Kristen
Katzman
BIOGRAPHY
Kristen is the newest addition to the Nucleus Marketing Lab team, and joins us with 20 years of marketing experience in new product planning, marketing strategy and sales support.
Kristen moved to Arizona after obtaining her advertising degree from Florida State University. Her marketing career began in brand management at Cold Stone Creamery and Kahala Brands. In 2007, Kristen relocated to Wisconsin, where she (inevitably) worked in the dairy industry at Sartori Foods. In her role in the foodservice and ingredient business, she worked with customers like Nestle, Darden Restaurants and Yum Brands. Kristen was also Senior Marketing Manager and head of North America marketing, business analytics and business support at the global bioscience company, Chr. Hansen, Inc. She enjoys nothing more than helping brands evolve and creating real business impact.
Kristen lives in a small town outside of Flagstaff with her husband, two daughters and what she would deem an uncomfortably numerous quantity of pets.
GET TO KNOW KRISTEN
I proudly attended…
Florida State University College of Communication and Information
Most people don’t know that…
I’ve undergone significant organoleptic evaluation and training, and served on trained taste and sensory panels for well over a decade.
During college, I worked as both a cast member at Disney World and a consumer educator with Red Bull (yes, I drove the famous can car)
At my funeral reception, they should serve…
Attendees who really knew me would expect nothing less than a curated food tour. It would be my last opportunity to push my culinary recommendations on them.
And the playlist should be…
My daughters, playing the piano and singing. The song? Kids’ choice, in death as it always was in life.
When I go to the movies, I like to eat…
Popcorn with M&Ms mixed in and melting.
On the weekends, I can be found…
On vacation or planning my next vacation. Also, I spend an inordinate amount of time “helping” with homework and school projects.
My top pet peeves are…
Chronic tardiness
Sloppy PowerPoint slides
When people tell me, “You look just like my (insert relation).”
I am a huge sucker for…
Board games.
My favorite book of all time is…
Reading is hands down my favorite hobby/healthy obsession. I don’t have a favorite book as such, but my greatest reading accomplishment was Le Morte d’Arthur in the original Middle English, which probably says more about me than a favorite book.
Personal mantras I follow…
I am exactly where I need to be.
In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.
To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is to be left behind.
Things I’ve always wondered…
When people talk about sports, am I actually pulling off feigning an appropriate amount of knowledge or interest?
Why aren’t Lakrids by Bülow (chocolate-coated, handmade boiled licorice balls) sold the US?
Lately, I have been wondering how long I can possibly go without talking about Cirque du Soleil or Starbucks in front of Steve Bast.
I wanted to work in marketing because…
Marketing is the perfect nexus between analytics and creativity. It is incredibly fulfilling to create innovative strategies that grow a brand based on real data and insights, and then circle back to measure how great marketing impacts sales, awareness, etc.
I like being part of the Nucleus team because…
The Nucleus team is lean and highly experienced. This translates into exceptional work, completed efficiently. After two decades of directing marketing efforts on the client side, I put high value on a company that can consistently deliver unique, well-researched and effective marketing strategies.
Plus, the laughter.
My favorite quote from a client is:
“We want to know more than we know today, so that we can sell more than we do today.”
Marketing mantra that I follow…
“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off.” – Coco Chanel. Good quote for fashion, great mantra for marketing strategy. It never ceases to amaze me how overcrowded and convoluted marketing messages can be without proper editing.
My hometown…
I don’t have one (cue the sad music). My family joke is that we are from IA-ND-TN-VA-FL-AZ-WI with five years in Argentina and Chile sprinkled in.
If I worked retail, it would be at:
The specialty cheese counter at Whole Foods.
Before I leave this Earth, I want to:
Visit all of the new seven wonders of the world. Five down, two to go.
