ERIN WALTER
Chief Marketing Officer
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Balancing corporate-level marketing campaigns with local initiatives isn’t about dividing responsibilities. It’s about alignment to achieve a shared goal of delivering the same, welcoming guest experience across every restaurant. While our national team sets the brand vision and creative direction, our franchisees are truly the heartbeat of the story. They know their communities best to build upon the local relationships and connections that make Freddy’s feel personal. When we stay in sync by communicating openly and sharing a consistent message, we’re able to bring the Freddy’s story to life across every market we serve.
Playing a critical role in finding this balance is our director of local store marketing, who serves as the bridge between franchisees and their agencies of record to ensure the plans and strategies align so that local efforts properly complement national campaigns. This structure allows operators to understand how national campaigns can be localized, and vice versa, while continuously driving restaurant-level results.
A key component as we work to maintain strategic alignment is the marketing spend across our franchisees. Our team reviews franchisee marketing budgets on a quarterly basis, sharing guidance on optimizing spend. Starting next year, we'll go even deeper by reviewing each franchisee's marketing spend through regular consultative visits. The goal behind this is to give us a more meaningful, face-to-face conversation about local opportunities and return on investment.
Looking ahead to 2026, we’re exploring platforms that can streamline the media-buying process for franchisees. This aims to help our local owners activate high-quality initiatives efficiently, maintaining consistency with our brand’s voice without losing that local hometown touch.
From an agency standpoint, we build our national-level campaigns with local activation in mind. When we develop creative spots, such as our recent “This is the Good Stuff” campaign, we intentionally leave room for our local agencies to complement the storytelling. That flexibility keeps our brand’s experience cohesive yet authentic to each market.
Successful and effective marketing campaigns from the corporate team to our franchisees require constant communication to keep us all connected. We regularly share our marketing strategies through quarterly local store marketing calls. This is where we exchange best practices, highlight success stories, and collaborate on upcoming initiatives. These conversations build trust and transparency, empowering franchisees to feel invested in both the process and the outcome.
"In franchising, the real magic happens when global branding meets local storytelling."
JAMIE ESLINGER
Chief Marketing Officer
Shoot 360
In franchising, the real magic happens when global branding meets local storytelling. At Shoot 360, one of my top priorities is building that balance by pairing the power of a unified worldwide brand with the authenticity of franchisee-driven, grassroots marketing.
With fewer than 100 locations right now but hypergrowth on the horizon, hyperlocal isn't just important. It's essential. Every country, city, and community has its own voice, and our role at the corporate level is to create the framework and resources that empower franchisees to connect authentically in their markets.
That work starts with a strong brand strategy. At the global level, we are building a marketing ecosystem to support the key areas of brand, attraction, conversion, and partners. This foundation ensures that everything we create (national campaigns, partnering with NBA and WNBA athletes, and social media posts) carries the same brand promise while equipping franchisees with tools they can use locally.
One of the most important initiatives we're building inside that marketing ecosystem blends the power of digital with the impact of grassroots. On the digital side, we're developing platforms to help franchisees strengthen their presence across social media, SEO, business listings, and reviews, giving them the visibility today's customers expect.
At the same time, we're investing in grassroots support, equipping franchisees with playbooks and field guidance to engage directly with schools, clubs, and community organizations. When these two forces work together, franchisees benefit from the scale and professionalism of a franchise brand and the authenticity of a local business deeply rooted in its community.
Every franchisee should benefit from the scale and professionalism of global campaigns while still telling stories that resonate on a local level. By blending corporate resources with community-driven energy, we’re building a marketing system that ensures Shoot 360 feels both powerful and personal everywhere we show up.
Our goal is to build a franchise system where every location has the tools and support to succeed so that everyone gets a shot to grow, compete, and be part of something bigger.
"We build national campaigns that grow brand recognition, and those campaigns are adapted and used locally so that clubs can connect with their local audiences."
KRISTINE FAUPEL
VP of Marketing
Ace Pickleball Club
Our approach to marketing at Ace Pickleball Club is all about collaboration and teamwork. We build national campaigns that grow brand recognition, and those campaigns are adapted and used locally so that clubs can connect with their local audiences.
At the corporate level, we focus on the big national picture. That means building awareness, driving credibility, and forming partnerships that put us in front of the right audiences. A great example is the recent addition of DoorDash as a title sponsor of our National Championship Series. This will allow us to bring tangible value to our members and improve the experience at our clubs with exclusive perks, like food and gear delivered straight to their local club.
The series has been a huge success story for us. It gives members a chance to compete locally throughout the year with the top qualifiers facing off at the national championship for a share of a $250,000 prize pool. It's helping position Ace Pickleball Club as a true player in the athletic space, not just a place to play recreationally. The series has created an incredible sense of community, competition, and pride for our members.
We also give our franchisees the power to bring that same energy to their local markets. We provide creative templates, marketing playbooks, and national assets that they can adapt for local events. We make sure they have the flexibility to market in ways that feel authentic to their audience.
The secret is communication and alignment. We share ideas and feedback constantly so that everyone feels supported and connected to the bigger vision. National campaigns build momentum, and local owners turn that energy into personal relationships with members.
Ultimately, our goal is to keep Ace Pickleball Club growing nationally across strategic markets in a way that still feels neighborhood driven.
"I’ve never thought about corporate versus franchisee marketing as an ‘either/or.’ It’s not a competition; it’s a partnership, just like everything in franchising."
ASHLEY MITCHELL
Chief Marketing Officer, ZorAbility
VP of Marketing, East Coast Wings + Grill
Chief Marketing Officer, Sammy’s Sliders
I've never thought about corporate versus franchisee marketing as an ‘either/or.’ It's not a competition; it's a partnership, just like everything in franchising. Both matter, and when you get them working together, that's when the real magic happens.
Brand campaigns are the megaphone. They give the brand consistency, scale, and credibility. Big initiatives, including national media buys, digital pushes, and seasonal promotions, set the tone and create that umbrella of awareness. Guests see the brand as something familiar and trusted before they even walk through the doors. Without that baseline recognition, local marketing must work ten times harder.
But grassroots? That's where the brand feels real. Franchisees live in their communities. They know which school needs a fundraiser, which team plays on Friday nights, and where people gather on weekends. When they sponsor the Little League, host a spirit night, or show up at the community festival, it creates a personal connection no brand campaign could ever replicate. That's how loyalty gets built. It's not just transactions, but relationships. People buy from people, not logos.
The key is alignment. The franchise support team must make it easy for franchisees to plug into the big picture without losing their local voice. That means creating flexible tool kits, simple-to-use assets, and clear brand guardrails so that franchisees can execute quickly but still stay on brand. For example, we might launch a system-wide campaign around a new initiative, but we'll also hand franchisees ready-to-use social ideas, outreach tools, and in-store assets so that they can bring it to life in their markets.
And here's the piece a lot of brands miss: listening. Franchisees are closest to the guest. Their insights—what's hitting and what's missing—are gold. I remind our East Coast Wings + Grill franchisees all the time: We'll never know their market as well as they do. The flow of information has to go both ways. The more they share about their community, the better we can support them with tools and strategies that actually work. We marry our team's marketing expertise with their local knowledge to create the recipe that fits.
It’s not about drawing hard lines between “corporate” and “franchisee.” Brand campaigns light the spark, and franchisee marketing fans the flame. That balance is what turns a brand into a community staple and drives real growth.