# Melanie Babcock-Brown

> Melanie Babcock-Brown is the chief marketing and growth officer of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, where she leads marketing strategy, brand positioning, customer acquisition and retention, and revenue growth. An Ann Arbor native who studied kinesiology before earning a master's degree in information and communications systems, she built a career across early web development, agency leadership, data-driven marketing, and retail media. During more than a decade at The Home Depot, she helped shift marketing from product-led campaigns toward customer-based personalization and built the retailer's media network into Orange Apron Media. Her operating style combines data discipline, candor, customer empathy, and deliberate investment in teams.

- **Role:** Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.
- **Organizations:** 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., The Home Depot, Cardlytics, MSL GROUP/Publicis Groupe, Ketchum, MMA Global, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Master of Science in Information and Communications Systems, Ball State University
- **Known for:** Helped shift The Home Depot's long-standing product-centric marketing model toward customer-based, personalized marketing., Pioneered and built The Home Depot's retail media division, later branded Orange Apron Media., Led Orange Apron Media through double-digit year-over-year growth and launched its InFronts event for advertisers.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2013** — Held leadership roles at Ketchum, MSL GROUP/Publicis Groupe, and Cardlytics, including senior vice president of social media and digital strategy at MSLGROUP Americas and vice president of national merchant accounts at Cardlytics.
- **2013** — Joined The Home Depot as senior director of social media.
- **2016** — Began championing The Home Depot's shift from product-centric campaigns toward customer-based marketing and personalization.
- **2018-2019** — Helped develop and launch The Home Depot's retail media network, initially focused on driving traffic to product pages and helping supplier products stand out at the point of decision.
- **2022** — Served as vice president of integrated media and won Adobe's Experience Maker Executive of the Year award for the Americas.
- **2023** — Became vice president of Retail Media+ and monetization at The Home Depot.
- **2024** — Led the rebrand of Retail Media+ as Orange Apron Media and introduced Orange Access, a unified advertising experience for suppliers.
- **2025** — Led the second Orange Apron Media InFronts and was recognized by Ad Age and She Runs It for her retail media leadership.
- **2025** — Appointed chief marketing and growth officer of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. in a newly created role, effective October 2025.

## Achievements

- Helped shift The Home Depot's long-standing product-centric marketing model toward customer-based, personalized marketing.
- Pioneered and built The Home Depot's retail media division, later branded Orange Apron Media.
- Led Orange Apron Media through double-digit year-over-year growth and launched its InFronts event for advertisers.
- Oversaw the 2024 launch of Orange Access, which unified on-site and off-site campaign buying and reporting.
- Named Adobe Experience Maker Executive of the Year for the Americas in 2022.
- Received a Cannes Bronze Award in 2018 for a campaign targeting movers and renovators.
- Named among Adweek's Rising Brand Stars in 2017.
- Named an honoree in the 2025 She Runs It Changing the Game Awards and one of Ad Age's retail media executives advertisers should know.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Joined 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. as chief marketing and growth officer in a newly created role reporting to CEO Adolfo Villagomez.
- **2025-08** — Discussed moving retail media measurement beyond short-term return on ad spend toward return on marketing objective on the AdExchanger Talks podcast.
- **2025-08** — Named an honoree in the She Runs It Changing the Game Awards.
- **2025-06** — Named by Ad Age among retail media executives advertisers should know.
- **2025-04** — Led Orange Apron Media's second InFronts event in Atlanta, expanded to two days and a larger venue.

## Links

- Website: https://www.1800flowersinc.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniebabcock/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/melanie-babcock-brown
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-14