Kim Chappell unpacks Bobbie’s Chief Confidence Officer campaign with Cardi B on LinkedIn, how they are using brand-building for long-term growth, and advice for working moms.

1. You partnered with Cardi B as your Chief Confidence Officer last year. Did the campaign change how people perceived Bobbie as a brand?

It was a regular Thursday morning when that 'Cardi B x Bobbie?' email hit my inbox and I nearly spit out my coffee. We already knew she was a Bobbie mom, feeding her baby Blossom our organic formula, and was already planning for baby number four. And frankly we had zero time and even less budget. But when you find a shared value like confidence with an unapologetic icon like Cardi, you move mountains. Our Creative Director literally came back from maternity leave with four-month-old twins just to make it happen.

Did it change the brand perception? The data tells us a resounding YES. In week one alone, we saw a brand awareness lift 16% among people who 'know the Bobbie brand.' But it wasn't just about being brand awareness; it was about building a bridge to parents who have felt failed by the system and creating a social good engine around these issues that we know impact American parents: paid leave and the maternal health crisis.

We ultimately saw a 195% increase in NPS among Gen Z parents, and a significant lift in trust amongst Gen Z parents. We have always been a bold, mission-oriented brand, but we made that mission known among audiences that we weren’t speaking to previously. The number of comments we saw on social from people saying “I don’t even have a baby but I just watched this 5x” or “My kids are 18 but I just bought a can of this formula” say it all – this resonated.

We didn't just launch a campaign with a celebrity; we ignited a cultural conversation. And as an infant formula company that already exists in a heavily stigmatized industry, that is a massive win.

2. What criteria do you use to select your celebrity and influencer partners? Partnering with Cardi B could be perceived as a risk by some brands.

"The 'risk' was actually the point with Cardi. If a partnership doesn't make some people a little uncomfortable, you’re probably playing it too safe to make a real impact. At Bobbie, look for authenticity above all else and Cardi has that in spades. In fact, she was in the middle of her assault trial while we were working on the campaign and we not only stood by her, we brought her “Not Guilty” verdict into the copy and that resonated as a viral moment in itself.

Being in an industry that is already considered risky by so many, we are comfortable being uncomfortable and leaning in where most brands would say “we can’t do that.” It’s who we are – bold and unapologetic, and Cardi was the perfect person to carry that message of confidence to parents who need it most. I’m proud to say that risk paid off with the next generation of parents. 

3. Why was LinkedIn the right place to launch that campaign?

I personally love LinkedIn and I LOVE a dramatic teaser before a campaign drops so there is a bit of bias here. But in all seriousness, when we decided to frame Cardi as our “Chief Confidence Officer” it sparked the idea of posting a real job description which then evolved into “let’s announce this on LinkedIn!” 

From a cultural POV, I will say I think LinkedIn is becoming increasingly culturally relevant for brands as a social platform and especially so for the modern parent. For a long time, we kept our 'professional' selves and our 'parenting' selves in separate boxes. But my top performing posts on LinkedIn these days are totally personal. Talking about being a working mom, how that bleeds into my professional life and trying desperately to balance it all.

So launching the Chief Confidence Officer campaign here was a deliberate move to meet parents where they are: balancing a career while worrying about their baby's next bottle. It allowed us to turn a consumer campaign into a workplace evolution conversation and have a little fun in the process. We weren't just selling formula; we were advocating for the confidence of parents–many of whom work– and LinkedIn was the right place to kick that conversation off in an unexpected way.

4. How do you balance long-term brand building with the pressure for short-term growth, especially in an emotionally charged category like infant feeding?

In the formula category, trust is the only currency that matters. You can’t growth-hack your way into a parent’s pantry if they don't happen to have a baby under one and need infant formula in that moment – there’s a time and a place and they’re either there or they aren’t. BUT you can make anyone believe in your mission or feel something from your brand and that’s a massive part of what the brand team does here every single day.

In many ways, we view brand-building as our insurance policy for long-term growth. Yes, there’s pressure to hit numbers, but if we compromise our voice or our values for a short-term spike, we lose the long-term relationship. In an emotionally charged category like infant feeding, we are here not just to sell formula, but to disrupt the category and have parents feel confidence like never before in their choices. That is the long game. 

5. Women tend to lean in really hard on their careers, then they feel forced to step back when they have families. What advice do you have for moms who are ready to re-emerge into the workforce after taking a break for parenting?

First, stop calling it a 'break.' Parenting is a masterclass in crisis management, negotiation, and ruthless prioritization. You haven't been away; you’ve been leveling up. As a mom of three who runs a team of almost entirely working moms, I know this to my core. My advice? Own the gap. Don't try to hide the parenting years on your resume–highlight the soft skills that make you a literal superhero in the office. Look for companies that value the whole person. And most importantly remember that your career didn't end when your baby was born. It just got a new, more powerful why. 

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