CMO Spotlight | Alice Crowder - Krystal Restaurants LLC
The CMO Spotlight is a chance to get an inside look into the minds and journeys of high-performing marketing leaders.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Alice Crowder, the former CMO of Krystal Restaurants LLC, to share about how she personally immerses herself in the brands she works for, how she encourages curiosity and inspirational thinking, and how a Chinese Folklore inspired her leadership style.
Q1 | Is there any advice you’d like to share?
Crowder is process-oriented and believes that every marketer could benefit from more organization. She believes that each marketing leader should work “to understand the needs, motivations, and success metrics of the cross-functional team in which you work.” She added, “If you can understand what those departments need and how to help them be successful, then you can draw a picture for everybody where everybody's got an end and everybody's got to win.” If everyone understands their part in the process, the whole brand benefits.
Her other advice to marketers is to fully immerse yourself into your brand. If you’re not fully involved in what your brand is marketing and you don’t love it, then it's hard to have a gauge of what a consumer wants. She added, “I don't believe in skinny chefs and I don't believe in skinny marketing executives because I think you have to really love and enjoy not just food, but the environment that food creates, the hospitality of it, having someone at your table, and building an experience around a good meal.”
Q2 | What’s your superpower?
Crowder shared that she is really adept at taking in information, processing it, and using that information to strategize what each department needs in order to best support the brand. She also values having strong relationships with her colleagues. She prioritizes hearing and understanding the different perspectives of her team members in order to move projects ahead responsibly.
Q3 | Where do you find inspiration?
Crowder finds inspiration internally and externally.
When she worked in the food industry, her team did “dine-arounds” where they tasted new things from other venues.
She also values reading as a way to find inspiration. “I'm a voracious reader. I love to read articles. I love to be online. I love to see new things – I love everything. From older material, to brand new material…and pulling themes out of both.”
Q4 | How do you coach and mentor your team?
Crowder creates a collaborative, open environment that prioritizes one on one meetings with her teammates where they can talk about the business, their goals, and a little bit about their personal lives. “You can’t help somebody's professional growth without understanding where they are personally,” she expressed.
To understand her team’s professional and personal goals, they had a "weekly wins" meeting where they all gathered to make a list of everything that needed to be accomplished and how they would achieve their goals.
Q5 | Tell us about an impactful campaign.
While working at Denny’s, Crowder conceptualized a promotion called "Build your Own Grand Slam.” Denny’s came up with 30 different kinds of Grand Slams, and when the meals were tested with consumers, the "Build your Own Grand Slam" performed the best. After looking at the insights, she learned so much about what's important to guests and how they approach a promotion. Denny’s took that information and used it to make the promotion a huge success.
For more marketing leadership advice and a view into the mindset of marketing executives in various industries, be sure to watch the full interview with Alice Crowder, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.
Watch the full interview to the right.
Setup President, Amanda Thompson, spoke with Alec Hanson, the Chief Marketing Officer at loanDepot, about how his irrational self-confidence allows him to embrace his inner nerd, the beauty of perspective, the power of sales experience, and more.
Setup President, Amanda Thompson, spoke with Alex Cwirko-Godycki, the Chief Marketing Officer of Human Capital and the Head of Digital Marketing at Aon, about his problem solving skills, the power of simplicity, United Airlines’ relatable motto, and more.
Setup CEO and Founder, Joe Koufman, spoke with Amy Comeau, the Vice President of Marketing for Emory Healthcare, to share about her journey from vocal performance and Opera houses to Healthcare, building collaborative bridges, passion for Publix, the power of her mother’s words, and more.
Setup President, Amanda Thompson, virtually sat down with Pam Piligian, the CMO and SVP of Navy Federal Credit Union, to discuss her admiration for Chick-fil-A, her experience at Ocean Spray, and her ability to charm consumers.
In the spirit of Black History Month, Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Sheraun Britton-Parris, the Chief Marketing Officer at Cordance, to discuss why following her gut is her superpower, the importance of customer-centric marketing, and the inspirational story of how Nathan Nearest Green, an enslaved black man, taught Jack Daniels.
