Nicolas Amaya

Senior VP & President of North America, Kellanova

Search every verified Nicolas Amaya interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Nicolas Amaya, Senior Vice President and President of North America at Kellanova, appeared at Advertising Week New York in 2023 in a conversation about creative effectiveness and return on investment. He described Kellanova as "the largest fast growing snack business" with brands including Pringles, Cheez-It, Rice Krispy Treats, and Pop-Tarts, and said the company split from Kellogg Company to "unlock growth and business value for each respective business." Amaya stated that creative effectiveness drives nearly half of total advertising effectiveness and that the company had scored 3,000 pieces of creative, resulting in a four-point improvement in video completion rates and engagement. He noted that the company had invested over ten years in first-party data to understand consumer buying habits and media consumption, enabling personalized messages and offers. Amaya discussed a partnership with Crocs for the Pop-Tarts brand, which he called one of the company's most successful collaborations since 2020, resonating with Gen Z by connecting cultural insights with brand values. He said that about a year prior, his title changed from CMO to Chief Brands and Advanced Analytics Officer to create a center team that coordinates efforts and breaks down data silos. Amaya added that having human presence and positive emotion in the first three seconds of an ad increased video completion rates by up to 35 percent. He stated that marketing is at the epicenter of AI impact and that this is happening within 12 to 24 months, advising brands to be agile, experimental, and invest in talent. He recommended starting small with data-driven experiments, defining clear hypotheses and success metrics, leaning on expert partners, and internalizing learnings to surpass external expertise.