I'm Lovin' This

By Ashley Rodriguez

A fun ad -- or really, ads -- was circulating around the Fish office this week. Adweek reported that a McDonald's in Warsaw, Poland, teamed up with some local creative folks and a graffiti artist to unveil a hand-drawn, chalk billboard that changed twice every day, emphasizing the freshness of McDonald's food.

Check out the video below.

VIP? Yes, Please.

By Ashley Rodriguez

Back in 2007, my journalism class at the University of Miami went on a “field trip” to Washington, D.C. to write a series of stories for the National Park Service. Our professor had more airline miles than he could count, so a few of us lucky ones — the suck-ups, I presumed — got to hang out in the lounge. (At 21, it was the greatest thing ever. You know, free snacks.) It was just a nice little perk of knowing someone somewhat influential. In this case, a guy with a PhD and a solid relationship with American Airlines.

Fast forward six years and American has decided to open its doors to a different kind of influencer: the ones with high Klout scores. Anyone with a score above 55 can get a one-day pass to the Admirals Club, Mashable reported. Those under 55 are entered into a drawing to win access. And one lucky winner will get access to the Admirals Club for an entire year. Do I fly enough to get in to any airline lounges otherwise? No way. Would this get me to fly on American more? Probably. Wait, there’s free wine? Then definitely.

If you’re not familiar with Klout, it’s a service that measures your level of influence on social media based on a score of 1-100. Users can connect nearly all of their accounts to help boost their score, from Twitter and Facebook to Instagram, LinkedIn and Foursquare. To put the scores in perspective, Barack Obama has a Klout score of 99. Justin Bieber is a close second (really?) at 92. Zooey Deschanel comes in at 86. I’m at 65. Not bad. Enough to get me into the Admirals Lounge.

Do I think people are going to reenergize their social media activity just to get into an airline lounge? Probably not. But is it a cool perk? Yeah. Would I stay active on social media if I continued to get cool perks? For sure. (Let’s go, brands! More perks!) For more on that, check out this Wired article that a Twitter pal sent me this morning.

At the very least, it got me looking forward to my next flight on American. Which, in case you are wondering, is a lovely 6 a.m. flight from D.C. to Miami in June to see the Fish Consulting crew. I hope the lounge serves mimosas.

Fish Goes Latino

By Vanessa Tartak

Once a year, there is a well-known gathering of everything Latino known as Hispanicize. Held in Miami this year, it hosted dozens of engaging panels, thought-provoking lectures, hands-on workshops and a lot of fiesta! Hundreds of marketers, public relations practitioners, bloggers, journalists, celebs, directors and aspiring writers attended the sessions held from Tuesday, April 9 through Saturday, April 13.  Never missing a step, Fish Consulting was on-site learning about the new trends in the U.S. Hispanic market. 

The projected Hispanic population in the U.S. in 2050 will be 132.8 million. What’s most significant about that number is that this means Latinos will constitute 30 percent of the nation’s population. Paying attention to this demographic is now more important than ever and staying relevant is the key to creating a major impact. It’s no surprise a common theme at Hispanicize was that everyone continues fighting for a piece of the pie, but capturing consumers’ attention is more difficult than ever. Nuances in social media, mobile marketing and engaging media relations allow for a deeper connection between a brand and the consumer.

Being aware of this important power player is key to evaluating consumer behavior and identifying opportunities where our clients can benefit. Looking forward to next year!

Fish Heads to MUFC 2013

By: Amanda Rich

Last week, my colleague Jenna and I attended the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas, NV. This is the largest franchise industry show in the U.S. designed specifically for multi-unit owners. The theme was driving profitability and many of the sessions were focused on growth and portfolio diversity – keys to success in this business!

We hosted a social media roundtable, which was one of my favorite parts. From Facebook and Twitter to Google+ and Pinterest – we discussed best practices to encourage engagement, drive customer traffic and increase sales.

Another highlight was the panel on increasing local store sales. Franchisees from Smoothie King, Fantastic Sams Hair Salons and East Coast Wings, to name a few, shared how they have been able to establish their brands in their communities and gain market share.

