Casey’s Chief Pizza and Beer Officer delivers innovation

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series that ran in Insight magazine looking at how several Iowa and Illinois companies use influencer marketing.
Being an “officer” is not normally associated with pizza and beer, but that’s what makes Joe Cruz’s job unique.
Since February, the Nebraska native has been crowned the Chief Beer and Pizza Officer of Casey’s, the Iowa-based convenience store company known for its pizza. Casey’s underwent a rebrand a few years ago, leaning into what makes it unique: the pizza.
Other pizza chains and convenience stores were not competing with Casey’s quality, said Katie Petru, director of communications and community at Casey’s. With Casey’s being among the five largest pizza chains in the United States, the company decided to double down on its marketing.
In fall 2023, Casey’s began branding as the Official Beer and Pizza Headquarters. The company leaned into the trademark and branded doors and pizza boxes with the logo to seal the deal.
Soon after, the marketing team began brainstorming ways to take the new title to the next level when the idea of hiring an influencer came up. Casey’s was already utilizing influencers on a smaller scale to advertise products and services, but the company was looking for something more exclusive.
“Through a lot of ideation process, the idea that rose to the top when we asked, ‘What would a pizza and beer headquarters do next?’ was we hire a Chief Pizza and Beer Officer to take care of the people, to bring forward the best pizza and beer pairings,” Petru said.
The goal was to bring in a creator who could be passionate about the brand on social media but also be a great representative out in the community. Casey’s launched a nationwide search and received more than 500 applications before landing on a man who set himself apart from the rest.
And who arguably had the most references.
Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cruz was working full time as a graphic artist and spent the past 14 years as a wedding DJ and entertainer.
“I kind of got into the Instagram and social media stuff during the pandemic,” he said.
Being cooped up in the house with no way to get his creativity out led Cruz to Instagram, where he began making entertainment posts for friends and family. A local brewery took notice and offered him free beer in exchange for creating content for the brewery.
Cruz took them up on the offer and got his start that way, until a friend let him know about an even bigger opportunity. Casey’s was hiring for a Beer and Pizza Officer and Cruz might be the man for the job.
Immediately after reading the job description, he knew it was the job for him.
The application listed typical questions one might need to know about a Beer and Pizza Officer: favorite beer, favorite pizza, what he would pair each with and why. Then he was asked for his resume.
“Here’s where I started to get really fun. I took my old resume that I hadn’t used for a decade, but I just deleted everything and put in experience from 1990 to present and listed all the pizzas I’ve eaten,” he said. “From 2007 to present, I listed all the beers I’ve drank.”
His final resume had about 100 or so pizza and beer references, he said, which quickly caught the eye of executives. His final step was to create a video on Instagram and tag the company.
“That’s where I grabbed my Olympic USA jacket, a captain’s hat, a pair of Elvis sunglasses and ran off,” he said.
While on his lunch break from his day job, Cruz drove down to Casey’s and bought pizza and beer and stood out front to answer the three questions Casey’s asked of all applicants.
“I answered those questions flat out: I love pizza. I love beer. I’m a good communicator, but don’t ask my wife. She’ll disagree,” he said with a smile. “So, I kept it fun and kept it loose and did what they asked and felt pretty good about it.”
The days ticked by and soon it was a whole month before he’d heard from Casey’s. Not willing to give up, Cruz kept an eye on the competition online and decided to give them a run for their money.
“So I went out and did another two videos, just tap a little nail in the coffin there,” he said. “There were some other well-spoken people online, but no one was really doing what I was at the level I was taking it to.”
Within a few days, Cruz received the email he was hoping for: he was a finalist for the role. A few days later, he was notified of his promotion from beer drinker and pizza consumer to Chief Beer and Pizza Officer.
The announcement was made public on Feb. 9, National Pizza Day, and Cruz quickly found himself lined up for interviews with local and national media outlets. A few days later, on Super Bowl Sunday, Cruz made his own announcement for social media with a twist.
“My father-in-law looks just like Andy Reid, so I patched him up with some Casey’s logos and had him at our party,” he said.
Flexing his creative muscles is one of his favorite parts of the job, he said. Exploring the partnerships Casey’s has with other brands is another big contender.
The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl and Cruz won a trip to Milwaukee, where he took on the assignment of touring the Molson Coors Corporate Offices. He later went to St. Louis, where he toured the Anheuser-Busch plant and stadium.
“I’m definitely blessed, because these tours I got, they didn’t give them to everyone,” he said.
His VIP tours included tasting beer right from the tap before it was canned. He took viewers along for the ride in the form of short-form videos and photos. Cruz was even given the chance to flex his emceeing skills when he hosted the Casey’s Supplier Awards Dinner and participated as a judge in the C3 Pizza Competition.
“That was just a blast. Everyone was ready to shake my hand and say, ‘Hi. Nice to meet you, and we’re so proud of what we’re doing with this,'” he said.
Cruz said the event offered him the opportunity to show off who he is as a person and meet his coworkers, who had all become fans of his work. But the most impactful work he’s done is directly working with other people.
“Joe is a favorite team member,” Petru said. “At our conference of almost 2,000 team members and supplier partners … he was an ambassador in that context.”
Cruz has taken that role seriously and participated in other events. This fall, Cruz became a delivery man for a Make-A-Wish launch party where a family was told they would be going to Florida to visit Disney Land and Universal Studios.
“I got to be there for that announcement and bring the pizza,” he said. “It was the best.”
Before working for Casey’s, Cruz had never considered a full-time job as a content creator. His new role as the Chief Beer and Pizza Officer, however, has changed his outlook on the traditional work week. While he works with the Casey’s team to create content for certain holidays or events, he’s given a lot of freedom to come up with ideas on his own to engage viewers. So far, it’s working well.
Casey’s is growing its social media platform, with nearly 45,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 85,000 likes on TikTok.
Brand awareness was the goal from the start, Petru said, and having Cruz on board has brought forward a lot of innovation. When Casey’s has limited-time offers or new products, they’re able to turn to the voice they trust to get the word out.
And, people trust him, too. Advertising is not a new concept, but Casey’s is expanding how it is advertising. Petru said the success had been in finding the right combination of partnerships and the right influencer to bring the brand the authenticity they crave.
“You can watch an advertisement that we beautifully crafted and feel passionate about Casey’s, but in today’s day and age we find that a lot of smart partnerships and influencer/creator type content is performing (well) and it’s what creates that awareness and buzz about the brand,” she said.
Petru said awareness was big right now as Casey’s continues to expand its reach. Headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, Casey’s has more than 2,600 stores in 17 states and is growing. By utilizing social media and getting Cruz’s name and likeness associated with the brand, it creates familiarity and introduces who Casey’s is as a company to a whole new population of beer and pizza lovers.
“(For example), someone in Tennessee may have not experienced Casey’s but is hearing about our Chief Pizza and Beer Officer and starting to follow them on social media can really help draw them into the brand,” she said. “Then next time they’re driving by, they choose to either fill up their tank there, but hopefully remember this is a pizza place and should go try the pizza, too.”
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