The Growth Translator: Hotel Chocolat's CMO on Making Marketing Indispensable
In this CMO Superhero series of interviews, a precursor to writing a book on Share of Experience – the Superhero Metric, we explore the stories of extraordinary CMOs in building their brands. Discover key takeaways from the business and measurement challenges these CMOs face and find out what Claude.ai identifies as their three top superpowers.
Meet Lynne Ormrod.
In an industry where chocolate brands often compete on price and shelf space, Hotel Chocolat has done something extraordinary – doubled in size over six years while building an entirely new market category. From drinking chocolate makers to ethical farming stories told through product innovation, they've redefined what a chocolate brand can be.
In this revealing conversation, CMO Lynne Ormrod shares how she built a professional marketing function from three people to a growth engine, and why her simple three-circle framework has become the secret weapon for driving profitable growth.
Q: When you joined Hotel Chocolat six years ago, what did you find?
A: "There were three people in marketing, and the business has doubled in size since I've been there. I was brought in to create a professional marketing function. Marketing was happening, but sitting in different parts of the business. The journey was: where do you start? How do you show marketing's value while building a team that costs money but demonstrates value throughout?"
Q: Working with a brand’s founder is a unique opportunity. How did you approach building trust with him and the leadership team?
A: "It's been a great working relationship because Angus built this brand. He's creative with real vision for pushing boundaries. We don't always agree, but it's an open conversation. I still discover something new about the business in every conversation with him, six years in. But Angus can't hold the brand alone – we're bigger now, lots of people touch the brand. My role is helping everyone else on that journey."
Q: What were your quick wins in those early days?
A: "Basic things – laying out a forward-looking calendar aligned to consumer sentiment and sales trajectory. Setting that within what we're trying to drive as a business and taking it everywhere, getting everyone aligned. Another big project was implementing a CRM system in-house, utilizing customer data to drive contact strategy where you can show direct impact on customer value."
Q: You mentioned a three-part framework. Can you explain that?
A: "As a marketeer you need three things: the customer, the brand, and the commercial outcome. If you bear all three in mind, that becomes your superpower. It's like a Venn diagram with growth in the middle. If you do customer and brand but can't talk commerciality, you can only go so far."
Q: What are you most proud of achieving?
A: "We've created a market for high-quality drinking chocolate in the UK that didn't exist before the Velvetiser. We've sold over a million units with a massively loyal fan base. You wouldn't have thought about having a hot chocolate maker in your home a few years ago and now we have just launched the all-new Velvetiser with even greater functionality
Another thing I'm super proud of is the Better Way Bar. People would come into our stores, buy beautiful products, and then we'd try to talk about the work that we are doing to promote nature-positive cocoa agroforestry through our programme working with farmers in Ghana and on our own farm in Saint Lucia. So we created a bar where the middle is Ghanaian chocolate, the outside is Saint Lucian chocolate, and the sales revenue goes towards funding our farming programs. Having our teams talk to customers about a physical product that embodies our farming story has been a real unlocker."
I love this example! I am tasting the two different chocolates, hearing the story your team is telling and seeing images of Ghana and Saint Lucia. It’s a powerful multi-sensory, experiential way to embed your commitment to sustainability in people’s minds.
Q: How do you approach measurement?
A: "We have structured ROI measurement for CRM activity, working with finance and data analytics teams – not marketing marking its own homework. Then we put in a brand tracker. It's not perfect, but it's about trends and direction. The other piece was a media mix model, because everything was last-click attribution. Having a model we've now run for a number of years to see the interplay of different media channels means we have fundamentally different conversations about budgets and investment."
Q: Here's a heretical thought – is having less data actually more liberating than drowning in competitor intelligence?
A: "Having less measurement is quite freeing. From working in industries where you have competitor data daily, seeing every single thing everyone's doing – we don't spend time worrying about our competitors. We focus on where we want to take the brand, the role we can play in people's lives. Being freed from competitive obsession has been something I protect.
Q: As a woman business owner with a marketing effectiveness business, I am fascinated about how you balance measurement with entrepreneurial spirit?
A: "I've seen measurement used so risk-aversely you test everything to death. Not being constrained by risk culture allows you to try things without being wedded to every data point. Having less measurement is freeing. We can model 85-90% of the way there, then invest in other things."
Let’s look at 5 Key Takeaways for Marketing Leaders
- Build your function like you're conducting an orchestra – Don't just hire marketers; create a symphony where legacy knowledge harmonizes with fresh energy, and every department plays their part in the brand story.
- The three-circle framework isn't just theory – it's survival – Customer, brand, and commercial outcome must intersect in everything you do. Miss any circle, and your marketing becomes either irrelevant, unprofitable, or unsustainable.
- Quick wins aren't about campaigns – they're about systems – Your first victory shouldn't be a viral ad; it should be a forward-looking calendar that gets everyone aligned behind the most impactful priorities supported by systems that prove marketing’s commercial impact
- Product can be your most powerful storytelling medium – Don't just talk about your values; embed them in products that customers can touch, taste, and experience. The Better Way Bar didn't tell Hotel Chocolat's farming story – it was the story.
- Strategic ignorance beats information overload – Sometimes the most powerful competitive advantage is knowing what not to measure. Obsessing over competitors can blind you to category-creating opportunities.
Meta-Lesson: Lynne's transformation shows that marketing leadership means becoming the business's growth translator. You're not just running campaigns; you're teaching an entire organization how customer obsession, brand integrity, and commercial discipline create compound growth.
The question isn't whether you have the best tools or biggest budget. The question is whether you can make everyone else think like a marketer while you think like a CEO.
To discover what Claude.ai thinks of Lynne’s superpowers click here.
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Author: Fiona Blades: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionablades/