Steve Robinson, Former CMO For Chick-fil-A, To Keynote At AICC Spring Meeting In FL Building a valued brand requires vision and determination. During the upcoming AICC Spring Meeting, being held April 26-28 in Amelia Is- land, Florida, Steve Robinson, the former Chief Marketing Officer for
Chick-fil-A, will discuss in his Keynote Address how he helped in building the fast-food chain into an instantly recog- nizable brand. Robinson’s career with Chick-fil-A spanned 34 years, and he was in- tegrally involved in the company’s growth — from 184 stores and $100 million in annual sales in 1981 to more than 2,100 stores and more than $6.8 billion in annual sales in 2015. He was involved in the creation of the Chick- fil-A corporate purpose and the forma- tion and management of the now-icon- ic “Eat Mor Chikin” cow campaign. In his presentation, Robinson will
Cosmo DeNicola Chairman, Amtech Software
Steve Robinson
reference his book, entitled “Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A”, which ana- lyzes the company’s core beliefs, its ability to attract top talent and its enormous growth over the years. Each AICC Spring Meeting attendee will receive a copy of Robinson’s book. Board Converting New s spoke exclusively with Robinson about his book, his tenure with Chick-fil-A and what AICC attendees could expect from his presentation. Q: You mention that a Corporate Purpose was the framework for the Chick-fil-A brand. Is it too late for a company that has achieved suc- cess to develop a Corporate Purpose? Why or why not? A: Not at all. With growth, new people and customers are brought into the brand. With size brings a potential loss of historical context for what was/is important to owners/leaders and how that influenced decision making. A clear, written purpose helps to bring the past into the future and an anchor reference point on why the organization exists and how that purpose influences decisions, talent selection and branding. Q: Chick-fil-A’s founder Truett Cathy, who died in 2014 at age 93, had a sincere desire to honor God and have a positive influence on ev- eryone who comes in contact with his brand. How do feel that his religious beliefs contributed to the success of Chick-fil-A? A: Truett never siloed his faith from any aspect of his life, including the business. He saw the CFA sandwich business as a gift from God, and as such, he felt a deep conviction to steward every aspect of the business well. Additionally, he saw everyone associated with CFA as an extension of his reputation, which clearly helped shape the values and experienc- es created by CFA. So, it should be no surprise that he would close on Sundays to give everyone a day off, or tithe their business, invest heavily in scholarships and development programs, or place a high value on personal hospitality. I unpack this issue in depth in my book. Q: Without giving away too much of the message of your presentation and your book, what can you tell a roomful of successful box makers
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600 + Plants 60,000 Users North America Latin America
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April 19, 2021
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