Jenny Lindquist, Kellanova: 40 Under 40 2024

As a senior director of full-funnel marketing at Kellanova, Jenny Lindquist has her hands in a lot of brands, including Pop-Tarts, RXBar and Rice Krispies Treats. Most notably, Lindquist co-led Pop-Tarts’ now-famous Edible Mascot. “We knew there was going to be a sense of confusing curiosity when we announced the first Edible Mascot,” said Lindquist, 35. “What we didn’t know was how much tension and spectacle we were truly stirring up. We gave our Edible Mascot the platform and stage it needed, and then allowed the world to drive the conversation for us. And wow, did they ever.” See all of Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 honorees here She was also part of other Pop-Tarts activations, including an ad in The Kansas City Star asking Taylor Swift to share her recipe after learning she had baked homemade Pop-Tarts for the Chiefs’ offensive line. Another was around Pop-Tarts’ banana bread flavor. Lindquist’s team put TikTok’s grandmother Babs on the box and worked with crocheter London Kaye to make a “Pop-Tartigan” pattern. View this post on Instagram A post shared by London Kaye - Eye Crochet (@madebylondon) Lindquist was also a founding member of the RXBar marketing team. The brand worked with former E! News correspondent Maria Menounos to create packaging for RXBars that left the ingredient lines on individual bars blank so that consumers could write in goals. Most recently, RXBar worked with former “The Bachelor” star Matt James on an AR activation where consumers could visit a website to scan select RXBar flavors with a smartphone to see an AR version of James giving pep talks. View this post on Instagram A post shared by RXBAR (@rxbar) If you could have dinner with one person, alive or dead, who would it be and why? It would be Simon Sinek, Brené Brown or Adam Grant. I think a conversation with them would be very interesting. I think they have different views on leadership and I would love to explore the theory and practicality of work-life balance. What are the top two social media sites you use on a regular basis? One is TikTok. I am obsessed with the edutainment approach that we are seeing the industry morph and move toward. It’s more my search platform than Google. Love the visual learning. I am also a LinkedIn fan. I love to keep up with our industry and news and they curate it in a beautiful way. What’s currently on your bedside reading list? I am a working parent, so I think many can relate when I say that cracking open a book is a bit of a luxury. I had fallen into the bad habit of not reading, so I have been using audiobooks. I am listening to a fiction series, “The Maid.” What was the last show you binge-watched? I try to watch multiple things. I just finished the recent season of “The Circle” on Netflix. I don’t know what it is about reality competition shows, but they pull me in! Maybe it’s the strategist in me, but I love the human psychology aspect of it ... and figuring out why people do the things they do. I also just watched a limited-time series, oddly also called “Maid,” and just finished “Platonic” on Apple TV+. At what age do you hope to retire? To me, retirement is a choice rooted in financial readiness, and my passion is grooming up-and-coming talent and I would love to make the choice to step away from the daily grind someday to help and teach. Based on financial readiness, I would say 60, but we’ll see how the industry and economy look in a few decades! See all of Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 honorees here

How Jenny Lindquist is creating cultural moments for Kellanova brands

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