Written by: Jenna Bennard, FPM team member
I never knew I would become such a stickler for a logo.
But here I am, policing logos on a daily basis.
As a franchise marketer, one of my recurring conversations is reminding people that, no, that is not the correct version of the logo. With the rise of AI and easy-to-use design tools, creating graphics and presentations has become more accessible than ever. Franchisees can quickly create their own social graphics, and coworkers can put together decks with a few prompts. Which is great… until I have to remind everyone that our brand standards still exist for a reason.
And then there was the time I had to send the correct brand-approved logo to our Director of Sales because the one in his email signature included a version of our logo that I had never seen before… but it was definitely not the correct one.
I had officially become the logo police.
It’s funny because when I first started in marketing, I had no idea how many things would eventually fall under the very broad umbrella of “marketing.” I certainly didn’t expect logo enforcement to be one of them.
But that might be one of the things I love most about this industry. Marketing is a little bit of everything.
Growing up, I was always drawn to creativity. I loved jingles and commercials and would quote them constantly because I thought it was so interesting that a few words or a catchy tune could stick in your head. I also spent 13 years competitively dancing, which gave me another creative outlet and taught me how much I enjoyed storytelling through something other than words.
I never knew exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. I just knew I wanted creativity to be part of it.
The funny thing is, I never considered myself much of a writer. I dreaded writing actually. In school, a five-paragraph essay was basically my nightmare. I would overthink the first sentence, write it, delete it, rewrite it, delete it again, and somehow end up staring at a blank page with no idea what I wanted to say. I wanted every word to be perfect before I was willing to move on, which usually meant a writing assignment took me much longer than I wanted it to. So it’s probably a little ironic that I ended up in a career where writing is part of the job.
But I’ve learned that storytelling doesn’t always have to start with a blank page. Sometimes it’s a visual. Sometimes it’s a campaign. Sometimes it’s a catchy phrase, a design, a social post or a physical piece of collateral sitting on a restaurant table. There are a lot of ways to tell a story. And I think that’s what initially drew me to marketing. It gave me a way to be creative without having to tell every story with words.
When I got my first marketing internship, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I knew I wanted to learn, but I didn’t yet understand just how many different skills went into being a marketer. I learned pretty quickly. Marketers wear a lot of hats. Sometimes we’re strategists. Sometimes we’re creatives. Sometimes we’re project managers, data analysts, problem solvers, vendor managers or, apparently, logo police. And I like it that way.
One of my first big “aha” moments came while working on a limited-time menu item. I was responsible for developing the creative vision for the promotional collateral, working with a graphic designer to bring it to life and coordinating with our print vendor to assemble the collateral kits that would eventually be shipped to restaurants.
Then I walked into one of the restaurants with a friend.
“Do you see those table tents? The window cling? The counter card? The digital menu boards?”
I made that.
There is something really satisfying about watching an idea move from a thought in your head to something you can actually see, touch and experience in the real world. That moment made me realize that I didn’t just enjoy the creative side of marketing. I liked everything that happened in between, too.
As I’ve grown in my career, I’ve also learned that marketing isn’t just about making something look pretty or perfect. It’s about understanding people.
What makes someone make a decision? What changes a habit? What makes someone want to try something new? What makes someone choose one brand over another? The creative piece matters, but it’s only one part of the equation.
Working in corporate franchise marketing has taught me how to think about marketing across different markets, geographic locations and demographics. I’ve learned how to adjust campaigns and marketing efforts based on the audience I’m trying to reach, how to use data to make more informed decisions, how to work with vendors and agencies, and how to give designers clear direction to help bring a vision to life.
I’ve also learned how closely marketing and operations are connected. Marketing directly impacts sales, but marketing is not sales. There are a lot of steps between getting someone’s attention and getting them to take action, and understanding those pieces has changed the way I approach my work.
Then there is my work with First Position Media, which has given me a completely different perspective. I first met Sarah when I was graduated from college, had moved back home, and was on the seemingly endless job search. I was working two part time jobs, one in marketing , and the other retail. Any jobs I was finding stated “entry level” but then wanted 3-5 years of experience. In my opinion… that is not entry level. One of my friends was doing a meet and greet at a wedding expo and I tagged along to help out and grab some content for her. Sarah had met my friend at a nail salon only a few weeks prior, started a conversation and made a connection. I was introduced to Sarah at the expo, we got to talking and my internship began not even a few weeks later. She was there with one of her clients, my friend introduced us, and that eventually led to an internship with FPM.
I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I knew I wanted to learn.
Working alongside Sarah gave me the chance to sit in on meetings, learn about different industries and see how she approached each client differently. What I found especially valuable was watching her tailor the marketing and PR strategy to each client’s unique needs rather than trying to fit everyone into the same formula. FPM has expanded my understanding of marketing beyond the corporate world and given me the opportunity to learn more about PR, different industries and different ways of solving problems.
I’ve also loved learning from the rest of the FPM team. We all bring different experiences and perspectives to the table, so there is always an opportunity to learn from one another, challenge an idea or look at a problem differently.
And, of course, I fell in love with Greta, Sarah’s adorable dog, along the way.
More importantly, Sarah has become a mentor to me. I’m grateful for the way she has invested in me, trusted me and encouraged me to keep learning.
Working with FPM has also made me more comfortable with the fact that I don’t have to fit into a specific marketing box. For a long time, I wasn’t sure how I felt about being a generalist. I’ve always been someone who knows a little bit about a lot of things. I can understand the strategy, work through the creative, look at the data, communicate with a vendor, manage a project and jump into something completely new when I need to.
For a while, I thought that was a weakness.
I wasn’t an expert in one specific area. I wasn’t the person who knew absolutely everything about SEO or paid media or PR or design or social media. I was a little bit of everything. I’ve started to realize that might actually be one of my strengths.
Marketing is interconnected. Creative connects to strategy. Strategy connects to data. Data connects to decision-making. Marketing connects to operations. PR connects to storytelling. And all of it connects back to people.
I want to understand how those pieces work together.
That doesn’t mean I need to know everything. It means I want to know enough to understand the bigger picture, get an idea moving and recognize when I need to bring in someone with deeper expertise.
My corporate role and my work with FPM have helped me build that perspective in different ways. My corporate work has taught me how to think about marketing at scale, adjust campaigns for different audiences and markets, use data to make decisions and understand the operational side of the business. FPM has pushed me to think more creatively, work across different industries and approach marketing challenges from new angles.
The two experiences complement each other.
And maybe that’s what I enjoy most about marketing. There isn’t one way to do it. Marketing looks different depending on the size, industry and needs of the business, but the underlying principles are the same: understand the audience, identify the problem, communicate the value and find the right way to get someone to act.
I’m still figuring out exactly what kind of marketer I want to become, and I’m okay with that. For now, I’m happy being curious. I’m happy learning a little bit about a lot of things. I’m happy saying yes to opportunities that let me try something new and figuring out how all the pieces fit together.
Maybe I spent too much of my childhood worrying about finding the perfect way to tell a story. Maybe there isn’t one.
Sometimes it’s a dance. Sometimes it’s a commercial. Sometimes it’s a campaign. Sometimes it’s a PR pitch, a social post, a strategy or, apparently, a very specific conversation about which logo belongs in an email signature.
And maybe being a jack of all trades isn’t about being a master of none. Maybe it’s about being willing to learn enough about everything to see the bigger picture, find the connections and bring an idea to life. And if that also means occasionally reminding the Director of Sales which logo he’s supposed to use, well, I guess that’s part of the job too.
