The concept behind Kidzania -- essentially a theme park that's about work -- is growing like a weed abroad, with 12 existing locations and openings scheduled this year in Kuwait City, Cairo, Sao Paulo, Mumbai and Istanbul. The first U.S. location is due in 2015 in a city to be determined, and it's up to Cammie Dunaway, U.S. president and global CMO, to explain the concept to American children and their parents.

Started in Mexico in 1999, Kidzania exposes children to the working world and money management by letting them earn a virtual currency. Kids apply themselves in various career paths, all courtesy of brand sponsors. They can perform surgeries in a Johnson & Johnson hospital in Portugal and work in a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Dubai. Their earnings could go toward renting a car in an Avis rental office, or kids could do the prudent thing and deposit their hard-earned cash in a bank to earn interest.

The brand accomplishes an unusual trifecta of appealing to children, their parents and global marketers who are already looking for ways to talk to the next generation of consumers. Ms. Dunaway -- a speaker at Ad Age's CMO Strategy Summit in San Francisco next month -- gave some insight into the strategy behind where to set up shop and how to promote such an unusual brand.

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David Ortiz' statement to the world after the terrorism bombings in Boston -- "this is our fucking city" -- is emblematic of Red Sox fans' personalities. They're passionate, sometimes a little salty and extremely loyal. In fact, the Red Sox' home game sellout streak that ended last month had stretched for 820 home games over 10 years, the longest such run in professional sports.

Executives predicted the sellouts would end this season, even though some Boston media outlets argued it ended last season citing summer evenings with empty Fenway seats. Still, the end of the streak was also something of a relief to management.

"It's been a pretty amazing decade," said Sam Kennedy, the chief operating officer of the Boston Red Sox and president of Fenway Sports Management. "It's a very fragile thing to have a streak like that. And it's easier when you're winning an average of 92, 93 games a season. Last year we had a disastrous season only winning 69 games, plus a lot of drama off the field and injuries. ...At the end of the day, we're dealing with human capital."

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Even before Spoetzl Brewery introduced its Shiner brand to the New York and Philadelphia markets, word had gotten out via social media. Fans of the Texan brand -- whether they were actual Texans, barbecue aficiandoes or South by Southwest alumni -- had been tipped off and were quick to spread the word.

Which is no accident. Gambrinus Co., which owns Spoetzl, and longtime agency, Austin-based McGarrah Jessee, have spent years building up that fan base, often on a limited budget. Despite moving into its 42nd state, Shiner has eschewed TV advertising. Last year, Spoetzl spent less than $1 million on measured media, according to Kantar Media, which included magazine, outdoor and display advertising.

While not completely ruling out TV, head of marketing Charlie Paulette noted that it wouldn't be a very good stylistic fit for a craft-brew brand famous for its heritage of outlaw music -- especially when craft-brew fans can be quick to let you know when you're "selling out." A better fit? Ambushing Heineken's official sponsorship of the Austin City Limits Music Festival a few years back. And social media, of course, which has allowed the brand to get much more mileage out of its own brand of marketing, though Mr. Paulette acknowledged that passionate social-media fans can sometimes turn on you.

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Back in 2006, Ad Age published a sobering statistic: The average tenure of chief marketing officers was a troublingly short 23 months. The latest figure, released last week from executive-search firm Spencer Stuart, shows a radically different picture -- CMOs are sticking around an average of 45 months. So what's behind nearly a doubling of CMO tenure during a time frame in which the job has only gotten tougher due to recession, a still-shaky economy and upheaval in adland as digital, social and data management reshape the marketing landscape?

The answers: a recession, a still-shaky economy and upheaval. The increased complexity of the job has made CMOs more fulfilled, challenged and respected, resulting in a big shift in how long they stick around.

"The reality of the economic downturn, which has been somewhat on-again, off-again, has led to CEOs understanding the power of brands, strong brands," said Alison Lewis, who has been senior VP-Coca-Cola North America marketing since mid-2011. "Building strong brands requires more continuity."

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A number of high-profile marketers started on the agency side of the business. Here, they talk about why they made the move and what they've learned along the way.

DANA ANDERSON

Senior VP-marketing strategy and communications, Mondelez International

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At Procter & Gamble Co. nearly a decade ago, Kyle Schlegel was trying to refresh Old Spice, a brand popular among dads and grandfathers but losing relevance to young men. Now, as VP-marketing at Hillerich & Bradsby, he's got nearly the same challenge with Louisville Slugger.

So Mr. Schlegel has spent the past year reapplying some lessons from his old gig to his new one, culminating with the official debut of Louisville Slugger's new logo and marketing effort during opening night for Major League Baseball on ESPN on March 31, along with a social-media effort including the #LeaveYourMark hashtag.

Compared with Old Spice, Louisville Slugger is a stronger brand in a smaller business. It commands a 60% to 70% share of the U.S. wood-bat market, which has more than $25 million in annual sales. And its bats are used by 55% of MLB players, Mr. Schlegel said -- certainly a good position, but south of its share in the general market.

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Geico's Gecko spokes-lizard has become so iconic that he shows up as a human-size mascot at sporting events. He's even milking his fame with a new book. But the insurance firm did not originally intend for the popular character to become its longstanding brand representative. Data analysis determined that, according to Geico CMO Ted Ward.

