CMO roundtable
a campaign has the ability to run more
effectively.
Jodi Boyce, Camp Bow Wow
Senior Director of Marketing
We know from experience that if we don’t have
franchisee buy-in on a
marketing program or
promotion, the execution
will fail and we won’t get
the results we want. Our marketing strategies are based on the business goals set
by our corporate team, but for 2012 we
looked only at marketing programs that
require little or even no active participation by the local franchisees for the promotion to be a success.
Although it’s difficult to satisfy every
franchisee, we feel that our new direction
of optional participation marketing programs will satisfy the majority. Optional
participation, however, refers only to the
amount of local promotion the franchi-
see is required to do. It does not excuse
them from honoring the rules, offers,
and program parameters that we set.
They are part of the national promotion
even if they don’t have to do much other
than know the details, and can reap the
benefits of the national campaign with
little or no effort on their part, apart
from their marketing ad fund contribution. However, for those who want to
participate further, we do provide all the
local marketing materials, tools designed
to enhance the results in their market.
But the national promotion and results
will not rely on them.
In 2011, we ran a promotion called
the Furry Fitness Challenge, where pets
and their owners had to lose weight together and the team with the greatest
combined percentage of weight loss won.
It was very involved and required a lot
of work on the franchisees’ part, including scale rentals, partnerships with local
vets, database management, and more.
We got a ton of PR exposure from the
promotion. However, the franchisees
and corporate team agreed that this
particular promotion relied too heavily
on franchisee participation.
For 2012, we are launching a contest
called Bad to the Bone—the search for
America’s worst-behaved dog. Although
all the same business strategies apply,
the major component taken into consideration when planning this was for
our franchisees not to have to actively
contribute in order to participate. So
far, their comments have been positive,
and those who want to promote more
to their customers and local market are
doing their part and we are providing
the tools.
So although our business goals will
ultimately outweigh factoring in franchisee satisfaction, we are aware that it’s a
vital part of the planning process if we
want the programs and promotions we
create to be successful. n
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