AFC appoints Sam Canavan as new Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Their marketing team gets a boost.
Brisbane-based company, Australian Franchising Corporation (AFC), has appointed Sam Canavan as its new Marketing and Communications Coordinator.
Canavan has experience working in marketing and social media and is a multi-disciplinary journalist. He is the man behind the SEEK job listing that has garnered great publicity for The Burrito Bar.
AFC Managing Director, Luke McGrath, shared, "We are very conscious of ensuring all facets of our three brands are marketed as effectively as possible, and with the addition of Sam, Shar, and George, I have no doubt we will achieve great results. Since they’ve started, we’ve already seen a big difference.”
Canavan will be heading the team, together with Shar Ogle—Local Area Marketing Manager, and George Lam—award-winning Graphic designer and video production specialist.
The company currently handles three quick service brands—Wok Me, The Burrito Bar, and Global Burgers Bar and Grill.
Below is a Q&A with Sam Canavan.
QSR Media: What excites you about your new position and team?
Sam: The role is exciting for me on a personal level because I get the opportunity to manage a team, and I have more control than ever before over a company's marketing strategy, and communications output. I'm also very excited to be working with such a talented team - George is the best designer I've ever worked with - and the Managing Director is very driven and forward-thinking.
QSR Media: What changes is your team planning for?
Sam: Lots. The biggest change is properly focussing on all aspects of AFC's marketing, and ensuring that all three of our brands are afforded enough specialised attention. Further to this, we're looking to implement an unwaveringly consistent implementation of all campaigns, including resources like SMS and email blasting, group buying deals, Television, Radio and print advertising, online ordering and smart phone apps among other things.
QSR Media: What top three goals are you focused on?
Sam: 1. Consistency with the design and implementation of all campaigns, as well as the evaluation of the effectiveness of each promotion.
2. Building a healthy working relationship with our franchisees and using their input effectively (after all, they're at the coal face, and know what customers want)
3. Increasing the profitability of all three brands by 5% over the next year.
QSR Media: What are some of the challenges faced in this new position?
Sam: There's a lot of work! Managing three very distinctive brands at once is the biggest challenge for me. All three are fantastic and have such distinctive personalities, so it's imperative that they're approached entirely differently.
QSR Media: How has the dynamics been with the new marketing team?
Sam: We all get along really well, which I believe is essential to the success of our team - particularly I the somewhat creative environment we're in. Shar is very bubbly, George is a little more reserved, and I'm somewhere in between, which works really well! And to cap it all off we have the world's most charismatic 'ideas man' in Luke McGrath as a MD, so AFC's marketing is going fantastically.
