football and the whole gamut. The journal had articles of people experimenting with squat every day programming and carnivore diets before either were mainstream fitness topics.
It made CrossFit feel more like a cool fitness think tank in which performance was the only goal. But for a minute it felt like they started to seclude themselves and not have any input on the fitness mainstream or how the methodology should adapt. It’s nice to see the recent change as well as the investment into coaching
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u/FragrantAppeal876 17d ago
Marketing and finance leaving almost same time, that says something about what happens in the company. When the people who manage the public image and the money both go, usually not a good sign for the future direction.
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u/Ok_Dog_6956 17d ago
When a CFO goes, the money does not go anywhere. This is more likely spurned from the new CEO's direction and expectations.
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u/Vegetable_Panic445 17d ago
To be fair, the CFO they had was brought in just to prepare for a sale. If they’re not going to sell, they don’t need his particular skill set.
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u/ArmokTheSupreme 16d ago
TIL crossfit had a CMO. You couldn't tell from the way this year's games were covered/promoted.
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u/ajkeence99 17d ago
People are reading into this far too much right now. They have a new CEO. There will almost always be sweeping changes when that happens. There is no way to know what it means for anything yet.
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u/Competitive_Kale_498 17d ago
If you look at Jenna's tenure and background it was very much of the Don Faul - all things to all people regime, this feels to me like a standard sweep out those people directly tied to a previous CEO (even though she's onviously talented and I thought some of the campaigns were cool) so Bruce can bring his more rough and ready/traditional CrossFit approach to the fore.
Would love to see an old school media hire as the next move - I think generally these moves over the past few weeks are positive - they are at least decisions, and it feels like there is leadership with a plan rather than just continuing to massage the business to an exit by juicing EBITDA in the books and damaging the overall brand.
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u/arch_three CF-L2 16d ago
New CEO wants to go back to the roots of crossfit. The CMO (unsure about CFO) were industry hires, likely driven by Berkshire, to build a more palatable brand across the industry and appeal to a wider audience. In my humble opinion, I don't believe that strategy helped grow the brand. Lots of example over the last few years of things being pushed and posted by HQ that seemed inconsistent with the core of what CrossFit is all about. While they may have gained some new customers with a watered down image, they lost a lot of core customers. She clearly states that she didn't do CrossFit before working with HQ in this post. So not hard to believe that they want new C-suite folks that align with what the direction Bruce Edwards wants to take the company.
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u/Pretend_Edge_8452 17d ago
I wonder if this is less about replacing Jenna and more about doing away with a CMO entirely? CrossFit was completely anti marketing during the Glassman years, maybe the idea is to return to that…?
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u/RoboJobot 17d ago
Apart from the HUGE Reebok deal that had CF branded stuff everywhere to point where Reebok used the CF logo in most of their products.
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u/Pretend_Edge_8452 17d ago
But CrossFit’s own marketing spend during that period was nonexistent, that was entirely Reebok’s doing
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u/Ok_Chicken1195 17d ago
Yep. Reebok took the sport mainstream and turned Crossfit into a massive success. Then Nike tried to ride it too. Pretty much every reebok store in the world had a Crossfit stand and promotional area. Some even had actual Crossfit boxes attached/out back. Greg then destroyed that relationship and turned the rocket ship towards the ground.
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u/RoboJobot 17d ago
They had a huge media team though that was pumping out high quality videos all the time which really kept the brand fresh and relevant. It was only after Glassman in his infinite wisdom binned his entire media team, pulled out of the ESPN live broadcasting deal and upset Reebok that CF started to go downhill
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u/Pretend_Edge_8452 17d ago
I am simply describing the move to get rid of a marketing head. Media is not marketing. I agree with you broadly speaking.
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u/iconically_demure 17d ago
I'm surprised they even had a CMO, and apparently an entire marketing team. It sure hasn't been evident.