Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2016 | Page 68

MOVING TARGETS
such as a black bean pizza sauce.
After taking a break from franchise development, completely halting franchise
recruitment in 2013 and closing 20 underperforming stores, the Mexican pizza
chain is back on the growth fast track expanding with existing franchisees—many
of them Latino. Swad has said the brand
can sustain 1,000-plus units nationwide,
with limitless possibilities outside the
continental U.S.
Perros calientes
Wienerschnitzel uses a demographic profile and information culled from customer
segmentation studies to develop communication strategies for specific marketplaces,
which are then coordinated with co-op
ad agencies and franchisees, says CMO
Koegeboehn.
Most recently, the brand carried out
promotion-specific testing in El Paso, Tucson, and Los Angeles to help the world’s
largest hot dog chain better understand
Hispanic audiences, who vary widely in
areas such as acculturation, identity, language, and country of origin. The “5 for
$5.95” value-oriented promotion for corn
dogs was featured on Spanish television
in the Texas and Arizona markets. In Los
Angeles, a cross-channel marketing effort included Spanish blogger parties and
radio remotes at stores, and sponsorships
of local soccer tournaments.
Whether offering free chili dogs to
veterans on Nov. 11, sponsoring a professional motocross team, or touting 99cent, all-you-can-eat chili cheese fries on
the first-ever Wiener Wednesday this past
November 25, the appeal is in the details.
The chili cheese fries offer, for example,
was available with a coupon downloaded
from the brand’s Facebook page; the offer was repeated on January 1, no coupon
necessary.
Koegeboehn, who joined Wienerschnitzel in 2015 after serving as the longtime
account director for the brand at DGWB
Advertising, encourages franchisees to look
for as many varied communication avenues as possible to localize the marketing
message at the store level. “I’m looking at
the entire population around my restaurants. I’m only going after 20 percent of
my audience that I know wants to come
in and eat and using media vehicles and
marketing messages that they engage in,”
says Koegeboehn.
“Don’t look at it as shotgunning, where

66

“Marketing is
not demographics
any more.
We are going
after specific
mindsets,
attitudes, and
behaviors.”
—Doug Koegeboehn

Doug Koegeboehn
you are doing all different types of initiatives,” he says. “If you look at each one of
these initiatives, we are going for the same
audience. It is the exact profile. I am just
going to places where they are and speaking to them in a language that is appropriate. Spanish language or off-road racing
language or any other group—they are
all intertwined across the same audience.”
Targeting Millennials
Pancheros Mexican Grill, with 65 locations
in 17 states, joins many franchises looking
to appeal to a younger set. A rebranding
effort launched two years ago has the fast

casual chain, known for its made-to-order
burritos, salads, and bowls, getting back
to its roots.
Founder and CEO Rodney Anderson
opened the first Pancheros on the University of Iowa campus in 1992, keeping
his doors open until 3 a.m. to feed hungry
students, whether they were burning the
midnight oil studying or looking for a meal
after the bars closed. Anderson stuck with
the concept, expanding to other college
campuses in the Midwest and in 2003
began franchising.
The rebranding effort, which includes
quirky slogans, packaging “that pops,” and
brand-driven social media campaigns, has
gone a long way to help Iowa franchisee
Dan Sacco communicate a fresh message
locally. Employees from his Davenport and
Dubuque restaurants step out weekly to
give out food samples and cards for free
Chips & Queso at community events,
appealing to young potential customers
who “love free stuff,” says Sacco. He also
targets his audience with hip music inside
his restaurants and strategic ad placement
in movie theaters during box office hits
and on such shows as “The Walking Dead”
and the “MTV Video Music Awards.”
“We need to remind Millennials that
we are here and keep Pancheros on the
top of their minds,” says Sacco. “For other
customers, we give them value for the
money and food that is good every time.”
Best in class
As licensees of Best in Class, a Seattlebased tutoring company, Vietnamese refugees Lisa and Hao Lam grew the brand
by adding enrichment programs and test
preparation services—before buying, renaming, and franchising the company.
The enterprising couple plan to have 100
centers open in the next 5 years.
Tanmoy Kumar and Veronica Reyna,
the first multi-unit franchisees of the renamed Best in Class Education Center,
are busy crunching the marketing numbers to target clients for their education
enrichment brand. The married couple,
both college professors, opened the first
of four stores planned for the Northwest
Houston region. Initial marketing will
focus on schools, festivals, community
organizations, and events to promote the
business, which relies heavily on word of
mouth, says Kumar.
Born and raised in India, Kumar is a
mechanical engineer for an oil company

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