Marco's Franchising, LLC., one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, appoints Chris Tussing as Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer. He starts Sept. 29.

Tussing joins Marco's from full-service marketing agency MERGE, where he acted as both President of the Chicago office and Chief Marketing Officer of the entire agency network, while serving as a member of the MERGE Executive Committee.

At MERGE, Chris led the strategy behind the Marco's Pizza brand assignment in July 2017. Since that time, he has played a crucial role helping lead the Marco's brand across all integrated communications as it has expanded its national marketing presence.

"I'm honored to join the Marco's Pizza brand with its rich 40-year heritage of delighting people with an outstanding product, commitment to quality and a culture that puts people and communities first," said Tussing. "It's exactly what we need to connect to the hearts and minds of all pizza-loving Americans as we continue to expand our national presence and footprint."

Tussing will be directly responsible for advertising, brand identity, media, customer relationship management (CRM), social media, web/app experience, promotions, multicultural marketing, field/regional marketing, and grand opening marketing.

"Chris's leadership and strategy helped catapult the Marco's brand into the national spotlight. He's been a great advisor to me and the Marco's Executive Team as we evolve, expand and grow as a brand," said CEO Jack Butorac.

Tussing's background includes more than 25 years of experience working with several major Fortune 500 brands, including Northwestern Mutual, Clorox, Wrigley, Mars, Kraft and Anheuser-Busch, as well as mid-sized companies and startups. He is an expert in brand positioning and strategy, having worked at several multi-national agency brands including DDB, BBDO and JWT.

Tussing holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Southern California and is a competitive runner and cyclist.

"Chris is a passionate, agile and insightful brand leader," said Chief Experience Officer Steve Seyferth. "As a key player within the Marco's Marketing Team, Chris has provided vision, courage, and unbridled enthusiasm in helping drive results and new levels of customer engagement and relevancy to our brand."

Opening a new store every three and a half days on average, Marco's Pizza projects to have 1,000 locations open by year-end. For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or call 866-731-8209.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA 

Marco's Pizza is America's Most Loved and Most Trusted Pizza Brand, according to the 2019 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza companies in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives by making authentic Italian quality pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate 975 plus stores in over 34 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 2 in the Pizza category on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2020 "Franchise 500" ranking, No. 6 in the Largest Pizza Chain category on Restaurant Business' 2020 "Top 500 Chains" ranking, and made QSR's prestigious 2020 "Top 50 Chains" list. Other recent accolades include ranking No. 4 in Forbes 2019 "Best Franchises to Buy" Small/Medium Investment and ranking five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 200" ranking.