Suzanne Fanning, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW), has been appointed Chair of the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) Board of Directors.

The appointment was confirmed at IDDBA's Annual Business Meeting in Chicago. Fanning has sat on the IDDBA board since 2017, serving most recently as executive vice chair. She will continue in her existing role at DFW alongside her new board responsibilities.

Paul Ziemnisky, President and CEO of IDDBA, said Fanning "knows how to turn consumer insights into breakthrough marketing programs, build communities around food and bring people together around shared opportunities."

Fanning joined DFW in 2017 and has since led a sustained repositioning of the Wisconsin Cheese brand, including the founding of Cheeselandia, a consumer advocacy community that Adweek named the top influencer marketing programme in the US. More recently, she oversaw the launch of Born to Dairy, a campaign centred on Wisconsin dairy farmers that has reached millions of consumers nationally.

Quantified results cited by DFW include more than $100 million in earned media value in a single year, a 4,000% increase in social media engagement and a shift from page 96 to page one in Google search rankings. DFW also reports that Wisconsin Cheese has outpaced overall cheese category sales growth by 15 times over the period.

Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, said Fanning had "helped change the way people think about Wisconsin Cheese by putting our farmers, cheesemakers and their incredible products at the centre of stories consumers want to be part of."

Fanning brings more than 25 years of marketing and brand experience to the chair role. Her work has been covered in publications including Advertising Age, Fast Company and Forbes and programmes under her leadership have received recognition from the Association of National Advertisers. PRNEWS named her a PR Woman of the Year in the Changemaker category.

"Dairy, deli and bakery have something marketers spend their careers trying to create: genuine love," Fanning said. "Our opportunity is to take all of that passion and turn it into growth - by staying curious about what consumers want, embracing new ideas and making sure the incredible people and products behind our industry continue to matter to the next generation."