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Melissa Richards-Person
Igniting 2x-10x Growth in Retail, Restaurants, Consumer Brands. On-Demand CMO & Brand Activation vet for Transformative Turnarounds & Scalable Success. Former SVP, Brand at Papa John's – Your Catalyst for Change.
Professional Background
Melissa Richards-Person is a dynamic and accomplished marketing executive with a rich career that spans across several prestigious organizations, notably in the quick-service restaurant industry. Currently serving as the Chief Marketing Officer at Third Arm Consulting, Melissa leverages her extensive expertise in brand development and growth strategies to shape and elevate brands into what she terms 'Vital' brands—those that resonate deeply with consumers, becoming indispensable in their lives.
With a unique ability to tap into consumer needs and preferences, Melissa has had an impressive tenure at Papa John's International, where she held multiple senior marketing roles, culminating in her position as Chief Brand Officer. During her time there, she achieved remarkable growth metrics, transforming the brand's trajectory and solidifying its position in a competitive landscape. Melissa's strategic initiatives not only enhanced brand identity but also significantly increased profitability and market reach.
Her journey in the marketing world began with KFC, where she was instrumental in driving category growth, achieving a remarkable 2-year revenue increase of $115.5 million. By redefining the approach to Family Meals and leading a cross-functional team, Melissa exemplified her capability to innovate and adapt marketing strategies that resonate with target demographics.
In addition to her extensive experience in the food service industry, Melissa has expounded her expertise in diverse marketing roles including management positions at Humana, iHeartRadio, and Starbucks. Her strategic insights and leadership have consistently led to record-breaking product launches and significant sales growth, showcasing her exceptional ability to marry creativity with analytical rigor.
Education and Achievements
Melissa is a proud alumna of Syracuse University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Management with a focus on Film. This diverse educational background has provided her with a distinctive perspective on brand storytelling and consumer engagement.
Among her numerous professional achievements, Melissa has successfully launched several innovative product lines that redefined consumer experiences and drove sales growth. At Papa John's, she led the charge in introducing the Epic Stuffed Crust, which stands as the most successful product launch in the company's history, achieving record sales during its rollout. Furthermore, her introduction of the Papadia and Shaq-A-Roni pizzas showcased her ability to connect with consumers while leveraging high-profile partnerships for greater impact, generating over $36 million in sales in a mere eight weeks.
Melissa's deep understanding of market dynamics has enabled her to drive exponential growth in various facets of business. At Papa John's, she spearheaded a 200% increase in profit contributions over three years, with a notable 38% increase in store count and an expansion into new international markets. These accomplishments highlight her strategic foresight and ability to build frameworks that foster growth.
Notable Achievements
- Achieved consecutive years of revenue growth for KFC, culminating in a $115.5 million increase.
- Innovated Papa John's International marketing strategy with a successful overhaul that led to a high single-digit year-over-year same-store sales growth, even amidst market fluctuations caused by the pandemic.
- Successfully launched the Epic Stuffed Crust, breaking sales records for the brand and propelling same-store sales growth significantly during its introduction.
- Engaged new consumer bases and revitalized existing ones through strategic product innovation, aligning offerings with evolving consumer tastes.
- Expanded Papa John's presence internationally, increasing the brand's footprint and strengthening market share against competitors.
Additionally, her work as a member of influential organizations such as The WIE Suite and Chief underscores Melissa's commitment to professional growth and networking within the industry. Her contributions to the Advisory Board at SXSW also reflect her visionary outlook and dedication to the intersection of marketing and innovation.
Whether she’s leading a marketing team through new product launches or revamping a brand's identity, Melissa Richards-Person continues to define what it means for brands to be 'Vital.' Her passion for strategic growth, market expansion, and consumer engagement positions her as a thought leader in the field, and she remains open to sharing her insights and collaborating with others to discover exciting opportunities in the marketing landscape.
Highlights
🍃is there a future for plant-based fast food chains?
I’d planned on posting today about my recent visit to Hart House in LA, but after Restaurant Business Online reported their abrupt shutdown yesterday, it’s shifted slightly to highlighting what the concept & brand got right and some marketing basics that might have helped sustain and scale successfully:
😋 Indulgence first and flexitarian-forward! Leaning into the behavior of fast-food indulgence (dipping your fries into your shake, loading tater tots with sauce, a whole tray of burgers), this was taking the familiar “language“ of fast food craveability, versus leading with plant-based. It struck me as a similar approach to how Tesla pushed against a “traditional” electric car by marketing a sexy looking car that happened to be Electric.
But I wonder if they took the time to define the true DNA of their brand and ensure that there were deliberate hallmarks that immediately communicated that DNA across the customer journey and experience. What were the most important interactions and customer touch points and were they over delivering on the brand essence at those critical points?
🍔 Menu - they developed proprietary products/recipes & didn’t rely on “name” plant based products (eg Impossible or Beyond). The shakes especially were amazing and they smartly leaned into that with LTO and collaborative flavors. The nuggets were really good as well (and since I know from my KFC days that nuggets are primarily carriers of sauce, they paid attention to the options there. Did they err, though, by not really designating a “hero“ item and becoming famous for that one thing instead of a lot of things? Let that truly differentiated “hero“ pull people in and then drive discovery across the menu? And perhaps my #losangeles #foodie friends can tell me if they did widespread sampling events but from what I can tell, this strikes me as a huge miss. If eating is believing, then they were overly reliant on social media to drive trial. I would’ve taken those first two restaurant locations and been out in as many places as possible where people could TASTE the food!!
Hart House was trying to do some innovative and laudable things with wages and benefits for team members as well that I hope aren’t “blamed” for the concept not making it. And it will be interesting to see what happens from here.
Did you try Hart House? Would a flexitarian forward concept be appealing to you? What other vegan/plant based concepts strike you as successful? Either other elements of brand and marketing that you think could’ve helped sustain and scale this concept? #foodiefriday #brandmarketing #restaurantmarketing
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Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
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