The Strategy Behind ADT's Brand Evolution

A sit down with ADT Chief Marketing Officer, DeLu Jackson

Author

Carlo Palomino
May 02, 2025

Welcome back to The Friday Fortune! It’s officially May, which means your inbox is flooded with pre-summer campaign deadlines, half your team is “OOO but available,” and the weather’s just nice enough to tempt you into working from literally anywhere else. So while your Slack is quiet (for now), take a minute for some creative inspiration and career-level perspective.

Every week, we tap into the minds of top CMOs and brand builders to bring you fresh insights, bold moves, and the kind of creative thinking that sticks. No fluff. Just the good stuff to keep your strategy sharp and your spirits high.

Here’s what’s on deck this week:

  • A deep dive with DeLu Jackson, Chief Marketing Officer at ADT

  • Sephora’s skin obsessed campaign

  • Chipotle is bringing the trading card mania to Roblox

📈 Marketer of the Week

If there’s anyone who understands how to lead with both data and heart, it’s DeLu Jackson. Now CMO of ADT, DeLu has held marketing leadership roles at some of the world’s most iconic brands—Ford, Subaru, Nissan, McDonald’s, and Kellogg’s, to name a few. But his path wasn’t planned. It was built through a mix of curiosity, reinvention, and well-timed decisions.

Originally a political economic theory major, DeLu began his career in the liquor industry, learning early on that shelf space wasn’t guaranteed by brand reputation… it had to be earned. That front-line experience taught him that relevance is everything. From there, he steadily climbed the ranks, eventually landing at Ford and later Nissan, where a pivotal moment redirected his trajectory.

A mentor once told him to stop chasing conventional promotions and instead lean into his unique value. That advice pushed him to pursue the digital side of marketing, long before it became table stakes. That leap led him down a digital path, which eventually landed him in Tokyo managing global teams. Leading in a foreign culture taught him to slow down, simplify communication, and lead with humility.

Now at ADT, DeLu is applying decades of global experience to a brand built around trust. What makes it different? The stakes. “I'm super proud of having the opportunity to look after this brand because it is so unique that our profit and purpose are so intimately connected, because we provide safety and peace of mind, which is behind food, shelter and water,” he explained. His team lives by the mantra “another family protected,” and that clarity of purpose infuses every campaign they run.

One of his proudest campaigns? ADT’s sponsorship of the Miami Marlins. As part of the team’s first jersey patch partnership, ADT’s branding appears alongside a clever in-stadium cue: when a player rounds third base, the message “Safe at Home” lights up across the field. It’s smart, emotional, and perfectly aligned with what ADT stands for. Even better, the initiative expanded to local Little League teams, showing that community impact isn’t just a talking point, but a brand pillar.

Beyond the ballpark, DeLu has a sharp eye for spotting customer behavior signals in unexpected places. During his time at Infiniti, he realized that major life moments, like job promotions announced on LinkedIn, often translate to major purchases. Those small cues, when connected to the right message, can create powerful brand moments.

DeLu’s Takeaway

When asked what advice he’d give his 21-year-old self, he didn’t hesitate: “Your path forward is yours. You have to define it. You have to believe in it, and you have to go get it.”

Whether it’s a marketing strategy, a leadership choice, or your golf game (his third personal goal after being a better father and husband), DeLu’s philosophy is about forward motion. Always evolving, always improving.

To hear how DeLu is leading ADT with purpose, data, and empathy, and why “Safe at Home” means more than ever, listen to the full episode of CMO Weekly.

Crack open a handful of the week’s best marketing links—because good fortune favors the curious.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Friday fortune.

If you enjoyed the read, pass it along to your favorite marketer who could use a little extra inspo in their inbox.

Until next time, may your marketing be memorable and your cookies always be fortunate!

— The OpenFortune team