Your future franchisees need to feel why your brand is different. Strong stories help them understand your culture, your people, and your value before the first call.
You’re leading a franchise system in a market where bigger brands outspend you, out-advertise you, and often out-shout you. You don’t have unlimited dollars. You don’t have national TV budgets. And when crisis hits, your franchisees look to you for answers.
So what do you do?
In this episode of Franchise Masters, Erik Frederick, CEO of the UNO Restaurants franchise, shares a grounded, operator-first approach to franchise leadership: invest in responsibility over ego, put the next dollar where it truly benefits franchisees, and build a brand that feels like the “family room,” not the formal dining room.
Erik stepped into leadership during the depths of COVID. He didn’t focus on title. He focused on responsibility. In this conversation, he reveals how UNO approaches community-based marketing, why social media often beats TV for mid-sized systems, and how a simple question—“Where does the next dollar go?”—can transform franchise decision-making.
If you lead a franchise system, these lessons aren’t theoretical. They’re practical. And they’re immediately actionable.
In this Franchise Masters conversation, Erik breaks down the principles that guide the UNO Restaurants franchise through uncertainty and growth.
He covers:
How UNO positions itself as the “family room,” not the formal dining room
Why the brand prioritizes social media and public relations over expensive TV advertising
How to decide where to invest the “next dollar” as a franchisor
What leadership responsibility looked like during COVID—including supporting restaurant teams with vaccine access
Erik Frederick is the CEO of UNO Restaurants. He took over leadership during the depths of COVID and focused on guiding the brand forward through responsibility, discipline, and a franchisee-first mindset. His perspective blends brand stewardship with practical field awareness—especially through collaboration with franchisees in key roles like marketing.
Erik didn’t step into the CEO role chasing status. He stepped into it during a crisis.
“You know, to me, leadership is all about responsibility,” he says.
When he took over “in the depths of COVID,” he made one thing clear: “It was never about me. It was what I could do for the brand.”
That shift—from career advancement to brand responsibility—became the foundation of his leadership philosophy.
“I think too often when people look at their careers, they’re really focused on the promotion or what they do,” Erik explains. Instead, he urges leaders to focus on “what are your real strengths, what do you bring to the table? Where are you truly passionate?”
And then he adds a practical lens most CEOs won’t say out loud: focus on “what’s going to make your enterprise, frankly, a lot of money… and your partners as well.”
If you lead a franchise system, that mindset matters. Franchisees don’t invest in your title. They invest in your responsibility to the brand—and to them.
When responsibility leads, growth follows.
Every franchisor dreams of national TV advertising. Erik addresses that directly.
“Everybody would love TV advertising,” he says. “The reality is for us is… we’re probably too small to do TV advertising and frankly, we’re a little too dispersed unless we were to do a national one.”
Why it matters: Overspending to look bigger than you are drains resources and weakens franchisee returns. Smart franchise leadership matches strategy to scale.
How to apply it:
Audit your current marketing channels and eliminate any spend driven by ego rather than ROI
Evaluate whether your brand scale truly supports national media buys
Redirect funds into channels where you can compete effectively at your current size
Communicate transparently with franchisees about why certain high-visibility tactics aren’t the right move
Erik’s approach reflects disciplined franchise system development. He doesn’t chase visibility for its own sake. He evaluates impact.
Erik frames marketing decisions in a simple, powerful way: “Where are we really going to put that next dollar… to really benefit the franchisees?”
He even emphasizes the flexibility of resources: “Dollars are fungible.”
Why it matters: Marketing alignment builds trust. Franchisees want to know corporate spend directly benefits their locations.
How to apply it:
Install a monthly “Next Dollar Review” meeting with your executive team
Evaluate every initiative by asking: Does this directly benefit franchisees?
Tie marketing decisions to measurable local impact, not corporate visibility
Share the rationale behind major spend decisions with franchisees
This lens shifts franchise marketing strategies from abstract brand building to tangible field support.
When franchisees see disciplined capital allocation, confidence grows.
One of the most revealing decisions Erik shares involves marketing leadership.
“It’s a huge reason why I have… an existing franchisee as my head of marketing because he really has the pulse and the ability to kind of talk with folks and say, well, what’s going to be best for us overall.”
Why it matters: Franchise systems perform better when corporate decisions reflect field reality.
Multi-unit franchise management requires more than strategy decks. It requires empathy and operational perspective.
