Krystal Hauserman on marketing in the modern age: ‘Be a student for life’
Ahead of Possible Miami 2024, The Drum has been producing a special five-part series spotlighting key marketing pros speaking at the event – and how their roles are evolving. In this fifth and final edition, we spoke with Possible board advisor Krystal Hauserman about the importance of remaining flexible and adaptive in an ever-changing cultural landscape.
Krystal Hauserman will moderate a panel at Possible Miami on April 17. / Possible Miami
For Krystal Hauserman, the key to effective, compelling marketing is staying nimble, embracing new technologies, keeping an ear to a constantly shifting zeitgeist, experimenting with new methodologies and constantly learning.
Following stints in marketing roles at the NBA, Warner Brothers and elsewhere, Hauserman spent a year as CMO for 11:11 Media, the entertainment company founded in 2021 by Paris Hilton. In November, she joined athlete-turned-actor Terry Crews’ recently launched ad agency, Super Serious, as a strategic advisor. She’s also currently a board advisor at Possible, the annual marketing conference.
Emerging technologies, in her view, are causing a paradigm shift within her industry – one that she’s quite excited about. “There’s never been a more exciting time to be a marketer, whether you’re [working at] a large enterprise Fortune 500 or a founder-led startup,” she says. “AI is making teams more efficient, freeing up their ability to ideate and dream bigger … [And] the rapid evolution of digital spaces like Roblox and hardware like Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro are unlocking a new world of possibilities for brands to show up for their customers, unbound by space, time and gravity.”
The accelerating cultural adoption of these technologies, along with the unfurling of other trends like the increasing influence of content creators, is an unstoppable force, in Hauserman’s view. To dig in one’s heels and deny the seismic changes taking place throughout the broader culture and within the marketing industry is, she says, a recipe for professional disaster. “Ready or not, these things are here,” she says. “Understand them, ask questions and embrace them in the manner that makes sense for your business. If [you don’t], your relevance will fade.”
There’s a concept from Zen Buddhism, ‘shoshin,’ which translates to “beginner’s mind.” This refers to an individual’s ability to approach daily life with a spirit of curiosity, wonder and flexibility; the mindset of the eager beginner, before it becomes constricted by the rigidity of routine and expectation. Hauserman may not be a practicing Buddhist herself, but her approach to keeping up with rapid cultural change is certainly reminiscent of shoshen.
As CMOs move through their careers, she says, it’s important that they constantly strive to learn and improve and remember that they “don’t have all the answers.”
“Be a student for life. Stay curious … Ask the ‘dumb’ questions – if you’re wondering [about something], at least 10 others are as well. And always know that everything you try won’t be gold. How you reflect, learn and recover is what matters. ”
Krystal Hauserman, board advisor at Possible, will be in conversation with leading Gen Z voices to tackle what Gen Z is going to ask of brands in 2024 – and beyond. You can find the Gen Z Panel at Possible Miami on Wednesday April 17 at 11:05am. To find out more and to book tickets to the event, click here.
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Follow our coverage leading up to the event here.