In Part 1 of our Top 10 list, we shared franchise industry insights Tracy and I learned at the International Franchise Association (IFA) 2013 conference in Las Vegas. Today, we are rounding out our list with the marketing takeaways.
One of the strategic marketing concepts that we thought was astute came from Andrew Pudzer, CEO of CKE Restaurants, describing the Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s ‘Young Hungry Guys’ target market. Andrew discussed at great length the Aspirational target market vs. Direct target market. This has manifested itself into a regular SuperBowl ad with some of the ‘it’ girls of the day. Last year’s ad was one of the most talked about after the big game and featured Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl Kate Upton. You might think we mentioned this to give us a reason to feature Kate Upton in our blog, you might be right.
Here are the five marketing takeaways from IFA 2013:
1. 25 – 29% of ALL Internet traffic comes from a mobile device. The percentage is continually increasing. Businesses that choose to ignore creating a mobile optimized site or developing a mobile app are going to be in trouble. Consider this: if you gave a bad experience to 1 out of 4 prospects, would you fix the problem?
2. SEO Killer: less than 1% of franchise business listings are accurate in the top three search engines (Google, Bing and Yahoo). It may be as simple as inconsistencies across business locations. I searched “UPS Store” and found these four results on the first page:
- theupsstore.com –> Thornton, CO
- theupsstorelocal.com/2579 –> Denver, CO (7th & Broadway)
- shipgeorgetown.com –> Georgetown, TX
- fsups.net –> Tallahassee, FL
3. The overwhelming majority of franchisors we’ve met do not have the patience for social media. They keep talking about wanting some old school reactions instead of engagement, sharing or interactions. This attitude must change or Millennials will focus on brands that understand.A lack of consistency with the URLs means a more generic search like “package shipping” won’t include UPS Store locations. In fact, the search returned a US Post Office, 2 FedEX office locations and 1 DHL location.
Equally important point, do not hire interns or entry level newbies to “do” your social media. Being a digital native does not make someone a social media expert or marketer.
4. Google is working with the IFA to make Google more franchise-friendly. This is a important development for concepts that are not brick and mortar.
5. We’ve heard of success across different franchise systems using a retargeting program. Retargeting keeps track of people who visit your site and displays your retargeting ads to them as they visit other sites online. Every time your prospect sees your ad as it follow them, your brand gains traction and more recognition. This
has resulted in higher click-through rates and increased conversions.
All interesting stuff you say, but we know you want more Kate Upton. OK, we get it.
Let us know if you think we missed something. Share your thoughts about IFA with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.



3 things to consider before you Prezi
As we shared on Tuesday, clients have been requesting more radio as a part of their integrated marketing mix. Our first five tips were focused on the planning of a radio campaign. Today, we are focused on executing the ad with our next five tips.
We’ve seen increased interest in clients considering radio advertising as part of their integrated marketing mix. Radio is an affordable advertising outlet. Since radio is genre segmented, you are able to target your audience effectively based on interests. It is hard to beat the value of a well-produced radio campaign in terms of delivering a targeted, impactful message to a wide audience.
The possibilities seemed limitless. QR codes allow consumers with mobile devices to access great content, in-depth information and a higher level of engagement. Yet, companies consistently botch the execution of QR codes.
On October 18, 2011, 

on Facebook
Recent Comments