This post, Off on the right foot, can be read on our new blog by clicking this link.

As a media planner here at Balihoo, I have the pleasure of working with individuals from all over the country. Whether I am contacting media reps, vendors, or even the local Chamber of Commerce to learn nuances about a specific market, I get to talk to someone new just about every day. I wade through different accents (and try my best not to take them “on” myself during phone calls… I do a great New Yorker) and personalities in order to gain all the information I need to make a solid recommendation within a media plan.

This past week I was hunting down information about Columbia, South Carolina. After conducting my due diligence on print mediums, I decided to call one of the larger local papers for some additional information. A lovely young lady picked up the phone with a looooooooooong southern greeting. I proceeded to tell her my name, where I was from, and the purpose for the call. Before I could get the entire sentence out she stopped me and asked that I repeat the name of the “agency” I was from. I told her again… “Balihoo”. She practically screamed in to the phone and said that she had just welcomed a new puppy into her home named Ballyhoo. She grew up on the coast of South Carolina and lived on a street called Ballyhoo. After her family moved away she vowed that one day she would get a dog and name her Ballyhoo. Naturally, I

proceeded to tell her that not only is our organization named Balihoo, but we are represented by another furry friend named ‘Scout’. We both thought the coincidences were unbelievable. I asked her to send over a photo of Ballyhoo hoping that she would in some way resemble our Scout. As you can see their differences are pretty black and white but both pups are adorable.

It is a delight to speak to and work with people from all over the country. Not only have I learned a great deal about what factors contribute to advertising successes and failures and what market trends exist all over the nation, but I’ve grown to appreciate all the different people and personalities I get the privilege of interacting with on a daily basis.

I mean truly… what are the odds of finding a “real live” Ballyhoo in South Carolina? It made my day.

What are you doing next Monday night? Monday night September 14th? At say 10/9c?
If you’re anything like me you’ll be stationed directly in front of your TV for the premiere of The Jay Leno Show… (right where NBC wants me).

How can I avoid it? NBC is putting big promotional dollars behind its new Primetime bet and I want to see what all the fuss is about! They are devoting some serious funds to nationwide television ads, radio campaigns, Yahoo! online banners, CineMedia in-theatre advertising, and (dare I forget) theatre popcorn bags featuring Mr. Leno himself. Ford is also hopping on board as an official sponsor- donating electric Ford Focuses for an onsite “Green Car Challenge” racetrack, where celebrities will compete multiple times per week. Celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Rihanna all of which are expected to join Jay in the first week.

So… why all the buzz, why the big push?
Well, NBC and Jay are hoping to change the face of Primetime programming. This network, rated in 4th position since 2004, is taking a gamble on a comedy/variety show in a time slot notorious for big time dramas. They claim that audiences are ready for a light alternative to grim scripted dramas (think ER, Law & Order SVU, CSI: New York).

If successful they could truly change the landscape of evening television, ushering the way for other major networks to follow suit.
And believe me they will, for the following reasons:

1-Less expensive to produce. The cost of Leno’s show will be a fraction of what the network pays to produce a drama. Less actors, writers, location changes etc.

2-Less re-runs. Network dramas average approximately 24 episodes per year. Jay however, will easily shoot over 200 episodes- 46 weeks a year/5 days a week to be exact.

3-Build good solid audiences for the evening news. Nationally the viewership for evening news has continued to decline. The thought here is that if you keep audiences engaged through the hour prior to evening news they will stay and watch the next half hour.

4-No more TiVo! Statistically, Primetime television has been the most recorded or skipped programming available. Which advertisers like ourselves recognized and in turn refrain from recommending these day parts to our clients. If networks can provide fresh, new episodes audiences can pull away from their patterned evening payback mode and tune in live.

5-We need a breakout “hit”! There hasn’t been a network “hit” in the past four years and ratings for this time slot continue to decline, aiding in the constant slow leak of audiences and advertisers turning to cable.

So, Mr. Leno there’s quite a bit of weight resting upon your chin… err… I mean shoulders (sorry, I couldn’t contain myself). Can you turn things around for the peacock network or are we in for more of the same?

Stay Tuned…. I know I will.

Undoubtedly one of the best parts of my job is learning more about our client’s business.  Often times, we are only engaged in marketing and advertising discussions and are not privy to the details of their over-arching objectives and business problems faced daily.  By getting a glimpse into new product lines, pricing concerns and inventory management, it allows us, as marketers to make more informed recommendations.  It allows us to take into consideration outside influences and ensure we think beyond the best price for a media impression and which local news website to purchase during their next campaign.

Last week we had this opportunity at Carpet One Floor and Home’s Summer Convention in Orlando.  Balihoo had the chance to meet members we regularly communicate with via email and phone conversations and spend time with them learning more about their business. Not only were we able to discuss marketing needs, but we had the opportunity to visit with their other vendors and product line representatives to gain more knowledge about the business decisions they make on a daily basis.  It was the perfect opportunity to remind ourselves that for most of our client’s, marketing is not their main concern or expertise.

Our focus at Balihoo is to provide customized marketing solutions and recommendations that deliver against traffic and sales objectives while taking into consideration budget concerns, local market nuances and media efficiencies.  By gaining first-hand knowledge of members remaining business challenges we are better positioned to tailor every recommendation to each of our client’s individual needs.

