Taco Bell’s Taylor Montgomery Reveals the Path From Social Media Manager to CMO

There’s no one path to the chief marketing officer seat, and Taco Bell‘s top U.S. marketer Taylor Montgomery is living proof.

Having cut his teeth working on strategy for brands including Clairol and Always at Procter & Gamble, Montgomery joined Taco Bell in 2016 as senior manager of brand and marketing innovation. Now, several jobs later, he’s CMO for North America, leading buzzy campaigns with talent including Doja Cat and LeBron James.

During a session at ADWEEK’s Social Media Week in New York, Montgomery revealed the secret ingredients to his success: curiosity, flexibility and never being afraid to get in the weeds.

He credited P&G for helping him understand that marketing is the ultimate business driver. “It taught me the mechanics of how business worked, how marketing is a tool and a discipline that can drive business growth,” he said.

When Montgomery jumped ship to Taco Bell, his role in the brand and innovation team, which involved product development, gave him the invaluable experience of getting closer to the brand’s diners.

He credited Taco Bell’s “flat” structure, which gives social and brand teams “a seat at the table,” for driving the creativity and collaborations with which the brand has become synonymous.

When he first started, the social team would knock on his door and suggest new recipes based on social media feedback, like putting Doritos in a Mexican Pizza. “And we’d say, ‘That’s a great idea, let’s go into the kitchen and see if that tastes good.’ [That open structure] keeps the teams connected.”

He added: “There’s a holy trinity between the PR, social and media team at Taco Bell. That’s where the magic really happens.”

His first few years with the business helped him understand how to create products, which was important because “products are the connection point to the customer,” Montgomery said.

Slowly but surely, he started to collect more responsibility for U.S. marketing, before Taco Bell’s then-chief executive threw him a “curve ball:” a role as CMO of the international business.

“That was one of my favorite experiences,” he said, advising ambitious social execs never to discount opportunities, even if they look “smaller by numbers.”

“[Those jobs] are where you have a real opportunity to make a huge impact and where you grow the most,” he said.

Driving growth and driving culture

During his two-year tenure overseeing international marketing, Montgomery worked on campaigns to drive growth in countries including China and Spain. After that, he was promoted to his current position.

Montgomery has been at the center of some of Taco Bell’s biggest campaigns, including recruiting Doja Cat to headline the return of Mexican Pizza, teaming up with LeBron James to fight against the Taco Tuesday trademark, and bringing back the Volcano Menu with the help of Paris Hilton.

His push toward culture marketing is making its mark, and Taco Bell is now one of the jewels in the crown of parent company Yum! Brands. Yum CEO David Gibbs previously described the chain as a “growth engine,” while its Q4 results showed an 11% same-store U.S. sales increase.

Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant also traveled a unique road to get to his position, having previously been CMO himself.

For Montgomery, having a brand leader in the corner office has been “a blessing.”

“The great thing about having a boss who’s a marketer is that they can speak shorthand [with the CMO],” he said. “This gives [us] marketers more top cover to take risks.” 

Catch up with all of ADWEEK’s coverage from Social Media Week.