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Carl's Jr., Hardee's parent names former Popeye's president as chief brand officer

November 14, 2019

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's parent, CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., has named former Popeyes President, North America Chad Crawford as its chief brand officer. Crawford also re-engaged the creative agency, 72andSunny as the CKE's agency of record for both brands, a news release said. 

 "We are thrilled to welcome Chad to CKE, and I look forward to partnering with him as we propel the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's brands forward as industry-leading innovators that serve the highest quality, best tasting food in our category," CKE CEO Ned Lyerly, said in the release. 

"Chad is a brand builder with a tremendous track record of performance, and we are confident in his ability to reignite our marketing efforts, build relevancy with our customers and partner with our franchise community."

Crawford has spent the past 20 years working in the QSR space, first at KFC, Burger King and Denny's before landing at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, where he held a number of leadership roles over the last eight years, including CMO and, most recently, president, North America.

As chief brand officer, Crawford will oversee brand strategy including campaigns, menus and system growth. The new agency for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's was a first step in  that process, he said

"72andSunny helped make Carl's Jr. and Hardee's 'impossible to ignore' for six years," he said in the release. "I'm confident they can make both brands 'impossible to ignore' again, but in a fresh, new way that reflects the ever-changing marketplace, and I'm excited about the insight and positioning that we have unlocked as a foundation for our new creative expression and look forward to seeing that come to life."

72andSunny will be responsible for brand-specific creative as well as dual-brand creative, as needed. 

"Here's the opportunity for 72andSunny to work with two iconic brands with massive potential, and incredible partners who share our ambition to shoot for the moon," 72andSunny New York President Jess Monsey, said in the release.  "And of course, we're talking about delicious burgers and biscuits! As you can probably imagine, we're feeling very excited about what's to come."