How to apply it:
Evaluate which corporate roles could benefit from franchisee experience
Create advisory roles for high-performing operators
Formalize feedback loops between field and corporate teams
Empower franchisees to influence brand-level decisions
Erik’s move wasn’t symbolic. It was structural. He built franchisee perspective into marketing leadership itself.
That’s franchise leadership rooted in partnership.
UNO’s positioning isn’t abstract. It’s experiential.
“We’re the family room, we’re not the formal dining room,” Erik says.
He explains the intent clearly: when guests visit, “we want people to be able to let their hair down and have a good time and really just enjoy the people that they’re there with.”
At the same time, the brand adapts locally: “We’ve got different demographics in each one of our restaurants and really sort of catering to that. But the overarching thing is amazing pizza.”
Why it matters: Clear positioning makes local marketing easier and more authentic.
How to apply it:
Define your brand in one experiential sentence (e.g., “We’re the family room”)
Identify the non-negotiable core (for UNO: amazing pizza)
Allow demographic-based flexibility in local execution
Train franchisees on how to communicate your brand feeling—not just product features
UNO pairs consistency (product and identity) with market-specific marketing.
“We tend to go to social media because we think that’s just more effective for… our size,” Erik adds. The brand also leans heavily into public relations and competitions: “There isn’t a contest that we know of that we don’t try and participate in… so that people know what great pizza we have.”
That’s scrappy, focused franchise growth strategy in action.
During COVID, access to vaccines was complicated. Restaurant workers couldn’t spend hours refreshing websites or waiting on hold.
Erik describes what his team did: “They set up a trilingual helpdesk where they took everybody’s information. And what they did is they set up the appointments for them.”
He calls it “one phenomenal thing” that spoke to the character of the team.
“One day what I’ll be most proud of… I’m proud of our unit growth… but to have a team like that… that makes me… it really it’s very humbling for me.”
Why it matters: Culture becomes real when leadership removes friction for frontline teams.
How to apply it:
Identify one operational barrier your teams face and solve it centrally
Build support systems that reduce administrative burden on operators
Communicate cultural wins internally—not just financial wins
Recognize team actions that reflect brand values
Franchise leadership isn’t measured only in unit growth. It’s measured in responsibility to people.
Write one sentence that captures how your brand should feel—like UNO’s “family room.” Identify one non-negotiable product or service anchor. Document both. Train every franchisee on how to communicate and deliver that experience consistently.
Before approving any major spend, ask: Does this directly benefit franchisees? Make this a formal executive conversation. Share outcomes with operators. Transparency builds alignment.
Elevate franchisee voices into corporate roles where appropriate. Create systems that remove friction for your teams. Leadership isn’t about title—it’s about what you do for the brand and the people inside it.
Leadership Equals Responsibility: Erik defines leadership as service to the brand and partners, not personal advancement.
Right-Size Your Marketing: Avoid ego-driven advertising; match strategy to scale.
Spend with Discipline: Ask where the next dollar truly benefits franchisees.
Empower Operators: Franchisee perspective strengthens corporate decision-making.
Prove Culture Through Action: Supporting teams during crisis defines real leadership.
Here’s what many franchisors miss: prospects don’t just evaluate unit economics. They evaluate leadership character.
When Erik says, “It was never about me. It was what I could do for the brand,” that statement communicates more than a polished marketing campaign ever could.
Authentic franchise stories build trust. They demonstrate responsibility in action. They show how leaders behave when it matters most.
At FranchiseFilming, we believe real conversations with real operators reveal the moments that actually convert prospects. Not scripted messaging. Not inflated promises. But lived experience.
If you want to see how we help franchise brands capture leadership moments like this, explore our franchise video storytelling services. Because before prospects invest, they want proof.
Erik Frederick is the CEO of UNO Restaurants. He stepped into leadership during the depths of COVID and guided the brand with a responsibility-first mindset focused on franchisee benefit and team support. His leadership philosophy centers on disciplined capital allocation, local market awareness, and partnership-driven growth.
Erik Frederick’s insights are one conversation in a growing library of franchise leadership wisdom. Season 3 is coming soon, and we’re sitting down with more founders, CEOs, and operators who’ve scaled franchise systems through bold decisions, cultural clarity, and unconventional strategies.
Every episode explores the real challenges and unfiltered strategies behind franchise success—no surface-level advice, just battle-tested insight.
Subscribe so you don’t miss the Season 3 drop:
Your future franchisees need to feel why your brand is different. Strong stories help them understand your culture, your people, and your value before the first call.
