It’s been exactly one week since our flight left IFA 2013 in Las Vegas and touched down in a very, very snowy Denver. Since then, I’ve had a chance to reflect on my experiences and interactions at this year’s IFA Convention and take note of the many exciting things happening for franchise systems moving forward. After attending the convention for the sixth straight year, it is safe to say that the 2013 event was one of the most enjoyable experiences for the Location3 team; the keynote sessions were incredible, the round tables lively, and the exhibit hall traffic extraordinary.We were particularly fond of our booth setup this year and had a great time entertaining franchise representatives with our endless spins of the roulette wheel! We also had the opportunity to gain great insight into what folks in the franchise world are particularly focused on this year. Here are a few of my key takeaways from the 2013 convention:
- Franchises are doing increasingly better at identifying their specific digital needs and prioritizing accordingly
- The majority of marketing budgets now include specific sections for digital marketing (yes!)
- Managing local listings is now accepted as necessary, not optional, for success
- A digital dashboard may look very nice, but does it produce the results franchise systems actually need and want?
- Franchise systems continue to wrestle with the question of how to properly manage online engagement with customers
- Producing valuable content that customers actually want will continue to be a hot topic in 2013
As a digital marketing partner, it goes without saying that we have been thrilled to see how much the conversation around digital has grown these last few years at the IFA convention and are positive that this growth will continue to feed upon itself. Traditional media and advertising methods have given way to data analysis and accountability for marketers on a much more granular level, and we couldn’t be more excited to continue to serve the franchise systems we partner with as thought leaders in this space. As such, we are pleased to co-present a complimentary webinar with our partners at Google on March 7, 2013 at 3pm EST. To learn more about how you can register for free and participate, click here.
We’d like to thank the IFA for hosting another wonderful event this year, and look forward to the 54th Annual Convention in New Orleans, LA in 2014. Laissez les bons temps rouler!