Franchise Spotlight with Katherine LeBlanc

Conversations with the leaders who are actually building franchising - from the executive suite to the field. Each season explores what success looks like right now, what franchise leaders should be paying attention to, and how the best brands are delivering real returns for their franchisees. Because at the end of the day, franchisee profitability isn't just a metric; it's the whole point. Your host, Katherine LeBlanc, brings 13 years inside franchise systems, having led marketing across six brands spanning food, wellness, beauty, and experience. She's been in the room where these decisions get made. These conversations reflect that: direct, practitioner-level, and built for franchise leaders who don't have time for surface-level takes.

Franchise Spotlight with Katherine LeBlanc is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Franchise Spotlight with Katherine LeBlanc, a business show with 0 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #8

  What's Working in Franchise Development Marketing Right Now

  Sep 28, 202636 minS2

  Ziebart's Chief Growth Officer Larisa Walega and Franchise Assembly co-founder Liane Caruso join Katherine LeBlanc for a direct conversation about what's actually working in franchise development marketing right now. From portals to PR to GEO, this episode covers the channel decisions and budget tradeoffs that franchise marketers need heading into the next planning cycle. You'll walk away with a clearer framework for where to put your Franchise Development dollars and why. In this episode: Why contact rate, not cost per lead, is the metric that should be driving your portal decisions How Ziebart funds PR outside restricted ad fund dollars and what 17 years of that investment produces The Meta targeting shift that displaced Ziebart's website as their top Franchise Development lead source Why GEO scores are replacing Google search spend in forward-looking Franchise Development strategies Brokers: what it actually takes to make them work and where brands are leaving money on the table The resourcing gap in Franchise Development marketing and why consumer teams can't fill it Guest: Larisa Walega, CFE, Chief Growth Officer, Ziebart Larisa has spent 17 years at Ziebart, starting as a field marketing manager and growing into a role that now spans marketing, franchise development, data and analytics, and annual business planning. She thinks in compounding investments and long-view brand strategy — which makes her take on what's working in 2026 Franchise Development worth paying close attention to. Guest: Liane Caruso, co-Founder, Franchise Assembly and Fractional CMO Liane advises brands from emerging to 100-plus locations on marketing process, brand standards, and budget strategy. She also co-founded Franchise Assembly, which runs Mastermind programs for franchise CMOs and Franchise Development leaders. The cross-brand visibility she carries into this conversation sets her observations apart. Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMO Want to go deeper? apollocmo.com ▶️ @MyPodcastHost on YouTube linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc katherine@apollocmo.com

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  Episode #11

  The Marketing Calendar Moves You Aren't Making Yet

  Sep 21, 202627 minS2

  Brandon Rhoten has been in restaurant marketing for nearly twenty years — CMO at Papa John's, CMO at Potbelly, and the architect of the digital program that put Wendy's back on the cultural map. In this episode, he and Katherine get into the product launch process that most franchise brands are too impatient to build, why cultural relevance is a point of view before it's a tactic, and why franchisees don't care how many impressions your last post got. In this episode: The filtering, ops testing, and market testing process behind a real product launch Why the product launch calendar has to be built a year in advance — and how to sell that discipline to a C suite that wants to move fast How Dave's Hot Chicken connects to culture without chasing it Building a marketing calendar for brands that don't have constant product news What franchisees actually want to hear from marketing — and it isn't impressions Guest: Brandon Rhoten, CMO, Dave's Hot Chicken Brandon has spent nearly twenty years in restaurant marketing. He built the digital and social program at Wendy's, served as CMO at Papa John's and Potbelly, and now leads marketing at one of the most culturally visible brands in fast casual. He owns restaurants himself, which means he brings both the brand-side and the franchisee-side lens to this conversation. Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMO Want to go deeper? apollocmo.com ▶️ KatherineLeBlanc_Franchise on YouTube linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc katherine@apollocmo.com