In the spirit of Black History Month, our CEO, Joe Koufman, recently virtually connected with Jacqueline Woods, the Chief Marketing Officer at Teradata. Join us in this insightful conversation that goes beyond marketing strategies and delves into Woods’ journey to becoming a marketing leader, advice she would share with other marketers, where she finds inspiration, and more. Let's honor and celebrate diversity, leadership, and the impactful journey of Jacqueline Woods.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Ami Badani, the Chief Marketing Officer at Arm, to talk about the power of relationship building, Louis Vuitton’s powerful impact as a brand, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Kaylin Durham, the Chief Customer Officer at The Aaron's Company, Inc., to talk about the importance of having tough conversations, how to be intentional and brave in your career, and why she admires Delta’s brand.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with David Reid, the Chief Technology and Marketing Officer at NOV to discuss the importance of immersing yourself in the business, how to adapt your business during trying times, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Jaclyn Ruelle, the VP Head of Brand at Papa Johns, to talk about the impact that a positive attitude can have on an organization, lessons she learned from an impactful campaign, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Matt Preschern, the Chief Marketing and Demand Generation Officer at NTT, to talk about the importance of diversifying your marketing skills, the three quotes he lives by, and more.
Setup President, Amanda Thompson, virtually sat down with Genefa Murphy, the CMO at Udemy, to discuss the importance of seeking inspiration outside of marketing, Disney’s powerful branding, and more. This is the full-length version of the interview.
Setup CEO and Founder, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Colleen Murphy-Gomez, the VP of Marketing at iBwave Solutions, to talk about gift-giving as a superpower, inspirational quotes from her father, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Amy Martin Ziegenfuss, the Chief Marketing Officer at Carnival Cruise Line to talk about the importance of creating a safe space for her team, having a sense of humor, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Kristy LoRusso, the National Chief Marketing Officer at Kaiser Permanente to discuss the importance of building a great foundation for your team, how the book "How Will You Measure Your Life" by Clayton Christensen impacts her life, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Joe De Sena, the founder and CEO of Spartan, to discuss the importance of sticking to your values, getting out of your comfort zone, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Karima McDaniel, the President and General Manager for 4U by Tia, to discuss the importance of advocating for yourself, being an adaptable and flexible leader, and more.
Setup Founder & CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Lauren Weinberg, the Chief Marketing Officer at Square, to discuss how she gained the confidence to advocate for herself in her career, how Michael Jordan inspires her, and more.
Setup Founder & CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Jonathan Adashek, the Chief Communications Officer and SVP of Marketing and Communications at IBM, to discuss the novelty of Disney and Nike’s brand loyalty and legacy, the power of running towards solutions, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with John Ross, the Vice President of Marketing at PosiGen to discuss his career journey, the benefits of continuous learning, and groundbreaking brands.
Setup COO, Amanda Thompson, virtually sat down with Marti Walsh, the Vice President of Marketing at NAPA to discuss the benefits of hard work, empathetic leadership’s ripple effect on an organization, and Delta and Peloton’s brilliance as brands.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Laurie McGrath, the Chief Marketing Officer at Momentus Technologies to talk about the influential power of design, fashion, and art, her favorite quote from Pema Chödrön, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Shonodeep Modak, the CMO of the energy management division of Schneider Electric, to discuss why he admires L'Oreal’s brand, advice he would share with his younger self, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with David Partain, the SVP & Global CMO of Flexshares Exchange Traded Funds to discuss big career wins and losses, lessons learned, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Ana Villegas, the Chief Marketing Officer and EVP for Affinipay, to discuss the importance of investing in your career and prioritizing Diversity and Inclusion, the magic of Disney, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Christi Mason, the Chief Marketing Officer at Slutty Vegan to discuss the importance of learning different perspectives, how imagination is more powerful than intelligence, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Kelly Deen, the Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for kencko to discuss how she is inspired by Brands like Liquid Death and Bombas, the impactful influence of the Sci-Fi movie Vanilla Sky, the values she maintains as a leader, and more.
Setup CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with, Randi Stipes, the Vice President for IBM Brand Marketing and the Chief Marketing Officer for The Weather Company to discuss how her values connect her to people, how important it is to always be learning from your competition, and how she learned the importance of taking a stand.
Setup CEO + Founder, Joe Koufman, spoke with the Co-Founder of Reebok, Joe Foster, about the foundation behind building a strong brand, the importance of listening as a leader, Winston Churchill, and more.