Ep 24: Kristen Hartman: Category President, Speciality Brands, at Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, and Carvel
Creating a brand that becomes a part of culture and community is a marketing mission for many, but few can pull it off as well as Kristen Hartman, President of the Specialty Category at Focus Brands. The heart of her success is a freshly baked Cinnabon, rich in taste and aroma. Today we speak with Kristen to find out how she created Cinnabon’s success and open the show by first taking a look at Kristen’s background in the industry, exploring her new role as we go. After hearing about what working on the Cinnabon Brand means to her, Kristen shares thrilling anecdotes about the entertainment industry, and how a Cinnabon reference helped set the narrative for Breaking Bad spin-off series, Better Call Saul. Far from done, Kristen has enjoyed a successful career thus far. In the latter half of the episode, listeners will find out what she learned from working for companies, and how the Cinnabon strategy has changed in light of the coronavirus. Stay tuned and you’ll catch a glimpse into the future, as Kristen shares details about how Cinnabon is evolving and why pandemic has accelerated growth in some areas. To find out the secrets behind franchising, as well as Kristen’s advice for juniors looking to break into the industry, be sure to tune into this delicious episode.
Key Points From This Episode:
Introducing today’s guest, Kristen Hartman.
Hear about Kristen’s background in business and her marketing journey.
Kristen tells us about her new role at Focus Brands.
Why Focus Brands needed to reorganize its business in order to grow it.
What working with Cinnabon means to Kristen.
Find out about Cinnabon’s cultural connections to the film and entertainment industry.
What Kristen learned working with several different brands before returning to Cinnabon.
Kristen talks about strategy shifts due to the pandemic.
Hear about what goes into franchising a Cinnabon or several.
We ask Kristen to tell us how field marketing has changed over the years.
Some of Kristen’s biggest marketing levers.
What the future looks like for Cinnabon and its growth.
The career advice Kristen would give to someone in a junior role.
Tweetables:
“The vision for the company is to continue to grow the great brands that we have, and to acquire more brands. In order to do that effectively, we needed to reorganize the company into two groups, the restaurant category, and the specialty category.” — Kristen Hartman [0:07:08]
“My passion for Cinnabon stems from the roots of the brand.” — Kristen Hartman [0:09:07]
“When people saw the Cinnabon reference in Breaking Bad, our team tweeted out, ‘Hey, Saul, when you're ready,’ and included a link to our job application website. People went crazy for that.” — Kristen Hartman [0:12:00]
“The world has shifted so much, and I think so much for the better, by moving into localized marketing and digital landscapes.” — Kristen Hartman [0:24:23]