What does it take to build a brand people can’t stop talking about? For Jay Livingston, the former CMO of Shake Shack and Bark, the answer isn’t a secret formula. It’s a mindset. At Activate NY 2025, he unpacked lessons from a career that stretched from high-stakes banking to pet toys to burgers that sparked block-long lines.
He kicked things off with a curveball:
“If you had to give up one thing, would you give up petting dogs forever or burgers?”
Jay picked dogs — a choice that underscored his humor, humanity, and the perspective that has defined his untraditional path. From Wall Street to Madison Square Park, his story shows a simple truth: cult brands are built by marketers who act like builders, embedding themselves in culture, leading with values, and turning fleeting moments into lasting connections.
What follows is a playbook distilled from his conversation, built for marketers who want to stop chasing campaigns and start creating customer-centric, moments-based marketing that endures.
The Modern Marketer Is More Than a Specialist
Jay didn’t start in marketing. After college, he joined Bank of America’s management program.
“I thought, ‘Well, I’m already good at marketing,’” he said. “What I don’t really know is technology or finance…so I’ll go do this three-year program. I’ll get a background in tech and finance, and that’ll make me a little more unique.”
Three years stretched into two decades. Jay cycled through 12 roles, weathered the 2008 financial crisis, and learned how to drive change inside a massive, high-stakes enterprise. That appetite for learning outside his “core” made every future pivot possible.
By the time Bark came calling, Jay had never led a direct-to-consumer brand. He adapted fast: hiring digital natives, absorbing their expertise, and sharpening performance marketing into a scalable machine.
For him, “being curious and wanting to understand things beyond your specialty, and then being willing to raise your hand and take on projects in areas that are totally out of what you do” is what keeps your career and your brand moving forward.
The takeaway: Jay’s mindset embodies the modern marketer––one who assembles the foundation for growth, solves problems before they bottleneck, and refuses to stay in one lane. These builders connect PR, product, digital, and operations into a seamless whole because that’s what it takes to create cult brands that customers can’t walk away from.
Brand Craveability Is Built Through Cultural Connection
For Jay, craveability — the quality that makes people line up for a burger or brag about a limited-edition collab — comes from cultural resonance. At Shake Shack, he developed three criteria for partnerships:
- Highlight Culinary Roots. A truffle burger, built with real truffles from a family supplier in Seattle, gave Shake Shack a premium “brand halo.” Customers went “bonkers for it,” reinforcing the brand’s culinary credibility.
- Be Relevant In-the-Moment. During the final season of Game of Thrones, Shake Shack launched the Dracarys Shake and even required guests to order in Valyrian at certain locations. HBO loved it, and fans shared it widely.
- Be Provocative and Unexpected. Partnerships with Funboy (pool floats) and Sleepy Studs (burger earrings) may have seemed odd, but they expanded Shake Shack’s cultural footprint to new audiences.
These criteria didn’t just generate short-term buzz. They positioned Shake Shack as part of cultural conversations that mattered to customers. Cult brands succeed when people feel proud to talk about them, not just consume them. That requires a marketer’s instinct to recognize when a moment has cultural gravity and the operational muscle to act fast enough to capitalize.
As Jay put it, you want to be in the “fabric of the conversation.”
The takeaway: Cult brands don’t wait for annual campaigns. They build craveability by inserting themselves authentically into cultural moments, whether that’s a TV finale, a trending TikTok, or a seasonal food trend.
Never Underestimate the Power of a Clear Point of View
Great marketing isn’t just about splashy partnerships. When a crisis hits, a brand’s values become the only compass that matters. During the pandemic, Shake Shack accepted a $10M PPP loan. The criticism was immediate: Many believed the money should have gone to smaller businesses. Jay pushed for a bold move:
“If we gave this $10 million back … we’ll get incredible amounts of press and goodwill out of that. And we did it. It’s worth more than $10 million.”
That choice, anchored in Shake Shack’s ethos to “stand for something good,” turned what could have been a reputational nightmare into a trust-building moment.
Not every brand navigates as cleanly. Jay pointed to Cracker Barrel’s logo refresh, which was designed to attract younger consumers but quickly politicized online. His takeaway was blunt: “If you’re gonna make these big changes, get your leadership on board with it so that they’re an owner of the change as well.”
The takeaway: The pattern is clear. Cult brands know exactly who they are, and they act in lockstep with that identity, even when it comes at a cost. Consistency builds trust. Hesitation and half-measures erode it.
A New Approach for the Next Generation of Marketers
Jay wrapped with advice for marketers who want to build lasting careers and brands that actually stick:
- Stay Curious. Be willing to take on projects in areas that sit completely outside your lane.
- Pursue Side Hustles. Advising startups gave Jay credibility beyond banking and opened the door to Bark.
- Build Relationships. “Almost every good thing that’s ever happened to me in my life came as a result of taking somebody to lunch or coffee.”
- Focus on Progress, Not Perfection. Launch, test, and iterate faster than culture shifts around you.
The takeaway: Modern marketing careers look a lot like the cult brands they fuel. Both demand constant iteration, calculated risks, and the humility to keep learning. These brands win by leaning into moments-based strategies, and the marketers behind them win by leaning into cross-functional projects, skill-building, and human connection.
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Don’t chase campaigns. Chase moments. With a builder’s mindset, cultural awareness, and clear values, you can turn a product into a brand people love and refuse to leave.
If Jay’s insights resonated with you, tune in to his full session, now available on demand.
| If you’re ready to push your marketing and brand to the next level of intelligent, real-time engagement, check out Iterable’s Guide to The New Era of Moments-Based Marketing. |