TAMPA — Restaurant group Bloomin' Brands Inc. has promoted Michael Kappitt to its senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Kappitt will oversee the marketing strategy for all of the company's concepts, as well as lead any cross-brand marketing initiatives.
Kappitt joined Bloomin' Brands in 2011 as the chief marketing officer of Outback Steakhouse. Since that time, Outback introduced the “Great Aussie Steak Out” which gave away a million steaks to introduce the wood-fired grill cooking technique. He followed that up with “Bloomin' Mondays” to engage NASCAR fans, and recently introduced a new advertising campaign “No Rules, Just Right.”
“Mike has been a driving force behind re-energizing the Outback brand through creativity and industry-changing innovation,” Liz Smith, CEO of Bloomin' Brands, says in a press release. “He will be a valuable addition to the Bloomin' Brands executive leadership team.”
Prior to Bloomin' Brands, Kappitt spent nine years at Burger King, in various positions concluding as chief marketing officer for North America.
Bloomin' Brands (symbol: BLMN; recent price: $23.84) operates a portfolio of five restaurant brands including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Roy's. It has nearly 1,500 restaurants in 48 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and 21 countries.