The Multi-Location Marketing Leader

In this episode, we sit down with Stephanie Wood, the marketing dynamo behind AlphaGraphics. She dives into the transformative power of storytelling in shaping a brand's image and creating emotional resonance with consumers. Stephanie shares her insights about the company's consumer-facing campaigns and their journey to nail down their brand identity, which is rooted in understanding and responding to their customers' needs. She also sheds light on the role of digital channels in spreading the word about AlphaGraphics. Specifically, she discusses the company's ambitious influencer marketing strategies and brand ambassador programs. Stephanie talks about the evolution of marketing over the years, reflecting on the growing importance of influencers and brand ambassadors, a concept barely discussed a decade ago. Stephanie offers a candid look into her leadership style, emphasizing the importance of understanding customers, hiring a talented team, and maintaining an open-minded, nimble approach to the ever-evolving marketing landscape. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone looking to boost their marketing game.

In this episode, we dive into the world of franchising with Kimbrough Taylor, a key figure in the growth and success of FirstLight Home Care. Kimbrough shares his personal journey, revealing how his early experiences with his grandparents, and the challenges they faced, heavily influenced his career in the home care industry. He talks candidly about the importance of understanding the needs of the franchisees and his commitment to their success. We also get an inside look at how FirstLight Home Care pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic, turning challenges into opportunities. Kimbrough provides insights on the company's commitment to serve their communities, while ensuring safety and maintaining quality of service. The conversation concludes with a light-hearted discussion on work-life balance, hobbies, and the appeal of having a local brewery across the street. This episode is a blend of industry insights, personal anecdotes, and a shared love for whiskey and beer.

Marci Kleinsasser is the VP of Marketing, Franchise Development at Home Franchise Concepts, which comprises nine brands and holds more than 2,400 franchise territories. Along with her team, Marci is on a mission to help Home Franchise Concepts grow as a leading provider of home services. In this episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader, Marci discusses what it is like to contribute to the growth of nine brands as opposed to focusing on one, as she did in her previous role. According to Marci, cross-collaboration is critical, as sharing stories helps brands determine the direction of their next marketing initiative. She also talks about video content and why they will focus on it in the near future. Finally, Marci discusses the characteristics of a good marketing leader.

Athletic Republic is the nation's leading sports performance training franchise and offers state-of-the-art training that unlocks the potential of any athlete and helps them perform at their best. In August 2020, the company celebrated its 30th anniversary. It has over 80 training centers across the U.S., Australia, Japan, and South Korea. In this episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader, our host Erin Martin chats with Lindsay Simpson, the CMO of Athletic Republic, about building in-house marketing capabilities, AI and ChatGPT, and influencer marketing programs and how Athletic Republic approaches them.

Jennifer LoBianco is the chief marketing officer of Best Life Brands, a family of companies focused on clients' well-being at any stage of life. Jennifer participates in projects across all four brands, ComForCare, CarePatrol, Blue Moon Estate Sales, and Boost Home Healthcare and oversees consumer marketing, franchise marketing, training for franchisees, and franchise development. In this episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader, Jennifer shares her take on technology and AI and how her company uses it. She also discusses the importance of building a good team, as without the right people in the right role, no marketing initiative — no matter how well thought out — will work out. She also touches upon the franchisee-first approach and why empathy is the core characteristic of a good leader.

Matt Coffey is the marketing director of Main Line Brands, the parent company of home service franchises: Mosquito Authority, Pest Authority, and Fitness Machine Technicians. In this episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader, Matt and host Erin Martin discuss what it is like to build a PE company from a marketing perspective and how franchises can use shared marketing services. Matt shares his take on AI and tools like ChatGPT and how they can add to the customer experience and customer journey. Finally, Matt explains why adoption is one of the biggest challenges in franchising and how a franchise-first mindset is the way to overcome it.

Danielle Yuthas is the VP of Marketing at SpeedPro and our guest on this episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader. SpeedPro is a large format printing franchise with 124 locations in the US. Primarily focused on B2B, SpeedPro offers vehicle wraps, murals, signage, trade show booths, etc. Danielle and our host Erin Martin discuss the funding program for digital marketing that SpeedPro offers to franchisees. They also talk about digital advertising tactics, SEO initiatives that bring results, and what building a data lake can bring to a franchise business such as SpeedPro.

ThriveMore Brands is a health and wellness franchising platform and operates as an umbrella company for three brands, Leverage Nutrition, RockBox Fitness, and beem™ Light Sauna. In the new episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader, we are joined by Roger Martin, the co-founder and CEO of ThriveMore Brands. Roger was our guest a year ago, and it's a pleasure to have him again on the show to talk about what has changed in the past twelve months. Roger shares the path to building a platform company, how beem™ Light Sauna became a part of the company, the importance of technology and AI in their operations, and what makes a good marketing leader. Roger's professional background includes the role of the chief operating officer of a solid oral dosage pharmaceutical development and manufacturing organization. He was also the president of a large topical semi-solid and liquid CDMO and a national sales director and senior vice president leading sales and marketing teams of up to 500 sales representatives in the specialty and big pharma market.

