Ad Age, the leading global source of news and insights for the advertising and marketing industry, has recognized Suzanne Fanning, CMO of Wisconsin Cheese/EVP of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, as one of its Leading Women of 2024. The 2024 list of Leading Women shines a spotlight on a group that is leading the charge for positive change in the industry and finding success in the process.
Known for her boundless creativity and collaborative leadership, Fanning infuses every initiative with a profound passion for driving almost unimaginable results. With decades of experience, Suzanne has built a career on the idea that strategic marketing transcends budget constraints, believing that innovation and creativity are the true catalysts for success.
In her role, Fanning leads marketing for the state’s dairy industry, which has a $45.6 billion economic impact on the state and affects more than 150,000 jobs. In Wisconsin, 90% of the milk produced is used to make cheese, and 90% of that cheese is exported outside of the state, so the DFW team focuses heavily on marketing cheese nationwide and globally.
“From the day she arrived in 2018, Suzanne set out to make a difference in the lives of the dairy farm families and provide a much-needed voice to the cheese companies in our state,” says Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. “She’s put Wisconsin Cheese on the map, and we’re incredibly fortunate to have someone like Su Fanning in our organization.”
In fact, sales of Wisconsin specialty cheese are currently outpacing the entire specialty cheese category, and brand perceptions are at an all-time high. Proudly Wisconsin Cheese® badge awareness lifted 350% among the target audience.
This has been a banner year for Fanning and the DFW team. Key ways they drove results while telling the Wisconsin Cheese story in 2024 include:
- Launching a three-day Art of Cheese Festival, which attracted 10,000 foodies from 26 states, driving a 46% lift in sales.
- Leading an ambitious project to develop over 700 pieces of new marketing content, which earned over 11,000 Page 1 Google rankings and setting a new website record.
- Helping to bring season 21 of Bravo’s Top Chef to Wisconsin with an impressive brand integration and a new ad campaign to bring awareness to Wisconsin Cheese and the high-quality culinary experiences the state offers.
- Driving $77 million in earned media with placements in Food & Wine Magazine, Saveur, Yahoo Life, USA Today, Tasting Table, NBC, and more.
- Building positive word of mouth via Cheeselandia, a community of thousands of unpaid brand ambassadors that drove online and offline conversations and hosted events nationwide (named best influencer community in the country).
- Designing Wisconsin Cheese retail campaigns that were featured in over 8000 stores nationwide.
- Growing enrollment by 150% in their world-class professional cheese education program, Cheese State University, and earning an ANA Channel Partnership Marketing award.
Big results are nothing new for Fanning. Over the course of her career, she has tripled sales, increased social engagement by 4000%, broken a Guinness World Record, built award-winning communities and developed global advertising campaigns. Publications like Forbes, Fast Company, and Entrepreneur have praised Fanning's creative programs.
Fanning won Fiskars’ Global Achievement Award in Helsinki, Finland, for making the biggest worldwide impact on the business. She was recognized with a People’s Award, reserved for professionals who have raised the bar in the food industry; PRNews named her a Top Woman in PR; and the International Dairy, Deli and Bakery Association named her a Legendary Champion of Change. Fanning is a published author and speaker and serves as a board member for the International Dairy, Deli and Bakery Association and the Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation. Fanning is past president of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.
Other Leading Women of 2024 winners are from the Coca-Cola Co., Ulta Beauty, Kraft Heinz, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, BBC Global Media and Streaming, BBC Studios, Uber, Samsung Electronics, PepsiCo, Marriott International, Procter & Gamble, Delta Air Lines, Hy-Vee Inc., and Nissan Motor Corporation.
The awards ceremony for the Ad Age Leading Women & Rising Stars will be held in New York City on August 7.
