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Score 65 - On the Brink: Chipotle's CEO steps down amid declining sales, PR nightmare

There's word on Ells' replacement yet, but we will keep you updated as we learn more. I can tell you that during the recent Q3 earnings call, Ells announced that Mike Malanga joined the company to "advise the Chipotle officer team and lead our development function." According to The New York Post, Malanga's first job will be to slow down the number of new store openings in the face of lagging sales. Malanga joined Chipotle from Starbucks, where he most recently served as SVP of store development for the Americas. With Malanga on board, Mark Crumpacker will add strategy to his CMO title and will address long-term customer strategy. Crumpacker will also lead the NEXT Team, which is responsible for innovation of both menu and customer experience. 

During the call, Crumpacker said that he and his team were focused on the "thoughtful evolution of the customer expereince." This evolution includes menu innovation, an enhanced digital experience, re-envisioned store environments, more convenient ways to enjoy Chipotle's food and better hospitality. All of this, he said, will be combined with marketing that "drives an emotional connection to our brand."

I had food poisoning earlier this year and I can assure you that the only emotion I associate with those 24 hours is misery. He added that the team was designing a new beverage program for Chipotle, but didn't say anything about alcohol, so I stopped reading.

After mentioning that the national queso rollout resulted in an immediate sales lift, Crumpacker conceded that this leveled off after the initial trial. To (badly) paraphrase Jewel, "Queso won't save your soul if you won't save your own."  At this point I think you should recognize that we can't even see the rails anymore because we are so far off of them.

You know how supporting ad campaign, which debuted in late September, ran across TV, digital and social channels. It continued through mid-November, airing during 12 broadcast premiers and Sunday and Monday Night Football Games, said Crumpacker.

Per iSpot, $17.6 million was spent on the four TV ads in the campaign (more below). Fun fact: one of the spots was titled "See This Coming" and I can almost guarantee the Chipotle did not see the online backlash about its queso coming.

Crumpacker also stated that Q3's ROI for online order advertising was "about sevenfold," so Chipotle will continue ad support for this into Q4. This will include support for Chipotle's catering option, which generally see a seasonal lift during the holiday season. Chief Digital Officer Curt Garner also added that Chipotle is piloting new catering offerings during Q4 and that the company's mobile app rolled out on Nov. 6. 

YTD, iSpot reports that Chipotle has spent $30.2 million on national TV ads (see chart for show targeting). Keep in mind that this is the first year that the company has aired national TV ads. For digital display spend, Chipotle has spent $6.7 million in 2017, per here. This is actually down slightly from the same period last year, when $7.1 million was spent in the channel. 

Agency and martech readers - since Chipotle just moved work to here), so there's always a chance that a PR shift is next on the docket, readers. 

Additionally, the company recently promoted Garner to chief digital officer, so there could be digital work available in the interim. Also, early 2016, placing them right at average AOR tenure (2.5-3 years). 

If you have a couple of hours, feel free to read up on everything I have ever said about Chipotle.