Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Howard Terry — Chief Marketing Officer, Golden Chick

Name: Howard Terry
Role: Chief Marketing Officer
Brand: Golden Chick
Brand Website: https://www.goldenchick.com

With a career spanning top restaurant brands like Raising Cane’s, Mooyah, Texas Land & Cattle, Boston’s Pizza and Denny’s, Howard Terry brings a deep understanding of restaurant franchise marketing to his current role as chief marketing officer of Golden Chick. At the helm of a brand with a growing national footprint and a strong Texas identity, Terry is focused on building local trust, driving performance and crafting strategies that serve both the brand and its franchisees.

“I’ve spent a significant portion of my career in brands that have a heavy franchise ownership base, and I love that franchise marketing can be a true partnership. But that always comes down to establishing trust,” said Terry. “Trust is established with complete transparency of your actions, and of course from achieving great results.”

For Terry, franchise marketing is never one-size-fits-all. With Golden Chick operating in 23 unique trade areas, his approach is tailored to the distinct needs of each market — whether that’s launching a new LTO, executing a media strategy or testing localized creative.

Q&A With Howard Terry, Chief Marketing Officer, Golden Chick

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

Howard Terry: I’ve spent a significant portion of my career in brands that have a heavy franchise ownership base, and I love that franchise marketing can be a true partnership. But that always comes down to establishing trust. Trust is established with complete transparency of your actions, and of course from achieving great results. Everything that is implemented at the brand level is put in place directly to achieve the goal of franchisee success. Whether it’s launching a new limited-time offering, executing a local media strategy or finding a fresh way to connect with a new audience, we get to see the results play out in real-time across our markets.

I also appreciate how unique it is to each franchisee and market. We have a presence in 23 different trade areas/DMAs and with that comes 23 unique plans in place based on penetration and media efficiency, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. This allows us to explore multiple initiatives and test out a variety of approaches.

1851: What’s the single most important thing franchise marketers can do to improve unit-level economics?

Terry: The single most important thing is understanding the complexities for each franchisee’s market. While it seems simple, small, hyper-local communities exist in a vacuum — product mix varies by market, demographics vary, even daypart sales vary. For example, what is popular in Shreveport, Louisiana, differs tremendously from what is popular in Austin, Texas! Franchisees are putting their trust in our hands to lead them. We need to make sure every decision made is as beneficial as possible. And they appreciate that we tailor our media applications to what drives sales in each individual market.

Marketing has an impact in all three areas of building sales — driving new customer trials, building frequency of existing guests, and getting guests to spend more. Every campaign, strategy and idea should be focused on these three tactics. This is where understanding each unique market comes into play, as marketers need to understand how consumers act, to implement an idea accordingly to create local momentum.

1851: What do you see as the largest marketing opportunity for franchise brands today?

Terry: We are aggressively focusing on two primary initiatives presently — launching an effective points-based loyalty program and strengthening our trade area presence by elevating our profile as a member of each local community. There’s a stigma that larger chains have more of a national presence. However, that’s not the case for successful brands! At Golden Chick, we’re seeing incredible traction when we combine our national brand equity with local authenticity. With expanded digital capabilities and a new media landscape that focuses on social media influencers, there are a wealth of ways to reach hyper-local markets with tailored messaging to assist operators.”

1851: What marketing trends are you watching closely for 2025?

Terry: Personalized content will continue to be a trend in 2025. Consumers now expect personalized content including social media messaging, loyalty features and email correspondence to create a relationship with a brand. Consumers want to feel seen and heard by the organizations they’re giving their time and money to. Another trend is brands having a stronger focus on creating experiential marketing initiatives for consumers, as an additional way to build loyalty.

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

Terry: While not a “bold” idea, I believe that more brands will be more comfortable with not being for every taste. Previously, brands wanted to connect with every possible consumer to increase sales. However,  now we’re seeing brands falling into a specific niche and marketing to that direct audience, not the masses. In recent years, we’ve seen brands thrive using this model and it’s because they create trust and loyalty with their guests by not being for “everyone.” These brands have strong values, approachable leadership and a clear mission that is entrenched in every aspect of the business.

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.