Within our current age of transformation and societal angst, change seems to be the only constant. Organizations of all kinds are looking for ways to quickly and effectively adapt, and one of the key strategies they are employing is moving away from a performance marketing only mindset, to one centered on building deeper relationships with consumers through brand building for the long-term. Additionally, as economic headwinds ensue and consumers continue to demonstrate restraint when it comes to spend, smart marketers are also looking at how to better leverage strong brand purpose narratives to not only drive creativity, storytelling and cultural relevance, but also purchase frequency.
For all these reasons, I wanted to speak to a CMO who has successfully evolved the brand she leads to be at the intersection of brand building and business growth. Vicky Lozano is the CMO of Crayola and recently named to the Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50 list. She earned this distinction through a combination of being an integral part of a C-Suite team that has an agile decision-making mindset built to succeed in today’s business landscape, along with an ability to leverage creativity as a business competency in ways that have delivered improved bottom-line performance. Vicky is an industry veteran with years of experience at leading brands such as Cadbury and Pfizer. Following is a recap of our conversation:
Billee Howard: There is a shift underway in marketing that is moving toward a more holistic approach that looks at how you build a brand for long-term growth versus short-term wins. You have embraced this thinking as the CMO of Crayola. Can you tell me more?
Vicky Lozano: For us it’s less of a shift than it is adopting a more expansive brand narrative, one that reenforces our deep cultural roots and underscores our purpose—not only how we show up in consumers’ lives but how we are recognized and valued. In addition to being a brand that offers products, experiences and content that bring creativity to life for people around the world, we are about nurturing creativity as a lifelong skill.
This long-term view has led us to initiatives like the Campaign for Creativity, which reframes creativity as essential to human development and emotional well-being. We’re advocating for a mindset that supports growth, connection, and self-expression across generations and career paths through creativity.
By championing creativity as a core human value, we’re inviting people to reimagine how they learn, live and connect. And, with that, we’re working to help lead cultural shifts, not simply respond to them. It’s a philosophy that informs everything we do, and we believe that long-term, this creates a much deeper, more meaningful relationship that reaches a wider audience.
Howard: You mentioned faster, nimbler C-Suite decision-making as critical to the success of Crayola. A lot of brands struggle with this. Can you share some best practices here?
Lozano: Our decision-making model is a critical enabler to fast speed collaboration and decision-making. It starts with clarity. Everyone knows our purpose and what we’re trying to achieve. We empower our teams and partners to make decisions close to the consumer, and we trust them to act quickly. We make space for intuition and creativity, and we lean into data to validate decisions. That balance helps us move with confidence, especially when we’re exploring new territory.
We also believe in leveraging the unique strengths of our partners, so we’re not afraid to seek outside expertise when it makes sense. Our leadership team collaborates across functions in agile formats, which helps us break down silos and move faster. Ultimately, we keep the consumer at the center of every decision, which helps us prioritize and act with confidence.
Howard: Showing up in culture is vital to any brand’s success today. Tell me about the Crayola Campaign for Creativity and how it is working to change the societal dialogue around what creativity actually means.
Lozano: We launched the Campaign for Creativity to challenge how society defines creativity – not as a rare, artistic talent, but as a mindset essential to lifelong growth and well-being that needs to be nurtured in kids and exercised by adults. Our research with the Ad Council Research Institute revealed that over half of adults no longer see themselves as creative and while parents value creativity, many feel unequipped to nurture it. That insight became our call to action with the ultimate goal of making creativity visible, actionable and culturally vital.
From there, we defined creativity as “putting imagination into action” and through that lens we set out to move creativity beyond the art room into classrooms and boardrooms, community and work environments, and everyday life. We’re doing this by recognizing and amplifying how exercising simple creative moments every day over a lifetime adds up to a creative mindset that helps us be the best versions of ourselves. Engaging in hands-on creativity helps us focus and concentrate and develop life skills such as self-expression, curiosity, confidence, resilience, and problem-solving—all of which are critical in any career path we choose.
We’ve done this by using the power of storytelling to help adults reconnect with early creative experiences and the lasting impacts of those moments. We’ve showcased how the power of color can inspire creativity. And we’re giving families practical tools to foster creativity.
For more than a century, our products have been tools for self-expression and our brand has been the catalyst for creative journeys in classrooms, homes, workplaces, and communities worldwide. That legacy gives us the credibility to lead this cultural shift about what creativity really is and why it matters now more than ever.
Howard: You mentioned successful brands today must be able to leverage brand not just for relevance but also growth. Can you share how you have harnessed your brand and its purpose to actually improve purchasing frequency, which was a challenge for you given the nature of your product.
Lozano: To continue to grow, we needed to think differently about how we leverage our brand and its purpose by having our products show up more often for more people, and by moving from being a product people buy to also being a mindset people live.
Through our new product ranges and Campaign for Creativity, we’re launching initiatives that invite people to make creativity part of everyday life. By reframing creativity as a life skill, not just a moment of artistic expression, we’re creating new reasons for people of all ages to engage with Crayola more often and in more contexts. So, consumers enter the category younger and stay longer, and we gain new adult users creating new opportunities for creative experiences with higher frequency.
As a result, we’ve seen increased engagement and stronger brand affinity. When people see Crayola not just as a tool for art, but as a catalyst for connection, confidence, and growth, they find more reasons to bring it into their lives, driving category usage and purchase frequency. That’s how we’ve turned purpose into performance.