Last month was Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 Issue. In addition to revealing its list of the 2016 Top 500 Franchise Systems, the January issue provides extra franchise-centric content including its "Frannie Awards" for the best and worst franchise marketing campaigns.
No surprise that social media campaigns – not traditional TV or print ads – dominated the winners circle. Leading the group was Taco Bell which was lauded for continuing to be the "gold standard" of franchise social media efforts. In addition to its savvy command of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, the franchisor got an "A" for its mastery of Snapchat by creating smart and funny videos, e-cards and quizzes via the Snapchat platform. Not to be outdone, Applebee's was awarded the Best Use of Instragram award for its "School of Fantography" campaign consisting of a 90-second video teaching customers how to take great photos of food. The franchisor then posted the best-composed food shots burger selfies from its patrons on the company's Instragram account. McDonalds also managed to secure a win after rolling out its all day breakfast menu last year. The fast food chain reached out to customers via Twitter "who had called for a midday McMuffin" as far back as 2007 to tell them their wish was granted. However, not every franchisor's use of new technology was a winner. TGI Fridays received the "Best Tech Fail" award for its Christmas holiday marketing campaign after the blade of a mistletoe drone used in one of its Brooklyn restaurants cut a woman on the chin and took off a bit of her nose. You can check out the full list of winners and losers by subscribing here.
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