2025 Franchise Marketing Leadership Award Winner-Goldfish Swim School

Goldfish Swim School’s campaign to connect with grandparents to spur end-of-year sales helped it earn the overall award for Franchise Marketing Leadership as part of Franchise Update Media’s 7th Annual Franchise Innovation Awards.

Judges reviewed more than 80 entries in five main categories and 21 subcategories to determine Innovation Award winners. Goldfish Swim School won the top overall marketing award with its program to increase sales in November and December 2024 by targeting extended family members, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, to purchase swim lesson packages as a holiday gift.

The 2024 Holiday Campaign used targeted advertising across multiple social media channels to reach an expanded audience with an emotional message about the benefits of swim lessons. Franchise locations received a sales boost during a slow time of the year as holiday package sales increased 72%. Goldfish was able to reach new audiences through the campaign with 61% of the holiday packages coming from nonmembers. 

We spoke with Alex Bajrektarevic, Goldfish Swim School’s marketing director, about the planning that went into the initiative, and the results they experienced.

Briefly describe the innovation. The innovation involved repositioning Goldfish Swim School’s holiday swim lesson packages as unique, giftable experiences for extended family members, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles. This broadened the marketing focus beyond the traditional “Supermom Stephanie” persona, utilizing refreshed creative assets and targeted messaging across various platforms. The strategic shift resulted in a significant increase in sales to new families, many of whom were previously outside the existing customer base.

 What were the original goals and objectives in launching the campaign? Our goal for the 2024 holiday season was to expand our reach by connecting with more gift givers through targeted messaging, utilizing new tactics and platforms to advertise and reach audiences outside of our usual demographic.

How long did it take to plan, create, and launch? The planning, creation, and official launch of the campaign took approximately four months. Including the campaign’s active period (November to January), the total timeframe extended to around seven months.

What were the main results, impacts, successes, and ROI? 

• Revenue generated from holiday package sales increased 90.2% year over year.
• Holiday package sales increased 72.3%
• 61% of holiday packages were sold to non-Goldfish members, and half of those were not the actual new members; they were the gift givers. 

What role did social media play in the success of the campaign? In understanding the growing role of social media in product research and discovery, particularly during the holiday season, we ensured it was an integral part of this campaign’s strategy. This involved incorporating influencer marketing via our brand ambassadors, expanding user-generated content, executing engaging brand-led giveaways, and optimizing our social search and keyword strategies.

You targeted a different potential audience of grandparents who may give swim classes. What were the risks and challenges associated with that strategy, and how did you ensure it was successful? Targeting grandparents and extended family as gift givers presented a new challenge as this audience wasn’t necessarily familiar with who we were or why swim lessons mattered. Awareness was low, and we ran ads on new platforms to reach them. To overcome this, we spent time researching and vetting platforms and partnerships that aligned with this audience’s habits and values. We tailored our messaging to highlight emotional benefits, like gifting confidence, safety, and fun, and designed creative that would resonate during the holiday giving season. Franchisees received a turnkey tool kit and were incentivized with an internal contest. We also closely monitored campaign performance, making real-time adjustments to optimize results. This thoughtful, audience-first approach successfully helped us reach a previously untapped segment and drive meaningful growth.

Why do you think this message resonated so strongly with your customers? This message tapped into something meaningful and personal: the desire to give a gift that lasts. Swim lessons aren’t just another toy or trendy item; they represent confidence, safety, life skills, and fun. For grandparents and extended family, that emotional connection made the gift feel thoughtful and impactful. The messaging reframed swim lessons as more than a practical purchase; it became a way to invest in a child’s future. By presenting it in a way that was easy to understand, emotionally compelling, and timely during the holidays, we made it feel like the perfect gift they didn’t know they were looking for.

What was the impact on customers? The impact on customers was meaningful. Gift givers provided a lasting, confidence-building experience, and parents received a valuable gift that supported their child’s development. It also introduced new families to Goldfish, making it easy to start their swim journey.

What was the impact on franchisees? For Goldfish Swim School franchisees, it provided an increase in revenue during a time of the year when they typically see a little bit of a seasonal decline. 

How gratifying is it for a brand when a campaign not only meets your objectives, but far exceeds your expectations with its success? We were very excited to see that the campaign not only met, but far exceeded our expectations, especially since it brought in new families and strengthened our brand in such a meaningful way. Seeing the response from both gift givers and franchisees confirmed that our strategy truly resonated. We’re proud of the results and excited to build on this momentum heading into the 2025 holiday season.