Overview

A leading multi-unit franchise brand with more than 1,000 locations faced a common but critical challenge: limited visibility into local advertising spend across its franchise network. While national marketing efforts were well documented, the brand lacked a standardized way to track how franchisees were investing in their local markets.

In 2025, the brand implemented a tracking feature within the LOMA platform, transforming fragmented reporting into a centralized, disciplined, and data-driven process. The result: over $27 million in verified local advertising spend tracked in a single year—insight that would not have been possible without the LOMA tracking tool.

The Challenge

Like many large franchise systems, this brand required franchisees to invest in local marketing. However:

• Reporting was inconsistent and manual

• There was no standardized categorization of tactics

• Corporate lacked aggregate visibility

• Strategic decisions were based on assumptions rather than data

Without centralized tracking, leadership could not confidently answer:

• How much is being spent locally?

• What tactics are franchisees prioritizing?

• Are investments aligned with brand strategy?

• Where are inefficiencies occurring?

The absence of clear data limited the brand’s ability to guide franchisees toward higher-return marketing investments.

The Solution: LOMA Local Spend Tracking Tool

In 2025, the brand launched a structured reporting process through the LOMA tracking tool.

How It Works

• Franchisees log into LOMA once per month

• They select from a pre-approved dropdown list of marketing tactics

• They enter the amount spent for each tactic

• Data is automatically aggregated at the system level

The simplicity of the interface drove compliance. Because tactics were pre-approved and categorized, data integrity remained high, and reporting became consistent across all markets.

The Results

$27 Million in Local Advertising Spend Tracked

For the first time, leadership had clear visibility into total system-wide local marketing investment.

In 2025:

• Over $27 million in local advertising spend was documented and categorized

• Spending data was aggregated across 1,000+ locations

• Corporate gained real-time strategic insight

• This level of transparency had never existed before.

Key Insights Discovered

With aggregated reporting, the brand identified how franchisees were allocating funds:

• Digital Advertising – Highest spend category

• Overhead – Second largest allocation

• Community Outreach – Third

• Traditional Media – Fourth

The Overhead Revelation

One of the most surprising findings was the volume of dollars being allocated to overhead-related marketing costs.

While overhead is sometimes necessary, the data revealed:

• A significant percentage of local budgets were not going directly into consumer-facing media

• Opportunities existed to optimize cost structures

• Strategic reallocation could improve return on investment

Without LOMA tracking, this level of clarity would have been impossible.

Strategic Impact

The power of this initiative went beyond reporting numbers. It enabled:

1. Data-Driven Coaching

• Franchise development and field marketing teams could now:

• Guide franchisees toward high-performing tactics

• Recommend adjustments based on system-wide benchmarks

• Encourage smarter allocation of funds

2. Budget Optimization

• Leadership identified opportunities to:

• Reduce unnecessary overhead spend

• Increase investment in high-performing digital channels

• Standardize best practices across markets

3. Improved Accountability

• The monthly discipline of logging spend created:

• Greater franchisee ownership

• Clear compliance visibility

• Alignment between local and national strategy

Why This Matters for Multi-Unit Franchise Systems

In large franchise networks, even small inefficiencies compound quickly. When multiplied across 1,000+ locations, modest shifts in budget allocation can represent millions of dollars in impact.

This case demonstrates a powerful principle:

       Knowledge is power.

Understanding that $27 million is being invested locally—and knowing exactly how it is being spent—gives brands the ability to influence performance, improve ROI, and reduce waste.

Without the LOMA tracking tool, this brand would still be operating with limited insight. With it, they now have:

• Transparency

• Strategic clarity

• Measurable accountability

• A scalable framework for continuous improvement

Conclusions

The implementation of the LOMA tracking feature in 2025 marked a turning point for this 1,000+ unit franchise brand.

What was once fragmented and assumed is now:

• Structured

• Measured

• Aggregated

• Actionable

By combining an easy-to-use platform with disciplined monthly reporting, the brand transformed local marketing from a blind spot into a strategic advantage.

For multi-unit franchise systems, the lesson is clear:

When you can see the full picture of local advertising spend, you can shape it—and that can make all the difference between stagnation and scalable success.

Quick Numbers

Reach Out

For questions, comments, or suggestions, email the team at info@lomaplatform.com