For 10 years, Geico has worked with Merkle, a database-marketing consultancy, to run the insurer's marketing database, handle its direct mail and print-campaign analytics, and manage its targeted digital display ads. Geico also works with Martin Agency and Horizon Media on advertising.

A peek inside the data-storage facility in Merkle's Columbia, Md., headquarters -- about 20 miles southwest of Baltimore -- reveals what may look like just a bunch of servers. But for Merkle's brand clients such as Geico, Dell and Loews Hotels, it's much more. Within those meticulously cooled steel chambers pulses marketing lifeblood.

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Having worked on global liquor brands for 35 years, Pernod Ricard CMO Martin Riley knows a thing or two about regulation. As president of the World Federation of Advertisers, he is about to learn a whole lot more.

Mr. Riley took over the post last week as the organization celebrated its 60th anniversary during Global Marketer Week in Brussels.

Mr. Riley is just settling into the job, but he already has strong views on what the WFA's role should be.

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When most people hear Firestone, they think tires. But now the iconic brand is challenging consumers to think of it as something more--it wants to be known as a car company.

In a new campaign, the company puts forward its message with commercials that look more like something from one of the big car manufacturers. In the second phase of the campaign, which launched earlier this week, the focus moves to autocare stores. Parent company Bridgestone has a network of more than 2,200 tire and automotive service centers.

"We feel strongly that the campaign will break through the clutter, and we have the appropriate weight in place to make sure that happens," said Arthur Reingold, vp-marketing for Bridgestone Retail Operations. "We haven't been on the air in quite some time, as far as our complete autocare center, so this is a huge event for us."

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It's not often a chief marketing officer at a media conglomerate also has a first-look deal baked in to his contract. But it's these production chops that make John Shea, exec VP-CMO at NBCUniversal's integrated media division, able to think more creatively about how advertisers can work with the company's vast portfolio of TV networks and digital properties.

"We are big and you can use us that way, but we are also incredibly targeted when you need us to be," said Mr. Shea, who was appointed to his current role in November 2011. Prior to that he served two stints at MTV Network and also led the DreamWorks/Universal location-based entertainment co-venture Gameworks. He got his start on the agency side at BBDO.

The division, which is organized under umbrellas like Women at NBCU, Green is Universal, Healthy at NBCU and Hispanics at NBCU, spearheads multi-platform deals across the company's portfolio, which includes TV networks like USA, Bravo and Oxygen, as well as iVillage, Fandango and DailyCandy.

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Earlier this month, Topshop unveiled one of its most digitally ambitious fashion shows to date, "The Future of the Fashion Show." The fast-fashion retailer partnered with Google on a multiplatform experience that promised consumers a seat at the catwalk to rival Anna Wintour's. Online viewers could take in the London Fashion Week show from various points of view, from that of the model on the runway -- or the handbag on her arm. They could buy featured products instantly and even chat with the show's stars on Google+. And a "Be the Buyer" app let fans create a mood board using the show's looks.

The man behind the cutting-edge show was 31-year-old Chief Marketing Officer Justin Cooke, who is just coming off a six-year stint at Burberry, where he rose to the role of worldwide VP-PR/VIP/events. There, alongside Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey and CEO Angela Ahrendts, he helped propel Burberry's resurrection from a stodgy brand gone to the "chavs"a derogatory slang for working-class youths in the U.K. who sport designer brands and blingto respected luxury retailer and fashion-industry digital darling.

Mr. Cooke's first fashion gig was on the sales floor at Gucci. "It was like being in the Gucci Army; you're given standard issue of three amazing black, three-button suits, five white shirts, two black ties," he said. "I'm getting paid to wear this? That was the beginning of the bug for me."

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EasyJet's headquarters are located in a hangar in Luton Airport, 35 miles north of London. The working environment is described internally as a "treat-free zone" -- the carpets and window treatments are plain. There are no plants, no pictures, no individual offices, and the desks that have a view overlook the airport parking lot.

"We are living the low-cost dream," laughs Peter Duffy, the airline's CMO. Yet by paying attention to every penny, EasyJet increased its profit 28% to $485 million for the year ended Sept. 30, the airline's best since it started in 1995.

The business was, Mr. Duffy said, founded on two great concepts: "The deregulation of the European flight market and the internet. EasyJet has had digital at its heart right from the start. It's where you spend least to get most -- we are ruthlessly commercial."

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RelayRides is quickly going from startup to major player in the fast-growing car-sharing category. The company has received $13 million in funding since launching regionally in 2010, and last September it announced an exclusive, national partnership with General Motors. The partnership enables GM owners to rent out their cars to RelayRides renters using GM's OnStar technology.

Still, the car-sharing brand's new VP-marketing Scott Kinzie, who most recently held a top marketing role at Johnson & Johnson's Babycenter.com, wants to turn RelayRides into a "household brand." He talked to Ad Age about showcasing differentiation in what's becoming a competitive rental market and how to incentivize car owners to build businesses around their own vehicles.

Ad Age: The category is getting crowded Avis acquired Zipcar, Enterprise acquired Mint and other new car-sharing companies like Daimler's Car2Go and Hertz On Demand are popping up left and right. What makes RelayRides stand out?

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