With only 105 days to deliver 80% of your revenue, working in the tax space during tax season can be incredibly intense. Add to that the aversion that most people feel to completing such a complex and intimidating task, and you have some pretty big challenges when it comes to marketing and meeting your customers where they are. Joining us today to unpack all things tax and marketing is Jill Cress, Chief Marketing Officer for H&R Block.

No stranger to the franchise industry, today’s guest came to Batteries Plus from senior marketing roles with world-class brands like Wendy’s and Massage Envy. As Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer at the nation’s largest and fastest-growing battery, light bulb, key fob, and phone repair franchise, Derek Detenber is responsible for marrying marketing and merchandising omnichannel strategies to improve customer experience and elevate the brand’s public profile, as well as drive profitable sales growth for franchise owners and stores. In this episode, we talk about the similarities and differences of multi-location marketing in the diverse categories of retail, QSR, and services.

Steve Fournier’s story begins long before he became the SVP of Omni Channel for Discount Tire. His journey with the company started when he was still in high school, installing tires. He has been involved in every aspect of the business, with a special focus on marketing and digital transformation. This conversation explores the intersection of marketing and customer experience, along with Discount Tire’s digital transformation that’s been a full decade in the making.

This interview with the Director of Digital and Social Media for National General Insurance is the first time we’ve ventured into the insurance space on the show. The highly-regulated, unsexy nature of this industry means that it is challenging to market effectively. But David Shwartz has stepped up to the plate and is injecting soul into insurance! In this episode, David explains the difference between standard and non-standard books of business, how the National General Insurance business model works, and what makes it different from other insurance companies.

All business comes down to solving a problem, and marketing is no different. Today’s guest is here to share how his multifaceted career journey has informed his expertise as Director of Media for Domino’s. Tuning in, you’ll hear an overview of the exciting media campaigns Domino’s has activated this year, bringing digital and traditional media together under one roof. John shares some insight on the ‘test and learn’ culture that drew him to choose Domino’s and how that plays out in daily decision-making.

While most businesses suffered heavy losses during the pandemic, one restaurant franchise not only survived but thrived. Here today to share more about how her company successfully navigated COVID, is the Chief Marketing Officer for On The Border Mexican Grill and Cantina (OTB), Edithann Ramey.

Perfect timing has never been better personified than in Jack in the Box’s acquisition of Del Taco. What started as a cheaper foil of Taco Bell, Del Taco has since grown into a reputable franchise of its own, boasting almost 600 locations nationwide. Today’s guest, Tim Hackbardt, is the Chief Marketing Officer at Del Taco, and in this episode, he tells us just how well the two brands are collaborating after the aforementioned acquisition was finalized in March 2022.

Many brick-and-mortar restaurant chains had the rug pulled from beneath them when the pandemic arrived, and have since had to reassess and rework their whole brand strategy and marketing plan. Cici's Pizza is a well-established brand, and was able to ride the tumultuous waves of the quarantine and the uncertain economy relatively successfully, but was still in need of some reinvigoration and redirection for the new era we have entered into.

Mobile marketing has come a long way since 2000 when the first mobile ad was shared via SMS. Our smartphones now play a key role in our everyday lives and today’s guest believes that marketers need to start thinking more big-picture and long-term if they are going to make an impact. Today, on Clicks 2 Bricks, you’ll hear from Kevin Planovsky, who is the Co-founder of Vert Digital, a full-stack digital agency based in Atlanta, Georgia.

After almost 25 years in the business, Robeks has earned itself a healthy portion of the ever-growing smoothie franchise market. They know what works and the kind of leaders that thrive in their fun yet fast-paced environment and, today, you’ll hear from Mitch Baker, VP of Marketing at Robeks, as he shares their ingredients for success. Tuning in, you’ll gain a high-level overview of the brand and some deeper insight into their local marketing playbook.

With billions of active users worldwide and counting, social media remains one of the most influential marketing tools available. But how can multi-location brands harness the power of these digital channels to reach both local and national audiences? To help us answer this question, we are joined by our first return guest on Clicks 2 Bricks, Brandon Rhoten! When we first sat down with him in Episode 19, Brandon was the CMO for Potbelly Sandwich Works.

It often falls on the CEO to come up with a strategy to increase the growth and profitability of a company, but today’s guest believes that a strategist is vitally important when it comes to identifying new opportunities, channels, and product lines. Beto Guajardo is currently the President of Focus Brands International, which includes brands such as Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, and Schlotzsky's. Throughout most of his career, Beto led strategy for iconic brands such as Levi’s and Starbucks after getting his start in the consulting world with McKinsey and Company.

Welcome to a brand-new episode of Clicks 2 Bricks. Today we are joined by Phil Crawford, the Chief Technology Officer for CKE Restaurants. Our conversation centers around building a modern restaurant tech stack, touching on the need for integrations and what Phil looks for in great technology partners before diving into location data management and the importance of precise, long data in the era of ordering ahead and off-premise dining.

Welcome to another exciting and informative episode of Clicks 2 Bricks, a podcast about marketing strategies for multi-location businesses and organizations. The marketing landscape has changed dramatically since the advent of social media and has forced businesses to think differently about marketing strategies. In today’s episode, we discuss multi-location marketing strategies with Melanie Babcock.

The pandemic sent so many businesses spiraling, but our guest today is one of the admirable few who managed to turn it into a unique opportunity for growth and creativity! Brandon Coleman is the Chief Marketing Officer for Dave & Buster’s, and he took the helm of this iconic entertainment brand a mere two weeks before the pandemic struck.

So much is constantly changing in the world of marketing, and this is not only down to the tumult of the last two years. On the show today, we have a fascinating chat with Tana Davila, the CMO of P.F. Chang's, in which she shares her reflections on her career thus far and the most important progressive steps she has witnessed in her time in the industry. P.F. Chang's is a brand that has evolved immensely during its lifetime, starting as a sit-down Chinese restaurant chain, and now positioning itself as an omnichannel Asian culinary brand.

Doug Zarkin is the Chief Marketing Officer for Pearle Vision, a title he's held for an impressive ten years! In this episode, we pick his brain about his marketing philosophies and find out how he is bringing sexy to optical retail marketing. Doug fills us in on Pearle Vision’s current undertakings and how the pandemic was bizarrely a time of exponential growth for the brand!

“Every moment is a brand moment. Good or bad, you're making a statement one way or the other in everything that you do.” These are the words of today’s guest, Dwayne Chambers, who is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of Checkers and Rally’s Drive-In Restaurants, while also running his own consultancy, Brand Moments.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a well-established Los Angeles-based coffee brand that lost its way but is in the process of turning itself around, currently seeing considerable growth. Today’s guest, Sanjiv Razdan, has a lot to do with its recent success. Sanjiv is the president of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for the Americas and India. He also gained experience working for Pizza Hut, Yum Brands, and Applebee’s before he became the COO for the restaurant juggernaut that is Sweetgreen.

Founded in 1972, Cousins Subs is a Wisconsin-based family business where each location operates like a mom-and-pop business. While a company like this could easily fall behind in terms of digital transformation and staying abreast of current marketing trends, today’s guest has played a vital role in staying ahead of the digital curve and growing the company despite the pandemic.