Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Darshan Gad — Chief Marketing Officer, KidStrong

Name: Darshan Gad
Role: Chief Marketing Officer
Brand: KidStrong
Brand Website: https://www.kidstrong.com/

With a background rooted in growth strategy and a passion for empowering entrepreneurs, Darshan Gad brings sharp focus and bold creativity to his role as chief marketing officer at KidStrong. As the brand continues its rapid expansion across the country, Gad is leading the charge to drive ambitious marketing growth while helping franchisees build stronger, more resilient businesses.

By tapping into data and customer insights, maintaining a fanatical focus on ROI, and prioritizing transparency and rapid iteration, Gad is helping KidStrong deliver hyper-targeted, personalized experiences that fuel unit-level success and systemwide impact, all while staying true to the brand’s mission of helping kids build confidence, strength and character from an early age.

Q&A With Darshan Gad, Chief Marketing Officer, KidStrong

1851 Franchise: What do you love most about franchise marketing?

Darshan Gad: I love the unique combination of driving our ambitious marketing growth agenda while supporting an incredible group of franchisees, whose success is directly tied to the success of our brand. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the direct impact of our strategic marketing efforts on individual unit growth and systemwide brand impact. Our franchise model enables our rapid growth so that KidStrong can positively impact more kids’ lives more often.

1851: What do you see as the single most important thing franchise marketing pros can do to impact franchisees’ unit-level economics?

Gad: The single most important driver of unit-level economics and sustainable growth is a fanatical focus on ROI, transparency in tracking results, and rapid iteration based on data. To do this well, franchise marketers must strike a balance between direct execution of marketing strategies by HQ (on behalf of local centers) and empowering franchisees to execute locally based on the needs of their community, location and membership.

1851: What do you see as a franchise brand’s largest marketing opportunity?

Gad: The largest marketing opportunity for franchise brands lies in leveraging data and customer insights to create hyper-targeted, personalized marketing campaigns. The ability to track customer behavior across digital platforms, understand their needs and communicate with them in a way that feels personal and relevant can drastically improve engagement and conversions. At KidStrong, we’re tapping into the data we collect from our customers to deliver tailored content that maximizes performance throughout the customer journey. For KidStrong, this means understanding parents’ goals for their kids before they start and thoughtfully engaging them throughout their membership journey.

1851: What are the top marketing trends you see for 2025?

Gad: Hyper-personalization: AI and machine learning will empower brands to deliver even more tailored experiences for customers. Personalization will move beyond simple name recognition to creating seamless, customized experiences throughout the customer journey.

Data-driven decision-making: Marketers will increasingly rely on deep data analytics to guide every decision, from content creation to customer acquisition and retention.

Video and interactive content: Short-form video (TikTok and Instagram Reels) will continue to dominate, with more brands using interactive formats to drive engagement. User-generated content will also play a huge role in creating authenticity and trust.

1851: What is one bold prediction you have for what’s next in marketing?

Gad: In the future, marketing will evolve into a hyper-intelligent, self-optimizing ecosystem, where AI will help predict, personalize and deliver real-time, context-aware experiences. AI will continuously analyze vast amounts of data — consumer behavior, social signals and emotional responses — adjusting messaging and creative in real time across every touchpoint. This will in turn create dynamic, personalized brand experiences that feel as intuitive and instinctive as human interaction.

Growing and selling franchises is difficult. No great franchise did it alone. Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit www.1851growthclub.com and see what we can do for you.