What's Working in Franchise Development Marketing Right Now

What's actually working in franchise development marketing right now — portals, PR, Meta, brokers, GEO, and what a $17K cost per acquisition means for your strategy. Two franchise development marketing practitioners unpack the tactics, the metrics, and the budget decisions that separate brands that grow from brands that spin their wheels in Franchise Development. If you're heading into a planning cycle, this is the episode to watch before you allocate a dollar. In this episode: Why portals are underperforming (and what contact rate actually reveals) How 17 years of PR investment compounds into top-of-funnel advantage The Meta shift that knocked Ziebart's website out of the number one lead source position Why GEO is replacing Google search strategy in FranDev budgets Brokers: when they work, when they're a waste, and what AI might change Guest 1: Larisa Walega, CFE, Chief Growth Officer, Ziebart — Larisa has been with Ziebart for 17 years, moving from field marketing through to leading the entire growth function including marketing, franchise development, data and analytics, and annual business planning. She brings the long view on what brand-building actually compounds into. Guest 2: Liane Caruso, Founder, Franchise Assembly and Fractional CMO — Leanne works across brands from emerging to 100-plus locations, and co-founded Franchise Assembly, which runs Mastermind programs for franchise CMOs and FranDev leaders. She sees the patterns across the industry that brand-side marketers don't. Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMO Are you a franchise brand leader working on a growth challenge? Katherine works with franchise brands as a Fractional CMO. 👉 apollocmo.com