 This post, Updated Balihoo Materials, can be read on our new blog by clicking this link.

I am proud to announce that Quiznos has selected the Balihoo platform to drive all marketing at a local level. The

marketing department at Quiznos has been looking for an integrated solution to drive demand at the local level and when they found Balihoo it was a perfect fit. The Balihoo platform will provide the 4000+ franchise owners of Quiznos with a simple to use, yet powerful marketing platform to both create and execute campaigns across 14 different media types from Television to Pay Per Click, In-Store to E-mail.

Quiznos is a very forward thinking franchise and has recognized the fact that high quality local marketing is critical to the success of their organization and their franchisees. We are thrilled that they have identified Balihoo as their solution to implementing national quality marketing at the local level.

Bringing Quiznos on to the platform continues our long string of growth, which we have been able to sustain even during these difficult economic times. You can read more about the win here

Joel Libava, aka “The Franchise King“, posts a valuable blog post on the OPEN FORUM at American Express:  Franchise Execs, Are You Planning For An Upturn?

Lots of good tips for franchise organizations looking to capitalize on an economic turnaround, of course my favorite is:

“You may want to get your franchisee’s local marketing activities more automated. I found some folks who specialize in this through Twitter. Check out Balihoo.com “

Weaver’s Flooring America, a franchise location of retailer Flooring America, was featured in “All About ROI” magazine this month for using Balihoo’s Local Marketing Automation platform to drive demand gen in their local market. 

The full article can be read here:  http://www.allaboutroimag.com/article/marketing-platform-lets-national-franchisee-focus-local-roots-407579_2.html 

Congrats to the Weaver’s team and Chad Nussbaum for this great press and for taking advantage of this down market to strategically approach their media and marketing efforts! 

As a company dedicated to providing franchise organizations and national brands with the most effective and efficient local marketing automation solutions, we are unsurprisingly frequently asked questions about joining the franchise industry. We are often asked whether it is wise to join a franchise during the recession. The Idaho Stateman just published an exerpt from an article written by our CEO, Pete Gombert in which he addresses this question.

Read Pete’s full article here:

Starting up: If You Want to Own a Franchise, Here’s What You Should Know

Franchising tends to increase during a recession as many aspiring entrepreneurs, driven by layoffs or job changes, finally decide to make their leap. Before leaping, astute future franchisees invariably seek to understand the benefits and challenges they’ll face – fortunately, the benefits are well-documented and accurate, but the most fundamental challenge is too often misunderstood.

Many aspiring franchisees assume that their biggest challenge will be executing within the franchise system, but they quickly find that while running the system is important, the ultimate challenge is translating national strategy to address variables in a local market. Jason Bowman, owner of several Sport Clips franchises in Boise, puts it best: “Franchising is much more than just executing against a system, there are a ton of local challenges and constant adjustments franchisees make depending on the situation.”

Here are just a few of the local challenges franchisees face:

Location. Location can be “everything” and the most important early decision a franchisee makes is often selecting a location. Understanding such things as geography, community planning initiatives, and real estate trends are critical to success.

Competition. Competition varies greatly by region and consists of other franchises, national retailers, mom and pop shops, larger well-established local brands, or alternatives to your product or service.

Employment. Franchisees need to recruit and retain employees that can help build and advance the franchise’s reputation. Dwight Mogford, owner of the Mr. Handyman franchise in Boise, aptly explains, “The face and reputation of Mr. Handyman is largely determined by the people we hire. Though the franchisor can offer guidance, it is up to the franchisee to choose the right people to execute their vision.”

Marketing. Building a brand locally and generating local demand are two key responsibilities of a franchisee. Tactics for reaching an audience can vary greatly by region, often down to the neighborhood level, and understanding the creative elements that work best in combination with the shifting world of advertising media and public relations – such as online, newspapers, and social media like Twitter and Facebook – are all daunting challenges the franchisee must address.

Those are greatly disparate challenges – how can you best address all of them? The key is to look for franchisors that not only have a strong brand and proven system, but also provide solutions that help the franchisee solve local issues. This is where good franchisors separate themselves from the pack and aspiring franchisees should research diligently to determine whether the franchisor offers the following:

Information – franchisors can help share data, best practices, and lessons learned via technology and by connecting franchisees through networking, regular events, and training.

Expertise – many franchisors make experts readily available to franchisees, often for free or at subsidized rates. For example, some franchisors provide real estate consultants for store openings and some provide dedicated marketing professionals in each market.

Execution – franchisors can help eliminate time-consuming, non-core tasks to enable franchisees to best focus on managing their business. Examples of this include recruiting screening tools and marketing fulfillment services or technologies.

It’s important to keep in mind that no matter how good these solutions are, the franchisee’s ultimate responsibility is to drive local strategy by making decisions across a spectrum of business challenges. This leads to perhaps the most important observation I’ve made in working with franchisees throughout the country – franchise success is most highly correlated to the people that run them, and not necessarily to the national brand or system.

The common traits shared by successful franchisees include demonstrated skill at solving a wide variety of challenges and an incredible passion for building a local brand. At the same time, successful franchisees acknowledge they can’t solve all problems themselves, and thus they are readily willing to rely upon the franchise for support. If you think you are this type of person, franchising may be for you – just remember to look for franchisors that set themselves apart with the tools and services they provide.