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  Episode #7

  AI in 2027: What Franchise Marketers Need to Stop, Start, and Fix

  Sep 14, 202643 minS2

  Kim Gouch (Retro Fitness) and Will Fraker (The Good Feed Store) join the conversation to talk about what AI is actually doing inside franchise marketing right now — not the buzzword version, but the real decisions their teams are making around creative, websites, data, and channel strategy heading into 2027. If you leave this episode with one thing, it's this: AI is already rewriting the customer journey before your prospects ever land on your website, and most franchise marketers aren't watching. In this episode: How AI is disrupting the customer journey before customers reach your website — and what to do about it The "go slow to go fast" discipline-first approach to AI adoption Where AI belongs in creative production and where it absolutely doesn't How to prioritize channels for the AI era — email, paid, website, and beyond What franchise marketers need to stop doing with AI right now Guest: Kim Gouch, Chief Brand Officer, Retro Fitness Kim has spent 30+ years in franchising across hotel, hospitality, restaurants, and fitness — including time on both the franchisor and franchisee sides. As the first-ever Chief Brand Officer at Retro Fitness, she's building the AI strategy for a high-value, low-price fitness brand with e-commerce at its core. Her brand-first perspective on guardrails and authenticity is one of the clearest frameworks in this conversation. Guest: Will Fraker, VP of Brand and Performance, The Good Feed Store Will has been in franchising for over a decade across home services, retail, and specialty. At the Good Feed Store — a 300+ location brand — he oversees brand and performance marketing while also supporting a much smaller early-stage stretch brand. That contrast gives him a uniquely practical lens on what AI looks like at scale versus what it looks like when you're a team of one. Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMO Want to go deeper? apollocmo.com ▶️ @My Podcast Host on YouTube linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc katherine@apollocmo.com

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  Episode #5

  What's Broken in Local Store Marketing (and How to Fix It Before 2027)

  Sep 7, 202644 minS2

  Local store marketing is one of the most talked-about and least-solved challenges in franchising — and Laura Peever and Marci Kleinsasser are two people who've actually done the work. This episode covers what breaks down between the playbook and the franchisee, how to build activation that compounds, and why the most underrated growth lever isn't a media tactic at all. In this episode: Why the playbook-handoff model fails and what to replace it with Setting franchisee expectations from day one — including in the franchise development process Alternative metrics for community-based marketing that can't show direct attribution The Budget Blinds daily tip model and what makes it work Customer experience as a local marketing engine: why your hire and training standards are a marketing decision Guest: Laura Peever, Head of Marketing, Sportball Laura has spent her career across agency and client roles spanning retail, pharma, research, and brand strategy — and brings a generalist's lens to a franchise-specific challenge. At Sportball, a children's enrichment brand with 35-plus locations across four countries, she's building local activation systems that work from Brooklyn to Singapore. Guest: Marci Kleinsasser, CFE, VP of Marketing, Voxie Marci has 30-plus years in franchise marketing, starting on the agency side and leading franchisee marketing, brand fund strategy, and franchise development marketing for brands across restaurant, retail, and service categories. She now leads marketing at Voxie, a text marketing platform purpose-built for franchise and multi-location brands — and brings that full arc of experience to this conversation. Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Franchise Marketing and Growth Advisor | Apollo CMO Want to go deeper? apollocmo.com ▶️ @MyPodcastHost on YouTube linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc katherine@apollocmo.com

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  Episode #6

  What's Changing in Franchise Media Spend

  Aug 31, 202639 minS2

  Google and Meta efficiencies keep declining, and most franchise marketers don't have a real plan for what fills the gap. Chris McGee (Batteries Plus) and Karen Wenning (Suttle Strauss) join Katherine to debate connected mail, cable TV, and the channels worth testing before the 2027 budget cycle locks in. In this episode: Why blanket direct mail without strategy is the channel both guests agreed should go first How connected mail programs deliver three to five touches before a mail piece even arrives The difference between a return on investment and a return on relationship Why Batteries Plus moved from store-level to market-level media pooling What "spray and pray" looks like in 2027 — and why both guests say it has to stop Guest: Chris McGee, VP of Marketing, Batteries Plus Chris has spent over 20 years across agency, analytics, and client-side marketing roles, with a career-long focus on brand storytelling. At Batteries Plus, he's led the shift from fragmented local media buying to a market-pooled, data-backed strategy that grew reach by 25% this year. Guest: Karen Wenning, Director of Client Partnerships, Suttle Strauss Karen has worked in franchise marketing for over 20 years, specializing in connected mail programs that combine direct mail with digital retargeting. She brings a rare vendor-side view of what local activation actually looks like across hundreds of franchisee relationships. Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMO Want to go deeper? apollocmo.com ▶️ Katherine LeBlanc on YouTube linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc katherine@apollocmo.com

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