# Marion Crawford

> Marion Crawford is the founder and CEO of Crawford, a Greenville, South Carolina marketing and communications agency established in 2010. Her career began in television news, moved through sales and business development at ScanSource and public relations, and eventually became a full-service agency built around a reporter's habits: listen closely, find the consequential detail, move on deadline and make the message clear.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Crawford
- **Organizations:** Crawford, United Ministries, Peace Center, Artisphere, United Community Bank, ScanSource, LinningSmoakCrawford Public Relations, Greenville News TALK Magazine, NBC, WSPA, WLOS
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in English, University of Virginia
- **Known for:** Founded Crawford in 2010 and grew it from a three-person startup into a full-service marketing and communications agency serving clients nationally., Inducted into the Greenville Tech Entrepreneurs Forum in 2013., Named to the inaugural 2025 SCBIZ South Carolina 500 in marketing and advertising.

## Career timeline

- **1989** — After graduating from the University of Virginia, joined the NBC Page Program in New York and worked around programs including Saturday Night Live, Today and Late Night with David Letterman.
- **Early 1990s** — Worked in television news, including the NBC Nightly News desk, WSPA in Spartanburg and WLOS in Asheville.
- **1993-1998** — Worked in sales, business development and marketing at ScanSource; she has described herself as its 19th employee and second salesperson.
- **2005-2008** — Contributed writing to Greenville News' TALK Magazine.
- **2008-2010** — Was a partner at LinningSmoakCrawford Public Relations.
- **2010** — Founded Crawford Strategy in Greenville with a three-person team.
- **2013** — Was inducted into the Greenville Tech Entrepreneurs Forum; Crawford also began what became a long-running relationship with United Community Bank.
- **2016** — Completed a term as president of the Artisphere board.
- **2019-2021** — Served as interim chief marketing officer and then chief marketing officer for United Community Bank while continuing to lead Crawford.
- **2020** — Marked the agency's tenth anniversary by shortening Crawford Strategy to Crawford and introducing a refreshed brand.
- **2025** — Celebrated Crawford's 15th anniversary and described a deeper senior leadership bench across creative, media, analytics and client strategy.
- **2025** — Was named to the inaugural SCBIZ South Carolina 500 in marketing and advertising.
- **2026** — Joined a CEO Summit panel on AI, efficiency, growth and resilience, presenting Crawford's people-first approach to AI.

## Achievements

- Founded Crawford in 2010 and grew it from a three-person startup into a full-service marketing and communications agency serving clients nationally.
- Inducted into the Greenville Tech Entrepreneurs Forum in 2013.
- Named to the inaugural 2025 SCBIZ South Carolina 500 in marketing and advertising.
- Led the agency through its tenth-anniversary rename from Crawford Strategy to Crawford.
- Built a long-running agency relationship with United Community Bank that included brand and stakeholder communications during multiple acquisitions.
- Served as president of the Artisphere board and on boards including the Peace Center, Urban League of the Upstate and United Ministries.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Scheduled to join Becker Business Media's CEO Summit panel on AI, efficiency, growth and resilience, speaking about Crawford's people-first use of AI.
- **2026-05** — Crawford announced a second consecutive Great Place to Work certification based on employee feedback.
- **2026-04** — Crawford was named among SCBIZ's In the Lead: Best Women-Owned Businesses in South Carolina.
- **2025-12** — Named to the inaugural SCBIZ South Carolina 500 in the marketing and advertising category.
- **2025-03** — Marked Crawford's 15th year and discussed its leadership bench and next phase on the Noob School podcast.

## Links

- Website: https://crawford.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marion-crawford-1649008
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/CrawfordAgncy
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marionrcraw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crawfordagncy

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marion-crawford
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-22