Franchisor Stories
Palmer‘s management style demonstrates an appreciation for the business owners he supports and operates under the conviction that marketing should clear obstacles rather than introduce them.
Name: Chad Palmer
Role: Chief Marketing Officer
Brand: United Franchise Group
Chad Palmer's approach to marketing is built on one central concept: franchise marketing is a complex puzzle, and the right components allow hundreds of owners to succeed at once. Palmer injects a current, technology-driven outlook into both franchise development and the local marketing landscape.
1851 Franchise: What do you love most about franchise marketing?
Chad Palmer: What I love most is that franchise marketing is one big puzzle. When you line up the right pieces, you can help hundreds of owners grow at once. It’s rare to find a profession where creative strategy, reading and understanding data, and real people’s livelihoods all connect in meaningful and impactful ways.
1851: What is the single most important thing franchise marketing pros can do to impact franchisees’ unit-level economics?
Palmer: Give franchisees simple, repeatable systems they can actually execute on a Tuesday afternoon while running a business. The biggest sales months don’t come from them learning magic tricks — they come from us removing friction and giving owners tools that make them feel like they are marketing superheroes on autopilot.
1851: What do you see as franchise brands’ largest marketing opportunity?
Palmer: The biggest opportunity is to treat local marketing as a science rather than an optional side quest. Brands that build centralized tools and strategies that also address local search are going to win in every category.
1851: What marketing trends do you expect to define 2026?
Palmer: AI will continue to shift from being a novelty to being an invisible backbone that quietly writes, schedules, optimizes and learns in the background.
I also see a trend of adding more and more hyper-local content — real team photos, community stories, authentic “life inside the business” moments — that will outperform the boring polished competitor campaigns every time.
1851: What is your bold prediction for what’s next in marketing?
Palmer: My bold prediction is that marketing becomes fully conversational. Customers are already starting to engage with our brands through AI assistants that learn, adapt and sell better than any website ever could. The brands that build these experiences early will own the next decade of customer relationships.
Customers are already getting past the newness of AI chatbots, and as we adapt and build better experiences, they will become the new norm — instead of calling a company to make an appointment or get basic questions answered.
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.
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