By Karna

Transformational Marketing Executive Inspiring Teams for Bold Growth

KARNA N. CRAWFORD

BIOGRAPHY

Karna1@msn.com     (770)815-4503    LinkedIn.com/in/karnacrawford

DOWNLOADABLE RESUME

Karna Crawford is unique breed of marketing executive.  She brings over 15 years of online and offline consumer marketing expertise from both CLIENT and AGENCY perspectives, to drive innovative and proven growth among the businesses she leads.  Driven by passion, Karna’s passion for quantifiable results, creativity and growth has successfully led growth within a broad spectrum of organizations from mature to developing/entrepreneurial, including The Coca-Cola Company and Engauge Marketing.  As Executive Vice President, Chief Media & Connections Officer at Engauge Marketing, Karna’s core charge is to transition a fledgling media and marketing strategy organization into a sophisticated industry leader in defining, reaching and moving target consumer segments towards actions that drive quantified brand growth.  In her time in this role, Karna has successfully created new service lines and revenue generating disciplines within the agency, while helping the agency to grow EBITDA above plan AND above overall industry averages.

Prior to joining Engauge, Karna held the role of Director of Media & Interactive Integrated Communications for The Coca-Cola Company, where she led the team in defining ground breaking and results-driven communication strategies & plans for many of the world’s most endearing beverage brands, including the flagship, Coca-Cola classic, as well as, Diet Coke, Sprite and Coke Zero brands.  Consistently driving double digit lifts in key brand attributes and purchase measures, Karna has negotiated and led marketing initiatives supporting the most sought after properties in the world, including Fantasy Football, NCAA, Olympics, FIFA World Cup, NASCAR, American Idol and numerous other properties and programs.  Through speed, accountability and simplicity, she built profitable relationships between consumers and brands online and offline, representing over $350 million dollars in media and marketing budgets.

Recognized industry-wide as having a deep passion that motivates and inspires diverse teams to achieve great results, Karna, her initiatives and her team have received numerous accolades including:

• PROMO Award for Best Interactive Marketing Program & Best Search Marketing Program
• Web Marketing Assoc.  Award for Outstanding Achievement In Website Development
• Coca-Cola Award for Big, Bold and Inspiring Marketing for collaboration, integrated marketing, & innovation
• Advertising Research Foundation Honorable Mention for outstanding research innovation
• America Ad Foundation Mosaic Media Award for Outstanding African American Advertising
• Numerous ADDYs and WEBBY awards

Through her diverse marketing career, Karna has also held positions with Miller Brewing Company, Agency.com, Momentum, and other consumer marketing organizations both agency and advertiser side. Karna received her MBA in Leadership and Brand Strategy from Emory University and her BSE in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University.

What the Hell Did I Get Myself Into In ’09!

By Karna

What the Heck Did I Do In 2009?

While many people have embarked on their 2010 New Year’s resolutions, I decided, instead, to look back at my 2009 and recap my key learnings about business and about myself.

You see, 2009 was a year of SIGNIFICANT change for me.  A year in which I pushed myself WELL outside of my comfort zone for the first time in many years.  It was a year about me growing as a person and a leader in my first step towards preparing for entrepreneurship.

In 2010, I left my role as Director of Media & Interactive at The Coca-Cola Company to become the Chief Media & Connections Officer at Engauge Marketing.  This means I went:

At first glance, one might ask…why in the HELL would you leave Coca-Cola.  Well, the reality is that in my role at Coke, the heirarchy, structure and boundaries are like gutter bumbers in bowling.  You have plenty of room to get the ball rolling on great ideas…but there are a ton of people acting as filters and reviewers and approvers.  In essence,  the structure becomes guard rails or bumpers that really prevent you from messing up too badly.  Plus, unlimited resources equate to enherent power and support.  It can tend to stiffle your scrappyness and your ability to “fend for yourself,” which is a REQUIREMENT of most entrepreneurial ventures.

So, that said, I had clear personal growth objectives for my new role:

1)     learn how to “fend for myself” or get the job done with limited resources

2)     learn how to operate in a less organized or structured environment

3)     learn to operate my organization like a high performing financial business model

Well, I can say for sure that everything I wanted to achieve for myself is MUCH easier said than done.  I really under-estimated how far outside of my comfort zone I really pushed myself.  So, 09 was a challenging year, but also a great one for personal growth.  My TOP 5 learnings included:

• ASK FOR FORGIVENESS, NOT PERMISSION: When heirarchy and rules of engagement are limited or non-existent, you don’t have to get permission every time you want to take action.

• MAKE IT HAPPEN NO MATTER WHAT: In a less organized world, there is not always the same level of structure to defining objectives and priorities…or to holding people accountable for doing their part.  You have to make things happen no matter what.  Don’t put yourself in a position to rely on others, if they aren’t being held accountable to the same goals.

• CREATE YOUR OWN “ORDER” IN CHAOS: When process and structure don’t exist, lead by example by introducing key, highly productive processes that drive performance.

• REMEMBER THERE IS A WORLD BEYOND YOUR COMPANY: When you become heads down in a challenging situation at work, it is easy to become insular and only focus on the resources and perspectives within your company.  Don’t let it happen.  Look outside and leverage your network to gain a broader perspective and ideas.

• DON’T CHANGE: OK…this should have been obvious.  But, you were hired for who you are and what you bring to the table.  Don’t change to fit the company.  Instead, be confident and find the common ground.  Lead by example to help the less mature company learn from what you know works well and drives results.

In the coming days, I’ll discuss these 5 things I learned in ’09 and how to avoid similar pitfalls.  It has been a roller coaster ride in ’09.  …Man!!!