Brinker International CEO credits Chili's growth to marketing strategies

In this articleEAT your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTwatch now1:0801:08Brinker International CEO on marketing success: It's relevant to people's s and it's workingMad Money with Jim CramerBrinker International CEO Kevin Hochman unpacked the company's recent quarter in an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, describing marketing strategies that have imved ."We refortified our marketing budgets

Three years ago, we spent $32 million in marketing," Hochman said. "This past fiscal we just , we spent $137 million

So they actually have ammo with which to do marketing, and they're doing a phenomenal job."Brinker owns restaurant franchises Chili's and Maggiano's Little Italy

The company beat on earnings and revenue when it reported Wednesday morning, and it raised its full-year forecast

Management highlighted the success of Chili's, with same-store sales at the chain increasing by 23.7%. s popped during morning trading, and by close they were up 1.61%.Hochman said social media influencers have helped bring to Chili's, suggesting it has been beneficial to give them "creative freedom" when advertising ducts

Some of the social media buzz is from paid endorsements, he said, but much of it is not

He indicated that customers appreciate that they don't need a coupon or an app to get a meal deal.Brinker is using growth to combat rising costs of labor and goods, Hochman said

With the "inflationary environment" that's hitting the restaurant industry as a whole, it's very difficult to "simply cost cut your way to control or maintain margins." According to Hochman, Chili's hefty spend on imving locations, food and labor is starting to pay off."We get leverage on the fixed costs, and that's one way that we're able to really explode margins," he said.watch now8:5108:51Brinker International CEO Kevin Hochman goes one-on-one with Jim CramerMad Money with Jim CramerJim Cramer's Guide to Click here to download Jim Cramer's Guide to at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter. now for the CNBC to Jim Cramer's every move in the market.DisclaimerQuestions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - InstagramQuestions, s, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com