Top Franchise Marketing Leaders: Nicole Salla — Chief Marketing Officer, Kiddie Academy

Name: Nicole Salla
Role: Chief Marketing Officer
Brand: Kiddie Academy

With more than 360 locations nationwide and growing rapidly, Kiddie Academy Educational Child Care has become a trusted leader in early childhood education — and much of that success can be attributed to the brand’s strategic marketing engine. At the helm is Chief Marketing Officer Nicole Salla, who has spent her career championing purpose-driven storytelling that connects families to the heart of Kiddie Academy’s mission: educating and inspiring children to become confident, curious and kind lifelong learners.

Under Salla’s leadership, Kiddie Academy’s marketing has moved beyond traditional advertising. Her team focuses on creating authentic, localized connections between franchisees and families, combining national brand initiatives with community engagement that reflects each academy’s neighborhood. From integrating data-driven insights to amplifying franchisee voices, Salla’s work helps ensure every Kiddie Academy story is consistent with the brand’s promise and personal to the communities it serves.

Q&A With Nicole Salla, Chief Marketing Officer, Kiddie Academy 

1851 Franchise: How did you find your way to franchising and franchise marketing?

Nicole Salla: I went to college planning to become an English literature teacher, but my path shifted when I discovered marketing was another form of storytelling that could empower people and make a real difference. Working with family-owned companies in child care and previously in senior care, I saw how the right story could transform lives, both for the families we serve and the entrepreneurs building their own businesses.

Franchising turned out to be the perfect fit. It’s the ultimate storytelling platform where you’re not just crafting a single brand narrative; you’re amplifying hundreds of local stories from business owners who are making a real difference in their communities. That blend of purpose, people and storytelling is what drew me in and inspires me every day.

1851 Franchise: What makes franchise marketing uniquely challenging (and rewarding) compared to corporate-only marketing?

Salla: Franchise marketing is a balancing act between consistency and customization. Unlike corporate-only marketing, you’re not just building a brand; you’re empowering hundreds of local entrepreneurs to bring that brand to life in their own communities.

The challenge is that you can’t just launch a new campaign and assume everyone will be as excited as you are. You’ve lived with it through every stage of development, but franchisees are seeing the finished product for the first time. At Kiddie Academy, we feel it’s critical to put a lot of focus on a strong internal launch with franchisees and involve select franchisees early — before conception even — asking for their perspectives and needs. Then we tap more people during development for feedback, and we’re not afraid to refine as we go. The reward? When franchisees are part of the solution, those local stories and successes multiply. You’ve helped real people grow their businesses and serve their neighborhoods. That’s what makes it worth it.

1851 Franchise: What is the single most powerful lever a marketing team can pull to directly impact franchisees’ profitability at the unit level?

Salla: Marketing’s role has shifted over time beyond generating leads. We are thinking through the entire customer experience, from the first online experience through the child’s first day at Kiddie Academy. In educational child care, families aren’t buying a product. They’re buying the person who answers the phone, the director who takes them on a tour, the teachers they meet when they visit. It’s completely relationship-driven. Parents need to feel a real connection with the people caring for and educating their child.

Marketing can bring qualified families to your door, but we also partner with the operations team to support how franchisees can convert parents into an enrollment and welcome them on their first day. That means giving franchisees flexible tools they can customize for their local market and helping them think through the experience itself. What happens on that first phone call? How does the tour feel? What’s the follow-up like?

Marketing can drive brand awareness and shape how people see the brand. But the real impact comes when franchisees build those relationships throughout their brand journey. When marketing and operations work together on the full journey — not just the top of the funnel — that’s when you start seeing real growth at the unit level.

1851 Franchise: What is an untapped marketing opportunity you see for franchise brands?

Salla: One of the biggest untapped opportunities for franchise brands is true grassroots empowerment. Franchise owners are busier than ever, navigating a marketing landscape far more complex than the days of print ads and network television. The key is to equip franchisees with tools and partners that simplify the chaos — automation where it makes sense, but real empowerment where it matters most.

But the real differentiator is encouraging franchisees to focus on real-life interactions. As attention spans shrink online, people crave genuine, in-person connection. When you combine smart automation with authentic local engagement, you free up franchisees to do what only they can: build meaningful relationships in their communities. That’s where real growth happens.

1851 Franchise: What is one marketing fad or buzzword that you believe will actually deliver real results in the coming year?

Salla: Storytelling has been criticized as being overused or even dead as a marketing concept. I disagree, but it has to be done right. Storytelling shouldn’t be a buzzword you toss around; it has to be purposeful and real. For generations, stories have been how we connect, teach and inspire. In an era where AI can generate content instantly, authenticity matters more than ever. People can spot the difference between a genuine story and something manufactured. The brands that will stand out are the ones that share honest, meaningful and brand-aligned stories — stories that connect, not just impress.

1851 Franchise: What’s your boldest franchise marketing take? (A tactic used today that will be obsolete in the next five years? Something that almost no one is currently doing but will be revolutionary in the near future?)

Salla: AI needs to go back to being a silent partner in the process, not the main act. Marketing is fundamentally human. People buy from people they like and trust. It’s psychological—understanding what makes someone feel safe enough to choose your brand, what motivates a parent to walk through your doors. AI can’t replicate that human connection, and frankly, it shouldn’t try.

Right now, I think we are all weary of hearing about AI being the star of the show—the thing that can do and be everything. But the brands that will win are the ones that use AI as an engine behind the scenes, driving real results in data analysis, personalization at scale and efficiency. Then they let humans do what humans do best: connect, empathize and tell stories that resonate.

In five years (less, hopefully), I think AI will stop being “a thing” we obsess over as a stand-alone tool. It’ll just be seamlessly integrated into how we work, the way analytics or CRM systems are now. It will do its job quietly, and we’ll get back to what actually matters—humanizing our brands and building real relationships. The franchise brands that figure that out first? They’re going to leave everyone else behind.

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