‘Everything is open to us’: Why Krystal’s CMO is returning for seconds at the fast-food brand

By Kimeko McCoy

Alice Crowder liked Krystal so much, she came back for seconds. But not for the fast food brand’s infamous burger sliders as one might think. Instead, Crowder is returning to Krystal’s marketing department this year as chief marketing officer, following up on a stint as the brand’s vice president of marketing from 2014 to 2018.

Within the last year, Krystal has come under the new leadership of Fortress Investment Group and its operating partner, Golden Child Holdings, after filing for bankruptcy at the beginning of 2020, and it was the new leadership that made for Crowder’s return. Call it a fresh start. Digiday caught up with the industry veteran of more than 20 years to talk about the role of a CMO in a global pandemic, her return to Krystal and what’s next for the quick-service restaurant brand.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

What’s the latest with Krystal given we’re in a global pandemic?

2020 was definitely an interesting year for everybody. For a while, nobody was comfortable doing anything. But as people got a little more comfortable, they came back to drive-thru and we were ready for them. We’ve gotten a lot smarter, and I think all the industry’s gotten a lot smarter about OTT and how to really start targeting your messaging. We do have a micro-influencers program, which has proven to be very successful for us. TikTok is something that we’re looking into. We haven’t launched there yet. My children campaign for it every night, so it’s something that’s definitely coming.

But really everything is open to us as we retool our website, which is also coming this fall along with the introduction of the app. Those are going to be tools that allow us to really communicate with our guests on that one-to-one basis. And we’re looking forward to that.

So you left Krystal as vp of marketing, went to Tropical Smoothie to head up menu strategy and innovation, only to return to Krystal. Talk about that.

I grew up with Krystal. It was a big part of my childhood. My father would take us to Krystal on special occasions, back when Krystals were only 25 cents and we knew that we could eat as many Krystals as he had quarters in his pocket.

The second piece that attracted me is the [new] leadership of the brand. As I was thinking about making the change, I wanted to come some place where A) I felt like I’d be given the freedom to make a difference, which I feel confident in; and B) that my partners in that were going to run operations, facilities, [and] everything else at such a quality way that when we invited people in, they were going to be happy with the experience they had. [Brand President Tom Stager] has put together a stellar team for that.

I did go over [to Tropical Smoothie] and I was able to put in processes that weren’t there before that have continued to show …read more

Source:: Digiday