Larisa Walega is the VP of Marketing at Ziebart, one of the oldest franchise concepts in the world which specializes in the automotive industry and has over 400 locations in 37 countries. In this episode of The Art of Franchise Marketing, Larisa shares how her team meets the needs of their customers — employees, franchisees, and service users — through various marketing initiatives. In addition, our host Madeleine Park dedicates one part of the conversation to customer journey management, where Larisa explains how they approach its creation and implementation and emphasizes the importance of research.

Karen Forrest is the VP of Marketing at JAN-PRO Systems International, franchisor for JAN-PRO Franchise Development and JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting, a commercial cleaning franchise that was recently ranked 34 on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list. Karen joins our host Erin Martin to discuss her team's focus areas, their challenges, and the digital marketing tactics that have been effective in the past two years. Karen explains how they use video to share their brand message and as an asset for franchisees to create content that speaks to their local audience. Karen and Erin also discuss Google Analytics 4, explaining why every business, regardless of size, must pay attention to it. Finally, our guest shares what makes a successful marketing leader.

Fibrenew Franchising is a Canadian company with 303 locations and specializes in leather, vinyl, and plastic restoration. With a rich history dating back to 1985, this company manufactures a highly specialized proprietary product line and has pioneered the repair techniques and exclusive color-matching technology that their technicians use daily. In this episode of The Art of Franchise Marketing, our host Madeleine Zook and Matt Woodcock, the franchise development director at Fibrenew Franchising, discuss franchise development. Matt explains the importance of using the marketing mix in franchising and why it is not beneficial to use broadcasting.

Charles Bonfiglio is an entrepreneur with over three and a half decades of experience developing and leading best-in-class franchise organizations. Today, he is the CEO of Tint World® Automotive Styling Centers™, America's largest and fastest growing auto styling and window tinting franchise. In today's episode of The Art of Franchise Marketing, Charles discusses his journey from a franchisee to a franchisor, the challenges of managing a franchise, and the three pillars of a sustainable brand: people, tools, and processes.

Adam Sutton is the president of RNR Tire Express, a national franchise retailer of safe, quality tires and custom wheels with 175 locations in 28 states. In this episode of the Multi-location Marketing Leader podcast, Adam and Erin discuss the most effective franchise marketing strategies — from OTT advertising to TikTok marketing. Adam shares valuable insights about video content, SEO, TikTok trends, and the importance of personalization.

Big Frog Franchise Group is a custom T-shirt boutique with over 75 stores in the US and Canada. The company's CEO and president, Tina Bacon-DeFrece, is our guest on the newest episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader. Tina was part of the founder team and was in charge of marketing. Although in a new role now, Tina is still involved in the marketing part of the business, as marketing is her passion. In this episode of our podcast, Tina shares the challenges of launching a brand, the importance of a well-thought-out SEO strategy, and how building a culture of open communication is the prerequisite for long-term success.

Jamie Eslinger is the SVP of marketing and integration at The Little Gym, a learning and physical development center for kids under the umbrella of Unleashed Brands. With nearly 400 locations in over 30 countries, The Little Gym is the world's premier experiential learning and physical development franchise for children ages four months through 12 years. In this episode of the Multi-location Marketing Leader podcast, our host Erin Martin talks to Jamie about the importance of meeting customer expectations, the power of user-generated content, and pulling learnings from other franchisee brands to build the best customer experience.

In this episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader, Eric shares what transitioning from one role to another looked like, the challenges he faced, and the lessons he learned. He also explains why providing a unique experience is their North Star and what they do to reach it. Finally, Eric and our host Erin Martin discuss why hiring and onboarding, if managed right, is critical for business growth.

Prior to joining Always Best Care, Sean Hart spent over six years at American Family Care (AFC) as the vice president of franchise development. Today, he is in the same role at Always Best Care and is also a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. In this episode of Multi-location Marketing Leader, Sean joins host Erin Martin to discuss what works in franchise development. They also touch upon leadership, creating and being in a safe place to evolve and raise the bar, and not getting caught up in (just) doing the job. Sean also explains two concepts: impact vs. action and what it means to go hyper-local in marketing.

Marketing is the backbone of any successful business. And it's all the more essential when you're trying to position your franchise business. But trust is by far the most crucial aspect of a successful franchisor-franchisee relationship. In this episode of the Multi-location Marketing Leader podcast, our host Erin Martin welcomes Katie Lacy, the director of marketing at Redline Athletics. They talk about the importance of building trust, what it takes to be a marketing leader, and why you should consider finding an external agency to support your franchisees.

With 15 years of sustainable growth, Junk King is not just a world-class franchise brand, but also a software company. In this episode of the Multi-Location Marketing Leader, Erin Martin chats with Junk King Franchise Systems Crissy Russo, VP of Marketing, and Michael Andreaachi, CEO, about the KPIs that matter, digital marketing tactics that are working for them, and how they approach software development for differentiation.

Abby Fogel is the VP of Marketing & Brand Relations at Unleashed Brands, a franchise growth accelerator that helps kids learn, play, and grow. Their brands include Urban Air, The Little Gym, Snapology, Premier Martial Arts, XP League, and recently acquired Class 101. In this episode, Abby shares how their team tackles shared services across their portfolio of brands, how they’ve reinvented discovery days, and how each brand creates a memorable customer experience.