5th Annual Franchise Marketing Report: Participating Brands

Benchmarking data and analysis at its best

Results from the 2023 Annual Franchise Marketing Report (AFMR) were revealed this summer at the Franchise Customer Experience Conference, or FCXC.

The AFMR was created at the request of our FCXC conference advisory board to develop relevant content for CMOs and to learn more about their needs and challenges. Its purpose is to provide the data and analysis CMOs and other top marketing executives need to measure their success and learn how they can do better at a job that seems to get more complex with each passing year. (Think digital!)

The AFMR delivers invaluable benchmarking data that provides franchise consumer marketers with the insights they need to know how they stack up against other franchise brands and their industry. In short, the report is a unique resource franchise marketers can use to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and make the most efficient use of their marketing budgets.

Data was collected from a group of marketing leaders at 65 franchise brands who each completed an in-depth questionnaire. Respondents’ roles ran the gamut: co-founder, CEO, president, COO, CMO, chief growth officer, VP of marketing, director of marketing, marketing and operations director, director of advertising, marketing and communications director, general manager marketing, director of digital marketing, and VP of franchise development. Their responses were aggregated and analyzed to produce an in-depth look into the marketing practices, budgets, and strategies of a wide cross-section of franchise brands and sectors.

What follows are selected highlights from the 2023 AFMR, which offers commentary and analysis that provides context, insights, and a detailed look into the data contained in the report.

PARTICIPATING BRANDS

Marketing teams at franchise brands are responsible for marketing to both consumers and business customers. This year, more than half (55%) were B2C marketers, with just 8% saying they market to B2B exclusively, and 35% saying they market to both. Service brands made up the overwhelming majority of respondents this year. (Could this be because they did so well during Covid and were glad to share their good news?) Seven in 10 (69%) of the 65 brands that completed the survey were service brands, with 40% of them brick-and-mortar, and 29% service- or territory-based. Another 24% were food brands, and 8% were non-food retail.