3rd Annual Franchise Marketing Report, Part 9: Local Spend

This is the 9th installment in a series of highlights from the 2021 Annual Franchise Marketing Report (AFMR). Click to see part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, and part 8.

2021 marked the release of the 3rd Annual Franchise Marketing Report (AFMR). This report provides franchise consumer marketers with invaluable data and analysis they can use to benchmark their performance against other franchise brands and within their industry sector. In short, the AFMR is a unique resource franchise marketers can use to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and spend.

The ongoing pandemic, on top of franchising’s already competitive and frothy landscape, has strengthened the necessity for marketers to better understand how their brand measures up against the competition, as well as how it is performing in the wider marketplace. The AFMR can help franchise consumer marketers understand how their team compares with their peers and, more importantly, help them direct their limited resources into the most effective channels for achieving their system-wide goals during these uncertain times.

“This annual report was created at the request of our Franchise Marketing Leadership Conference Advisory Board to develop relevant content for CMOs, and to learn more about their needs and challenges,” said Diane Phibbs, executive vice president and chief content officer at Franchise Update Media.

Participants in the AFMR consisted of franchise marketing leaders who completed an in-depth questionnaire. Responses were aggregated and analyzed to produce a detailed look into the marketing practices, budgets, and strategies of a wide cross-section of franchise brands and sectors. The data and accompanying commentary and analysis provide the basis of the 2021 AFMR. Below is the 9th (and next-to-last) in a series of selected highlights from the new report.

“All business is local,” as the saying goes, and engaging with customers through local marketing programs is more important than ever.

While nearly 3 of 4 respondents said they “require/recommend” local market spending by franchisees, a perennial problem for franchisors hinges on “recommend.” Local store marketing (LSM) is not always top-of-mind for busy franchisees. Nor is enforcing that local spend on the franchisor side.

Educating franchisees on the value (ROI) of following through on this (as well as pointing out that they’re contributing to the ad fund) is helpful. But it takes time and continual follow-up. Adding Covid-related complications such as finding enough staff and keeping both them and customers safe only exacerbates the situation.

Internally, brands will benefit from reevaluating their local marketing programs and spend to ensure they’re providing optimal support to their franchisees.

Next time: Top Challenges (last in this series)