featured SPEAKERS & SESSIONS

Consumer Behavior In 2026: Loyalty Drivers & the Impact of AI

Consumer expectations are shifting faster than brands can adapt. This session explores how changing sentiment, economic pressure, digital convenience, and AI are reshaping the path from brand discovery to lasting loyalty. Drawing on original consumer research across leading franchise industries, we will examine what drives trial, switching, repeat business, referrals, and word-of-mouth recommendations. We will also look at whether AI-powered personalization strengthens relationships or erodes trust, and how referral-led customers behave differently from those acquired through other channels. Attendees will leave with practical insights for attracting new customers, earning loyalty, and building brand experiences consumers trust and recommend to others.

Session by Emily Bielak, Director, The Martec Group, Inc.

How AI Is Transforming Franchise Development Marketing: From Better Leads to Stronger Relationships

Rick Batchelor will present with a panel of franchisors to explore how brands are using AI to attract better-fit candidates and create more relevant, personalized marketing throughout the franchise buyer journey.

The conversation will highlight real-world applications across franchise development marketing, including improving lead quality, developing persona-driven website and ad content, personalizing nurture campaigns, and tailoring follow-up for first-time and multi-unit buyers. The session will also explore how brands can use automation to work more efficiently while protecting the consistent brand voice and human connection that ultimately turn interest into ownership.

Session by Rick Batchelor, CXO, Franchise Ninja

What Franchise Marketers Should Cut, Keep, and Add in 2027

The franchise marketing playbook is overdue for a rebuild. The channels that delivered for the last decade aren't delivering the way they used to. AI Overviews are reshaping search behavior, with click-through rates on top organic results dropping from 15% to 8% (Pew Research Center). Social attribution keeps getting harder. The pattern is more spend for less return.

This session will cover the full-funnel case for streaming TV and audio, showing how upper-funnel awareness drives branded search and lifts the search and social spend in the mix. We'll also tackle who owns what between corporate and local, plus measurement standards every franchisor should hold their partners to. Attendees leave with a planning framework and a checklist.

Session by Mindi Grissom, Director of Marketing, Adduro

From Brand Builder to Business Leader: Why Marketing Is the New CEO Pipeline

For years, marketers were viewed as the storytellers of the business. Today, they are becoming the operators, strategists, and growth drivers companies need in the leadership seat. Hear from the CEO of MassageLuXe as she shares her path from marketing leader to CEO and makes the case for why marketers are uniquely positioned to lead companies.

This session will break down what marketing leaders should be doing now to move into broader business leadership. From building financial fluency and operational credibility to understanding unit economics and influencing across departments. For CMOs and marketing leaders ready for a bigger role, this conversation goes beyond campaigns to what it really takes to run the business.

Keynote by Kristen Pechacek, CEO of MassageLuXe

Change Your Convention, Change Your System: Let's Raise the Bar

Your annual convention is the one time each year you have your entire system's full attention in one room. Done strategically, it's where franchisees reconnect with the brand and each other. But too many franchise events fall into the "same old, same old" rut, static slides and over-packed agendas, and by day two the room has checked out. When events lack energy and connection, zees leave feeling like taking a few days away from their business wasn’t worth it.

By the end of the session, you’ll see your convention through a new lens, with concrete ideas for increasing attendee engagement and driving sponsorship ROI that you can put to work right away.

Session by Joey Goone, CEO, Utopia Experience