By Danielle Gibson-28 January 2021 07:00am
Meet The Drum Awards for Marketing jury 2021
The Drum Awards for Marketing reward brands and marketing teams that truly understand their customer.
Open to teams of any size that can prove their campaigns have had a measurable effect, the awards encompass categories including FMCG, Not for Profit, Brand Development or Extension of the Year, Rising Star of the Year, Diversity and Inclusion Company of the Year and Marketing Agency of the Year.
These awards are truly global, and open to teams and companies from anywhere in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa or the Americas.
Photo: iStock
Jan. 27, 2021
Focus Brands, the parent company of Cinnabon, McAlisters, Jamba and several other limited-service brands, has named digital transformation executive, Gurmeet Singh, to its board. Singh brings 20 years of digital innovation and project management experience across a number of industries to the company s governing body, a news release. We are thrilled to have Gurmeet on our Board, and we believe his digital expertise will bolster our path to increased accessibility and convenience for our guests, Focus Brands CEO Jim Holthouser said in the release. Our digital growth will be critical as we expand our global footprint, and Gurmeet will be an incredible thought partner and leader as we navigate the digital road ahead for our brands.
A Gatineau firm whose software helps some of Canada’s best-known chains track their stores’ performance is now part of a U.S. franchise management giant.
Virginia-based FranConnect announced this week it has acquired LavaBlast Software, which makes a subscription-based platform used by franchisors to maintain consistent standards across their operations. Financial terms of the deal, which closed Jan. 14, were not made public.
Launched 14 years ago by a pair of University of Ottawa software engineering grads, LavaBlast – which did business under the name FranchiseBlast – has more than 100 customers. They include Recipe Unlimited Corp., the company behind Swiss Chalet, Harvey’s and other Canadian restaurant brands, as well as Cinnabon parent company Focus Brands, BeaverTails and Smoke’s Poutinerie.
Jan. 12, 2021
Former Focus Brands President Kat Cole has joined the board of directors for Slice, a technology platform for pizza brands that has surpassed $1 billion in cumulative sales since its founding in 2010. We are so pleased to have Kat join the Slice board. Her significant experience growing companies will undoubtedly help Slice achieve our long-term business objectives, Ilir Sela, founder and CEO of Slice, said in a company press release. She s a powerful operator and change agent with industry-specific experience and a deep understanding of how technology is reshaping restaurants and retail. She will bring valued expertise to Slice, especially as we double-down on our growth and Slice Accelerate.
Numerous brands have repositioned themselves during the pandemic, but Schlotzsky’s had a head start.
Before most of the country even knew what COVID was, the 340-unit sandwich chain owned by Focus Brands since 2006 was reducing slow menu items and concentrating on core pizza and sandwich offerings, or as COO Tory Bartlett calls it, “focusing on doing a few things great.” Operations were streamlined to improve speed of service and accuracy.
Schlotzsky’s used Delphi Display Systems’ drive-thru timers to see from an enterprise level how stores were performing and to find opportunities throughout the customer journey. In addition, drive-thru menu boards were adjusted to suggestively sell items that would perform well and that could be produced quickly.