Ryan Morgan

About Ryan Morgan

Ryan Morgan is a writer and strategist.An early employee (#6) at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, he’s spent the last 15 years in key roles of increasing responsibility with a focus on brand, strategy, and communications, helping to grow the company into a national brand—from 5 shops to 85+ shops, from a couple Ms to $150M+.A creative thinker—flexibly left- and right-brained—who can reverse engineer an outcome but also practices emotional branding, Ryan believes the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, and that, deep down, what everybody wants is to feel less alone and fully alive. And that the prize for companies who are willing to deliver against those desires—universal to the human condition—is nothing less than irrationally loyal customers for life.Currently at Jeni’s, Ryan is the head of brand, and the architect of recent culture-making collabs with Tyler, The Creator, Dolly Parton, and Ted Lasso. He’s been working at the intersection of business, social technology, and human behavior for as long as he can remember… long enough to know that being online is never as good as being wholly present, in the moment, IRL.

Experience

1. Head of Brand Strategy

   Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

   Jan 2022 — Present · Columbus, OH, US

   Highlights:Shape and influence how people—both externally and internally—think and feel about our company and their relationship with it, as customers and employees. Who we are, what we do, how we do it, who we do it for, and why. Our mission.Drive strategy for key campaigns and company initiatives, in close collaboration with our Creative Director—as a team, we don’t miss. Think about what we should or shouldn’t do, how we should do it, with or for whom, what’s next, etc.Lead and own brand partnerships, our most effective tool for reaching new audiences, growing brand awareness, and driving trial. How do you follow up unfollowable collabs with Tyler, The Creator and Dolly Parton? A flavor for Ted Lasso, is how. Our partnership with Apple TV+ for season 3 of Ted Lasso outperformed our Dolly collab (the biggest thing we’d ever done) by almost every metric, an unthinkable and surprising feat if you didn’t #believe.BTW, on the same day that our Ted Lasso collab launched, American Girl launched the AG x Jeni’s collection, bringing the Jeni\'s experience into the American Girl world, with a mini ice cream truck and a full suite of components and accessories—from the iconic orange Jeni’s shipping box and branded pints to all the equipment needed to make and serve our signature buttercrisp waffle cones. Jeni’s is featured on the menu at American Girl bistro locations, and we brought the American Girl experience into our shops with free mini scoops in mini bowls with mini spoons and special seating, just for doll friends.Once you’re done wrapping your head around that, imagine a Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tart—served buttered, warm, soft, and gooey, right out of the toaster. Now take that exact time-stopping moment and suspend it in ice cream. That’s what we did for our Pop-Tarts collab—an iconic snack brand that defines its category, has a passionate, cult-like following, matters to pop culture, and has a nostalgic emotional pull (and is fun).

Education

• Miami University

  Bachelor of Arts, Creative Writing

  1996 — 2000