The Power of Raising Your Hand

Caitlin Winsor built her career by raising her hand for the messiest projects. Now a 2026 AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement inductee, she’s focused on the future of consumer-centric marketing at PepsiCo.

From Camcorder to Career: As a kid, Caitlin made skits and videos with her camcorder just to get a reaction from friends and family. That instinct to make people feel something became a career in advertising. 🎥

Raise Your Hand: Starting on the agency side, Caitlin always volunteered for the messiest projects, the ones nobody was lining up to work on. As the problems got bigger, so did her scope, and she built a career out of it. ✋

Built Around the Consumer: Caitlin says consumers don’t care how a company is organized, and they don’t move through a funnel in a straight line. At PepsiCo, her focus is making brands entertaining, valuable, and top of mind, showing up in the right moments with the right reason to be. 🥤

A Fellow Hall of Achievement Alum on Culture: Caitlin has been inspired by fellow AAF Hall of Achievement alum Marcus Collins, author of For the Culture, who recently spoke to her team at PepsiCo. She admires how he brings real rigor to a subject that’s often treated as squishy, digging three clicks deeper into the community and behavior that drive culture. 🔍

The Call at Bedtime: Her Hall of Achievement call came in the middle of bath time with her four-year-old. Her husband walked by, she said “yes,” and he kicked off the family group text. 📞