Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2013 | Page 35

and why there is such synergy among
the people who come to this conference.
What would you say to a CEO
considering whether they should
invest the money to send their
CMO or brand manager to the
conference?

There is no other event like this. Over
the past 2 years, I have come away with
some very big ideas and very meaningful vendor relationships that have paid
back exponentially compared with the
small investment to attend. If I can take
away one great idea that I can integrate
into my existing marketing strategy, that
makes the conference worthwhile. In
actuality, I’ve come back from the previous two conferences with so many ideas
that I’ve had to evaluate and prioritize
their implementation to get the most
bang for my buck.
How did you get started in franchising, and what do you like
most about what you do?

I’ve been in franchising for 12 years. I
got started with Sylvan Learning, where
I spent seven years, and just celebrated
my fifth year with Kiddie Academy in
January. When I moved into the franchising space, I really didn’t understand
the shift I was making in my career path,
but I love it. Working with franchisees is
so exciting. They are passionate and invested in their business. Over the years, I
have worked with some really wonderful
owners. I’ve been able to have an impact
on their businesses and their lives, and I
really love it. Small business is the backbone of the economy, and with franchising, you have the best of both worlds: a
shared brand with expert support and
resources, backing independent owners
and operators. Franchising is really fun.
My career path before franchising has
been kind of all over the place, including
stints with the Walt Disney Company
and a nonprofit organization, the Kennedy Krieger Institute, which focuses
on childhood learning disorders. The
common thread is mission-driven, kidcentric, mom-focused organizations,
which enabled me to bring a lot from
one job to the next in terms of knowing the audience. I’m on the threshold

My goal for
everyone who
attends is to
come away having
developed some
really good new
relationships and
a handful of
really great,
actionable ideas.
now of having spent most of my career
in franchising. I like the fact that I can
really see the impact of my work, the
power of marketing, and the fact that we
help our franchisees grow their business.
At Kiddie Academy, you deal with
the most astute and involved
consumers out there: parents.
What are some insights about
consumer marketing you can
share that are applicable to any
brand or category?

We still see moms as the dominant decision-maker in our category. The whole
makeup of who’s the primary caretaker
has been a bit jumbled over the past four
years, as families figure out the best way
to balance their particular dynamics.
That said, moms are really critical to our
business. The le sson we’re learning from
them is to be content-focused, delivering
individual relevancy. Among all the different channels they can use, the common
thread is engaging content. We strive to
develop and leverage high-quality, consistent content across all channels—online,
print, broadcast, social. It’s critical to figure
out what sticks with people in different
channels and makes them engage rather
than click or flip. That applies to every
audience: being where the customer is,
with high-quality content.
What are the most significant
challenges in consumer marketing
facing franchising today, and how
can franchisors and franchisees

best ensure the continued growth
and success of their brands?

The most significant challenge is to
operationalize our strategies—moving
franchisees along to accept and appropriately use emerging strategies. We
need to help franchisees understand
the importance of integrating new
marketing initiatives to keep pace with
their customer. This is one of the best
things about being a franchisee, rather
than an independent business. Our job
as franchisors is to see what’s out there,
triage, and figure out what the important marketing strategies are; how our
franchisees can implement and execute
them, or how we can implement on their
behalf. Figuring this out on their own is
overwhelming for the business owner.
It’s our job to lead them through all
these changes by providing integrated
support across marketing, operations,
training, and technology.
As a consumer, what is it that
attracts you to certain brands?

What attracts me is that I’m confident
about what I’m going to get with them.
I know their “brand personality.” Great
brands consistently deliver—they drive
our expectations. My favorite brands are
not necessarily high-end, but they are
high-quality in terms of my experience.
As chair of this year’s conference,
what do you hope to accomplish in
terms of bringing value to the attendees and providing key takeaways?

My goal for everyone who attends is the
same as for myself: to come away having
developed some really good new relationships and a handful of really great,
actionable ideas. I want to make sure
everyone has the opportunity to network with colleagues and vendors, and
has the time for personal exchanges. At
other events, you might have surface
conversations with people as you walk
the Expo floor, but the format of this
conference allows for a lot of real, indepth dialogue. It’s not just the size of
the conference, but also the culture of
networking and relationship-building.
Our big challenge will be to keep the
same intimacy and culture as we continue to get bigger and bigger. n

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