And of course the exhibit floor was a real treat! Franchisors had the opportunity to showcase their brands and products to prospects firsthand. The key to attracting visitors to stop by a booth was creativity. Some concepts sampled their goods (we went a little crazy at Everything Bundt Cakes), while others promoted an incentive program or an iPad giveaway.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend to franchise brands - both emerging and established - that are focused on multi-unit growth.

Discovery Day: A Look into the Hopeful Franchisee

By: Vanessa Tartak

Think of it as American Idol. There are the candidates, all polished and ready as if they were going to a job interview. Then there are the judges who are comprised of the franchisor executive committee tasked to evaluate the candidates and make a yay or nay decision to award a franchise to the “contestant.”

Sounds exciting, right?

Many franchises have what is called a Discovery Day for potential franchisee candidates. Being new in the franchising PR world, I had only but heard of Discovery Day and never witnessed the process that involves evaluations on behalf of both parties: the franchisee and the franchisor. Every Discovery Day is different, but below I detail my recent experience when my Fish Consulting colleague, Amanda D., and I were invited to Salt Lake City for a client’s Discovery Day.

This particular Discovery Day was a three-day process. We learned that the two-sided method has the franchisee candidate determining if he wishes to invest in the franchise by absorbing all there is to know about the franchise, including vision for the future, tools at his disposal, support and other key factors.

It’s a demanding process, yet my client had this down to a science. First, these candidates need to be approved financially and have a desired background that will enable them to succeed. Once they are invited to the Discovery Day, they are halfway there. The franchisee candidates ask questions, conduct site visits and evaluate if this is the right franchise for their investment. (Wouldn’t it be nice if American Idol contestants got to evaluate the judges, too? What a twist!)

There are so many franchise options in the U.S. alone that a franchise candidate really needs to determine if this is the right one for such a commitment.

In the end, Fish was fully immersed in the franchise selection process and came out of it having a clear vision of the overall business model to better manage our public relations efforts.

Viral Videos Are Soooo 2012

By: Ashley Rodriguez

A fun, fan-made photo from the
Facebook page of our client, Togo's.
(No, they didn't REALLY send
a sandwich to the moon, 
but it's still cool.)

PR Daily recently recapped the nine phrases PR firms hate to hear. Topping the list was “We finally figured out what we need. Let’s do a viral video.” (If I had a nickel...)

But have you heard what Thirty Seconds to Mars did? No, it wasn’t a viral video. They sent their latest single… TO SPACE. The song was strapped to a rocket and blasted into outer space, en route to the International Space Station. My favorite line from the AP story was, “It will be released Tuesday on Earth.”

Let’s hope this outer space thing doesn't catch on… or debuting new menu items on the moon will replace the old-and-tired viral video.

Today is International Women's Day

By: Ashley Rodriguez

“This is not the 1950s. Women aren’t confined to the home, cooking, cleaning, and caring for the kids (unless they want to, of course), nor can they only find work as secretaries in a male-dominated corporate world. No, today, women have power: They can balance work and family life; they can excel in any profession; and, just like men, they can own their own businesses.” – QSR Magazine, November 2012

Amen, QSR!

In honor of International Women’s Day, here are some facts related to women in franchising and foodservice:

• The IFA Educational Foundation reported in November 2011 that 20.5 percent of franchised businesses were owned by women in 2007.
• In the QSR category, women owned 12.3 percent of franchises in 2007. Approximately 27 percent were jointly owned.
• 16.9 percent of franchised businesses bringing in between $250,000 to $499,999 annually were owned by women. 

If you consider the role of women just a few decades ago, we could call the above “fun facts.” But if you think about how low the numbers still are, well, let’s just say we ladies could do better.

An area where women have the majority presence is public relations. (FACT: the Fish Consulting Ladies make up approximately 80 percent of the agency. Don’t believe me? Look at our holiday card!) Here are some facts from a Forbes article:

• In 2010, Ragan.com reported that 73 percent of the 21,000 members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) were female. Syracuse Universty put that number at 85 percent.
• PRWeek has said an increasing number of top firms have women in their most senior roles.

For anyone keeping track, Food News Media (publisher of QSR and FSR) has dubbed 2013 the “Year of Women in Foodservice.” So let’s raise our glasses to hearing more success stories of women in business this year!

Happy International Women's Day!