This week, we're highlighting Red Lobster and how their new CEO, Damola Adamolekun, is making waves simply by speaking strategy out loud on social.

Check out this clip to see what I mean:

The Breakfast Club

As the new CEO of @redlobster, Damola Adamolekun dives into his plan to save the company from Chapter 11 by tapping into the brand's nostalgia and rebranding! 🦞#iHEARTRADIO

♬ original sound - The Breakfast Club - The Breakfast Club

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At a time when most brands are chasing attention with gimmicks, memes, and over-the-top content, he’s taking a completely different approach. No viral stunts or flashy campaigns. Just honest conversations.

He’s been quietly making the rounds on podcasts, interviews, and even the corporate Tiktok account, laying out exactly what went wrong, what’s being fixed, and how he plans to turn the brand around.

It’s simple, strategic and working. So what can we learn from it?

1. Just say the plan

These days, it feels like standing out requires being extra (louder, funnier, more outrageous, etc). And while that might drive views, it doesn't build trust.

That’s what makes Damola’s approach so refreshing. He’s not trying to be clever or contrarian, he’s just being clear. He explains what happened, what is happening and what he’s doing about it.

You can see a similar dynamic playing out in politics.

Kamala’s campaign, for example, leaned heavily into viral formats with the KamalaHQ page. It racked up millions of views through memes and trend-driven videos, but when you looked closer the content didn’t do much to actually deepen her connection with voters. Especially those on the fence.

Zohran’s NYC mayoral campaign took the opposite route. His content was simple and focused, centered on policy and strategy, not performance. Though it may have gotten fewer views, each one carried more weight, which inevitably built enough credibility to win him the election.

In a world where everyone’s chasing attention, a powerful differentiator is trust.

2. Don't hide from mistakes

Red Lobster’s Endless Shrimp deal ended up costing the company $20 million and quickly became a punchline online. For most CEOs, that would’ve been a moment to go silent. Maybe release a generic PR statement, blame market conditions, and quietly move on.

But Damola didn’t take the easy way out.

Instead, he addressed it publicly, head on, and repeatedly. He walked through what went wrong, admitted they underestimated demand, and explained how they’re changing the approach going forward.

And people respected it. Audiences are far more forgiving when a leader meets them with honesty, clarity, and a plan.

What makes this turnaround even more impressive is that we’re seeing it happen in real time. I'm seeing videos of people saying they had to wait 30-40 minutes to get a table at Red Lobster (and they’re thrilled about it).

For brand builders and operators, the lesson is simple: don’t overthink the optics. Sometimes the most effective move is to pull back the curtain and let leadership speak plainly.

-Ashwinn

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