Regional Franchise Development
The Challenge: Pokeworks Building on Boston Presence
Pokeworks is strategically growing in the Boston market and sought to generate local media coverage to highlight their new locations. With 5 existing locations, the brand wanted to make a splash with their new development deals. The goal was to increase brand awareness among Boston’s business, food, and lifestyle audiences while also educating potential franchisees about the opportunity.
The Solution: Human Interest Stories Fuel Boston Growth
The Fishman PR team developed a press release with a strategic, hyperlocal angle for the Boston market that went beyond the development deal, focusing on human interest and brand growth.
- Discovered one of the new franchisees was Pokeworks’ first-ever employee; built the release around his career journey from team member to owner, positioning him for local media interviews on his story and future plans. The team also highlighted the backgrounds of the other franchisees to showcase the diversity within Pokeworks’ franchise system.
- Conducted research about the Poke food industry that would showcase the demand and growth potential of the segment. Hyperlinked to the current statistic from Technavio that The Poke Foods Market is expected to increase by USD 781.91 million from 2021 to 2026, at an accelerated CAGR of 8.41%.
- Spotlighted franchise opportunities and existing locations—five in the Greater Boston Area—to demonstrate Pokeworks’ growing regional footprint and brand momentum.
The Outcome: A wrap of a successful results-driven campaign
Fishman PR’s comprehensive outreach to local Boston and national/industry trade media resulted in pickup among Food, Franchise, Restaurant trades, as well as the main priority – local media placements in the Boston area. The secured coverage created conversation on the local level raising awareness about the upcoming new restaurant and generating buzz for additional market growth. The trade pickup secured also spoke to the success the franchisee found within the system and spoke to other potential owners looking to join forces with a brand that is expanding its footprint in key markets. Together these placements spoke to the strength of the Pokeworks brand, the support offered owners, the demand poke concepts are seeing from consumers, and the upward trajectory the brand is on as it continues to welcome franchisees into the system. This effort resulted in 8 different secured pieces of earned media coverage including QSR, Eat This, Not That, Boston Biz Journal, What Now Boston, and more.