4 Creative and Marketing Leaders on Turning Legacy Brands Into Cultural Icons

What does it take to reinvent a legacy brand without losing what made it iconic?

In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Brittaney Keifer brings together four creative and marketing leaders to explore how established brands can move beyond outdated perceptions and build renewed cultural relevance. Amanda Earley, Jaime Robinson, Christy Hoskins, and Jessica Henrichs share lessons from rebranding La-Z-Boy and Brawny, including the importance of understanding a brand’s history, leaning into authentic strengths, and ensuring product innovation can support the promises made by a new identity.

The conversation examines how creative partnerships can unlock stronger ideas, why consumer and stakeholder involvement can help prevent backlash, and how social platforms provide a valuable space to test new directions before making bigger commitments. From evolving familiar brand characters to creating culturally relevant activations, the panel reveals how brands can make change feel natural rather than disruptive. For marketers navigating the challenges of refreshing a household name, this episode offers practical insights into balancing heritage, innovation, consumer trust, and creative risk.

What You Will Learn:

• How to reposition a brand stuck in nostalgia by mining your own history
• Why product innovation must precede any brand refresh
• The "lean into your strengths" principle: La-Z-Boy's breakthrough
• How to pressure-test beloved brand icons
• Why earned, culturally-tapped activations should precede a full rebrand
• How to future-proof against backlash by involving consumers
• Why social media is the lowest-risk place to test how a legacy mascot or character should evolve before committing to broader campaigns

About the Guests:

Amanda Earley is a brand and business leader who specializes in building brands, teams, and growth strategies through a combination of consumer insight, data-driven decision-making, and creative thinking. As Brand Director at Brawny, she has led product innovation, commercialization, marketing campaigns, and business revitalization. Known for bringing people together around bold ideas, Amanda combines strategic vision with hands-on cross-functional leadership.

Jaime Robinson is an Emmy-winning entrepreneur and creative leader whose work has earned nearly 40 Cannes Lions, including multiple Grand Prix and Golds. She is a Co-Founder and former CCO of JOAN Creative, where the agency was recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and earned Agency of the Year honors from Adweek and Campaign. A former ECD at Wieden+Kennedy New York and Pereira O’Dell, Jaime has also served on The One Club Board and as a Cannes and D&AD jury president.

Christy Hoskins is a transformational marketing leader, growth driver, and culture builder with more than 20 years of experience across market-leading CPG, consumer durables, and retail companies. Her expertise spans brand building, consumer-driven strategy, business planning, portfolio strategy, customer experience, innovation, P&L management, and advertising. Christy is passionate about leading with vision, building future-focused organizations, and developing strong, engaged teams grounded in purpose, continuous learning, and compassion.

Jessica Henrichs is CEO of DonerColle Partners, where she leads and helps brands navigate transformation, drive purposeful change, and accelerate growth. Since joining Colle McVoy in 2021, she has reshaped the agency’s model, invested in emerging capabilities, and built high-performing teams, earning recognition including the 2024 Adweek 50 and 2026 Campaign US Inspiring Women. Previously, Jessica spent more than a decade at Digitas, developing award-winning, data-powered creative strategies that earned over 100 honors, including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Data.

Host and Guest Resources:

• Amanda Earley on LinkedIn
• Jaime Robinson on LinkedIn
• Christy Hoskins on LinkedIn
• Jessica Henrichs on LinkedIn
• ADWEEK Website

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