Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2011 | Page 24

Grow Market Lead

By Kerry Pipes

Consumer Marketing

Brand-Wagon
Survey shows brands embracing new strategies

F

ranchisors seeking to build a loyal customer following and remain competitive in 2011 must develop
and deliver national and local marketing programs
for their franchisees—deploying the latest social
media tools in addition to their traditional methods.
Today’s rapidly evolving consumer marketing strategies
are relying less on traditional marketing channels and tools
with each passing day—simultaneously sowing confusion and
creating opportunity for franchise marketing and branding
managers and staff, as well as for their franchisees.
To help sort out the current consumer marketing environment and where it’s headed, Franchise Update Media Group

How are your budget expenditures
allocated?

National TV 1.47%
Local TV 6.04%
Print (Newspaper, Direct Mail/Circulars) 20.29%
Radio 8.36%
Online Radio 0.11%
Consumer Shows 2.16%
Social Media 9.59%
Online Advertising (streaming video, etc.) 17.62%
Public Relations 8.74%
Outdoor Advertising 3.64%
Welcome Wagon 0.38%
Couponing 4.49%
Co-op programs through vendors 1.56%
Customer Loyalty Program 3.31%
Other 12.24%
22

Franchiseupdate Iss u e II, 2 0 1 1

conducted a survey (see next page for details) to measure
franchise brand marketing, advertising, and branding efforts.
As the results began to flow in, it became evident that social media is redefining how brands spread their messages,
connect with customers, and measure the effectiveness of
their strategy. The smart and savvy brands are doing this,
while some others still need a little push in that direction.
“Providing intelligence and franchisee support for attracting and retaining customers within their markets is
critical to the success of all franchise organizations,” says
Therese Thilgen, president and chief content officer of
Franchise Update Media Group. That’s one of the reasons
the company has set a date for its first Franchise Consumer
Marketing Conference, June 14 and 15 in San Francisco.
Chief marketing officers and executives from some of the
largest, as well as upstart, franchise brands will gather for
two days to get up to speed on—and out in front of—the
latest tools and trends franchisors are using successfully to
connect with their customers. For details, see www.franchiseconsumermarketing.com.
And, in tandem with this magazine’s redesign and expanded focus (see page 4), Franchise Update has also just
launched its newest monthly electronic publication, the
Franchise Consumer Marketing Report.
And the survey says…

The 2011 Consumer Market Research Questionnaire was
sent to franchise CEOs and other top franchising executives
and chief marketing officers in early February. Franchise
food, retail, and service industries all participated in the
survey. Early responses have indicated some expected findings, some not so expected, and a few shifts in traditional
consumer marketing strategies.
As you might expect, brands still rely on print me dia to
get the message out: newspapers, direct mail, and circulars
accounted for 20 percent of the marketing budgets of those
companies surveyed. Online advertising (including streaming video) accounted for another 17.6 percent of the budget. Perhaps not so surprisingly, social media accounted for
nearly ten percent of marketing budgets, and is expected to