Omar Johnson, former CMO at Beats by Dre and former VP Marketing at Apple, is a marketing innovator in the art of collaboration. His proprietary methodology, Culture-Centric DesignTM, sits at the intersection of data, cultural insights, and big ideas and is fueled by a team with diverse backgrounds, languages, and points of view. Culture-Centric DesignTM powers his newest venture, ØPUS brand studios, a modern brand management company comprised of a multi-disciplined collective of award-winning executives, athletes, strategists, creatives, and musicians who understand the anatomy of world-class brands.
At Beats Electronics, Johnson was responsible for brand development, brand positioning, advertising, retail experience, entertainment and sports marketing, as well as digital marketing for all global efforts. Adweek named Johnson a “Brand Genius”, and Business Insider named him one of the “Most Innovative CMOs”. Under Johnson’s tenure, Beats grew from $20 million to a $1.6 billion dollar (revenue) category leader, becoming the #1 premium headphone in 21 countries including North America, UK, France, Germany, South Korea which led to the subsequent purchase by Apple for $3 billion in 2014.
Johnson drove explosive growth in the headphone category through groundbreaking campaigns including #ShowYourColor Solo Campaign, Powerbeats starring LeBron James and The Pills featuring Chris Rock and Eminem. He used viral marketing and influencers to expand the brand at venues such as the Olympics, Super Bowl, World Cup and NBA Finals which helped turn Beats into the headphone of choice for the best athletes in the world.
Previously, Johnson led innovative marketing programs for international brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, and Campbell Soup. As an advertising lead at Nike, Johnson produced some of Nike’s most memorable TV commercials including “Rise,” starring LeBron James, “All Together Now,” featuring Kobe Bryant, and “The Most Valuable Puppets”.
Johnson also built the Nike+ sports music platform, establishing Nike’s first revenue-generating relationship with record labels. Johnson and his team created an industry-first sports music program with Universal, Interscope, Sony, Capitol, Def Jam and more than 25 independent labels. This collaboration sold +5 Million tracks and deepened the connection between music and sports.
Johnson is from Brooklyn, NY. He received a BS in Biology and Chemistry from Georgia State University and an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University.