GRIMES
VP, Global Marketing & Brand Strategy
Taylor
Grimes
Intention is the filter. Usefulness is the proof.
VP, Global Marketing & Brand Strategy
Intention is the filter. Usefulness is the proof.
I'm a strategy nerd who helps global companies build brands that feel useful to culture and loved by consumers. My approach uses distinct positioning as a foundation for integrated marketing that builds belief and drives growth. I call it Cultural Utility.
I lead brand strategy and marketing communications at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, overseeing a global portfolio of brands and guiding strategic communications across consumer, commercial, retail, product, and racing.
I believe relevance and creativity are powerful drivers of brand growth. And that a deep curiosity about people is what separates good from great.
Outside of work I'm a certified Girl Dad and lucky husband who spends his time watching rec soccer, cheering on Ducks, and continuously repairing a 1984 CJ7.
Leadership roles across Fortune 500 companies, global holdco agencies, and fiercely independent creative shops.
Responsible for global brand strategy and integrated marketing communications across the entire portfolio including consumer and commercial messaging. Rebuilt the Goodyear and Cooper brands, installing and scaling new and distinct positioning and brand guidelines across the entire organization. Launched the first 360 integrated campaign for Goodyear in 5 years driving both brand preference and purchase intent as well as Clio and Effie wins.
Responsible for setting and enforcing the agency's strategic POV, identifying emerging opportunities and improving the overall quality of work. Built and maintained strong relationships with clients like Netflix and Five Guys, driving record organic growth in 2024. Modernized process, grew my team and refreshed service offerings like social and brand partnerships resulting in triple-digit growth through wins with clients like Domino's and Gametime.
Developed and executed new business strategies resulting in record-breaking revenue growth and positioning the agency as a leader in the industry. Managed pitch teams with a strategic and creative approach that drove an average win rate over 70% compared to the industry average of 30%. Reinforced the agency's reputation through high-profile client wins and impactful campaigns, leading to "Agency of the Year" honors for three consecutive years.
I worked across creative companies and holding companies in roles focused on media, integrated marketing and communications strategy. In this time I was able to build strategic platforms, brand partnerships and cultural relevance for some of the most famous global brands in the world, including Xbox, Taco Bell, and Oreo.
From TV to Tension Maps.
The TV spot for our first Goodyear campaign completely broke with category norms and used our heritage, place in culture and a famous Dre song to send a message. We always have, we still do, and we always will.
Building off the new global brand POV and values, we worked with internal and external creative and design partners to give the Goodyear brand a new, more refined look.
The Cooper brand was effectively invisible, but big change meant potentially upsetting loyal partners. We leaned heavily on the brand's heritage to create a brand POV with a design system that looks nothing like anything else in the category.
Brand partnerships should feel bigger than the brands, and actually be useful for the people. My idea for Taco Mode was simple. Make the ride home as exciting as the night out. We partnered with Lyft to build a seamless (and unforgettable) experience in-app and in-car.
What if you could drop a record on a cookie? Well, with a small enough record player and the power of lasers, you can. As part of a larger 360 campaign to launch Oreo's new Stay Playful positioning, we partnered with Wiz Khalifa to drop a new single only playable on the ridges of an Oreo cookie.
An example of a process I designed called High Value Subculture. Starting with audiences that contributed to the most revenue, we identified the subcultures they loved where the brand could add the most value (aka Cultural Utility). AXE and gaming was a no-brainer, and sure enough, gamers loved it. That same year, AXE had its first positive sales quarter in 10 years.
While at the Martin Agency, I developed a tool called the Tension Map to help brands better understand where they could be useful. Based on the consumer journey, the Tension Map focuses on pain points, turning places where consumers typically walk away into opportunities to create value & cultural utility. We published the Sustainability Tension Map as a thought leadership piece to help brands find more value in their consumer journey.
Some things I've said and done.
Goodyear Brand Strategy
Brand Strategy & Career Advice
Travel, learn, repeat.
I wanted to help "make ads" before I knew what that really meant. When I found a journalism school that took marketing seriously as a craft, I drove 2,060 miles for the opportunity. Being in Eugene put me close to Nike and Wieden+Kennedy, giving me access to some of the best creative thinking in the world before I even graduated. Four years of learning how people think, what stories move them, and why some messages land while others disappear. Turns out that's still pretty much the whole job.
Understanding culture as an outsider is the best training a strategist can get. My internship involved printing billboards for Coca-Cola and Guinness at a local agency in Accra called Karrington Limited. The training though, was everything else. The people, the food, the noise, the generosity, the reality of West African life that you can't really understand until you're standing in the middle of it. I returned a better strategist, and a better human.
Let's build
something
useful.