Franchise Development PR
The Challenge: Making Every Announcement a Development Story
Ziebart has been protecting vehicles since 1959, but name recognition alone doesn’t generate qualified candidates. With strategic franchise development a primary focus, the brand sought out a full year of national news positioning the 65+ year old company as an active growth opportunity. That meant every announcement on the calendar, from a new B2B program for car dealerships to a consumer maintenance story to a round of corporate promotions, had to do development work.
The Solution: Blending Development News with Real-World Economic Impact
The Fishman PR team mapped out the year as a single pipeline, timing each release so it carried a development angle and set up the one that followed.
- Positioned the January launch of the Gold Shield Protection Program as a proven franchisee-led model going national, scaling across a system with more than 1,000 dealer partners and timed to debut at the 2026 NADA Show.
- Led coverage of Ziebart’s annual franchise conference with the inaugural Heart of Ziebart Award to give media a human entry point, while spotlighting Ziebart’s largest ownership group’s – The Mattiacio Group – nine additional awards and continued growth.
- Positioned Ziebart’s leadership team as an expert voice as vehicle owners shifted to “protect, don’t replace” mindset amidst rising fuel prices, while making the investment case in the same breath: when household budgets tighten, Ziebart’s services become more relevant.
- Tied the brand’s recent 285% increase in franchise leads directly to that consumer demand story, anchored in a signed agreement in New Jersey that was framed as a conversion template for established automotive operators.
- Outlined recent promotions of Jason Theisen, Tom Bowler, and Michelle Wells not as an HR update, but as proof of the franchisee support standing behind the opportunity.
The Outcome: A Future Backed by Legacy and Measurable Growth
What began as a year of individual announcements evolved into one sustained case for Ziebart as a franchise investment, where a 65+ year legacy is precisely what makes the future durable, because demand for Ziebart’s services strengthens in the same economic conditions that put newer concepts at risk. Public relations efforts, integrated with content marketing strategies like email marketing and SEO/GEO optimization, resulted in a 285% increase in franchise leads in the first half of the year. It proved development news doesn’t have to stand alone; when every announcement is tied to the real-world economics driving consumer demand, the case for the opportunity builds upon itself.
Fishman PR’s proactive outreach resulted in more than 450-million impressions, and counting, with coverage spanning across franchise trade publications, automotive industry press, national and local business outlets, and dealer-focused media, reaching both franchise candidates and the dealership operators driving Ziebart’s B2B growth.