Quiznos seems to be in perpetual defeat. Here is another money-losing franchisee from Quiznos:
“We can’t make money,” said Quiznos franchisee Marty Tate, who said his Erie, Pa., store leads the region in sales. Mr. Tate, who is not part of the lawsuit, said 40% of his sales go directly into advertising, royalties and food for the next week. He added that three of seven locations in his county have closed in the past year. Mr. Tate said that when his contract expires next spring, he will open his own independent store.
Advertising funds are always somewhat of a mystery. Typically, the franchisee will pay about 5-8% into an advertising pool that is supposed to be leveraged across all applicable markets. Unfortunately, there is often not as much bang for the buck as the franchisor would like you to believe, particularly in the creative production and media buys. Quiznos example:
Then there’s the issue of advertising. Quiznos’ agency is Cliff Freeman & Partners. According to TNS Media Intelligence, the chain spent $83 million in measured media in 2007 and $55 million in the first half of 2008. Despite the increase, many franchisees said that they rarely see their own ads, and most say the work isn’t memorable. (By comparison, Subway spent $361 million in during 2007, according to TNS.
“The last good Quiznos commercial was Baby Bob, and that was 2004,” said Mr. Tate, who said he’s complained to executives about the creative. “I would challenge anyone to remember the last Quiznos ad they saw.”
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Ryan is an attorney and valuation specialist residing in Chicago. He chronicles his thoughts and research on FranchisePundit.com. You may reach him by email ryanknoll@gmail.com or mobile telephone 312-715-8115.
Personally, I hated Quizno’s most recent national advertising campaign. But regardless of how I, individually, felt about it, if Quizno’s corporate (“decision makers”) had made the decision to implement a tool like Balihoo Marketer Edition, which would enable local Quizno franchisors to take corporate-approved creative and then customize it so that it would resonate with their local customers, the entire campaign would have likely been more successful for ALL Quizno franchise owners. Tools like Balihoo Marketer Edition offer true value to the distributed marketing model by driving creative consistency and aggregating media buying power (thus, allowing franchisors to be able to market and advertise less expensively and ultimately more effectively. Check out a tool like Balihoo Marketer Edition on franchise-update.com: http://www.franchise-update.com/suppliers/balihoo/
There is a new Website out there for struggling Quiznos Franchisees… a place to share ideas on how to increase sales, reduce costs, and other best practices. Go to http://www.qfalliance.com.