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Rick talks with Lara Krug from Adobe Summit in Las Vegas.
Lara Krug was hired as Kansas City’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer on June 29, 2021 and begins her third season in the National Football League in 2023.
As the first CMO in franchise history, Krug oversees all club marketing functions, including brand marketing; community outreach; digital, social and website operations; influencer activation; event entertainment; content production and the Hunt Family Foundation.
Reporting directly to team President Mark Donovan, she strategically and proactively works across the organization to identify opportunities to help internal and external stakeholders achieve key growth objectives. Employing short- and long-term strategies, Krug and the marketing team are focused on brand extensions and loyalty with current and new fans; engaging with fans through original content across all the club’s social, digital and mobile channels; as well as creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences domestically and globally all in an effort to welcome all to Chiefs Kingdom.
In addition to managing all domestic marketing efforts for the team, Krug is leading the club’s international growth in both Germany and Mexico as part of the NFL’s IHMA (International Home Marketing Area) announcement in 2021. This league initiative grants clubs access to international territories for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization, enabling the Chiefs to build a more robust global brand while driving NFL fan growth internationally.
Prior to joining the Chiefs, Krug spent more than seven years in multiple marketing roles with Anheuser-Busch InBev, eventually taking over as Vice President of U.S. Marketing for Stella Artois (2018-21). Before leading the national marketing efforts for Stella Artois, she served as the Vice President of U.S. Marketing for Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Regional Brands, including Estrella Jalisco, Landshark, Presidenté, Beck’s and Kirin. Those roles saw her develop and lead experiential platforms and campaigns around Super Bowl LIV (2020) and the FIFA World Cup (2018). She also held positions as the Director of Global Experiential Marketing and Director of Global Digital and Media Operations at Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Before joining A-B InBev, she spent three years with L’Oréal USA, where she finished her time as Associate Vice President of Global Digital Marketing, overseeing the creation of digital and social content toolkits, CRM and data capture strategy. Prior to L’Oréal, Krug was the Manager of Online Marketing for Avon Inc. and Avon.com and was a Media Strategist for multiple national clients at PHD Media.
