“Who knows what Ziebart is?” asked Larisa Walega, chief growth officer of automotive aftermarket concept Ziebart, during a panel at the 2025 International Franchise Association Convention in Las Vegas February 11.
The response was a relatively silent room. “See? That’s the problem,” she said. “We’re on a mission to change that in terms of growing our brand awareness.”
Walega spoke alongside Julie Green, vice president of marketing for Heights Wellness Retreat, and Laurel Graham, Homewatch CareGivers vice president of products, during a panel on cultivating brand relevancy.
When it comes to measuring relevancy, Green shared her “unpopular opinion.”
“I don’t think brand awareness is hard to measure,” she said. “I think people always say it’s really hard to nail down. You know if people are talking about your brand or not.”
Consumer research becomes a catalyst in identifying target audiences and setting goals for franchise owners. Being proactive in these efforts can even be lifesaving, in the case of Graham’s work at Homewatch.
“Chances are when you need it, you need it yesterday. … Something happened to your family, to your loved one, and now suddenly you need someone to be home to help you out,” Graham said about the in-home caregiving concept.
Related: Three Takeaways From the IFA Convention
But it’s not enough just to collect research; applying the key takeaways to marketing efforts is where change happens.
In Ziebart’s case, consumer research convinced the brand to add a tagline: “Your vehicle’s best defense.” After successful testing, the company launched a national media campaign debuting a brand mascot, a knight named Bart.
“That’s always one of the highlights of any marketer’s journey—to see that come to fruition,” Walega said about the campaign.
Research shows Green how to reach out and educate respective audiences while taking advantage of the multichannel opportunities available. She is well aware of how Gen Z-ers, for example, resonate with wellness on TikTok through trends like “SkinTok.”
From there, it’s all about fostering consumer relationships through creating a compelling narrative driven by data. This is more important than ever at Heights Wellness Retreat, in the early stages of a rebrand after changing its name from Massage Heights.
“A/B testing is really important when you’ve got different messaging, especially for different demographics and different markets,” Green said. “What works in one market might not resonate with another market.”
Brand relevancy grows from a strong storytelling element, she added, like setting up VIP influencer marketing events, posting video content and promoting localized brand events and marketing efforts.
“That’s what resonates with people,” Green said. “How do you humanize your business so that people feel a connection? Because that’s what they want. They want to feel a connection … whatever the story is—if it’s your brand story, if it’s a consumer story, if it’s a franchise candidate story.”
Graham reiterated the importance of data’s role in measuring success and encouraged franchisors and franchisees to always be tracking analytics. These initiatives, along with storytelling, are beneficial in celebrating successes among franchisees while boosting brand relevancy.
“It’s an encouragement to see how some local office or a whole region is doing,” Graham said. “That’s actually a very positive competition among our brand. It’s nice to see how they’re doing … and share their success stories too in how they’re actually successfully creating the market and having brand awareness.”