Inside Heyday’s marketing playbook for franchisees

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by Anna Munhin Jan 30, 2023 News
Inside Heyday’s marketing playbook for franchisees

The main goal is to make franchisors take a more uniform approach to marketing and tailoring events to their local market. Establish a marketing calendar for in-store activations, forge partnerships with local businesses along with consistently execute media and influencer outreach to increase traffic and subscription conversions are some of the things a franchisee needs to do. The launch of the internal program coincides with Heyday's recent funding round. Heyday opened its first store in New York in 2015. Currently, it has 23 stores, 11 of which are company owned.

Adam Ross, Heyday CEO, told Modern Retail that the program was created to help the dozens of owners drum up their own brand awareness.

The general franchise fee is $60,000 and there are additional fees for startup costs. The program will now include support from Heyday's national marketing team for an additional $60,000 to $70,000. There is a dedicated point person at Heyday HQ who works with the shop's local PR agency. Digital assets like templates for newsletters, social media content and event invites are covered by the fee.

The marketing strategy of Heyday is to encourage franchise operators to adopt the program.

Heyday is focused on growing its subscription business. Heyday members can get access to a facial for $100 per month. Almost all of the company's business is accounted for by monthly subscriptions.

The membership program is growing and retaining more and more with the help of franchisees. Ross said that they price their membership to have the strongest value proposition in the market.

Providing customizable guidelines 

Up to 16 weeks before their opening day, Heyday's headquarters asks franchisees to start forging relationships with influential people and community-based brands.

The regional market guide tells franchisees to keep doing press outreach in order to get new coverage. One of the main parts of the strategy is to invite media members to their local Heyday for facials. Regional micro- and macro-influencers are a big part of the strategy and Heyday's guidebook encourages franchisees to maintain relationships with these creators depending on their budgets. Heyday's new shop in Southlake has a partnership with Alto, which provides rides to and from Dallas area celebrities' facial appointments.

According to the guide, if you want to launch, you need to secure at least 20 influential people to post on their social channels. There is a suggestion to identify five to eight influential people to work with each month.

Local businesses are encouraged to help drive traffic to Heyday shops during the opening phase and beyond. Locals will be able to try out new perks, surprise-and-delight moments and seasonal offerings when they visit the shop. New Year, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day are some of the most important holidays for promotions. Over the past few months, franchisee have organized co- branded events with similar concepts, such as Drybar and Barry's Bootcamp.

A location under a brand banner is just the beginning for a franchise. The next challenge is to keep them thriving in a saturated market.

Part of a franchise's success depends on its franchise owners ability to offer consistent service across locations, but with a personal touch.

The rise of digital natives like Drybar and Heyday has created new challenges for franchising. Alexander said it was all about finding the right owners and those who would take agency over the success of their location. Alexander said that a lot of this depends on effective marketing by operators.

Ross said that Heyday's guided outline is meant to encourage franchisees to use marketing strategies that target their local customers as the company expands. A collaboration with a small local business could be more effective than an influencer facial day event for Los Angeles stores.

Ross said the idea was to give franchises flexibility in how to draw new customers. Also give the brand assets and support along the way.