Evolution of Public Relations and its Role in Local Store Marketing

From a tutoring service to QSR, the ways a brand should market have significantly changed in the past decade

By Lauren Turner1851 Franchise Contributor

SPONSOREDUpdated 9:21PM • 06/19/16

Public relations and its role in local store marketing is always evolving. What worked five years ago may no longer hold any weight for a brand, forcing many companies to stay one step ahead.

To better understand how things have changed in the local marketing and public relations landscape over the past 15 years and where they're going, 1851 Franchise spoke to two franchise executives who have been with their companies for more than ten years each. Sylvan Learning*'s Chief Marketing Officer Amy Pryzwara and Saladworks' Vice President of Brand Services Jena Henderson weigh in.

Shrinking News Staff

“I feel like in the early to mid 2000s, we used to email a lot of press releases out to local publications because there were more local reporters on staff looking for topics to write about,” Pryzwara said.

She mentions that in some ways, it seemed easier to get local placements because there were more reporters looking for articles to cover in a community. However, now, with the Internet, reporters might see that an article has already been written about the same topic – and even if it wasn’t written about locally, they may feel discouraged from writing a story if they don’t feel the exclusivity. Now, it’s more important than ever to not only have a great local tie-in, but also a timely news hook or angle to interest the reporter. In 2016, it’s better to understand that even a small blurb online is actually a big win for the brand and local franchisee.

Walking Away From Direct Mail

“Where a lot of people used to spend a lot on traditional print direct mail pieces, as a consumer, you end up getting too much of that now and just throw so much of it out,” Henderson said.

When noticing that their ads were getting lost between dry cleaners and Chinese restaurants, Henderson decided that they needed to focus their marketing and public relations efforts from a grass roots level. They began getting engaged in the community instead to build relationships with potential customers.

Free Product is King

Last year, Saladworks started doing Grand Openings where the first ten people in line won a free salad for a year – one a week. They recently had someone sleep in his car since 11 p.m. the night prior to the giveaway to earn the free salads – showing true brand dedication. The company also now promotes radio drops to their franchisees for the anchors and producers to try the salads in addition to giving away salads to the front desk staff at doctor’s offices, hoping that they would recommend the restaurant to those looking for a good local bite.

Print Doesn’t Get the Mileage it Used To

At Sylvan, they used to have a print magazine called “Successful Student” that they compiled at the corporate level and would send to franchisees to distribute in their markets. Pryzwara describes that now, the Internet makes it so much easier for Sylvan to constantly create and disseminate content to parents.

“We have email newsletters, our blog, and shareable digital content to get moms the information that they’re looking for, but we can do it in real time, adding new content much quicker, and even having it focused on multimedia and videos helps to keep the story fresh,” Pryzwara said.

Geo-Target

Ten years ago, Henderson mentions that they would have done a newspaper ad, but now, mobile marketing is geo-targeted. Because the medium has changed, having the right staff dedicated to helping franchisees navigate this evolution is important.

Make Real Connections with Local Bloggers

“It used to be all about trying to make connections with local reporters, and the evolution is that we have made our franchisees focused on engaging with local bloggers,” Pryzwara said. “We believe that if they connect with real moms in their market who are authentic, and they have their children try out Sylvan, then the real results will be captured on the blog and shared with her friends in the market that could also send their children to Sylvan.”

The company has stepped away from the days of producing national television advertisements and instead focusing on all things local in their marketing campaigns to truly show the community that Sylvan is an integral part of the local students’ lives.

*This brand is a paid partner of 1851 Franchise. For more information on paid partnerships please click here.

Evolution of Public Relations and its Role in Local Store Marketing

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