Global Franchise 10.2

Direct mail isn’t dead – it’s just misunderstood. Too many franchise brands either ignore it altogether or run fragmented campaigns that waste budget and miss the mark. But when powered by AI and integrated into a modern performance marketing stack, direct mail can rival digital channels in both efficiency and conversion quality. The key lies in smarter targeting, continuous refinement, and structured campaigns that respect both brand oversight and local relevance. The problem is that many marketers still see direct mail as slow, expensive, and difficult to measure – a legacy channel that doesn’t fit into a digital-first world. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Today, direct mail can be personalized, performance- tracked, and optimized in real time. When executed with the same rigor as digital media, it WHAT FRANCHISE BRANDS GETWRONG ABOUT DIRECTMAIL M O D E R N M A R K E T I N G Good leadership isn’t about titles, talent, or charisma – it’s about consistency, clarity, and accountability. Brad Sugars , founder of ActionCOACH, breaks down the biggest myths holding business owners back and shares what real leadership should look like in practice. We see leadership advice everywhere – LinkedIn, podcasts, and inspirational quotes about vision and 'leading from the front'. But business owners are told to “be a better leader” without ever being shown what that really means. They chase personality traits, attend motivational seminars, and try to emulate famous leaders without mastering the basics. I’ve been leading ActionCOACH since I came up with the idea in my bedroom in the mid-90s. The brand has grown into the world’s number one business coaching franchise and along the way, I’ve seen the same misconceptions time and again. One of the biggest is believing you can skip management and go straight into leadership. Somewhere along the line, management got labeled old-fashioned – rigid, bureaucratic, uninspiring – while leadership became the glamorous ideal. Everyone Why great leaders are managers too Stop treating direct mail like a relic, says Justine Poffel, Director of Marketing at Imaginuity. With AI and smarter targeting, it’s fast becoming one of the most powerful tools in the marketing mix. wants to be a visionary, a motivator, a change-maker. But here’s the truth: you can’t build great leadership without solid management underneath it. I’ve walked into countless businesses where people hold managerial titles but have never been properly trained to manage. They’ve been sent on leadership courses, but leadership without management is like building a house without a foundation. Management gives you process, structure, and consistency. It helps people do their jobs well and keeps teams on track. Without it, leaders spend their days firefighting instead of focusing on growth. Leadership brings direction, focus, and energy, but none of that sticks if your team doesn’t know what’s expected or how success is measured. Another myth is that leadership is all about personality, that you need to be loud, charismatic, or the most confident person in the room. But leadership isn’t about how 54 GLOBAL FRANCHISE Issue 10.2